PR Travel Document

[fixitup]

Hello Everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well. I've recently come across this thread and I am hoping you could help me out.

Here's a quick rundown of our situation.
I am PR citizen, my wife is a Canadian citizen. We were traveling to Canada, when I lost my PR card at our transitioning airport. Had a police report made then and there and was allowed to enter Canada. Since my PR card was close to expiry (this August), I simply applied for a renewal based on the grounds that my wife was accompanying me the entire time I was away from Canada and showed them the police report.

We applied on urgent basis since I had to travel within three weeks. PR card was approved just before we left, however I have now received notification that I am required to pick up my PR card at a local CIC office.

My questions are:
1. How do I enter Canada without my PR Card (Im from a visa-exempt country) ?
2. If I apply for a PR travel document, is there a chance to get refused and then have it adversely affect my approved application?
3. On what basis should I apply for a PR travel document?
a. Should I state that I have lost my PR card, show them just the police report, and request the travel document purely on the basis of that ?
b. Show police report, tell them I have applied for a new one and had to travel before I heard back from them and now need to go back to Canada?
c. Disclose everything including showing them the letter for the interview that I have received (and the approved PR status)
4. Or should I just take the enter through US option?

Side reference: I am a self-employed consultant in Canada and have been a diligent tax payer.


Any help in this would be greatly appreciated, my friends.

 

[Leon]

If you can enter from the US, that would be the easiest. Take all your documents. Tell them that you lost your PR card, show the police report and tell them that you had applied urgently but did not receive it in time and now have to pick it up.

Otherwise, apply for a travel document on the same grounds as above.

 

[spyfy]

I want to second that. I think by far the least hassle is to rebook your flight to a city close to the Canadian border and cross the land border. Bring as much paperwork as possible.

 

[fixitup]

Thank you for the feedback. But my question is if I go through the US/Canada border and they ask me why I didnt simply apply for a PRTD? Doesn't it seem more suspicious if I try to enter through the US?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you for the feedback. But my question is if I go through the US/Canada border and they ask me why I didnt simply apply for a PRTD? Doesn't it seem more suspicious if I try to enter through the US?

PR TD is really only required to board a commercial vehicle (like an airplane) to Canada. CBSA doesn't care if you have a PR TD or not, they can easily determine your PR status without it. They have access to your info that the airlines do not.

You have several options
1. Apply for PR TD and fly back to Canada with that
2. Fly to US and drive across the boder, so no PR TD is necessary
3. Try to board the flight as a foreign national visitor on just your visa-exempt passport. You would need to pretend to the airline you are not a PR, and hope they can't see your PR status on their computers (up to now they are not able to by all accounts).

If you apply for a PR TD, as long as you show proof you were living with Canadian citizen spouse while outside Canada, there should be no issue of getting it approved. Timing for PR TD will depend on the local visa office you're using.

 

[shekhawatmx]

If you can enter from the US, that would be the easiest. Take all your documents. Tell them that you lost your PR card, show the police report and tell them that you had applied urgently but did not receive it in time and now have to pick it up.

Otherwise, apply for a travel document on the same grounds as above.

Leon plz advice if we have to submit original COPR forms and original expired passport along with PRTD application?
Basically my wife is out country and her old passport and COPR are here and got pr card pick up request by CIC.

 

[Almost_Canadian]

@shekawatmx When I applied for PRTD 5 years ago, the embassy asked for original COPR and all passports (current and expired) along with other documents to prove residence such as bank statements , health card, expired PR Card etc plus a photocopy of each document.
They returned all originals once the PRTD was approved.

 

[Leon]

Leon plz advice if we have to submit original COPR forms and original expired passport along with PRTD application?
Basically my wife is out country and her old passport and COPR are here and got pr card pick up request by CIC.

If you read your application guide and document checklist which you can find here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/travel.asp you see that in some cases, they refer to copies and in other cases they do not refer to copies so you can be safe to assume that if they don't say copies, they would like to see the original document.

 

[davidT321]

When I applied for PRTD last year they asked for copies and did not accept my original docs !
Аfter being approved, they asked to sent my passport to put PRTD inside