PR travel outside Canada

[Yelsew]

I know someone who is a permanent resident waiting for his Canadian citizenship application to be processed. He is from Syria and was sponsored under the refugee program, and thus had PR status on arrival in Canada. Early next year, he would like to visit Dubai, where he worked for a few years, and it is unlikely that he will have his Canadian citizenship by then. He has no intention of going back to Syria, but his Syrian passport is valid until 2025, and PR card until 2024. He will have to apply for a UAE travel visa, but is there any other document he will need to ensure he can return to Canada without a problem? Neither of the two travel documents described in the link below seem to apply to his situation. Thanks for any advice on this matter.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/document-types.html

 

[armoured]

He has no intention of going back to Syria, but his Syrian passport is valid until 2025, and PR card until 2024. He will have to apply for a UAE travel visa, but is there any other document he will need to ensure he can return to Canada without a problem? Neither of the two travel documents described in the link below seem to apply to his situation. Thanks for any advice on this matter.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadian-passports/travel-documents-non-canadians/document-types.html

He would be FAR better to apply for the refugee travel document, and to do it now.

There is an issue that refugees should in most circumstances NOT travel with their home country passport, as it's considered (under law) 'availing oneself of home country protection'. That has the potential legal ramification of losing PR status.

Some will say it's okay but it is absolutely NOT without risk.

 

[Yelsew]

armoured wrote:

He would be FAR better to apply for the refugee travel document, and to do it now.
There is an issue that refugees should in most circumstances NOT travel with their home country passport, as it's considered (under law) 'availing oneself of home country protection'. That has the potential legal ramification of losing PR status.

Thank you for the prompt reply, and your comment about using a Syrian passport as "availing oneself of home country protection" is essentially what my friend's concern is, even though he is absolutely not going to Syria. But the uncertainty lies in the fact that the blue "refugee travel document" (in the link I provided) states that it is intended for persons with "protected person status" in Canada. My understanding of "protected person" (correct me if I'm wrong) is someone who has been granted that status by virtue of a successful in-Canada refugee claim to the IRB, but then they still need to apply for permanent residence. In this case, the person has had permanent resident status ever since he arrived in Canada in 2019, because he was screened and approved overseas through private sponsorship. Or...is he considered a "protected person" anyway, regardless of the fact that he already has permanent residence?

 

[Yelsew]

Just giving this a bump in the hope that I can get a second opinion on my original question. I'm not saying that the first opinion is wrong, I would just like some clarification/confirmation, since my friend's status is permanent resident, not protected person. And he has a valid Canadian PR card which doesn't expire for another two years. If he must apply for this RTD then so be it, but if it is not required in his circumstances, he could save the processing fee. Thanks.

Thank you for the prompt reply, and your comment about using a Syrian passport as "availing oneself of home country protection" is essentially what my friend's concern is, even though he is absolutely not going to Syria. But the uncertainty lies in the fact that the blue "refugee travel document" (in the link I provided) states that it is intended for persons with "protected person status" in Canada. My understanding of "protected person" (correct me if I'm wrong) is someone who has been granted that status by virtue of a successful in-Canada refugee claim to the IRB, but then they still need to apply for permanent residence. In this case, the person has had permanent resident status ever since he arrived in Canada in 2019, because he was screened and approved overseas through private sponsorship. Or...is he considered a "protected person" anyway, regardless of the fact that he already has permanent residence?

 

[scylla]

Just giving this a bump in the hope that I can get a second opinion on my original question. I'm not saying that the first opinion is wrong, I would just like some clarification/confirmation, since my friend's status is permanent resident, not protected person. And he has a valid Canadian PR card which doesn't expire for another two years. If he must apply for this RTD then so be it, but if it is not required in his circumstances, he could save the processing fee. Thanks.

Thank you for the prompt reply, and your comment about using a Syrian passport as "availing oneself of home country protection" is essentially what my friend's concern is, even though he is absolutely not going to Syria. But the uncertainty lies in the fact that the blue "refugee travel document" (in the link I provided) states that it is intended for persons with "protected person status" in Canada. My understanding of "protected person" (correct me if I'm wrong) is someone who has been granted that status by virtue of a successful in-Canada refugee claim to the IRB, but then they still need to apply for permanent residence. In this case, the person has had permanent resident status ever since he arrived in Canada in 2019, because he was screened and approved overseas through private sponsorship. Or...is he considered a "protected person" anyway, regardless of the fact that he already has permanent residence?

Short answer is that reavailment is a risk until the time someone officially becomes a Canadian citizen. Becoming a PR does not protect someone from the risks of reavailment and cessation. In fact, typically the most common point when IRCC makes the claim of reavailment against someone is during the citizenship application process since this is the point where their travel as a protected person and as a PR is reviewed in detail and reavailment concerns are identified.

You may want to read through the posts in the cessation thread in the Citizenship section of the forum. This thread has detailed discussions around reavailment risks for protected people after they have become PRs. https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/refugee-status-cessation-and-prs-applying-for-citizenship.333455/page-44

 

[Yelsew]

Short answer is that reavailment is a risk until the time someone officially becomes a Canadian citizen. Becoming a PR does not protect someone from the risks of reavailment and cessation. In fact, typically the most common point when IRCC makes the claim of reavailment against someone is during the citizenship application process since this is the point where their travel as a protected person and as a PR is reviewed in detail and reavailment concerns are identified.

You may want to read through the posts in the cessation thread in the Citizenship section of the forum. This thread has detailed discussions around reavailment risks for protected people after they have become PRs. https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/refugee-status-cessation-and-prs-applying-for-citizenship.333455/page-44

Thank you for your response Scylla, and for pointing me in the right direction--there is some good information in that thread. If I had used words like 're-availment' or 'cessation' in my initial search on the forums, I might have found it. IRCC certainly could do a better job of describing who should apply for this document. They refer to it as both a 'refugee travel document' and 'adult travel document' on the same web page, and on another page says it is intended for 'protected persons' or for PR's whose cards will expire while outside Canada (neither of which are applicable in my friend's case). So even though the risk may be low (since my friend has no intention of visiting his home country of Syria), I think it is best that he go ahead and apply.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for your response Scylla, and for pointing me in the right direction--there is some good information in that thread. If I had used words like 're-availment' or 'cessation' in my initial search on the forums, I might have found it. IRCC certainly could do a better job of describing who should apply for this document. They refer to it as both a 'refugee travel document' and 'adult travel document' on the same web page, and on another page says it is intended for 'protected persons' or for PR's whose cards will expire while outside Canada (neither of which are applicable in my friend's case). So even though the risk may be low (since my friend has no intention of visiting his home country of Syria), I think it is best that he go ahead and apply.

In general protected people should avoid using their home country passport and travelling to their home country until they are Canadian citizens. If you do both you should be fine. You are a protected person no matter where your asylum application was approved.