Refugee Travel Document - Questions and Answers
- Thread starter rainbowbee
- Start date
Appreciated dear. I had all these questions in my mind and didn't find any reasonable answers but thank you so much for all and details answers...I created this topic to share my knowledge and experience with all of you. I will try to answer some important questions and concerns regarding travel as a Convention Refugee or a Protected Person living in Canada.
I’m not a lawyer, just a person who likes clarity. I am very proud to call Canada my new home. I want continue traveling and explore the world, but at the same time stay I want to stay mindful, and avoid doing anything wrong that would compromise my PR or Refugee status here. Some terms are below being simplified.
As most of you know, when you make your refugee claim, your passport is being seized by CIC or CBSA.
When my refugee claim was accepted I discovered that there are certain things we are not advised to do:
• Do not travel back to your home country
• Do not renew your home country’s passport.
• Do not travel on your home country’s passport, even to a third country, such as USA for example
• Just simply don’t have any contact with embassy of your home country.
All those things could put you at risk of losing your refugee status, because CBSA may interpret those actions as you no longer fear your home country, so you no longer need Canada’s protection.
I am not able to specify which law applies here and so on, but I know for sure that there are legal cases in which government took action and stripped or tried to strip person’s protection because they did one of above mentioned things.
Also it’s a matter of interpreting the law, so I think we should take those warnings seriously, it’s our lives and protection we are talking about.
If you want to get more information, I would suggest checking out Canadian Council for Refugees and other websites.
After I received a positive decision on my refugee claim, soon I applied for RTD and was able to get it. It says that the RTD validity period is determined by the issuing office. In my case it was issued for 2 years. I personally know at least four other cases, where people applied for RTD before becoming PRs and received it also for 2 years. So I guess it’s safe to assume that majority of people, before PR will get it for 2 years.
When I was applied for it, I noticed that on application form it says: “I understand that if I am issued a Canadian travel document and later obtain a passport issued by my country of citizenship, I am obliged to return the Canadian travel document to Passport Program, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.”
Obviously I started to get worried, because once I become a PR, CIC will return my national passport and in theory I must return RTD. I will have no choice, but to use my national passport to travel, but I don’t want to do that! What should I do?!
After more than two years, I got my PR interview, I got my passport back, at the end of my interview I decided to ask officer in person about my RTD dilemma.
So I did, I called them and I talked with call center agent at first, and explained my situation:
So finally after several minutes of back and forth, agent agreed to put a special call back request directly from “Certificate of Identity Section - Passport Program” located in Gatineau, QC.
Next day I received a call and talked with a senior officer from that department, I explained my situation to him and finally I got the missing peace of a puzzle.
Some important points and additional information:
• As a Convention Refugee or a Protected Person in Canada we do have a right to travel.
• In order to be able to travel internationally, we must have a valid Travel Document.
• The only Travel Document we entitled to is a Refugee Travel Document, forget about Certificate of Identity
• In order to apply for RTD you need to use an application form “[PPTC 190] Adult travel document application form”, form is universal and is used to apply for both – RTD and COI.
• After becoming a Permanent Resident, you are still considered to have a refugee status in Canada
• RTD issued for 2 years before PR and after becoming PR for 5 years
• If you got your national passport back when you became PR, do not use it, instead send it to “Certificate of Identity Section - Passport Program” along with your explanation letter
Travel Document - is an identity document issued by a government and allowing us to travel internationally. Generally, Travel Documents look like a passport-like booklets. The most common Travel Document is a Passport.
Government of Canada has a special department responsible for issuing Travel Documents for Refugees and Stateless Persons, and it’s called: “Certificate of Identity Section - Passport Program”, located in Gatineau, QC
That department is issuing two types of a Travel Documents:
1. Refugee Travel Document (light blue) (United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 and its Protocol of 1967): issued to persons in Canada with protected person status, including Convention refugees and persons in need of protection
2. Certificate of identity (grey or formerly brown): issued to permanent residents of Canada who are not yet Canadian citizens, who are stateless or who are unable to obtain a national passport.
Personally I would advise everyone including myself, travel only using RTD, we shouldn’t put ourselves at risk. Getting RTD for 5 years is a great solution and hopefully by the time we need to renew it, we will have our Canadian Citizenship
I will mention it again, I am not a lawyer, just sharing summary of my findings with you. If you have additional questions or information, you are welcome to ask and contribute.
luckyrefugee
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- Mar 5, 2019
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Hello everyone,
I need the fax number to send my tracking number of my application.
Anyone has their number?
Thank you
Hello everyone,
Who recently applied RTD after becoming PR?
As they mention only emergency application will be accepted.
Question.
You gather all documents as normal time for RTD and add emergency document on the top or call them or send them first emergency document? How all things go.
Would apreciate if someone will go step by step.
Thanks a lot.
Who recently applied RTD after becoming PR?
As they mention only emergency application will be accepted.
Question.
You gather all documents as normal time for RTD and add emergency document on the top or call them or send them first emergency document? How all things go.
Would apreciate if someone will go step by step.
Thanks a lot.
You can't apply for RTD with CoPR , you need to have either notice of decision or a PR card.
you can use the CoPR according to their website, but apparently you get processed the same way as if you were a protected person.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/protected-persons/refugee-travel-document-refugees-protected-persons.html
Which doesn’t make any sense to me since you are considered a Permanent Resident of Canada
Well, you’re considered to be a protected person until you’ll obtain a Canadian citizenship. With a pr you are still a protected person
and I’m afraid that validity will be also 2 years ...Hmm I mean when you are granted a Permanent Resident status you’re considered a Permanent Resident of Canada.Well, you’re considered to be a protected person until you’ll obtain a Canadian citizenship. With a pr you are still a protected person
what’s weird to me is why do you only get two-year-validity-RTD with CoPR in comparison to five-year-validity-RTD with PR card.
yes but I saw someone here tried to apply with CoPR but they refused his application
After becoming a PR you are still a protected person but with a PR status(that’s why you still can’t go to your home country even with a pr) Before person will obtain a citizenship, minister can apply to RPD and initiate a process of cessation or vacation if they will find out that there if a misrepresentation , or a member of RPD made an error in a decision. that’s why refugee must apply for citizenship asap (once there is a time) bcs due to statistics cbsa and ircc increased the amount of cessation/vacation in recent years
Sorry for off topic. About a passport... both options 2 and 5 are inconvenient. Because for majority of countries your passport must be valid for 3-6 months after the end of your trip... so stupid
once you have pr (well a pr card ) you get 5 yrs vs 2 years on RTD. he is saying what's the difference between using the card when applying and u get 5 yrs vs with a copr and getting 2 years like if you weren't a pr as yet. when you actually a pr now to get the 5-year document.. he is saying it makes no senseAfter becoming a PR you are still a protected person but with a PR status(that’s why you still can’t go to your home country even with a pr) Before person will obtain a citizenship, minister can apply to RPD and initiate a process of cessation or vacation if they will find out that there if a misrepresentation , or a member of RPD made an error in a decision. that’s why refugee must apply for citizenship asap (once there is a time) bcs due to statistics cbsa and ircc increased the amount of cessation/vacation in recent years
Sorry for off topic. About a passport... both options 2 and 5 are inconvenient. Because for majority of countries your passport must be valid for 3-6 months after the end of your trip... so stupid