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Refugee Travel Document - Questions and Answers

mian1112

Star Member
Nov 19, 2022
71
25
Did anyone travel back to Canada from any Asian countries with RTD but still awaiting PR? I flew to Singapore from Montreal on 3rd September and then to Bangkok from Singapore on 9th September. No questions asked by Emirates at Montreal Airport. They didn't even look for my e-visas and gave me the boarding passes all the way to Singapore. I thought they might check in Dubai but nope. All went smooth till Singapore. At Singapore immigration, they asked for my PR. Went for the secondary verification which didn't last for more than 5 minutes. I said I applied but don't have it yet. They asked if I have my residency proof in Canada. Just told them with confidence, "yes I have multiple proofs." Then gave them my Quebec Driver's License and Healthcare Card. They let me in. When leaving from Singapore for Thailand, the budget airline 'Scoot' made my life even more difficult. The representative at the desk said she has never seen this type of passport and it took 2.5 hours for them to verify with Thai Embassy if I can be allowed in Thailand. I had to literary run with my old parents to the gate which was far away from the boarding counter as I couldn't afford to pay for another flight. It caused health issues to my dad. At Bangkok Airport, it was a charm. The immigration officer was probably talking to her boyfriend or someone with her earphones. Just saw my RTD, guided me for the arrival fingerprints, stamped my RTD and the gate to Thailand was opened to me. Took maximum 2 minutes for her to let me enter Thailand. Anyway, I'm coming back soon with Emirates but different portals giving different information. If anyone traveled back to Canada with RTD and never had a PR card, please let me know how it was. More the days are passing by and getting closer to my return date, getting more worried. Spending sleepless nights. Thanks in advance!!!
My friend to went to Thailand and while he returning back they just ask any other id of Canada and he shows Driving Licence and then no problem, another my friend went to England without PR and everything was smooth, they treat her like Canadian, So dont worry you will be back ,let me know when you will be back.
 

Captain911

Hero Member
Jan 31, 2023
301
93
My friend to went to Thailand and while he returning back they just ask any other id of Canada and he shows Driving Licence and then no problem, another my friend went to England without PR and everything was smooth, they treat her like Canadian, So dont worry you will be back ,let me know when you will be back.
Your friend went to England without pr but with visa. Right?
 

mian1112

Star Member
Nov 19, 2022
71
25
My friend to went to Thailand and while he returning back they just ask any other id of Canada and he shows Driving Licence and then no problem, another my friend went to England without PR and everything was smooth, they treat her like Canadian, So dont worry you will be back ,let me know when you will be back.
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
 

mian1112

Star Member
Nov 19, 2022
71
25
Hi,
Please read my thread on the top of this page. I'm currently in Thailand with RTD and no PR.

Please don't try to apply for Singapore Visa unless you wanna take the risk. Mine was rejected once for not able to send them my Canadian PR and then when did it through the Consulate in Toronto 2nd time, just 5 days before the trip(because already had my non-refundable trip), it was approved. Then at the time of entry in Singapore, I had to go through the second inspection because I said no to PR when asked but it's a huge headache. The immigration officer may or may not allow to enter. They let me enter because they saw that my parents came up from my home country and they cleared the immigration before me and were waiting for me after the immigration like helpless. The officer asked me if they are my parents and then gave me the entry being very kind so my parents don't experience any problem.

Malaysia already said no without PR before applying for the visa.

Only Thailand is the country that didn't give me any hard time. I'll advise you to apply for a Thai E-Visa online and traveling to Thailand will not be a problem with Emirates as I did. You just can't seek entry in Dubai but up to 24 hours maximum layover is fine. I also enquired with Qatar Airways directly by walking to a check-in desk at Montreal Airport. They said the same thing. No problem transiting through Doha. For Turkish Airline's, I heard they need a sticker visa to the country you are going to and also make trouble on the way back if you don't have a PR from Canada which is foolish. I maybe wrong but I read this in a few threads. Also, I got a sticker visa from the Embassy of Laos. Had to send my passport to Washington DC by DHL and ended up not going to Laos. Did that just in case Emirates don't allow me to board their plane at Montreal but they didn't even check my Singapore or Thailand visa. Just treated me like one of the passengers and it was an easy check-in. So, it was so unnecessary to apply for a visa to Laos.

I'm still in Thailand and will update more when I'm able to board my flight with Emirates back to Canada and hopefully they won't ask for my PR.

Important Note: Not only UAE but none of the Gulf countries including Qatar will allow you to apply for a visa or seek entry. Only layover(less than 24h).
Are you still in Thailand or back in Canada?
 

B-Nice

Full Member
Feb 28, 2023
42
5
Hi

You guys are not listening to us. I/we was there as you ! "Stuck to printing session or in process" but nothing was happening.
Guess what, i reapplied and after 3 weeks i got my RTD.
This is my first time applying? Can it still come urgently?? Did you apply in Ontario??
 

B-Nice

Full Member
Feb 28, 2023
42
5
Hi Mates,
I applied for myself and my kid 9.5 years old , i got my RTD in 20 days but my kid still waiting once called or webforms , their reply is always same its flagged and urgent but i don't get it please help me i applied since May 2023.

My mother is sick i need to travel i cant able to travel without my kid.
Where did you apply from please?? I need an urgent one trying to weigh my options, thanks!
 

Montreal_Guy

Member
Jul 27, 2023
15
10
How did you applied your visa for singapore and thailan? Can u please guide?
Hi, I applied for a Singapore Visa through the Consulate General Toronto. You must send an email to torsgmfa@gmail.com with all your documents like the RTD Biodata Page, Return ticket, or a ticket showing leaving Singapore, for example: leaving for Thailand from Singapore. I booked a multi-city trip. From Montreal to Singapore and Bangkok to Montreal on the same itinerary. From Singapore to Bangkok, I booked separately with Scoot Airline. Remember, that's a disgusting airline. They said they had never seen that type of travel document and didn't recognize my RTD. I had to wait for 2.5 hours for them to enquire with the Thailand embassy if I could be allowed in Thailand with that travel document. I was the last person to board the flight and was almost missing. You have to make sure you go to any check-in counter in Asia at least 3 hours before the flight so that in case they don't recognize your travel document, they have enough time to enquire with the embassy of the country you are flying to. Also, include your Driver's License and Health Card from your province for the visa application. They do need to see at least two IDs other than the RTD if you don't have a PR. I'll still recommend not applying for a Singapore visa without a PR because they troubled me to enter the country without a PR. Thailand is the only country that didn't care about my RTD and got me entry in just 2 minutes. For a Thailand visa, go to https://www.thaievisa.go.th/

I came back on October 12th and everything was smooth on the way back. Though at Dubai Airport, they double-check your status at the boarding gate. For me, it took around 15 minutes for them to update my status on their system. I was scared but all went through smoothly after I boarded the flight. In Canada, you do have to go for the secondary inspection but that was just a formality. It was around a maximum of 5 to 7 minutes for me to get through the immigration with the waiting time in the queue. Please read my latest post for the entire experience on the way back for a smoother travel experience.

Hope that helps...
 

Montreal_Guy

Member
Jul 27, 2023
15
10
I am traveling to Thailand next week with lufthansa , what's the questions Thailand immigration asked from you?
Hi, Thailand Immigration will ask you nothing. They will just scan your RTD, take fingerprints on the biometric scanner and open the door for you to enter Thailand. For me, it took less than a 2 minutes. No questions asked but still make sure to keep your return ticket and hotel/airbnb booking on printed papers because not all the immigration officers will be easier. Hope that helps.
 
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mian1112

Star Member
Nov 19, 2022
71
25
Thanks Allot for All those Details, its really help for all the people's who wana see there loved ones at 3rd country, May God Bless you for your Efforts, i am leaving for Thailand in next week, will update my experience as well, Good Luck for your Future.
 
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Montreal_Guy

Member
Jul 27, 2023
15
10
Subject: My experience on the way back from Thailand to Canada
Hello everyone,

Please read my previous posts and replies to learn about my experience in going to Singapore and Thailand from Canada if you haven't read it yet. You may also find posts with information on how to apply for visas to Singapore and Thailand. It'll be helpful to prepare yourself on how to deal with some unknown situations.

Please read my whole story so you don't experience any difficulties while traveling to Canada from Asia without a PR.

This paragraph has some extra information, which may be helpful in case you are in a similar situation. You may ignore this if you are not in a similar situation. I left Bangkok on October 11th with Emirates EK244 to Dubai. In Dubai, I had 13 hours of layover. I booked a sleep and fly lounge through Expedia for $130 CAD. On the official website of Sleep and Fly Lounge, the rate was $250 USD for 10 hours. The same was for $130 CAD on Expedia. The lounge is located on the Airside and you don't need to pass through the immigration. You can't pass through the immigration in any way because Gulf countries don't accept RTD. The lounge is hidden near Gate C14, Terminal 3 and you may not be able to find it easily unless you ask someone.

I checked in online 48 hours before the flight and got the boarding pass. In order to get your boarding pass online with Emirates, you have to fill up some questionnaires. There will be a question about your citizenship. Just enter Canada under citizenship or country. Then other information as per your RTD. You'll easily get the boarding pass online and no need to go through the check-in desk unless you have big luggage to check in. I didn't carry any big luggage on purpose and only had a cabin-size bag and a backpack. Also, if you fly domestically or internationally from one country to another within Asia, some low-cost carriers charge you extra for check-in baggage. You can easily avoid that by traveling lite. I didn't wanna have any trouble at the check-in desk on the way back. Though nothing would have happened I'm sure but I was scared because I didn't have a PR. When I was boarding the flight to Dubai from Bangkok, at the boarding gate, they manually entered some info and let me board the flight. I don't know what they had to enter into their system while other passengers just scanned their boarding passes and were automatically allowed in. Reached Dubai in 6.5 hours which was great.

At Dubai, after sleeping for around 7 hours in the lounge, I headed towards the boarding gate. Boarding for the US and Canada is not as easy as boarding for any other country. They need lots of information for non-Canadian passport holders. For me, because the RTD was issued by Canada, I was asked why I'm carrying this travel document. Weird question right? I just said I'm a refugee in Canada and then they scanned my RTD. I was also asked for two other IDs issued by Canada. I gave them my Quebec Driver's License and Quebec Health Card. Scanning RTD didn't allow me to automatically board like some other Canadian passport holders. They tried at 3 different desks for whatever reasons. I was able to see their screens. As soon as they scanned the RTD, it was showing STATELESS under Citizenship and showed unable to board. Scarry right? They manually changed STATELESS to Canada and then the screen changed to BOARDED. I boarded Emirates EK352 which took 13.5 hours to reach Montreal. Really long flight, Damm.

After arriving in Montreal, I had to scan my RTD on the automated immigration kiosk. It gave me an incomplete immigration slip. I took it to an immigration officer. He asked me the following questions.

1. Where have you been to?
Answer: Singapore and Thailand.

2. What was the purpose of the trip?
Answer: Meeting my parents.

3. Where do they live?
Answer: Home country informed.

4. Did you buy anything from the countries you have visited?
Answer: I bought some souvenirs from Thailand.

5. How much do those cost in Canadian dollars?
Answer: $50 or less.

6. Where do you live?
Answer: Montreal.

7. Did you not leave from Montreal? (Not sure why they couldn't see it on their system that I left from Montreal)
Answer: Yes I did leave from Montreal.

These above questions and answers were super quick and didn't take more than 2 minutes. Then he said you need to go through the secondary immigration and handed me over a yellow slip with a bunch of information. That scared me lol. I went to the secondary immigration. Guess what. No questions asked. The immigration officer just scanned my RTD and entered something on his system manually which didn't take more than 10 seconds. Then said Goodbye, haha.

Hope it helps people who want to travel with RTD and already have a PR or don't have a PR yet.

Have a good one...
 
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Anindaokito

Member
Apr 13, 2023
10
0
Anyone travel to pakistan with rtd and or PR? I talked to Pakistan embassy and i was told they don’t recognize any travel document.