Short landing for PR card

[Piyaali]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I will be coming to Canada in March (we have to come before June) to activate our PR status. I have a few questions to ensure we go in with proper documentations and information and would really appreciate any responses:

1. We plan to enter via Vancouver, even though our Port of Entry is Toronto on our COPR. Would that be a problem?

2. We intend to stay for a week and then leave before coming back permanently in a year so -
a. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned on the immigration form under the "duration of stay"
b. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned when it comes to declaration of goods (did you prepare a list of things you would bring later, in the future in order to get a tax/duty break on them then?) or did you just mention your single carry-on luggage's contents?
c. How have the folks who have done the short landing or plan to do the short landing, dealt with declaration of finances?

3. Upon landing, we plan to get our SIN application immediately, do we get this immediately or does this also take several months and needs to be sent out at the local Canadian address?

4. Apart from SIN, is there any other formality that we can take care of while we are there?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Svanbavel1]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I will be coming to Canada in March (we have to come before June) to activate our PR status. I have a few questions to ensure we go in with proper documentations and information and would really appreciate any responses:

1. We plan to enter via Vancouver, even though our Port of Entry is Toronto on our COPR. Would that be a problem?

2. We intend to stay for a week and then leave before coming back permanently in a year so -
a. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned on the immigration form under the "duration of stay"
b. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned when it comes to declaration of goods (did you prepare a list of things you would bring later, in the future in order to get a tax/duty break on them then?) or did you just mention your single carry-on luggage's contents?
c. How have the folks who have done the short landing or plan to do the short landing, dealt with declaration of finances?

3. Upon landing, we plan to get our SIN application immediately, do we get this immediately or does this also take several months and needs to be sent out at the local Canadian address?

4. Apart from SIN, is there any other formality that we can take care of while we are there?

Thank you in advance.

1. Where you enter has no effect on where you plan to live. I landed in Windor, ON and now live in Halifax, NS.
2. I flew to Detroit the morning of Dec 18th, drove to the Windsor border to do my soft landing. It took maybe an hr or less, then the officer pointed me to a building where I was able to obtain my SIN that day. When i was done, I crossed back into MI and left on a flight that day to go home.
a.. Make sure you tell them that you are doing your "Landing" or "Soft Landing" and visiting for 1 week.
b. If you plan to move your household items, you need to make an itemized list. I can help with more detail if needed.
c. you don't need to declare anything other than what you are bringing across that day.

3.They hand it to you on the spot. I don't recommend getting a Bank Account though until you move to Toronto. I did and it became a huge pain to cancel and re open here in NS due to the banks being in different Regions
4. Honestly... Nope

 

[Svanbavel1]

I forgot to mention, if you do your soft landing.. You MUST have a Canadian address you can have your PR card sent to. family, friend, anyone, but they will NOT mail your PR card outside of canada!

 

[AragonSC]

I forgot to mention, if you do your soft landing.. You MUST have a Canadian address you can have your PR card sent to. family, friend, anyone, but they will NOT mail your PR card outside of canada!

@Svanbavel1

Hi Svanbavel1,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I had a quick question. I'm planning to do a short landing in Vancouver (will be flying from San Francisco to Vancouver). Is it fine to give my friend's address who lives in Toronto? I do not know anyone in Vancouver/British Columbia. I'll be spending a day or two in Vancouver and will be flying back to US. Thanks in advance.

 

[Piyaali]

1. Where you enter has no effect on where you plan to live. I landed in Windor, ON and now live in Halifax, NS.
2. I flew to Detroit the morning of Dec 18th, drove to the Windsor border to do my soft landing. It took maybe an hr or less, then the officer pointed me to a building where I was able to obtain my SIN that day. When i was done, I crossed back into MI and left on a flight that day to go home.
a.. Make sure you tell them that you are doing your "Landing" or "Soft Landing" and visiting for 1 week.
b. If you plan to move your household items, you need to make an itemized list. I can help with more detail if needed.
c. you don't need to declare anything other than what you are bringing across that day.

3.They hand it to you on the spot. I don't recommend getting a Bank Account though until you move to Toronto. I did and it became a huge pain to cancel and re open here in NS due to the banks being in different Regions
4. Honestly... Nope

This is great! Thanks for all the detailed information. I would be moving my household items eventually but not right now, during the initial landing. You mention that it is best to let the officers know we are here for our "Landing" or "Soft landing"; is there is a specific reason why you suggest we volunteer this information? There is a lot of contradictory information online about this. Let me know your thoughts and would love your help on the household item inventory whenever possible. Thanks!

 

[mylifepanipuri]

1. Where you enter has no effect on where you plan to live. I landed in Windor, ON and now live in Halifax, NS.
2. I flew to Detroit the morning of Dec 18th, drove to the Windsor border to do my soft landing. It took maybe an hr or less, then the officer pointed me to a building where I was able to obtain my SIN that day. When i was done, I crossed back into MI and left on a flight that day to go home.
a.. Make sure you tell them that you are doing your "Landing" or "Soft Landing" and visiting for 1 week.
b. If you plan to move your household items, you need to make an itemized list. I can help with more detail if needed.
c. you don't need to declare anything other than what you are bringing across that day.

3.They hand it to you on the spot. I don't recommend getting a Bank Account though until you move to Toronto. I did and it became a huge pain to cancel and re open here in NS due to the banks being in different Regions
4. Honestly... Nope

What address did you give to mail your PR card if you returned the same day? I heard the officers at windsor are not accepting a relative or friend address as mailing address.

 

[Mimi19]

Hi Svanbavel1
Could you please share how you got your PR, which program did you use and how long did it take. I’m in US too with asylum pending since 2015 and I’m gonna try to see how I can get Canada PR.
I will really appreciate

Thank you

 

[Eusufzai]

Hi

I am going to land in Canada on 2nd of March. I will be going to Winnipeg as my final destination. I will do a soft landing and return to Bangladesh on 8th of March. Do I Need to tell the immigration officer about my intended period of stay. However, I have to stay one day in Vancouver due to no connecting flight. Is there immigration issue if I stay one day in Vancouver. I will fly to Winnipeg next day. Now as a PNP nominee I am carrying 8000 CAD (four member family) and rest money as stock market investment (with portfolio statement). Is this okay? Should I need to fill up any form before moving to Canada, so that I can process quickly. Would anybody kindly send me copies of this form so that I can fill up accordingly. Do I need to fill up PR card application form beforehand? What other documents should I carry with me at the port of entry? Any help is highly appreciated.

Thanks and regards,

Eusufzai

 

[Piyaali]

Hello everyone,

My husband and I will be coming to Canada in March (we have to come before June) to activate our PR status. I have a few questions to ensure we go in with proper documentations and information and would really appreciate any responses:

1. We plan to enter via Vancouver, even though our Port of Entry is Toronto on our COPR. Would that be a problem?

2. We intend to stay for a week and then leave before coming back permanently in a year so -
a. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned on the immigration form under the "duration of stay"
b. What have folks who have done the short landing mentioned when it comes to declaration of goods (did you prepare a list of things you would bring later, in the future in order to get a tax/duty break on them then?) or did you just mention your single carry-on luggage's contents?
c. How have the folks who have done the short landing or plan to do the short landing, dealt with declaration of finances?

3. Upon landing, we plan to get our SIN application immediately, do we get this immediately or does this also take several months and needs to be sent out at the local Canadian address?

4. Apart from SIN, is there any other formality that we can take care of while we are there?

Thank you in advance.

AS an update to my post, I would like to share my experience with landing:

We entered Vancouver in March. The morning when we landed, there were hardly five people there and our immigration process was smooth as Beecher's mac n cheese. Like, seriously! We were first met with the CANN (Community Airport Newcomers Network) representative and she asked us a couple of questions..."How was your flight? Is this your first time in Canada? Are you planning to go back and come back later?" She then handed us the 'Welcome to BC' guide and asked us to sit near the immigration counter. We were immediately called upon and the officer at the counter asked us a few generic questions (Purpose, any criminal history, etc). She then asked us to have a seat while she processed the documents. Next she called us, congratulated us and asked us to proceed to exit. We next went through the customs section where they checked our documents and that's it. We were done.

We took a train straight from the airport to the Service Canada center in Vancouver downtown and got the SIN done in 40 mins.

We were in Vancouver for around a week before heading back to States. Overall, it was an amazingly straightforward experience.

 

[canuck78]

Hi

I am going to land in Canada on 2nd of March. I will be going to Winnipeg as my final destination. I will do a soft landing and return to Bangladesh on 8th of March. Do I Need to tell the immigration officer about my intended period of stay. However, I have to stay one day in Vancouver due to no connecting flight. Is there immigration issue if I stay one day in Vancouver. I will fly to Winnipeg next day. Now as a PNP nominee I am carrying 8000 CAD (four member family) and rest money as stock market investment (with portfolio statement). Is this okay? Should I need to fill up any form before moving to Canada, so that I can process quickly. Would anybody kindly send me copies of this form so that I can fill up accordingly. Do I need to fill up PR card application form beforehand? What other documents should I carry with me at the port of entry? Any help is highly appreciated.

Thanks and regards,

Eusufzai

POF sounds fine but $8000 liquid may not end up being enough to sustain you, rent apartments with first and last rent, get basic furniture, etc. Maybe you have a large balance on a credit card or a good job on arrival. I would plan on having to liquidate some of your investments. Would take advantage of any good periods in the market.

 

[flame_twilight]

AS an update to my post, I would like to share my experience with landing:

We entered Vancouver in March. The morning when we landed, there were hardly five people there and our immigration process was smooth as Beecher's mac n cheese. Like, seriously! We were first met with the CANN (Community Airport Newcomers Network) representative and she asked us a couple of questions..."How was your flight? Is this your first time in Canada? Are you planning to go back and come back later?" She then handed us the 'Welcome to BC' guide and asked us to sit near the immigration counter. We were immediately called upon and the officer at the counter asked us a few generic questions (Purpose, any criminal history, etc). She then asked us to have a seat while she processed the documents. Next she called us, congratulated us and asked us to proceed to exit. We next went through the customs section where they checked our documents and that's it. We were done.

We took a train straight from the airport to the Service Canada center in Vancouver downtown and got the SIN done in 40 mins.

We were in Vancouver for around a week before heading back to States. Overall, it was an amazingly straightforward experience.

Hi Piyaali, did you mention that you only do soft landing and tell them to stay for only a week?

 

[flame_twilight]

@Svanbavel1

Hi Svanbavel1,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I had a quick question. I'm planning to do a short landing in Vancouver (will be flying from San Francisco to Vancouver). Is it fine to give my friend's address who lives in Toronto? I do not know anyone in Vancouver/British Columbia. I'll be spending a day or two in Vancouver and will be flying back to US. Thanks in advance.

Guys, just want to follow up as I have the same situation.
Any problem about my landing in Vancouver but mail address for PR card in Toronto? Thank you.

 

[k.h.p.]

Guys, just want to follow up as I have the same situation.
Any problem about my landing in Vancouver but mail address for PR card in Toronto? Thank you.

Not usually.

 

[canuck78]

Guys, just want to follow up as I have the same situation.
Any problem about my landing in Vancouver but mail address for PR card in Toronto? Thank you.

No this is not uncommon.