You really helped me to take that plane (from Helsinki) and try the impossible! Thank you so much, you made my day!!
SP approved @ POE (US Citizen)
- Thread starter resilientflora
- Start date
Hey there congrats to the two of you that managed to get in.
I was wondering if you guys dont mind sharing what sort of documents the airlines asked about to let you board, as well as if the border officers needed alot of convincing that your travel was essential and what they asked for/ why you were applying at the POE.
I'm a US citizen and would be travelling by air directly from the states. I have an AIP, and could show like a 3 week hotel reservation to quarantine , as well as a travel support letter from my school. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks.
I was wondering if you guys dont mind sharing what sort of documents the airlines asked about to let you board, as well as if the border officers needed alot of convincing that your travel was essential and what they asked for/ why you were applying at the POE.
I'm a US citizen and would be travelling by air directly from the states. I have an AIP, and could show like a 3 week hotel reservation to quarantine , as well as a travel support letter from my school. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks.
Hey there. What does your “letter of support” look like? Does it explicitly state that your presence is mandatory?
To answer your questions: I came very prepared for any questioning from the airlines, but they mostly just wanted to know how I intended to get across (answer: I was applying for a POE study permit at the border), what my quarantine plan was (yours would be the hotel reservation + any info you can share about how you will get to said hotel), and how I was going to apply (there is very vague wording on the CIC site stating that US applicants are considered exempt from travel restrictions if they have a non-discretionary reason to be in Canada (answer: physical presence needed for your program). Just be confident and if you can, bring a nice folder with all your print outs of stuff (I believe there are some good document checklists for POE applications for non covid times - use those to figure out what to take with you and add quarantine plan to the list)
The border officer was a whole other situation. That took more convincing, but he just asked me a couple of questions, mostly centered on why i needed to be on campus (none of my classes were in person, but I have an internship that is mandatory for funding that I need to be in person for - plus my program is related to music which can’t be done via zoom live due to lag). So depending on what info you have to support your claim of non-discretionary travel, this part may be more or less chill.
They don’t ask you why you’re applying. POE applications are open for US travelers right now, so it’s not a matter of can you or can’t you. Let them know first thing that you have an AIP (print out the email if you can), and bring all your paperwork printed out (again, in a folder - i think it makes a difference to be organized because you’ll feel more confident once they start questioning you).
Hope this helps! I also flew in and took three different planes to get there (I guess because less planes were flying at the time) and only got really questioned on my last plane going directly to Toronto. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Hey there,
Thanks a ton for responding so quickly.
The letter pretty much just states that classes are in fact only being offered only in person/in a hybrid format so that my presence would in fact be mandatory, so i hope that would sort of solve the whole non discretionary part of things. Dont have to tell me twice about how vague the CIC site is for US applicants hahaha literally just says "travelling directing from the US", although i did notice that now there is specifically a section that mentions about applying at the POE and that it generally is discouraged but definitely is possible.
Thanks for all the help and answering my questions, think im gonna try my luck sometime next month! Also hope classes are going well for you and take care
!!
Thanks a ton for responding so quickly.
The letter pretty much just states that classes are in fact only being offered only in person/in a hybrid format so that my presence would in fact be mandatory, so i hope that would sort of solve the whole non discretionary part of things. Dont have to tell me twice about how vague the CIC site is for US applicants hahaha literally just says "travelling directing from the US", although i did notice that now there is specifically a section that mentions about applying at the POE and that it generally is discouraged but definitely is possible.
Thanks for all the help and answering my questions, think im gonna try my luck sometime next month! Also hope classes are going well for you and take care
!!As far as i know you either would need a approved study permit regardless of when it was approved or be a US Permanent Resident/US Citizen to be able to apply for one at the POE.
Hi!
I did not have my student permit at POE. I only had the AIP letter, the documents that show that I had in-person classes, and my apartment lease where I live. The letter was issued by the school and said that was necessary that I had to be in the lab at school
I crossed the ground border at La Colle in NY/Quebec border. It took about one hour and half the whole waiting process. Not as quick as in-flight experiences. They asked me a lot of questions regarding my program, where I was living, my previous experience in Montreal (I was living there before).
I think you should be a US citizen to be able to get the POE student permit and enter the country. Be sure you have that letter on hand and all the quarantine plans.
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