Travel to canada on road with US green card - also has canada green card

[hanmanthr]

In 2005, I received my canadian green card. I never stayed in canada after landing there to get my GC (had the gc mailed to me ). I got my U.S. green card in 2007 where I currently live. Now I need to go to Canada for a weekend trip. I am planning to just show my U.S. green card as my canadian GC is no longer valid since I did not fullfil my residency requirement. However, I have not renounced the GC.

1) Is it legal to just show the U.S. green card, and not the canadian green card to begin with?

2) I am assuming they will ask me if I ever entered Canada before, to which I will have to answer Yes. Once I say Yes, what can happen? Can they give me trouble for not staying in Canada and not renouncing the GC?

3) Should I renounce the GC at this point? If so, how long that process takes? Or can I ask them to do that at the border?

Any additional considerations/precautions I should take before going there?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Leon]

If they see in their records that you are a PR, they might tell you that you should renounce your PR card but there is no particular process for that. Immigration officers can report you for not meeting the residency requirements but they don't seem to use that option very often. You can tell them if they want to report you, that is fine, you will not appeal it. Your PR card is expired anyway but if you want to give it to them, you could.

If you get home later and decide that you do want to renounce your PR card to avoid problems at the border in the future, you can write to the Canadian embassy in the US requesting a travel document to return to Canada. Application form here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/travel.asp Just write on it that you don't actually want to return to Canada, you just want them to verify that you have lost your PR status.

 

[hanmanthr]

Thanks Leon.