To apply for my first PR card, I am staying 2 yrs continuously entering 2 yrs ago as a visitor. I am a landed immigrant from 1994 with landing papers and US passport. My mother is 91 and I would like to visit her in US asap. After my application is made, is it risky to travel to US while I'm waiting for PR approval for a month or two?How about travel on a holiday for a week? When I re-enter Canada Should I use US passport or landing paper with say copy of my PR application and supporting documents.
travel while waiting for PR CARD application approval
- Thread starter delray
- Start date
Present both your US ppt and landing paper. You should be ok though techncially you must have the 730 daysdiscussed verbatim at each residence determination. Each entry into Canada is de-facto presenting yourself for examination which should include a Residence Obligation review. To be 100 percent safe you need to add a buffer to cover the period of absence.
Thanks, as a landed immigrant since 1974 working in Canada for the first 20 yrs After an absenceI have been in Canada on and off for nearly 3 yrs out of the last 5 so I have a buffer when I re-enter with my record of landing and US passport. As I have a USpassport, I have traveled in and out by plane and declared upon entry into Canada that I was just visiting and i have never been questioned. This time I will be returning with enough residency requirement time, but I am still tempted to enter again as a visitor as I do not have my PR card as yet as I am sending in first application in April before I leave for the US and will be returning in June to await a decision or appointment to collect my card. If I tell them at the border I have applied for my card could I have any problem reentering? In my case should I enter by car rather than by plane? The residency obligation determination upon entry you mentioned sounds scary.
If you have at least 730 days of physical presence in the previous 5 years when re-entering then CBSA agent won't have any issues...presenting a valid PR Card puts the burden more on the CBSA agent though to admit you.delray said:Thanks, as a landed immigrant since 1974 working in Canada for the first 20 yrs After an absenceI have been in Canada on and off for nearly 3 yrs out of the last 5 so I have a buffer when I re-enter with my record of landing and US passport. As I have a USpassport, I have traveled in and out by plane and declared upon entry into Canada that I was just visiting and i have never been questioned. This time I will be returning with enough residency requirement time, but I am still tempted to enter again as a visitor as I do not have my PR card as yet as I am sending in first application in April before I leave for the US and will be returning in June to await a decision or appointment to collect my card. If I tell them at the border I have applied for my card could I have any problem reentering? In my case should I enter by car rather than by plane? The residency obligation determination upon entry you mentioned sounds scary.
The Residence Obligation (RO) review is not as strictly enforced at a port of entry as say a visa office at a Canadian Embassy for Travel Document applications...reason the CBSA agent doesn't have the time the visa officer has..he/she wants to clear you away from the Primary Line ASAP. If they have any issues you get sent to Secondary. With your 20 years in Canada you have a strong Humanitarian and Compassionate angle but its not a free pass to breach the RO.
From what you detail you should be ok at entry. Entry as a visitor will likely present more issues so go to the Residents line. Travel by the most convenient method - anectodal feedback is that CBSA agents at quiet land border crossings are more easy going.
You will be good - having a visitor exempt passport helps you get to the border easy then you can deal with the CBSA agent. Tell them you renewed your PR Card..they will see it on their system. Don't sweat it..good luck and let us know how it went. How many buffer days do you have? Also worth applying for Canadian Citizenship then you don't have to deal with the Residence Obligation situation.delray said:Thanks but I only have record of landing and US passport, having just applied for my first PR card. Will that be a problem? I can show a cpy of my application with all my supporting docs.
My bad...tell them its a first time application. Try get to 3 years in the last 4 years and apply for Citizenship...the longer you leave it the harder it will become depending on absences as you move out the 4 year window.delray said:but I'm not renewing PR card, I am applying for the first time. I've accumulated 2.5 yrs out of last 5
Finally decided to cross back into Canada by bus as I'm not much of a driver to rent a car. All my months of worry about getting interrogated and reported were unfounded. Just showed my Us passport, BC ID card and told them I was a PR and showed my landing paper,was never asked where was my PR card. Thanks Leon and Msafiri for all your encouragement and knowledgeable support. Now I can await my PR card application decision without feeling like a fugitive.Msafiri said:You will be good - having a visitor exempt passport helps you get to the border easy then you can deal with the CBSA agent. Tell them you renewed your PR Card..they will see it on their system. Don't sweat it..good luck and let us know how it went. How many buffer days do you have? Also worth applying for Canadian Citizenship then you don't have to deal with the Residence Obligation situation.
Welcome home and glad things worked out for you..perhaps for the benefit of others in a similar situation are you ok to detail more on your interaction with the CBSA border agent? What questions did he/she ask?delray said:Finally decided to cross back into Canada by bus as I'm not much of a driver to rent a car. All my months of worry about getting interrogated and reported were unfounded. Just showed my Us passport, BC ID card and told them I was a PR and showed my landing paper,was never asked where was my PR card. Thanks Leon and Msafiri for all your encouragement and knowledgeable support. Now I can await my PR card application decision without feeling like a fugitive.
I got on the quick shuttle in seattle to vancouver where the bus driver scans your passport before you board to speed up processing at the boarder. Was in a dilemma as to if I should enter as a visitor or a PR with landing paper and US passport as I had overstayed my last visit to attain PR obligation of 2yrs. Decided to go thru as a PR this time. Got off the bus with luggage and proceeded to customs with the other travelers. Handed my US passport and BC ID with customs form showing my Canada address to inspector. Inspector asked, are you a resident of Canada, what is your status. I replied I am a permanent resident and then I showed him my landing paper. He looked at my landing paper , then said go ahead. What a relief, he never even asked about my PR card!! Then I went back and asked him to stamp my US passport which I also did upon entering US at US customs when I last left Canada. I INTEND TO ASK FOR PASSPORT STAMPS FROM NOW ON TO HELP DOCUMENT MY PR OBLIGATION DAYS> I SUGGEST EVERYONE DO THIS!! Don't know if I was lucky or what, perhaps others can share their storiesMsafiri said:Welcome home and glad things worked out for you..perhaps for the benefit of others in a similar situation are you ok to detail more on your interaction with the CBSA border agent? What questions did he/she ask?