Urgent travel in Europe with PR card expired.

[supergnagno]

Hi,

I have to leave Canada in December for three weeks and my PR is expired. I am waiting to be scheduled for the oath ceremony and become citizen, but I don't think I will be able to get the Canadian passport in time for my travel. I do have my Italian passport to travel within the European Community, but I am not sure whether I will get in trouble with CSBA once back in Canada. Any suggestions? Can I come back with a Tourist visa than wait for the ceremony?

Many thanks.
S

 

[Bs65]

As a PR you will need either a PR card or a PRTD to board a plane back to Canada. There is no published processing time for a PRTD which can only be applied for from outside Canada. Also as a PR you cannot apply for an ETA which is for non PR visa exempts.

Without either your other option would be to get an ESTA travel to the US and cross the land border with your expired PR card. You may get some hassle / words from CBSA for having an expired card but as a PR you are entitled to enter Canada.

 

[supergnagno]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, crossing the border via car is not an option as I am travelling with wife and daughter directly to Vancouver.

What about applying for a tourist visa when I get to the YVR airport in Vancouver? After all, it's just an expired card, not an expired status.

Thanks.
S

 

[scylla]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, crossing the border via car is not an option as I am travelling with wife and daughter directly to Vancouver.

What about applying for a tourist visa when I get to the YVR airport in Vancouver? After all, it's just an expired card, not an expired status.

Thanks.
S

No - not possible. You don't qualify for a tourist visa as a PR.

Understand that your problem is not once you arrive in Canada, it's boarding the plane to get to Canada. The airline will not let you board your flight home without either a valid PR card or a valid PR Travel Document. You'll need to apply for a PRTD as soon as you arrive in Europe.

 

[Bs65]

Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, crossing the border via car is not an option as I am travelling with wife and daughter directly to Vancouver.

What about applying for a tourist visa when I get to the YVR airport in Vancouver? After all, it's just an expired card, not an expired status.

Thanks.
S

Regardless you as a PR cannot get a tourist visa and you also being an Italian passport holder are visa exempt so would need an ETA to board a plane which as a PR you also do not qualify for.

So your only options are apply for a PRTD as soon as you get to Europe and hope it arrives in time or fly back via Seattle. An expired card is not an issue once you get to Canada other than some possible verbal grief from CBSA but without a valid card or PRTD no boarding a plane that is destined for Canada.

Surprising there isn’t a debate on linking the PR status check that airlines do to a travellers passport as opposed to presenting a plastic card, similar if you like to an electronic visa, but guess that will come sometime in the future.


Note also tourist visas are not issued at the border even you could get one. As a PR once you get to a border crossing then as PR you would be entitled to enter whether you had an expired card or not.

 

[bellaluna]

I’ve read of PRTD processing in Italy taking a few business days; this is really your only option, OP, given your situation. You can try to include a kindly worded letter for timely processing, plus your return tickets, to ensure you get it within your 3-week stay.

 

[supergnagno]

Hi everybody,

thank you once again for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll try to apply for a PRTD once in Italy and hope to get the travel document in time.

Having said that,I have one more question for your gentle people: it's my understanding that I can actually cross the border once in Canada with my expired PR card; the problem would eventually come from the airline company when I try to board the flight back to Vancouver. If this is the case, I am wondering what would happen if I apply for the ETA and tell to the airline company in Italy that I am going to Canada as a tourist, waiting for my papers to be ready and then explain the whole situation at the CSBA agent once at YVR. After all, my father follows the exact same process when he comes to Canada for a visit and he's not a PR.

Thank you.
S

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi everybody,

thank you once again for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll try to apply for a PRTD once in Italy and hope to get the travel document in time.

Having said that,I have one more question for your gentle people: it's my understanding that I can actually cross the border once in Canada with my expired PR card; the problem would eventually come from the airline company when I try to board the flight back to Vancouver. If this is the case, I am wondering what would happen if I apply for the ETA and tell to the airline company in Italy that I am going to Canada as a tourist, waiting for my papers to be ready and then explain the whole situation at the CSBA agent once at YVR. After all, my father follows the exact same process when he comes to Canada for a visit and he's not a PR.

Thank you.
S

To apply for an eTA, you would have to lie to IRCC. Never a good idea. The eTA would then be refused anyways because the system will determine you are a PR. People who thought they had lost their PR status a decade ago have been refused eTAs because the system detected that they are still PRs.

 

[scylla]

Hi everybody,

thank you once again for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll try to apply for a PRTD once in Italy and hope to get the travel document in time.

Having said that,I have one more question for your gentle people: it's my understanding that I can actually cross the border once in Canada with my expired PR card; the problem would eventually come from the airline company when I try to board the flight back to Vancouver. If this is the case, I am wondering what would happen if I apply for the ETA and tell to the airline company in Italy that I am going to Canada as a tourist, waiting for my papers to be ready and then explain the whole situation at the CSBA agent once at YVR. After all, my father follows the exact same process when he comes to Canada for a visit and he's not a PR.

Thank you.
S

eTA will be automatically refused since you are a PR. Without an approved eTA you won't be able to board the plane. So not a feasible option. This works for your father because he's not a PR. Again, only option for boarding a flight to Canada is a valid PR card or valid PRTD. That's it.

 

[supergnagno]

Thank you all for your helpful advices. Cheers