Waiting for PR Card after landing - add your case here

[Goku]

Hey Guys,

those who already received PR card, what kind of mail it is sent via? the reason I am asking is because I am doing a mail forwarding service, as I am relocating, and I want to make sure
the kind of mail I receive PR card via is included in the mail forwarding service.

is it a letter? canada post? some other private mailing company? requires signature? what if you were not home? all information would be useful.

It comes visa regular post and it has below sign on it

It is not a registered mail, its a regular mail. They will just drop it off in your mail box.

 

[spaceexp]

Hey Guys,

those who already received PR card, what kind of mail it is sent via? the reason I am asking is because I am doing a mail forwarding service, as I am relocating, and I want to make sure
the kind of mail I receive PR card via is included in the mail forwarding service.

is it a letter? canada post? some other private mailing company? requires signature? what if you were not home? all information would be useful.

They send it via regular canada post mail, "lovingly" called snail mail by most applicants. Some people reported that the envelope says "no forwarding" or something like that, so maybe you should check with them (I didn't really pay attention to the envelope when I got mine). It doesn't require a signature, though.

 

[C_Survival]

oh darn .. the no forward sign is a bummer

 

[spaceexp]

Could you please offer some evidence as to back up point 1?

I had a really nice reply, then the forum stopped working, so I will do a brief one now: go ahead a gamble, but my experience with CIC and this forum was why I wrote what I wrote.

I will first say that the term permanent resident inherently means you LIVE in Canada PERMANENTLY.

You can check these links:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

I will point out a few things from the first link:
A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident. - It can be argued that if you just land and then leave soon after you were in Canada only temporarily.

When you are a permanent resident, you can live outside of Canada, but must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. If you live outside of Canada for longer, you may lose your permanent resident status. - It seems like you can just leave and stay out of Canada as long as you want, if you can gather those 2 years. BUT, when I was landing the officer actually suggested that I travel with my husband, because in that case that time counts in PR requirement. Usual vacation for Canadians is 2-4 weeks, and most people will not recommend you to stay outside of Canada for more than that, at least in the beginning.

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically. You cannot lose your permanent resident status simply by living outside of Canada long enough that you don't meet the residency requirement. Unless you have gone through an official process, you have not lost or given up your permanent resident status, even though you may not be eligible to return to Canada as a permanent resident.
You may lose your permanent resident status if:
An adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry
A visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document. - This shows that they can actually refuse you to enter Canada as a resident and then you will have to legally prove that you still meet the permanent resident requirements.

I am aware that none of these directly prove my point, but if you read between the lines and search through the forum you will see that I am right to be cautious. I neither win or lose anything by telling you not to do what you have planned, I am just sharing my experience and/or knowledge. You should be aware that CIC will never give clear directions when it comes to things like this, because then people would know what to avoid, and they want to be able to "catch" people that are bending the rules. Just the point that another forum member told you not to do what you have planned at the same time I did should make you think. Some people from USA did exactly what you want, but that doesn't mean it is safe to do it.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[traxton]

Just spoke to a CIC agent on the status of my PR Card processing since I am right at 76 calendar days past the day I landed. She was F*CKING RUDE and refused to even go into my profile to check the status, instead giving me some bullsh*t that since I called in to change my address after I landed, the 76 calendar days is only counted FROM THE DAY I CHANGED MY ADDRESS. When I pressed on further that I do not know when my address was updated and I would like her to check my file to see when it was changed, she said IT IS NOT ALLOWED for her to go in my profile.

Then why was it that all the other agents that I have been calling every week prior were able to look into my profile? Stop sprouting LIES, you f*cking lazy b*tch.

 

[C_Survival]

There is no need to insult her! she is just doing her job. if you are 100% sure she is not telling the right thing, she might be on training, or might simply just don't know.

relax, and call again later to speak to a different agent!!!

 

[traxton]

There is no need to insult her! she is just doing her job. if you are 100% sure she is not telling the right thing, she might be on training, or might simply just don't know.

relax, and call again later to speak to a different agent!!!

Oh trust me I was as polite as I could on the phone but she kept brushing me off and refused to go into my profile, instead giving me standard, template answers. If she doesn't know, then refer me to another agent who does.

And try waiting for 76 days and counting with ZERO news about the status of your PR card application. Especially since when I landed, the processing time was only 40+ days but it has ballooned to what it is now.

UPDATE: I got connected to another agent who was POLITE and the moment he answered, asked for my UCI number and checked my profile immediately after. PR Card still processing, was asked to check back end of the week. But that's fine, that's all I wanted to know anyway. And this concludes that the first agent was LYING. As I said I call CIC all the time ever since I applied for PR and CIC call center agents are supposed to access our file to give us updates - that's their JOB. Don't f*cking lie and say you are not allowed to access our profiles. I really should have recorded her name and submit a complaint.

 

[irnbru16]

I did my landing on 15th of May 2015. Any idea when i will be getting it?

 

[loyal1234]

What was the outcome? Have they mailed your card?

Oh trust me I was as polite as I could on the phone but she kept brushing me off and refused to go into my profile, instead giving me standard, template answers. If she doesn't know, then refer me to another agent who does.

And try waiting for 76 days and counting with ZERO news about the status of your PR card application. Especially since when I landed, the processing time was only 40+ days but it has ballooned to what it is now.

UPDATE: I got connected to another agent who was POLITE and the moment he answered, asked for my UCI number and checked my profile immediately after. PR Card still processing, was asked to check back end of the week. But that's fine, that's all I wanted to know anyway. And this concludes that the first agent was LYING. As I said I call CIC all the time ever since I applied for PR and CIC call center agents are supposed to access our file to give us updates - that's their JOB. Don't f*cking lie and say you are not allowed to access our profiles. I really should have recorded her name and submit a complaint.

 

[sk13]

I did my landing on 15th of May 2015. Any idea when i will be getting it?

People who landed in April 1st week are getting cards now. So you may get it after another 4 to 5 weeks. Good luck!

 

[spaceexp]

Oh trust me I was as polite as I could on the phone but she kept brushing me off and refused to go into my profile, instead giving me standard, template answers. If she doesn't know, then refer me to another agent who does.

And try waiting for 76 days and counting with ZERO news about the status of your PR card application. Especially since when I landed, the processing time was only 40+ days but it has ballooned to what it is now.

UPDATE: I got connected to another agent who was POLITE and the moment he answered, asked for my UCI number and checked my profile immediately after. PR Card still processing, was asked to check back end of the week. But that's fine, that's all I wanted to know anyway. And this concludes that the first agent was LYING. As I said I call CIC all the time ever since I applied for PR and CIC call center agents are supposed to access our file to give us updates - that's their JOB. Don't f*cking lie and say you are not allowed to access our profiles. I really should have recorded her name and submit a complaint.

You can always ask for their name or the ticket number, since all of the calls are recorded. I asked once, and boy did they change the way they were talking to me.

 

[traxton]

What was the outcome? Have they mailed your card?

Nope, I was asked to check back again end of this week.

You can always ask for their name or the ticket number, since all of the calls are recorded. I asked once, and boy did they change the way they were talking to me.

I'll let it slide this time since I got an agent the second time round who bothered to DO HIS JOB and check my profile. But just a word of advice for all of y'all on how to deal with incompetent and rude CIC call center agents who are NOT doing their jobs and merely read scripted templates... If these agents attend to you and you sense they ain't helping you at all, quickly end the call and call again.

 

[yd7210a]

To everyone who's concerned about their PR card still in progress...

I was just as worried when I found that I wouldn't be able to get my PR card for my trip to Europe. I landed on April 22nd, and thought my PR card should be arriving in the first week of June, where there's one more week before my scheduled flight to Europe. As it turned out, after two weeks being in Europe, and it is still not here!

So here's my recent story (June 2015) of getting back from overseas without my PR card and holding a passport that is not from any visa-exempt country - I hold a Chinese passport. I have a student visa to begin with (valid till August this year), and when I was flying from Athens to Paris and Paris back to YVR, there are two check points that I was asked about my status in Canada. Like many of you mentioned here, the problem is not with the Canadian boarder, because you have the RIGHT to enter Canada when you are a Canadian PR, and the boarder officers know it. Heck, they should be able to find your information in their system anyway if they don't believe your landing confirmation paper. The only problem is with the airline, who because they have no way of verifying your status in Canada, would not gamble to take you on the plane and risk having to ship you out of Canada if the Canadian boarder do not admit you. So when the airline company people asked me in Athens to find my visa, I showed them my student visa, which is of course invalid, and my study permit was taken off by the boarder officer when I landed. They were ok with that. Then in Paris, when they checked again before I board the plane, they flipped through my passport, and found that I have the PR confirmation paper. So they asked if I have my PR card, to which I simply replied "no... because they just haven't sent it to me." It may be pure luck, but the airline boarding people just laughed and let me on. Back in YVR, I lined up in the PR line, and asked the information people where to go if I don't have my PR card yet. They simply direct to another line - quite possibly for people coming to land - and the boarder officer just let me through after I mentioned I haven't received my PR card, so I have to go through an agent checkpoint.

My point is, as long as you still have a Canadian visa that is shown to be valid (even though it may not be since you've already landed), I would think it is a safe bet for you to get on a flight and back. There is of course certain risk in doing that, and different airline may have different policies (I flew with Air France), but there is really no consequence in telling the airline one way or another how you're going to get admitted into Canada. Once you're at the Canadian boarder, you can relax a bit, because worst comes to worst, they question you for some time, but you know you will be let in as it is a RIGHT that you've earned as a PR, not a privilege. The boarder officers do not seem to care one way or another, and with the growing processing time non-sense for PR card, I believe many of them would understand it. For example, I drove to the US for gas every month, and they kept asking if I have my PR card. A few days ago when I drove south of the boarder for some letters. On my way back, one boarder officer finally said "You should probably give them a call to see what's going on after over 2 months, just to be sure they don't send it to the wrong address." And when I told him about the processing time, he stuck his tongue out and made a face... So yea, always remember, Canadians are polite, understanding, and easier to deal with - one of the many reasons I want to immigrate to Canada to begin with.

 

[tritu]

Interesting, cuz my study permit is still attached in the passport

To everyone who's concerned about their PR card still in progress...

I was just as worried when I found that I wouldn't be able to get my PR card for my trip to Europe. I landed on April 22nd, and thought my PR card should be arriving in the first week of June, where there's one more week before my scheduled flight to Europe. As it turned out, after two weeks being in Europe, and it is still not here!

So here's my recent story (June 2015) of getting back from overseas without my PR card and holding a passport that is not from any visa-exempt country - I hold a Chinese passport. I have a student visa to begin with (valid till August this year), and when I was flying from Athens to Paris and Paris back to YVR, there are two check points that I was asked about my status in Canada. Like many of you mentioned here, the problem is not with the Canadian boarder, because you have the RIGHT to enter Canada when you are a Canadian PR, and the boarder officers know it. Heck, they should be able to find your information in their system anyway if they don't believe your landing confirmation paper. The only problem is with the airline, who because they have no way of verifying your status in Canada, would not gamble to take you on the plane and risk having to ship you out of Canada if the Canadian boarder do not admit you. So when the airline company people asked me in Athens to find my visa, I showed them my student visa, which is of course invalid, and my study permit was taken off by the boarder officer when I landed. They were ok with that. Then in Paris, when they checked again before I board the plane, they flipped through my passport, and found that I have the PR confirmation paper. So they asked if I have my PR card, to which I simply replied "no... because they just haven't sent it to me." It may be pure luck, but the airline boarding people just laughed and let me on. Back in YVR, I lined up in the PR line, and asked the information people where to go if I don't have my PR card yet. They simply direct to another line - quite possibly for people coming to land - and the boarder officer just let me through after I mentioned I haven't received my PR card, so I have to go through an agent checkpoint.

My point is, as long as you still have a Canadian visa that is shown to be valid (even though it may not be since you've already landed), I would think it is a safe bet for you to get on a flight and back. There is of course certain risk in doing that, and different airline may have different policies (I flew with Air France), but there is really no consequence in telling the airline one way or another how you're going to get admitted into Canada. Once you're at the Canadian boarder, you can relax a bit, because worst comes to worst, they question you for some time, but you know you will be let in as it is a RIGHT that you've earned as a PR, not a privilege. The boarder officers do not seem to care one way or another, and with the growing processing time non-sense for PR card, I believe many of them would understand it. For example, I drove to the US for gas every month, and they kept asking if I have my PR card. A few days ago when I drove south of the boarder for some letters. On my way back, one boarder officer finally said "You should probably give them a call to see what's going on after over 2 months, just to be sure they don't send it to the wrong address." And when I told him about the processing time, he stuck his tongue out and made a face... So yea, always remember, Canadians are polite, understanding, and easier to deal with - one of the many reasons I want to immigrate to Canada to begin with.

 

[hahamylove]

Adding my case here. Landed mid June in AB.