matt332131 said:
I am a PR from visa exempt country currently waiting for my PR card. At this point I reside outside of Canada.
I have several job interviews lined up which are likely to force me to travel before I am able to receive my PR card.
Can I travel without my PR card? Given I am visa exempt I should not have a problem boarding the plane.
matt332131 said:
Hmmm
Officer at the border (during landing) told me that given I am PR from visa exempt country I should have no problem boarding the plane and in the worst case I will go to immigration and they will clear me...
matt332131 said:
But I do have ETA (which is valid for 5 years) from the time I travelled to Canada before becoming PR.
It is correct that the rules require a PR (with limited exceptions, such as for U.S. citizens) to present either a valid PR card or a PR Travel Document before being given authorization to board a flight to Canada.
It is also clear that a PR is not eligible for eTA, that only eligible Foreign Nationals may be given the electronic travel authorization, and PRs are not Foreign Nationals.
It is not clear, however, whether the eTA or IAPI system is programmed to automatically cancel a person's eTA upon that person becoming a PR, like it would cancel the eTA if a new eTA is issued. (My guess, but just a guess, is that it is not.)
Thus, whether or not your previously obtained eTA will allow you to use your visa-exempt passport to nonetheless board a flight to Canada is
NOT so clear.
I know of no procedure or regulation for cancelling eTA upon becoming a PR. It would make sense, of course, since PRs are not eligible for eTA. But the eTA and IAPI system (the IAPI system makes the determination as to a passenger's authorization to board a flight to Canada) works electronically (subject to manual override). How it is programmed to work controls, not common-sense. That is, regardless of what makes sense, what will happen to your existing eTA depends on whether electronic scripts will automatically terminate the existing eTA for you and the passport you used in obtaining eTA. (Again, my guess is no but again that is just a guess.)
The provisions for terminating an already granted eTA are limited, and otherwise the respective PDI instructions tend to be about cancellation pursuant to a manual assessment ("revalidation").
What is unknown is whether FOSS, GCMS, and the IAPI system are set up to process a PR landing transaction similarly to the issuance of a new electronic travel authorization to the individual. Basically, once issued, eTA remains valid for five years unless the passport expires sooner, a new electronic travel authorization is issued, or the eTA is cancelled. (This is Regulation 12.05 IRPA Regulations.)
The only provision (Regularion 12.06) governing cancellation authorizes an officer to cancel the eTA in two circumstances:
-- there is a determination the FN is inadmissible, or
-- there is a determination the FN should not be allowed to become a temporary resident
For the applicable regulations, see
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/page-4.html#docCont
The relevant Program Delivery Instructions can be found at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/eta/procedures.asp
Unfortunately these offer no definitive answer to your queries.
The
safe approach is to recognize that the rule requires presenting a PR card or PR TD, and thus either wait to get your PR card or be prepared to apply for and obtain a PR TD for a return flight to Canada. My guess is your eTA is still good, at least until the next time you arrive at a PoE at which point an officer is likely to recognize you used eTA to board the flight, but you are a PR not eligible for eTA, and thus (perhaps - whether this is what would happen is also unknown) manually initiate the procedure for terminating, that is cancelling, your eTA. But I am guessing without risk, and a guess is just a guess.
