Travel Document Question

[cinc]

Hello,

My husband has been granted his permanent residency but we do not plan to permanently land until July 2014 due to school and work contracts. However, we want to visit Canada for three weeks this Christmas. He went to pick up his passport today and was told it was a big hassle and to not go. We have plane tickets, etc., in place (I was not expecting the Visa to be granted so quickly). He has a multiple-entry visa, which is what we were planning on using for the trip but they said that's void now that he has the PR Visa paperwork.

My question is- Is there any solution to this? Should he apply for a travel document to enter Canada in December, Return to Colombia in January and then move to Canada in July? Is this how a travel document works? I'd really appreciate any advice you might have. Thank you!

 

[Heppster]

Hello,

My husband has been granted his permanent residency but we do not plan to permanently land until July 2014 due to school and work contracts. However, we want to visit Canada for three weeks this Christmas. He went to pick up his passport today and was told it was a big hassle and to not go. We have plane tickets, etc., in place (I was not expecting the Visa to be granted so quickly). He has a multiple-entry visa, which is what we were planning on using for the trip but they said that's void now that he has the PR Visa paperwork.

My question is- Is there any solution to this? Should he apply for a travel document to enter Canada in December, Return to Colombia in January and then move to Canada in July? Is this how a travel document works? I'd really appreciate any advice you might have. Thank you!

Hello,
If you are planning a trip to Canada in December for 3 weeks, you could go and use your permanent resident visa to enter Canada on that occasion. The Travel Document is only for Permanent Residents and if you do not do your landing until June 2014, your Husband would not Officially be a PR. It is better to land as soon as you can because the visa is only valid until the expiry of the medical exam or passport, whichever is first. If you do in fact Land in December, do you have a Canadian Mailing address that your Husbands Permanent Resident Card can be mailed? If so, I suggest doing the landing in Canada in December during your "Visit" and then go back to Colombia after your holiday. The current Processing times for the Permanent Resident Card is 70 Days and so this way, when you get back to Canada in July, the Card would be waiting for you.
Doing it this way still means that you need to get the Travel Document. Here is the Link to the Application form. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/travel.asp. You need to apply for the Travel Document at the VAC in Bogota. Take a look at the document checklist of all the forms you would need to fill out. It seems to be a bit of a headache, but doable.

The only way you can avoid getting the Travel Document is to stay in Canada until you get the PR Card, or the more risky option of getting someone Mail the PR Card to Colombia for you. If you did this, I would recommend some sort of registered mail.

I hope this helps,

Heppster.

 

[Heppster]

I should add that I have done a fair amount of research for this for my own case. We want to travel to Brazil for the World Cup in July 2013, but according to our timeline, we should expect our PR anytime from April - June. If this is the case then we would travel out of Canada before we would receive the PR Card, and then our only option is to get the Travel Document In Brazil so we can return.
We are hoping that everything happens faster than that so that we can avoid this step as I am about done filling out Immigration forms at the moment.

 

[cinc]

Hi Heppster,
Thanks for your response. We can only be in Canada for three weeks, which wouldn't be enough time to get the PR card and the Embassy here told my husband he would have to show up in person in Canada before getting the card. I worry that with the holidays in there that would be impossible. I guess we just try for the travel document and hope for the best. Thanks again and good luck with your time line!

 

[cdnmom]

Hello,

My husband has been granted his permanent residency but we do not plan to permanently land until July 2014 due to school and work contracts. However, we want to visit Canada for three weeks this Christmas. He went to pick up his passport today and was told it was a big hassle and to not go. We have plane tickets, etc., in place (I was not expecting the Visa to be granted so quickly). He has a multiple-entry visa, which is what we were planning on using for the trip but they said that's void now that he has the PR Visa paperwork.

My question is- Is there any solution to this? Should he apply for a travel document to enter Canada in December, Return to Colombia in January and then move to Canada in July? Is this how a travel document works? I'd really appreciate any advice you might have. Thank you!

When you travel to Canada for Christmas are you staying with family?
He can land in December when you come and as long as the PR card can be mailed to a Canadian address... they can forward the PR card to you in Colombia so he has it when you make the permanent move.

Good luck

 

[cinc]

Cdnmom-There seems to be a chance he would have to show up in person at an office for the PR card from what I've read. Is it "legal" to mail a PR card? We will be staying with family. Thanks.

 

[cdnmom]

Cdnmom-There seems to be a chance he would have to show up in person at an office for the PR card from what I've read. Is it "legal" to mail a PR card? We will be staying with family. Thanks.

No... they mail the PR card to you at a Canadian address
So if you have family in Canada then the card can be mailed to that address
Once received they can forward to you in Colombia and he can re-enter Canada as a PR with the card

 

[cinc]

Thank you!

 

[Heppster]

Thank you!

CINC,

I Strongly believe that you will be unsuccessful with the application for the Travel Document because one of the Requirements is the Record of Landing which you would not have at that time. I Honestly believe that if you want to go to Canada during December, that you should do your Landing then. This would be the safest option. If you read the "What Happens Next" on the Spousal Sponsorship Guide, it says,

"The Permanent Resident Card

All new permanent residents will be issued a card as part of the process. Cards will be mailed to your home address soon after you become a permanent resident. For more information on the Permanent Resident Card, visit our website."

Here it does not state that you need to go anywhere in order to get the Card as you are allowed to Travel out of the Country as you wish after you do your landing provided that you can still meet the Residency Obligation when you choose to return to Canada.

Cdnmom is right. If you have family or a place to have the card mailed to the Canadian Mailing address, then they can forward it to you so that you will NOT need to apply for the Travel Document. This option would require less headaches and paperwork.

Your alternative is that your family or whoever is at the Canadian Mailing Address do NOT mail the PR Card to you in Colombia, and you apply for the Travel Document in July when you plan on making the actual move. But like I said before, if you chose this option, make sure that you can have all the required documents on the checklist.

These are really your only two options because, if you do apply for the Travel Document before you Land, it will make things look strange to the VO. In the end it is your decision, but do please take what myself and cdnmom have to say into consideration. It would save you trouble.

 

[Rob_TO]

Cdnmom-There seems to be a chance he would have to show up in person at an office for the PR card from what I've read. Is it "legal" to mail a PR card? We will be staying with family. Thanks.

Confirmed that you do NOT have to show up in person for a PR card. All of them are simply mailed.

As for legality, I don't think this matters as the post office wouldn't even know what you're sending. Just wrap the PR card in a smaller card/envelope, and ship it as a regular letter via FedEx, Purolator, etc, with tracking information. The biggest fear would be having the card get lost in transit, so don't cheap out on the delivery method!

 

[cinc]

Hello,
I was just told by an immigration office in Canada that it would infact be illegal to send a PR card in the mail. Might not get caught, but certainly don't want to risk it. I was also told we could apply for a travel document before departure, which I don't quite understand as he hasn't landed yet but guess it's worth a try.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hello,
I was just told by an immigration office in Canada that it would infact be illegal to send a PR card in the mail. Might not get caught, but certainly don't want to risk it. I was also told we could apply for a travel document before departure, which I don't quite understand as he hasn't landed yet but guess it's worth a try.

As far as I know the only "law" against this comes from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 55. This states:
55. A permanent resident card shall only be provided or issued in Canada
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2002-227/page-20.html#h-26

So since the card is mailed first to a Canadian address it is always "issued" in Canada. What someone does after though is up to interpretation. Having a family member mail the card overseas afterwards is no longer the initial providing of or issuing of the card, so it wouldn't really fall under this. Plus it's not like anyone would ever find out if you sent it via FedEx or Purolator or something.

Someone can correct here if i'm wrong, but I don't think there has ever been a case in history where someone went to jail, had their PR status revoked or even had to pay a fine... due to "illegally" mailing the PR card.