Hello
@Miss bee . I hope you are doing well and thank you in advance for your response.
I have a query about declaring our flagpoling experience in our pr application.
1. When I submitted our pr app, we answered “yes” to the question “Have you ever been refused admission to, or ordered to leave, any country or territory?”
— we have flagpoled my husband’s new open work permit in January 2024. I only accompanied him and he is my dependent as I already got my PGWP. We were given the usual administrative refusal at the US border and was sent back. He then got his work permit at Canadian Port entry successfully.
Did we do the right thing by answering “yes” to this question to disclose the flagpoling? Was it considered a refusal and should be disclosed in this part?
2. Our current PR status is now on background check and we already passed the medical too. Recently, we got an ADR for Schedule A IMM 5669 and Travel History form..
Is it right to keep our answer “yes” to this question
“Have you ever been refused admission to, or ordered to leave, any country or territory?” when we complete the IMM 5669 form again or change it to no? I am not really sure about the refusal. Would that impact our app?
3. We forgot to include the flagpoling date in our Travel history when we submitted our application. Should we include it now with the ADR of travel history we just received?
4. We do not have a US visa. When I click the “?” in the tab Travel History for this ADR, it says:
Document: Travel History
You must provide information on your valid visa from the United States as well as previous travel history. This can include copies of
- your previous passports and/or visas (used within the last 10 years to travel outside your country)
- entry and exit stamps
- study and/or work permits that indicate your duration outside of your country
- expired or valid visas
- boarding passes
If you hold a valid visa from the United States, provide a clear, scanned copy of your visa. If you are living outside your country of citizenship, please submit a copy of your immigration status document for the country where you currently reside. This could be a work permit, study permit, visa, or any other document that authorizes you to be in the country where you are living.
—However, we do not have a US visa when we did the flagpoling. What documents should we attach in this case?
5. Also, In the travel history form, should we include the layovers we had from Canada back to our home country?
6. Lastly, Are the ADRs we received are for the flagpoling we did in 2024? Is this something to worry about? I am worried with the right documentation to provide along the requested forms.
Thank you again
@Miss bee and looking forward to reading your helpful insight.
1. Did you do the right thing by answering “Yes” to the refusal question?
Yes, you did the right thing.
When you attempted to flagpole and were not allowed to enter the U.S. (even for flagpoling), this is generally treated as a refusal of admission. Even though it is a standard administrative refusal (not something serious), IRCC expects this to be disclosed under the question:
“Have you ever been refused admission to, or ordered to leave, any country or territory?”
Flagpoling refusals at the U.S. border are common, and immigration officers are well aware of them. It’s good that you were honest — with PR, full transparency is always safer.
2. Should you continue to answer “Yes” on IMM 5669 when resubmitting?
Yes, keep your answer as “Yes”.
If you already disclosed this once, continue to keep it consistent. Changing your answer now to “No” can raise a red flag because IRCC compares all your declarations over time. Even if it seems minor, inconsistency is a bigger problem than admitting a benign refusal.
On IMM 5669, under Section 6 – Personal History, explain clearly:
“Refused entry to the United States on [Date] during flagpoling attempt for Canadian work permit. Administrative refusal only, not detained or banned. Successfully re-entered Canada and obtained work permit the same day.”
This language is clear and non-alarming.
3. Should you now include the flagpoling date in the Travel History form?
Yes, absolutely include it now.
Travel History forms should include all international travel, even same-day re-entries like flagpoling. This omission is not fatal, but now that you’ve received an ADR for Travel History, you must correct this by including the exact date and details of:
- Exit from Canada to the U.S. border
- Immediate re-entry to Canada
Sample entry:
- From: 2024-01-15
- To: 2024-01-15
- Location: U.S. border (Flagpoling)
- Purpose: Flagpoling for work permit issuance
- Documents: Administrative refusal by U.S. CBP, Canadian Work Permit issued
4. What documents to attach if you don’t have a U.S. visa?
If you don’t have a U.S. visa and never entered the U.S., you’re not expected to provide a U.S. visa. That section applies only if you hold or held one.
In your cover letter or explanation for ADR, clearly state
“We do not hold a U.S. visa. The U.S. refusal was administrative at the land border during flagpoling; we were not admitted into the U.S. and returned immediately to Canada.”
You should attach the following supporting documents instead:
- The work permit issued at the border
- A brief LOE (Letter of Explanation)
- CBSA entry stamp, if available, showing your re-entry to Canada
- Any document you received from U.S. CBP (if any
If there’s no official U.S. document, just explain it clearly. They know flagpoling often doesn’t produce formal U.S. paperwork
5. Should you include layovers in your Travel History?
Yes, but only if you cleared immigration.
If you had layovers where you went through customs/immigration, then yes, include those. For example, if your flight stopped in Frankfurt and you entered Germany, list it.
But if you stayed in the transit zone (i.e., never entered the country), you can skip listing that stop in Travel History.
Rule of thumb: Only list places where you were admitted into the country, even briefly.
6. Are these ADRs related to the flagpoling? Should you worry?
Yes, these ADRs are most likely triggered by the omission/inconsistency related to your U.S. refusal and travel history (flagpoling). But this is not something to panic about.
IRCC sends ADRs to clarify missing or inconsistent information. It’s a normal part of processing, especially during the background check stage. What matters is:
Responding accurately
- Explaining clearly
- Staying consistent with earlier response
As long as you now fully explain the flagpoling event, include it in your travel history, and provide whatever supporting documents you can — your application should be fine.
