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How does one re-enter Canada without passport

joseph18

Star Member
Apr 30, 2016
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success2016 said:
If one leaves the country after getting citizenship without getting a passport how would one re enter Canada?
Use your current passport from your country of origin and your PR card. If those are not valid, then apply for a Canadian passport first before you leave the country. You can apply for a passport 48 hours after your oath and you can have it expedited and pick it up at a passport office 24 ours after. You have to pay extra of course.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,906
20,524
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
joseph18 said:
Use your current passport from your country of origin and your PR card. If those are not valid, then apply for a Canadian passport first before you leave the country. You can apply for a passport 48 hours after your oath and you can have it expedited and pick it up at a passport office 24 ours after. You have to pay extra of course.
PR card is taken away at the citizenship oath ceremony.
 

frege

Hero Member
Jun 13, 2012
953
29
Category........
Visa Office......
Paris
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-05-2012
AOR Received.
none
File Transfer...
01-08-2012
Med's Done....
02-12-2011
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
28-11-2012 (copy only)
VISA ISSUED...
05-12-2012
LANDED..........
15-12-2012
success2016 said:
If one leaves the country after getting citizenship without getting a passport how would one re enter Canada?
If you are from a visa-exempt country, then you can enter with your other passport and any proof of Canadian citizenship (though the last part is probably not strictly necessary). However, apart from Americans and a few other limited exceptions, starting soon visa-exempt nationals will need an eTA to fly into Canada. At that point, because Canadian citizens are ineligible for an eTA, the only option for a dual Canadian/foreign citizen to enter Canada without a Canadian passport will be via a land border crossing with the U.S.
 

success2016

Full Member
Jul 13, 2016
41
0
Am I able to get a travel document in this case from the country I will be in? Or apply for the passport from the country I'm in?
 

frege

Hero Member
Jun 13, 2012
953
29
Category........
Visa Office......
Paris
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-05-2012
AOR Received.
none
File Transfer...
01-08-2012
Med's Done....
02-12-2011
Interview........
none
Passport Req..
28-11-2012 (copy only)
VISA ISSUED...
05-12-2012
LANDED..........
15-12-2012
success2016 said:
Am I able to get a travel document in this case from the country I will be in? Or apply for the passport from the country I'm in?
You can apply for a passport in the foreign country you're in. If you want fast service you may have to travel to an embassy or consulate. Look at the embassy's website to get an idea of processing times.
 

links18

Champion Member
Feb 1, 2006
2,009
128
scylla said:
PR card is taken away at the citizenship oath ceremony.
And even if it wasn't for some reason, using it to enter the country when you are no longer a PR would be misrepresenting yourself to CBSA and potential for a rough day at customs.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,906
20,524
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
frege said:
I don't think so. If he says, "I've become a citizen, but here is my old PR card," that's not misrepresentation. It could be used for identification purposes.
Once again, PR card is taken away at the oath ceremony.
 

ranasahib

Star Member
Oct 6, 2010
92
17
App. Filed.......
June 2016
scylla said:
Once again, PR card is taken away at the oath ceremony.
its very simple just contact to Canadian embassy and explain your situation and they will issue you emergency travel documents.
people who lost there passport or immigration document outside Canada just contact Canadian embassy and they always have emergency help line to help Canadian outside of Canada.
 

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,281
3,040
success2016 said:
If one leaves the country after getting citizenship without getting a passport how would one re enter Canada?
Short answer:

A Canadian citizen should have NO problem entering Canada. No particular documents necessary. Formal identity documents should suffice.




Longer clarification:

To be clear: a Canadian citizen, whether a citizen for life or a brand-new citizen, is entitled to enter Canada. This is a much stronger entitlement than the statutory entitlement PRs have to enter Canada. This is a right prescribed by the Charter of Rights.

Thus, no particular documents are necessary.

Even a citizen with no formal identity documents should nonetheless eventually be allowed to enter, albeit the PoE authorities will detain the individual until they have investigated the individual's identity sufficiently to verify identity and status.

In particular, depending on how convincing the citizen's identity documents are, the PoE screening may be relatively perfunctory or, as noted, the individual may have to wait and depending on background and such, what the individual does have to document identity, perhaps have to wait a long while (probably in an informal sort of detained mode, not locked in a cell but required to stay and wait for the outcome of inquiries).



Most of the above discussion appears to be about how to board commercial transportation destined for Canada.

A citizen's entry to Canada is by right, as granted by the Charter.

To obtain actual entry into Canada, of course the citizen abroad must somehow travel to a PoE. If the citizen has private means to reach a PoE, no particular documents are necessary.

If the citizen needs to use commercial transportation to reach Canada, like flying on an airline, that is what invokes the document requirements discussed above.

A dual citizen with a visa-exempt passport will be allowed to board a flight to Canada until September 29, 2016. See info posted by IRCC at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.asp

A Canadian citizen otherwise would ordinarily have to do what ranasahib suggested, which is to obtain a special Travel Document from an embassy.


Possession of any PR card after becoming a citizen:

It is illegal to have unauthorized possession of a PR card. No matter how inadvertently one came to be in possession of the card.

This is not something to mess around with. Destroy any PR card not otherwise already surrendered to IRCC.

OK, if someone somehow ends up still in possession of a PR card after the oath ceremony, there will be a temptation to keep it as memorabilia, a keepsake. If succumbing to this temptation, keep the PR card in a safe location and never present it to authorities.

While perhaps the risk of serious consequences for being in illegal possession of a PR card (remember, the card is the property of the Canadian government) are low, there is no upside to taking the risk. Do not attempt to use the card for anything, not identification, not anything. Best to not attempt carrying the card across international borders.
 

links18

Champion Member
Feb 1, 2006
2,009
128
dpenabill said:
Possession of any PR card after becoming a citizen:

It is illegal to have unauthorized possession of a PR card. No matter how inadvertently one came to be in possession of the card.

This is not something to mess around with. Destroy any PR card not otherwise already surrendered to IRCC.

OK, if someone somehow ends up still in possession of a PR card after the oath ceremony, there will be a temptation to keep it as memorabilia, a keepsake. If succumbing to this temptation, keep the PR card in a safe location and never present it to authorities.

While perhaps the risk of serious consequences for being in illegal possession of a PR card (remember, the card is the property of the Canadian government) are low, there is no upside to taking the risk. Do not attempt to use the card for anything, not identification, not anything. Best to not attempt carrying the card across international borders.
What he said. While Scylla is right--in almost all circumstances the PR card is surrendered at the oath ceremony--there may be circumstances in which a person maintains their card after the oath, such as if they lose it before the oath and then find it later after becoming a citizen. In such cases, follow Dpenabill's advice....