Am I stuck in Canada with an expired PR card? Delayed renewal situation... Help!

[akoustic]

Hi Everyone, I have been living in Canada as a PR for the last 17 years (I really never thought I needed a Canadian citizenship because living as a PR was never an inconvenience). I have lived in Canada for the most part. I would say 99% of the time (the 1% being occasional vacations and business trips). I have always renewed my PR cards and have gotten the new ones before my old ones expired. My current card expires in about a week or so and I have not gotten my renewal card yet. It's been about 6-7 weeks since I submitted my renewal form and quite frankly I have a feeling I won't be getting it on time... I have a business trip that requires me to go to US for 2 days in early October (2.5 weeks from now). What are my options at this point? I really need to travel but I do not want a major hassle when I re-enter Canada from my business trip.

PS. I also learned that CIC is on strike making the process even more delayed.

Any suggestions? Would you recommend that I just leave and re-enter with expired PR card if the new PR card doesn't arrive in time? I will be traveling via commercial airplane.

Thanks in advance experts!!!!

 

[Leon]

If you are visa exempt, you can leave and re-enter with your expired PR card. If you are not visa exempt, the airline will not let you board without a valid PR card, travel document or visa but you could then fly to the border and enter there on foot or in a rental car.

The processing time for PR card renewals is 103 days right now, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-card.asp You can apply up to 6 months before your PR card expires so next time you want to renew, you should make sure to apply well before it expires.

 

[Hammertime]

Did you end up making this trip?

My wife is in a very similar situation where she has been a PR for 5+ years but here card expired a few months ago and she didn't notice.

She is supposed to fly to Vegas for 3 days on Saturday and we are unsure if she will get back in.

She has a valid passport from a European country that is Visa exempt. She can also bring with her all sorts of information proving here PR status in Canada.

Does anyone have experience trying to renter via an airline in this manner.

Agents from CIC and the CBSA both suggested she would likely make it through (on the phone) in a similar fashion to a land crossing if she made it to Canada in the first place. They suggested she may not be allowed the plane at all.

How would the airline even know she is a PR of Canada and not justa European travelling on her VISA exempt passport? Can they see she is a PR when they scan her passport at check-in?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

[Dejaavu]

My wife didn't have her PR card and we had to go to US. My wife is a US citizen. We called CBSA and CIC and they said conflicting things. CBSA staff said it is fine as long as the airlines let her board whereas CIC staff said that she must have a valid PR card or she can try driving from Buffalo by land. The airlines didn't ask for anything when she showed her passport. Once we arrived, she had her landing papers ready and explained the situation to the CBSA officer. The CBSA officer didn't say anything, just looked at the landing paper and stamped our customs declaration form.