I applied for citizenship in 2020 March and still waiting for my oath invite, passed my citizenship test in July. My mom has a visitor visa which is valid for ten years. We are originally Turkish. She is visiting my sister in Germany right now and gonna take her second Pfizer shot there. After waiting for 14 days, I want her to visit me. The problem is she doesn’t speak English and she is 73. She really wants to visit me for a few months but because of the crazy pandemic, everything is so much more complicated right now. Is it possible for her to come to Canada? The problem is all the communication problem she will be having. She can have proof of her vaccinations with her but what else do we need? She uses her phone mostly to call or send voice messages via WhatsApp so things are harder for her as she will be all alone.. Can I ask assistance from IRCC? I really miss her so much and any help/suggestion here is deeply appreciated. Thank you!
Any help is appreciated please. Here is my situation:
- Thread starter DejavuCA
- Start date
Yes, she can travel to Canada assuming she has a valid visa. She should have a return ticket in addition to proof of vaccination. She should also carry evidence of your status in Canada to show she is visiting an extended family member. Also, she should have evidence of funds for supporting herself in Canada in case she is asked (if you are going to be covering her costs, then provide her with a letter stating this). She should also have the address of where she will be staying while in Canada.
They have translators at the airport. People arrive all of the time who don't speak English well or not at all.
No, you can't ask for assistance from IRCC. IRCC has nothing to do with what happens at the airport. They aren't there and can't help your situation in any way.
She can come for sure. That she does not speak English is an advantage. There will be help available. Please open an account with ArriveCan and upload her proof of vaccination. Take a screenshot of the receipt and Whatsapp or email to her. She would carry it with all during travel. This is important. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the information! That ArriveCAN account that you are talking about, I can open it from my phone or laptop etc right? I will upload it for sure once she gets her second dose in Germany! And I will make sure she gets the English translation of the proof, not German. Other than that does she need a health insurance? She got it before flying to Germany so it’s for Germany and not for Canada. She should get it for Canada too right? And I’m on EI right now because of being laid off due to covid. I have more than enough money in bank and she also has around 5-6k usd cash at least and her debit card for her monthly retirement payment. Should we say she is gonna fund the staying or me? Would my EI be an issue even though I have way more than enough savings? Sorry for asking too many questions, if she comes here and is sent back to Germany which takes like 9.5 more hours, I would lose myself as she is 73 and all these happening during pandemic.. Thank you again for the info!
Get health insurance before she travels. You don't want to be stuck with a massive bill in the event there's an unexpected emergency.
The ArrivaCAN app should ideally be on her phone. Have your sister help her load it.
Hey thanks so much for the info! What kind of evidence were you talking about when you say “To show your status”? Is it like my PR card copy maybe? And do we need to prove that she is my “mother”
? She is bringing 5-6k cash and her retirement payment debit card but probably I should write a letter saying I am covering her expenses here right? I am laid off because of covid and on EI but I have more than enough savings as well, do I need to get a copy of my bank statement and send it to mom? Thank you again for your information it was very helpful! Cheers!I will definitely do that!!! And she needs to upload her info 72 hours before flight or is there a time limit do you know? Thank you again!
You can find detailed information about the ArriveCAN app here:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/arrivecan.html
Hey thanks so much for the info! What kind of evidence were you talking about when you say “To show your status”? Is it like my PR card copy maybe? And do we need to prove that she is my “mother”
In general she should be the one showing she has the funds to support herself but yes you can include a copy of your bank statement. Normally it probably isn’t necessary but given that you are also unemployed there may be concerns about your level of savings. Proof of her return flight will also be something that could be asked so either an electronic copy if she has a phone or tablet or paper copy would also be a good idea. If she isn’t traveling from Turkey proof of her ticket home may also be one of the things she is asked about
Oh okay! She will not return to Istanbul though, she will go back to Germany again to stay with my sister and rest some then continue to Istanbul after a few weeks. As long as she is technically leaving Canada, it should be okay hopefully. And yes then I will let her know to prepare her bank statements, she is in Germany, no idea if she can access to those documents, but I can definitely provide my statements as well. What about the customs? I know in the plane they give a form to fill to declare things to customs but she doesn’t speak English so what can we do about it? Thanks again!!
Does she have permanent status in Germany? If she can’t fill out the form then there should be someone in the airport who can help her fill it out. I would prepare some prepared statements with the translations so she knows what they say. With her Turkish passport it will be assumed she needs a Turkish translator. No English would be a good phrase for her to learn and if she shows her passport the airport will understand she needs translation from Turkish to English. When she lands a Turkish declaration card may be available. If not you can include a request for help filling out the declaration card or a declaration card in Turkish because she doesn’t speak English. I would include your name and phone number to call if they need any clarification. You can also provide a written summary of why she is in Canada (visit son who is a PR or citizen), for how long, what are her plans in Canada, that she has been vaccinated, that she has a flight to Germany and the details, etc.
Thank you, she doesn’t have any status in Germany, just visiting my sister there. So she has just learnt that she is not eligible to get the second dose there because she is not a resident of Germany.. She has two doses of Coronavac and 1 dose of Pfizer. Is it possible for her to enter Canada? If yes, after the quarantine, can she get her second dose here in Canada even though she is a foreign international visitor? Everything is so complicated because of this crazy pandemic, she is 73 and gonna be travelling alone so I wanna make sure she will be okay. If she comes all the way to Canada and can’t enter… I don’t wanna even think about that possibility..
Yes - she can still travel and can get her second vaccine shot in Canada.
She will need to have a quarantine plan. Make sure you research this to understand what's expected. She won't be able to stay with you unless you and any family members also living with you quarantine for the full 14 days as well - or unless you have a separate part of your house (e.g. basement apartment) where she can be on her own for the 14 days.
She will need to get a COVID test before she flies. Make sure you understand what kind of test is required and when she must take it.
She will need to use the ArriveCAN app to submit her travel plans.
Suggest you dedicate time to reading through the detailed information in the link below to understand what will be required.
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid
Make sure she has a return flight ticket (not one way).
@scylla has covered the basics. Would really suggest she consider returning to Turkey or at least have proof of her booked flight from Germany to Turkey. She has no status in Germany so Germany doesn’t have to accept her on return and Canada can get concerned when citizens of other country arrive from a country they are visiting and want to return to that country. Her ties to Turkey, and any other country where she has status, is what counts to Canada.
Thank you again for your answers. I live in a basement and can definitely live upstairs and make mom use here alone for two weeks. Do cops come to the door to check if she is obeying the quarantine rules? She doesn’t speak English so that would be stressfull for her.
She will get tested for sure and get insurance for Canada but she is 73 and I’m not sure if she can manage to use the ARRIVECAN app as it’s also probably English and also mom barely knows how to send voice message and call, shut down her phone etc as she is from a very different generation. Can I open an account for her and do the updates by myself? Thank you!
