Australian Citizen - Travel to Canada while Waiting for the PR Card

[ftareen65]

I am Waiting for my PR card. I am Australian citizen and did my travel for landing to Toronto on Oct 27, 2017 but had to return home prior to arrival of PR Card.. Now I am planning to visit with my family for their entry but am waiting for my PR Card.

Question : can I fly using my Aussie passport without a PR card as a visa exempt or make an entry via US border. I am advised that I will be allowed to enter from US border showing my earlier landing document and Australian passport. Appreciate anyone's experience and recommendation. Thanks

 

[scylla]

No - you can't travel directly to Canada with your Aussie passport alone. Australian passport holders require an eTA to fly to Canada. However you don't qualify for an eTA as a PR.

You must have either a valid PR card or valid PR Travel Document to fly directly to Canada. Otherwise you have to fly to the US and then re-enter Canada by land using a private vehicle and your COPR.

 

[ftareen65]

Thanks for your quick response. Is rental car considered as a private car considering I will be renting from Buffalo and returning in Toronto. As a matter of interest, why Canada Border accepts entry and not the airport. Thanks

 

[bellaluna]

Thanks for your quick response. Is rental car considered as a private car considering I will be renting from Buffalo and returning in Toronto. As a matter of interest, why Canada Border accepts entry and not the airport. Thanks

Yes it is.

I believe the reason is that airlines check for proof of entrance admission to Canada prior to boarding the aircraft (they don't want to foot your return flight if CBSA determines you cannot enter Canada) so the requirement is more for the airline's benefit, whereas if you're crossing a land border, you're dealing with CBSA directly.

Unless you're out of Canada for less than 2 weeks, why don't you try applying for a PR travel document while you're abroad?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for your quick response. Is rental car considered as a private car considering I will be renting from Buffalo and returning in Toronto. As a matter of interest, why Canada Border accepts entry and not the airport. Thanks

You require a PR card or PRTD to board a commercial carrier to travel to Canada. There is no such requirement to actually enter Canada, so if you can get yourself to a Port of Entry, such as at the Canada-US land border, you will be allowed entry.

 

[ftareen65]

Yes it is.

I believe the reason is that airlines check for proof of entrance admission to Canada prior to boarding the aircraft (they don't want to foot your return flight if CBSA determines you cannot enter Canada) so the requirement is more for the airline's benefit, whereas if you're crossing a land border, you're dealing with CBSA directly.

Unless you're out of Canada for less than 2 weeks, why don't you try applying for a PR travel document while you're abroad?

 

[ftareen65]

Thanks. I am traveling back with family to get their PR stamping and then settle. So I had to travel back to sort few things and then travel back. PRTD requires lot of documentation and blocking your original passport. I could not send my original passport for other travels.

 

[Rob_TO]

I am Waiting for my PR card. I am Australian citizen and did my travel for landing to Toronto on Oct 27, 2017 but had to return home prior to arrival of PR Card.. Now I am planning to visit with my family for their entry but am waiting for my PR Card.

Question : can I fly using my Aussie passport without a PR card as a visa exempt or make an entry via US border. I am advised that I will be allowed to enter from US border showing my earlier landing document and Australian passport. Appreciate anyone's experience and recommendation. Thanks

If you had a previous eTA, then you can check if it's still active: https://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/eta/applicationQuery

If by some chance a previous eTA was not cancelled by CBSA/IRCC after you landed as a PR, then you should be able to board a flight directly to Canada using just visa-exempt passport as airline would see it's properly linked to an eTA. I saw a few other people have done this successfully.

Of course even if eTA was still showing as active today, would be a big risk to attempt since it could be cancelled at anytime.