Awaiting PR card, can I re-enter Canada on my valid visitor visa?

[ajsg]

Hello everyone!

I sponsored my wife’s in-land PR (she was here with me on visitor visa) and she already got her COPR 4 weeks ago. However, her PR card has not yet arrived and we have a trip coming up to Mexico from the 21st April.

Question: we don’t have sufficient time to apply for a PRTD and in the worst case scenario should her PR card not arrive in time; can she use her visitor visa (which is valid till 2029) to re-enter? (please share from your experience if you have experienced something similar or you can point me to some artefacts/links).

As always many thanks in advance for being the best support system !

Cheers !

 

[Ponga]

Hello everyone!

I sponsored my wife’s in-land PR (she was here with me on visitor visa) and she already got her COPR 4 weeks ago. However, her PR card has not yet arrived and we have a trip coming up to Mexico from the 21st April.

Question: we don’t have sufficient time to apply for a PRTD and in the worst case scenario should her PR card not arrive in time; can she use her visitor visa (which is valid till 2029) to re-enter? (please share from your experience if you have experienced something similar or you can point me to some artefacts/links).

As always many thanks in advance for being the best support system !

Cheers !

Once she lands and becomes a PR, her visitor visa will likely be invalid...because she will no longer be a visitor in Canada.

There is one member here that recently applied for (and received) a PRTD for a vacation using urgent processing. It was approved quickly AND the application was submitted while they were still IN Canada.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/prtd-application-submitted-in-canada-success-story.794260/

 

[ajsg]

Once she lands and becomes a PR, her visitor visa will likely be invalid...because she will no longer be a visitor in Canada.

There is one member here that recently applied for (and received) a PRTD for a vacation using urgent processing. It was approved quickly AND the application was submitted while they were still IN Canada.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/prtd-application-submitted-in-canada-success-story.794260/

Thanks for your swift response! I just spoke to an immigration consultant and he explained that she can still enter canada on the visitor visa as PR card arrival may take a while. The above scenario (PRTD) is for someone who doesn’t have any other proof of status to re-enter canada.

 

[Ponga]

Thanks for your swift response! I just spoke to an immigration consultant and he explained that she can still enter canada on the visitor visa as PR card arrival may take a while. The above scenario (PRTD) is for someone who doesn’t have any other proof of status to re-enter canada.

So she does NOT yet have PR status in Canada. She has not activated her CoPR, meaning she has not yet landed, correct?

 

[ajsg]

So she does NOT yet have PR status in Canada. She has not activated her CoPR, meaning she has not yet landed, correct?

She is officially a PR (she got her COPR on 20 March 2023), however I sponsored her PR through in-land application therefore there’s no landing required (it’s just a virtual confirmation that she’s in canada). She came here on a visitor visa, so the question was if it’s okay for her to re-enter canada on the visitor visa as she’s awaiting her PR card.

 

[Naturgrl]

She is officially a PR (she got her COPR on 20 March 2023), however I sponsored her PR through in-land application therefore there’s no landing required (it’s just a virtual confirmation that she’s in canada). She came here on a visitor visa, so the question was if it’s okay for her to re-enter canada on the visitor visa as she’s awaiting her PR card.

If she is a PR, her TRV is invalid. She needs her PR card to re-enter. Or apply for PRTD from outside Canada and wait for approval. Or change your trip plans to Mexico until she has her PR card.

 

[ajsg]

If she is a PR, her TRV is invalid. She needs her PR card to re-enter. Or apply for PRTD from outside Canada and wait for approval. Or change your trip plans to Mexico until she has her PR card.

Thanks! Just wondering how the immigration in Mexico will find out about her residency status if we only show them the visitor visa at the time of leaving Mexico for canada ? And, when we arrive in Canada it’s automated service, and no one asks for the PR card once you’re in canada.

please help me understand how or at what point her entry will be questioned and on what basis ?

 

[Naturgrl]

Thanks! Just wondering how the immigration in Mexico will find out about her residency status if we only show them the visitor visa at the time of leaving Mexico for canada ? And, when we arrive in Canada it’s automated service, and no one asks for the PR card once you’re in canada.

please help me understand how or at what point her entry will be questioned and on what basis ?

She can leave the country if Mexico doesn’t require her having a visa to enter. The issue is returning. How are you going to board a plane without a PR card, and no longer a TRV? Airlines will not let her board and enter Canada.

 

[ajsg]

She can leave the country if Mexico doesn’t require her having a visa to enter. The issue is returning. How are you going to board a plane without a PR card, and no longer a TRV? Airlines will not let her board and enter Canada.

The TRV is valid till 2029, nowhere it says that it is cancelled. How will the airlines or immigration officer in Mexico see that she is actually a PR without a PR card? Shouldn’t the TRV on the passport be still valid to come to canada ?

 

[Islander216]

She is officially a PR (she got her COPR on 20 March 2023), however I sponsored her PR through in-land application therefore there’s no landing required (it’s just a virtual confirmation that she’s in canada). She came here on a visitor visa, so the question was if it’s okay for her to re-enter canada on the visitor visa as she’s awaiting her PR card.

She's fine to re-enter Canada, the only issue is whether the airline will accept her on the flight.

 

[Copingwithlife]

The TRV is valid till 2029, nowhere it says that it is cancelled. How will the airlines or immigration officer in Mexico see that she is actually a PR without a PR card? Shouldn’t the TRV on the passport be still valid to come to canada ?

It’s 2023

When the airline agents swipe the passport it’ll ask for a PR card .

And when they type in the data from the TRV, it’ll come back showing cancelled. If credit card companies can cancel a credit card , governments can cancel a visa

Due to visa fraud ,counterfeiting of visa foils . All that data is linked .

……and no it shouldn’t still be valid

 

[scylla]

Thanks! Just wondering how the immigration in Mexico will find out about her residency status if we only show them the visitor visa at the time of leaving Mexico for canada ? And, when we arrive in Canada it’s automated service, and no one asks for the PR card once you’re in canada.

please help me understand how or at what point her entry will be questioned and on what basis ?

Her TRV will show as invalid to the airline when she tries to board the flight home. The issue won't be at the POE when she arrives in Canada. The issue will happen when she tries to board the flight to come home. You should expect she will be denied boarding by the airline without a PR card or PRTD.

 

[Ponga]

The TRV is valid till 2029, nowhere it says that it is cancelled. How will the airlines or immigration officer in Mexico see that she is actually a PR without a PR card? Shouldn’t the TRV on the passport be still valid to come to canada ?

A TRV is a Temporary Resident Visa. Now that she is a PR, she is no longer a Temporary VISITOR.

You may have no choice but to return to Canada via the U.S., crossing in a personal vehicle at a land PoE. The valid PR Card is only needed, because the airlines require that all PRs show a valid PR Card before boarding. Only a U.S. passport holder, who is a PR can avoid that requirement.

 

[scylla]

The TRV is valid till 2029, nowhere it says that it is cancelled. How will the airlines or immigration officer in Mexico see that she is actually a PR without a PR card? Shouldn’t the TRV on the passport be still valid to come to canada ?

Short answer to the last question is no. You should expect the TRV has been automatically canceled by IRCC. What shows in her passport is irrelevant. The airline will check online systems which will most likely show the TRV is no longer valid.

 

[Ponga]

The TRV is valid till 2029, nowhere it says that it is cancelled. How will the airlines or immigration officer in Mexico see that she is actually a PR without a PR card? Shouldn’t the TRV on the passport be still valid to come to canada ?

Be glad you found out NOW before leaving for Mexico! Being stranded there would be a nightmare!

There was a member here who recently applied for a PRTD while still in Canada and it was approved (event hough every says that you must apply outside of Canada)!

Reach out to the member and ask about joining the private Facebook group that she mentions:
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/prtd-application-submitted-in-canada-success-story.794260/