Board plane in NZ with expired PR card?

[holgal]

Hi

I am travelling to Vancouver in 5 days time. I have just been told by the immigration office in Sydney, Australia that I need to either maintain or renounce my PR status before I fly. This will be impossible to anything approved by the time we leave.

I have a return ticket and am travelling there for a holiday, staying only a month. Will NZ customs even let me board the plan with an expired card? I am travelling on a New Zealand passport so they won't even see the card, but do they have that information?

Or should I apply to renounce it through the Sydney office and cross my fingers and toes that it can be done within 5 days?

Thanks

 

[Bs65]

So first point NZ customs wont care if you have an expired PR card or not its CBSA in Canada who will care as they have PR status data , NZ does not.

Of course all this will change come Sept 29 th when the ETA process comes into effect when you will need either PR card or PRTD plus passport to board plane, again NZ customs wont be bothered at this time but the airline will be given a PR cannot have an ETA but must have PR card or PRTD.

PR cards expire but PR does not expire so you have not said what led you to believe you needed to renounce, did you for example apply for an ETA which prompted a response to either apply for an PRTD or renounce ? Plus the response to the ETA request may say do not make travel plans until sorted ?

In theory and there are some responses here people have travelled with expired PR cards and entered the country given as PRs they are allowed in even though may be hassled about status, just that they run the risk of being reported by CBSA especially in cases where residency not met. But if you intend to renounce anyway maybe not an issue.

Others can comment but 5 days to process a renounce seems a bit ambitious, probably will not take much longer than that but 5 days ?

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi

I am travelling to Vancouver in 5 days time. I have just been told by the immigration office in Sydney, Australia that I need to either maintain or renounce my PR status before I fly. This will be impossible to anything approved by the time we leave.

I have a return ticket and am travelling there for a holiday, staying only a month. Will NZ customs even let me board the plan with an expired card? I am travelling on a New Zealand passport so they won't even see the card, but do they have that information?

Or should I apply to renounce it through the Sydney office and cross my fingers and toes that it can be done within 5 days?

Thanks

Do you currently meet the PR Residency Obligation? Perhaps you're living in NZ with a Canadian citizen spouse?

There are 2 issues here: 1. Boarding the airplane in NZ and 2. Arrival in Canada and passing immigration

For boarding plane in NZ, there have been several reports from PRs that do not have valid PR cards with them, that they are still being allowed to board planes to Canada by posing as a foreign national to the airline . This means you do NOT show your PR card to the airline when checking in, do not mention your PR status, and simply pose as a regular tourist/visitor to Canada. This of course will not be possible after Sept 29 with eTA comes into full force.

Risk with this is if when checking in, Canadian system flags you as a PR and instructs airline to demand valid PR card to be allowed boarding. So far there have been no reports of this happening and most have boarded with ease. But you never know when systems will change.

For arrival in Canada, in general you do NOT need a PR card to enter. CBSA can determine your PR status with just your passport and your COPR if you wanted to bring it (not required though). The main issue with CBSA is if you don't meet residency obligation (so have been gone 3+ years and not living with Canadian citizen spouse), they may report you which begins process to revoke your PR status. You will still be allowed to enter Canada, but without choosing to stay in Canada to appeal your PR status will be gone.

 

[holgal]

Hi, thank you so very much for replying. It is early Tuesday morning here in NZ and I am so stressed, I cannot sleep.

Yes, I have been residing in NZ for the past ten years with my Canadian common-law partner and our two children. This trip to Canada has been planned for months to visit his family, one of whom is sick.

I found out about the ETA last week so quickly applied for all 4 of us not realising that my PR status had anything to do with it. To be honest, I hadn't given my PR status another thought. We don't plan to live in Canada any time in the near future. My children got their ETA straight away but I have had emails stating they need more information, however not telling me what documents they want from me!

I have since been in contact by (very slow) email with the Sydney processing office who have told me to either maintain or renounce my status asap. They said they will process it quickly and to email them as soon as I have sent it so they can look out for it. However FEDEX delivery means it won't get there until Friday noon and we leave Sunday night! Cutting it very fine.

The only reason I am choosing to renounce is because it's quicker! I have met my obligations by still being with my Canadian partner but to gather those documents and prove that will take too long. So I guess I renounce it instead.

I see my options as this.. please let me know if there are any others and what you suggest I do:
1. FEDEX my application to Sydney to renounce asap and hope that it gets processed by this Sunday.
2. Don't send my application and just hope they let me on the flight. I can bring the application with me so if I need to renounce at the Canadian border I can do so? Will it be noticed at NZ airport that my children have ETA's and I don't, will they ask me why? What do I say then?

It's not an option anymore to postpone our flights, my travel agent has just informed me that it will cost close to $4k to postpone our tickets! The agent has suggested that I ring Air NZ directly to see if they can either postpone for cheaper or on compassionate grounds but I am concerned about contacting them and stating the whole saga.

Please advise asap, thank you very much

 

[Rob_TO]

2. Don't send my application and just hope they let me on the flight. I can bring the application with me so if I need to renounce at the Canadian border I can do so? Will it be noticed at NZ airport that my children have ETA's and I don't, will they ask me why? What do I say then?

I would try this. eTA is not yet mandatory so you can fly without it until Sept 29. Most likely you will be allowed to board based just on your visa-exempt passport.

You do not need to renounce PR status as you are not in violation of the RO. If you are questioned in Canada by CBSA, show them proof of your marriage to a Canadian citizen and that you have been living together all this time in NZ. Next time you want to fly to Canada, simply apply for a PR Travel Document well in advance of your flight.

Or if you have no intention to return permanently to Canada at any time in the future, then renouncing PR status may be preferable as it will make it easier to travel there as a visitor without having to go through annoying PR TD process every single time.

 

[holgal]

Thanks for your reply Rob.

Will they ask me why I don't have an ETA and my children do? What would I say in the situation?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for your reply Rob.

Will they ask me why I don't have an ETA and my children do? What would I say in the situation?

As eTA is not yet a mandatory requirement to board a flight, so I don't see why it would be an issue. Technically none of you need it yet.

The only possible problem you'd face, is if you're flagged as a PR when trying to check in and they demand a valid PR card or PR TD to allow boarding. However there have been several recent reports of PRs traveling with just their visa-exempt passports, and so far nobody has run into any troubles. Just don't volunteer info around your PR status to the airline, and hope that the screening system used has not changed to identify PRs yet.

 

[holgal]

Thanks Rob. I'll give it a try. I appreciate your help.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Yes, I have been residing in NZ for the past ten years with my Canadian common-law partner and our two children. This trip to Canada has been planned for months to visit his family, one of whom is sick.

2. Don't send my application and just hope they let me on the flight. I can bring the application with me so if I need to renounce at the Canadian border I can do so? Will it be noticed at NZ airport that my children have ETA's and I don't, will they ask me why? What do I say then?

Was your husband born in Canada or naturalized as a Canadian prior to the children being born? If so, the children are actually Canadian as well.

As Rob said, option 2 is your best bet. If anyone asks, just say that you realized after getting eTAs for the kids that they weren't required yet, so you didn't bother.