LPS said:
Weird. So they just... never mailed the permit to you?
If you're entering the country and a permit was issued to you during your absence, I assumed they would just stamp you in as though you were carrying the permit (see cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=190&t=17)
That’s it. Well, I don’t know if they mailed it or not but at least I never received it.
Between the moment I have been advised my permit was issues (email notification early August) and the expiry of my previous status, I had various opportunities to cross the border:
- In mid-September, when coming back from NY by car, I asked the immigration agent if he could reprint a hard copy of the permit I never got. The agent told me he could not do nothing because it was not 6 weeks elapsed from the notification yet. It was actually 5 weeks and 4 days… So the agent just let me re-enter with no specific action since my previous work permit was still attached in my passport and valid.
- Once passed the period of 6 weeks I asked the CIC call centre what I was supposed to do. The agent told me there is a procedure which takes a 3-month (bringing me way over the expiry of my previous status) then he recommended me to make a request for a copy of the document since the document had been issued by CIC and existed in their system. He told me this procedure is faster and the copy is usually delivered in less than 1-month. To be frank, I thought weird to make a request for a duplicata of document which original was not in my possession. The mail containing my original copy of the permit could have been stolen and used in the purpose of an identity theft/misuse by anyone. It still sounds very strange to me that CIC sends such important documents by standard mail with no tracking, no security, and even worth since the mail is clearly identifiable as containing an immigration document (the envelope has the logo and description of Immigration Canada on it and you can see the work permit through the transparent window…).
Anyway I just followed the instructions of CIC and requested a copy on the end of September.
- In mid-October, I came back from abroad and came back at Montreal airport. I explained the situation to the Immigration agent there and I asked him if he could print a copy of my permit. The agent could see my new status in his system. He told me he did not wanted print a new copy since I already requested to CIC and I might have received it during my travel. He removed my previous permit from my passport since it had been replaced with the BWOP now. He just stamped my passport writing under the stamp the reference number of my permit and the expiration date (August 2014). At that time I had a valid status in the system, a stamp proofing the existence of my visa, but no hard copy of the permit! Really inconvenient since I could not even renew my SIN without the document.
- In the end of October, after I called CIC to claim about my request for a copy which had been sent much more than 30 days, I finally got a new email notification, not answering my request of a copy, but stating a BWOP had been issued, with the same expiry as the first one (which I never received) but a different number. Obviously they decided to cancel the permit I never received and to re-issue a new one.
- In the last weekend of October I left the territory again and re-entered Canada by road. At that time I had no document and a visa stamp with a wrong permit number (since this one had been canceled). The agent printed a copy of my new permit (she could see it in the system) and updated the stamp with the right number. What is fun is few minutes after when I arrived home I found the original hard copy of this new BWOP in my mailbox…
After 4 months I finally got all the proper document and stamp in my passport.
I was probably unlucky. Now I just hope it will not be the same complexity with my PR application …even if it looks so. :-(
Regarding “I have applied to extend my work permit. Can I travel outside Canada?”:
I don’t think my case really corresponds to any of the options listed because even if I could not justify my status, Immigration Canada always had a valid permit issued in its system when I passed a port of entry.
. I have yet to apply for an BOWP but I'm holding on to my existing work permit which will expire in March 2014. I will apply for BOWP at the end of January next year just to be cover my ass if it gets rejected. Since my present employer is more than willing to extend the existing work permit for another couple of years If I work and stay in Montreal.
