Can anybody help (Computergeek) moving before COPR (implications)

[R151NG5UN]

Hey all and thanks for your time,

I was wondering what are the implications of doing this (I am aware a lot of the information, looking for the finer details)

As a principal applicant going through London VO, knowing I am well within the stated VO processing time (currently 8 months). I applied outland which in hindsight does not really appear to have been that beneficial to our circumstances. It for sure has it's benefits but as your application drags the benefits definitely recede and inland starts to seem more appealing. Anyway my dilemma, I would like to know if it is possible to relocate to Canada before COPR is issued (looking at the London spreadsheet I do appear imminent) and what are the implications. Ideally being pretty stubborn I wanted to wait out the process until COPR was issued but if I was to head to Canada on a standard visa what would be the implications?

Things I would like/ need to do this are- 1) Be able to ship my personal items- clothes, various media equipment and most importantly a fairly substantial set of tools and power tools, some being highly specialist and with a significant monetary value. Weight is not a major factor but the specialised factor most certainly is. Obviously I ask this question more from a tax point of view.

2) A one way or return airfare? Ideally I would like to buy just a 1 way ticket to Canada but I realise the implications with this with regards to the airline being responsible for me if I am turned around at the border. Also once I get to the border the ability to demonstrate ties to my home country, which I will have but nothing concrete like mortgage papers and certain investment policies which are linked to the property (Obviously I realise that the border official will think he is renting his property out). Besides these documents I won't have any proof besides siblings and parents because I intend to wait out the rest of my application in Canada unless I do get my COPR in the near future.

Any help would be greatly appreciated because at the moment I kinda feel stuck in limbo which COPR would alleviate and render the whole post moot.

Many thanks ;D

 

[Sweden]

Hey there!

I can only speak from my experience, and others might be able to tell you more...

As you may know (as we belong to the same VO and have similar timelines...), I "moved" to Canada 2 weeks ago, without COPR. I'm waiting it out here, and hope that it's here everyday, and so far it hasn't, but I'm sure it will soon!

I decided to move here, because I didn't want to have to wait and do everything last minut - moving out of the house, closing accounts, saying good byes etc... instead, I wanted to do that, pick a date, and go to Canada, and wait here on a tourist visa. That's what I did, and even if the situation has some downsides, over all I think it made the whole process of leaving friends/family/familiar environment much easier, as I actually had time, knew when I was getting on a plane, and could plan retrospectively with that instead of getting everything done in a frenzy once the famous paper would arrive - and not knowing whether it is in a day, or 3 months....

I'll start by your second question: I moved to Canada with a one way ticket, with no ties left in my country of residence (which happens to be different than my nationality, so I had only lived there for 2 years), and had no troubles at the border. I had prepared a copy of the sponsorship email, and an extract of my bank account to show that I have the funds to buy a return ticket if needed, and that was about it.
Maybe I was lucky, but i didn't get asked for anything. I came to the border official, and when asked for how long I intended to stay, I said that I would like to stay at least 6 months, because I had started a PR process, and the first stage was already done. She asked if I had a job back in Europe (no), and that was it... didn't ask for the sponsorship email, or any proofs that I had a return ticket etc, and just stamped my passport for 6 months.

The airline also didn't ask for anything when I was boarding. I think that travelling with a UK passport should be fairly easy... If you take the mortgage, the sponsorship emails and bank account, that should be enough to prove that you can go back if needed.

about shipping personal items - that's a bit trickier. I only shipped few things (6 boxes of 20kg, containing mostly clothes and few personal items, both for my partner and I... ). We shipped all under his name, as a "returning canadian", and it seemed to be fine ( they are supposed to arrive tomorrow, so of course, I can tell you more about that tomorrow!). now, with the amount of things (and how specialised they are), my suggestion would be (if you decide to move to Canada before getting the COPR) to pack everything, settle everything in the UK, and do the research etc on how much it will cost, and just wait.... if you can, leave it (all packed etc) with friend/family who could ship it for you - as soon as you have your COPR, you can flagpole and declare your "goods to follow" on the form, so they can be stamped tax-free, and you can go to clear customs with the form stamped when your boxes actually make it to Canada....

You can travel with personal clothes etc ( to the limit allowed by the airline) so you already have stuff arriving here, but the most valuable things (and presumably on which you would have to pay taxes if you were not a first time immigrant) can come a little later.

Finding a shipping company and arranging everything can take a while, so if you start soon enough, you'll have time to discuss with them your situation and prepare as much as possible (especially in terms of custom clearance etc), but just the pick up date would not be defined... We looked at doing that as well, but at the end we didn't have enough things and it was still OK to send it as my partner's, and under the category of "returning canadian". Most moving companies will ask you to fill out a list of things to give you a quotation, so you can seek their advice on that as well, I'm sure you're not the first one...

And - if you do decide to move here before getting the COPR, you can join the "flagpoling trip" that Herjeet and me might have to take once COPRs have made it all the way to here! we'll keep a seat....

Good luck with deciding what to do - not an easy one for sure...

Feel free to send me a PM if you have more specific questions.

Good luck,
Sweden