COPR and coronavirus

[rish27]

Hi folks, this forum has been quite helpful and hence I'm sharing my own landing experience. COPR was valid till mid July and issued in January

Step-by-step:

1. Took the first VB flight from Delhi to Toronto. Try to reach the airport 4 hrs early as it will take you close to 1.5-2 hrs if not more just to enter. The line was long and only Gate 7 and 8 were assigned for screening international travelers. You'll be made to fill in 2 declaration forms and go through temperature check at the gate.
2. Due to this long queue at the gate, luckily not a long waiting line inside the airport for boarding card and check-in formalities. The counter staff does ask for your COPR document.
3. At the immigration counter, the officers are aware and again asked to check the COPR document.
4. You'll be issued a PPE kit with face mask and face shield. Middle seat passengers would be issued an additional lab coat kinda thing which they need to wear. Airport was resembling a post apocalyptic world war z types ghost town. 1 Duty free shop and 1 Cafe coffee day kiosk was open.
5. Inside the flight each seat already had a large package containing snacks, meal and 2 bottles of water (should be sufficient for the journey)
6. No in-flight entertainment or service from the air hostesses. I kinda pity the cabin crew as they had to wear extra PPEs throughout the journey. Try to respect that and have limited interaction with the staff or anyone for that matter.
7. Try to preinstall the ArriveCan app and fill in the details as it will help expedite your process after landing.
8. Went straight to the immigration counter, wait time is less due to less air traffic. Officer asked for the declaration form and confirmation of self quarantine. Post that went to another counter where I submitted my COPR document. Officer asked to write down the address for delivery of PR card on the COPR doc itself. Asked basic questions about cash I am carrying and self quarantine. Stamped the paper and gave me my copy. Informed PR would be delivered 2-3 months later on the address given by me (relative's address). Crossed my visa stamped on the passport.
9. Took my check-in bags and I'm out! Took a cab straight to the hotel. I booked a hotel with a kitchen and carried basic stuff to cook.

Suggestions:
1. For delivery, grocerygateway.com works from where I could order milk, bread and other essentials that I couldn't carry. Ubereats, Skipthedishes and doordash food delivery apps are NOT installing on my phone due to an Indian number and I am not able to order anything online (craving cheeseburgers and ribs so will figure out something). Be mindful unlike India cash on delivery doesn't work here.
2. Do not carry ANY form of meat products either cooked or raw. At immigration they asked me and I said yes. The officer excused it as I had declared it but informed it's not allowed so should refrain the next time.
3. Cab to city should cost around 50-60 CAD.
4. Wasn't asked for goods to follow so need to inquire about that. Also need to apply for SIN online.

It is MANDATORY to self quarantine. Please respect that and do not venture out. Canadians are doing the same and there's not much traffic or people walking even in downtown.

Hope this post was helpful to all of you. I've highlighted all the answers to the queries I had and this forum helped me.

I'm yet to decide if I should extend my stay or fly back to India in July. Working nights here to be in sync with Indian time. Lockdown has helped as I didn't need to take a break from work.

Whosoever is scheduled to fly don't be worried, carry the necessary docs and be prepared. Good Luck!!

 

[y2kunal]

Generally a bank statement taken a week before you fly can be evidence enough of proof of funds. If you want you can request a Letter from Bank manager stating xxxx amount of fund are there in your account .... In case of family these funds should be in principle applicants account.

For criminality, immigration officer is asking if you had any criminal activity after COPR and before landing (atleast that is what he asked in my friend's case who landed in March).

Here's the offical link for documents you need to carry.
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/new-immigrants/prepare-life-canada/border-entry.html

I suppose if you load the cash on a Forex card then you can request the bank for a letter or the statement you get when you load a certain value along with the receipt will suffice? I wouldn't want to carry a lot of cash.

As a matter of fact the most preferred way will be to do an online bank to bank transfer after opening bank account in Canada. Until then I would prefer to keep my money with my bank here. For doing that, I suppose we can just show the POF letter that we uploaded to our application as a supporting document? Although it will be pretty old at the time of actual travel and landing. Getting the bank to issue a fresh statement isn't a problem but it was a task getting letter form the banks in that format.

 

[rex230]

Can you (or anybody here) please share an example of what documents can be asked for or shown for proof of funds and criminal background to the border officer?

He did not ask for any document.. I gave him proof of funds document when he asked how much money each of the applicant has as proof of funds, is it for each applicant, and who has the control for operating the funds. He glanced over it while we were talking and asked it to be kept on counter till we signed COPR.

I gave him latest bank statement from US bank and told him the approximate $CAD value for those which was enough for me and my spouse. that's it. No document for anything else. Just verbal questions.

 

[Peaceonly]

Yeah I'm from India with my passport stuck at the VAC.

Ours passport is also stucked at vfs,, does anybody have any idea when ll vfs open??

 

[whyCorona]

Ours passport is also stucked at vfs,, does anybody have any idea when ll vfs open??

As per info posted on VFS India site, they are not accepting any paper submissions for temporary residence till 30th Jun 2020. This could give us some hint and maybe after 30 Jun 2020 VFS offices might reopen but again this decision depends on local authorities.

 

[bun_b]

Landed in Toronto this morning Via VB flights. (Mumbai-Delhi-Toronto).
COPR expiry: Mid july

Flights were full.(Both domestic,International)
Immigration went smooth with general questions/documents regarding proof of funds, any criminal background,
where I am planning to stay,family background)
Stamped goods to follow list and went straight to accommodation.

They casually asked us to isolate for 14 days, didn't take any address. Haven't applied for SIN yet.

I was given a separate form for address change notification to CIC for PR card delivery.Since I didn't have a permanent address he asked to notify CIC when I do have it,so the card could be delivered to that address.
Process can be done online.

Congratulations on your succesful landing! Could you please help us out with a few queries it would be a great help!

What was your Mumbai to Delhi flight? Air India or some other carrier?
How did you manage the luggage? as domestic flights seem to have a cap of 20kgs
How was the Delhi domestic to International travel? shuttle?
And lastly any hassles while boarding as a COPR holder?

Cheers

 

[adityacs007]

Did anyone come back to US from Canada through AVR program recently. Did you follow the 14 day Self Quarantine also what questions did CBP Officer ask ?

Did you figure this out by any chance?

 

[pkhare23]

I suppose if you load the cash on a Forex card then you can request the bank for a letter or the statement you get when you load a certain value along with the receipt will suffice? I wouldn't want to carry a lot of cash.

As a matter of fact the most preferred way will be to do an online bank to bank transfer after opening bank account in Canada. Until then I would prefer to keep my money with my bank here. For doing that, I suppose we can just show the POF letter that we uploaded to our application as a supporting document? Although it will be pretty old at the time of actual travel and landing. Getting the bank to issue a fresh statement isn't a problem but it was a task getting letter form the banks in that format.

I would recommend preferred method of transfer to be bank transfer once Canadian Bank account is available. While travelling carrying around 500-1k in cash should be enough.
Yeah the POF uploaded during AOR documents would be more than 6 months old hence carrying a new one would help.

 

[ashithaalexander]

I'm from India. My visa is going to expire on July 4. I had already filled in the webform(in the middle of may)...stating the non availability of flights...they verified it and said they have forwarded the request for extension to the responsible office. Does anybody have similar experience?? Did u get any further notifications regarding this?? Should I fill in the webform again??

 

[DIJ2]

Hi, glad it helps!

1) yes, once you are PR it is easier to say that you are just returning home. This is just my opinion based on my experience.
2) you can apply for SIN online with any valid proof of address, but it will take around a month, so you need an address that is not just temporary or is safe for it to arrive.
3) i generally carry my approved H1B notification, even though I have a stamped visa. I always carry recent pay stubs and, if I can, an employer letter. I was not asked for any of this, but it may be because I had already entered the US on H1B before and it might have been in their system.

Hello

My situation is somewhat similar, can you please answer the below, or correct me if I am wrong regarding steps

My Landing deadline is July end, which I will do via road from Detroit to Windsor. But since I currently don't have a job in Canada, I plan to keep working from home from Detroit,U.S on student CPT visa, and keep living in Windsor, Canada every night as soon as I land to keep my Canada settlement time
counting.

Once I do the initial landing via road in July end, can I IMMEDIATELY(or after 14 day quarantine in Windsor) start driving Canada-US-Canada every day with NO PR card(since it will take 3 months to arrive), and only carrying passport and stamped COPR?

 

[mrr2019]

Hello

My situation is somewhat similar, can you please answer the below, or correct me if I am wrong regarding steps

My Landing deadline is July end, which I will do via road from Detroit to Windsor. But since I currently don't have a job in Canada, I plan to keep working from home from Detroit,U.S on student CPT visa, and keep living in Windsor, Canada every night as soon as I land to keep my Canada settlement time
counting.

Once I do the initial landing via road in July end, can I IMMEDIATELY(or after 14 day quarantine in Windsor) start driving Canada-US-Canada every day with NO PR card(since it will take 3 months to arrive), and only carrying passport and stamped COPR?

Hi, I’m not sure whether that is possible, it could be but you should confirm with both border offices. As far as I’m aware, traveling by land into the US is more restricted than traveling to Canada. I wouldn’t see an issue entering Canada, as you are a PR. Try calling to confirm.
My opinion is to land, quarantine, and then return to Detroit. Move once you are ready or have a job in Canada. Not sure what the urgency is to keep the time counting. Just my thought. Good luck!

 

[pkhare23]

Hello

My situation is somewhat similar, can you please answer the below, or correct me if I am wrong regarding steps

My Landing deadline is July end, which I will do via road from Detroit to Windsor. But since I currently don't have a job in Canada, I plan to keep working from home from Detroit,U.S on student CPT visa, and keep living in Windsor, Canada every night as soon as I land to keep my Canada settlement time
counting.

Once I do the initial landing via road in July end, can I IMMEDIATELY(or after 14 day quarantine in Windsor) start driving Canada-US-Canada every day with NO PR card(since it will take 3 months to arrive), and only carrying passport and stamped COPR?

Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be worries about PR obligation. That wont be an issue since you have to stay 1095 days i.e 3 years to fulfill that. So you can do your soft landing and return to US and once you are ready to settle in Canada you can shift.

 

[saad_im]

Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be worries about PR obligation. That wont be an issue since you have to stay 1095 days i.e 3 years to fulfill that. So you can do your soft landing and return to US and once you are ready to settle in Canada you can shift.

Just to clarify, your obligation towards PR is just 730 days. The requirement of 1095 days is for citizenship.

 

[DIJ2]

Hi, I’m not sure whether that is possible, it could be but you should confirm with both border offices. As far as I’m aware, traveling by land into the US is more restricted than traveling to Canada. I wouldn’t see an issue entering Canada, as you are a PR. Try calling to confirm.
My opinion is to land, quarantine, and then return to Detroit. Move once you are ready or have a job in Canada. Not sure what the urgency is to keep the time counting. Just my thought. Good luck!

Do you know the phone number or email where I can call and ask if this is allowed?(regarding Canadian border people end).

And when you say, it's more restricted landing into U.S, do you mean JUST because of Covid, and they might ask what's the urgency? Because I have a valid U.S student visa and am working under CPT visa

 

[DIJ2]

Correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be worries about PR obligation. That wont be an issue since you have to stay 1095 days i.e 3 years to fulfill that. So you can do your soft landing and return to US and once you are ready to settle in Canada you can shift.

Yes I know, but the thing is I live in Atlanta, not Detroit. I was thinking of working remotely from Detroit. But if the daily commute between borders is not allowed until you have physical PR card in hand, I will not move to Detroit, and will move permanently to Toronto by July end.

It'll be great if daily commute is allowed so I can get all the Canadian stuff sorted(Bank account, SIN, Phone etc.) while not being jobless, because the Canadian job market seems really slow.