CoPR issued with "OLD" photo size- How can I prevent PR card delay? (US Outland)

[tom_from_sk]

Good morning everyone!

My wife and I received our CoPR yesterday and are very excited! We are US Outland applicants from Sept 2015 and currently are in Calgary. We plan to call the CIC today and make an appointment to land at the local CIC office in Calgary (likely in a couple weeks). One of the photos we sent in the original application is attached to the CoPR document and is the old 35mm x 45mm dimension.

I have read about others having issues and big delays receiving the PR card due to the transition to the new picture size. At this point I am trying to think of any ways to prevent a delay in CIC issuing my wife’s PR card. We were not asked for new photos, but from what I read on the forum… they will require them at some point.

Does anyone have any advice other than waiting for an official request? Would there be any point in bringing new 40mm x 50mm photos to our landing interview at the CIC in Calgary?

Is there any way to contact the PR card office in advance for guidance/help?

My wife needs to travel to the US and back this summer via airplane and we want to ensure she has her PR card in the next 2-3 months.

Any help and advice that you can think of is appreciated!

Thank you!!

 

[CDNPR2014]

the pr card office isn't going to be able to help you until they receive her file after landing. if new pictures are required, i don't think there will be that big of a delay. i would think the best way to ensure quick processing is the have the pictures ready in case they are requested at or after landing.

also, i would recommend double checking whether she actually needs her pr card to fly to and from canada from the us as a us citizen. the best way to confirm is to call the cbsa office at the airport she is flying to (and call more than once to ensure the answer is consistent between officers).
she won't need her pr card to board the plane, because her passport allows her to do that as she doesn't require a visa to enter canada. once at the border *I think* her COPR and passport will be all she needs to enter. the pr card is essentially for travelers who require a visa to enter canada. i'm sure others will confirm whether the pr card is essential for us citizen when entering by plane. i enter by car, so my copr was fine to use before i got my pr card issued. in ontario a copr can do anything the pr card can do. i'm not sure if this is true for all provinces. it's just more convenient to carry the card instead of a passport with copr stapled inside.

 

[YYC787]

the pr card office isn't going to be able to help you until they receive her file after landing. if new pictures are required, i don't think there will be that big of a delay. i would think the best way to ensure quick processing is the have the pictures ready in case they are requested at or after landing.

also, i would recommend double checking whether she actually needs her pr card to fly to and from canada from the us as a us citizen. the best way to confirm is to call the cbsa office at the airport she is flying to (and call more than once to ensure the answer is consistent between officers).
she won't need her pr card to board the plane, because her passport allows her to do that as she doesn't require a visa to enter canada. once at the border *I think* her COPR and passport will be all she needs to enter. the pr card is essentially for travelers who require a visa to enter canada. i'm sure others will confirm whether the pr card is essential for us citizen when entering by plane. i enter by car, so my copr was fine to use before i got my pr card issued. in ontario a copr can do anything the pr card can do. i'm not sure if this is true for all provinces. it's just more convenient to carry the card instead of a passport with copr stapled inside.

I thought you needed a PR card to enter Canada by any means, except by private car. It may be different for US citizens, though, I'm not sure.

 

[tom_from_sk]

Thanks YYC787 and CDNPR2014.

I appreciate your responses and time. I do believe that she is required to have the PR card for flying, but not for entering through private vehicle.

According to the one thread on this forum, people are having very long waits for the PR card, especially if the pictures were the 'old' size and that is what we are trying to avoid.

 

[GustavesF]

Don't you submit your PR card photos at the time of landing?

Don't worry about photo size till you land.

You only need to worry about this if you landed prior to January 4th of this year.

 

[tom_from_sk]

Hi Gustaves F. Thanks for the reply. They already have my photo on the CoPR that I submitted with the application (which was the old format).

The CoPR is what I need to take to my landing. Should I go and get new ones before landing and hope they will replace them?

 

[GustavesF]

When you make your appointment they will give you a checklist of things you have to bring with you, and one of them will be PR card photos.

I am not exactly sure what the photos that you have already sent in are for, I'm not very familiar with the outland process, but if they don't give you a checklist, or they don't specify that you need photos, bring them in anyway.

At some point in time you'll need to submit these photos, because if you don't CIC will take 5 months to request them.

Why 5 months? Because they are imbeciles.