Do I need a PR visa stamp or Visitor visa stamp does the work?

[dphotawala]

I and my wife recently got our visitor visa for Canada. While the approval process took 14-17 days. the passport submission and receiving process took another 10-15 days. This is consistence in both countries (India and United States) - I got mine done in India while she got her's done in United States.

As of right now, we also have our PR application in process via FSW Express Entry. That said, my questions is - Assuming our approval comes through in next 15 days, can we travel to Canada on our current visitor visa instead of having a new visa stamped? This way, we can travel to Canada on our scheduled ticket (mid next month) and still have our PR process taken care off at port of entry.

In short, I want to avoid having our passport held up for another 10-15 days; resulting in us having to postpone our travel plans.

 

[scylla]

I and my wife recently got our visitor visa for Canada. While the approval process took 14-17 days. the passport submission and receiving process took another 10-15 days. This is consistence in both countries (India and United States) - I got mine done in India while she got her's done in United States.

As of right now, we also have our PR application in process via FSW Express Entry. That said, my questions is - Assuming our approval comes through in next 15 days, can we travel to Canada on our current visitor visa instead of having a new visa stamped? This way, we can travel to Canada on our scheduled ticket (mid next month) and still have our PR process taken care off at port of entry.

In short, I want to avoid having our passport held up for another 10-15 days; resulting in us having to postpone our travel plans.

I'm not entirely sure I understand your question.

Yes - you can travel to Canada using your visitor visas.

Once your PR visas are approved, you will have to submit your passports to the visa office for PR stamping. The PR visa cannot be issued at the port of entry. Once you have your PR visas, you will either have to re-enter Canada through a land border or through arriving to Canada on an international flight - or you will have to book an appointment to complete landing procedures internally within Canada.

So at some point you will need to send your passports to the visa office. There's no getting around that step.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I and my wife recently got our visitor visa for Canada. While the approval process took 14-17 days. the passport submission and receiving process took another 10-15 days. This is consistence in both countries (India and United States) - I got mine done in India while she got her's done in United States.

As of right now, we also have our PR application in process via FSW Express Entry. That said, my questions is - Assuming our approval comes through in next 15 days, can we travel to Canada on our current visitor visa instead of having a new visa stamped? This way, we can travel to Canada on our scheduled ticket (mid next month) and still have our PR process taken care off at port of entry.

In short, I want to avoid having our passport held up for another 10-15 days; resulting in us having to postpone our travel plans.

As said above, you can't avoid it. You will need to send your passports again to receive PR visa stamps.

 

[dphotawala]

I'm not entirely sure I understand your question.

Yes - you can travel to Canada using your visitor visas.

Once your PR visas are approved, you will have to submit your passports to the visa office for PR stamping. The PR visa cannot be issued at the port of entry. Once you have your PR visas, you will either have to re-enter Canada through a land border or through arriving to Canada on an international flight - or you will have to book an appointment to complete landing procedures internally within Canada.

So at some point you will need to send your passports to the visa office. There's no getting around that step.

Is the stamp provided by VAC the actual PR or is it just a visa to enter the country (Canada)? Also, what exactly is the reason for additional processing at port of entry?

As of now, my understanding is - VAC provides a stamp to enter Canada while the immigration officer at port of entry provides the actual PR. Is that accurate information? Fyi, the premises of my assumption is the fact that my friend's stamp (that he got after PR approval) is only valid for one year- How could PR stamp be valid only for one year?

 

[scylla]

Is the stamp provided by VAC the actual PR or is it just a visa to enter the country (Canada)? Also, what exactly is the reason for additional processing at port of entry?

As of now, my understanding is - VAC provides a stamp to enter Canada while the immigration officer at port of entry provides the actual PR. Is that accurate information? Fyi, the premises of my assumption is the fact that my friend's stamp (that he got after PR approval) is only valid for one year- How could PR stamp be valid only for one year?

I think you're misunderstanding what the PR visa is.

The PR visa doesn't give you PR status. All it does is give you the approval to "land" and become a PR. There is no additional processing at the port of entry. The port of entry processing is required to make you a permanent resident in Canada. Until that happens, you are not a PR.

The visa office places the PR visa in your passport. You then go to the port of entry and use that PR visa to "land" and officially become a PR. IRCC cannot process you as a PR and give you PR status without the PR visa.

PR visas are valid for a year or less because that's how long you have to come to Canada to complete landing processes at the port of entry and officially become a PR. If you get a PR visa but don't "land" by the date the PR visa expires, then the visa becomes invalid and you have to apply again from scratch if you want to become a PR.

 

[zardoz]

Is the stamp provided by VAC the actual PR or is it just a visa to enter the country (Canada)? Also, what exactly is the reason for additional processing at port of entry?

As of now, my understanding is - VAC provides a stamp to enter Canada while the immigration officer at port of entry provides the actual PR. Is that accurate information? Fyi, the premises of my assumption is the fact that my friend's stamp (that he got after PR approval) is only valid for one year- How could PR stamp be valid only for one year?

The IM-1 "visa" placed in the applicants passport is to get them on the aircraft to Canada, that is all. After you physically set foot in the Canadian airport or go to a land border crossing, the COPR document is all that you need. The IM-1 visa has already done it's work.

HOWEVER, even if you are already in Canada, OR have an existing visa, there will still be a passport request if you are not a visa-exempt foreign national, because that's what the IRCC procedures require. The passport request is not required for any visa-exempt passport but an eTA is issued instead. This does not require any inserts in the passport.

 

[dphotawala]

I think you're misunderstanding what the PR visa is.

The PR visa doesn't give you PR status. All it does is give you the approval to "land" and become a PR. There is no additional processing at the port of entry. The port of entry processing is required to make you a permanent resident in Canada. Until that happens, you are not a PR.

The visa office places the PR visa in your passport. You then go to the port of entry and use that PR visa to "land" and officially become a PR. IRCC cannot process you as a PR and give you PR status without the PR visa.

PR visas are valid for a year or less because that's how long you have to come to Canada to complete landing processes at the port of entry and officially become a PR. If you get a PR visa but don't "land" by the date the PR visa expires, then the visa becomes invalid and you have to apply again from scratch if you want to become a PR.

If the purpose of PR visa is to only get me on a flight and enter Canada, why would I need it? Wouldn't my visitor visa do that work?

No offense but I am trying to understand if I can fly to Canada on visitor visa and at the same time have my PR status approved at the port of entry. Given that I would have the official approval letter (PPR) sent to me via CIC, wouldn't the immigration officer be able to verify my identify and process me accordingly?

I will be honest, 15 days don't seem that big of a deal; however, I already have a trip scheduled that cannot be delayed. This means that I either (1) attend my trip, then come back to India, get the PR visa stamp and finally fly back to Canada OR (2) find an alternative option (this thread being an example)

 

[zardoz]

If the purpose of PR visa is to only get me on a flight and enter Canada, why would I need it? Wouldn't my visitor visa do that work?

No offense but I am trying to understand if I can fly to Canada on visitor visa and at the same time have my PR status approved at the port of entry. Given that I would have the official approval letter (PPR) sent to me via CIC, wouldn't the immigration officer be able to verify my identify and process me accordingly?

I will be honest, 15 days don't seem that big of a deal; however, I already have a trip scheduled that cannot be delayed. This means that I either (1) attend my trip, then come back to India, get the PR visa stamp and finally fly back to Canada OR (2) find an alternative option (this thread being an example)

You appear to have missed the critical part of my comment.

"because that's what the IRCC procedures require."

Your logic is valid but it is not conforming to the IRCC’s "Program Delivery" procedures.
They set up a series of instructions for the Visa Offices to adhere to when processing an application.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

If the purpose of PR visa is to only get me on a flight and enter Canada, why would I need it? Wouldn't my visitor visa do that work?

No offense but I am trying to understand if I can fly to Canada on visitor visa and at the same time have my PR status approved at the port of entry. Given that I would have the official approval letter (PPR) sent to me via CIC, wouldn't the immigration officer be able to verify my identify and process me accordingly?

I will be honest, 15 days don't seem that big of a deal; however, I already have a trip scheduled that cannot be delayed. This means that I either (1) attend my trip, then come back to India, get the PR visa stamp and finally fly back to Canada OR (2) find an alternative option (this thread being an example)

I'm not sure where you got that PPR is an official approval letter. It's not. The COPR is the official approval and you won't get it until you send your passport.