Entering Canada with an expired PR card - urgent please help.

[binny8]

I had to travel to India due to a family emergency :

Our PR card expired in August 2015.

We meet the residency obligation. As I have been in Canada for the last 4 years. Our Citizenship is in Process.

My Questions:

1. Can I take a flight to Canada with Expired PR card and Landing document?

2. Do I absolutely need Traveling Document to fly directly to Canada?

3. Or, Should I fly to US and drive back to Canada ? in this case can I come back on a rented car?

4. Whats the processing time for Traveling Document in Delhi?

 

[Leon]

1. If you are an Indian citizen, you are not visa exempt to Canada. The airline in order to let you board will want to see either a valid PR card or a valid PR travel document.

2. Yes, unless you have another passport that is visa exempt to Canada.

3. If you are visa exempt to the US or have a visa to the US, you can fly to the US and drive to Canada in a rented car and get in showing your expired PR card and landing document.

 

[ken2015]

My PR card was expired in Aug 2014 & renewal is in progress as case went for secondary review. I am away from Canada since November 2014 & working in Gulf, although family is in Canada & are Canadian citizens. I have USA visa & could be entered Canada via road. My question is if they ask about my long absence from November till now, what should be my reply & what are the chances that they may allow me to enter. Further, which border is best to cross.
Thanks in advance,
Ken

 

[Leon]

My PR card was expired in Aug 2014 & renewal is in progress as case went for secondary review. I am away from Canada since November 2014 & working in Gulf, although family is in Canada & are Canadian citizens. I have USA visa & could be entered Canada via road. My question is if they ask about my long absence from November till now, what should be my reply & what are the chances that they may allow me to enter. Further, which border is best to cross.
Thanks in advance,
Ken

One important question: Do you meet the RO now? If you do, you can say anything you want about your absence because it is your right to be absent from Canada for up to 3/5 years. If you don't, there is really nothing much you can say to defend yourself. If you are lucky, you don't get reported and if you are not lucky, you do get reported and might lose your PR. They will however definitely allow you to enter.

In any case, it would not be the end of the world if you lost your PR. If you do not wish to live in Canada, you can apply for a multiple entry TRV in order to visit and later on if you ever do decide to move, you can have your wife sponsor you for PR again.

As for which border is better, it's hard to say. It really depends on your luck and the individual immigration officer you are dealing with.

 

[Msafiri]

My PR card was expired in Aug 2014 & renewal is in progress as case went for secondary review. I am away from Canada since November 2014 & working in Gulf, although family is in Canada & are Canadian citizens. I have USA visa & could be entered Canada via road. My question is if they ask about my long absence from November till now, what should be my reply & what are the chances that they may allow me to enter. Further, which border is best to cross.
Thanks in advance,
Ken

1. Just answer CBSA truthfully - they've heard all types of 'stories' and they can if they want to get any info they want (within the law which gives them a wide scope).

2. In theory there isn't a 'best' border to cross if as I understand you mean where they won't hassle you for not having a PR Card. The IRPA, regs and manuals are consistent regardless of POE whereas the variability is which CBSA agent you find at the border and his/her approach to enforcing the laws. In practice a 'busy' border has more pressure to get you through so its more likely not to scrutinize each passenger in detail because if they did they would run out of room in the Customs hall/ Secondary Inspection!

3. PRs have the constitutional right of entry into Canada. CBSA may take their time to verify your details but they have to let you in.

4. if the RO is an issue/ is the reason for SR then you may be better off looking into giving up your PR status and being re-sponsored if your spouse is a Canadian citizen. This gives you another 5 year RO window to work with while you figure out where you eventually want to live.

5. As a side issue having a home/ spouse in Canada makes you 'resident' for CRA so note CIC will want to see you filed taxes if you ever applied for citizenship under the new citizenship Act (SCCA). I do wonder if this new tax policy makes Gulf incomes get a major hit given the tax free status.

 

[ken2015]

Thanks Leon & Musafir for your valuable advises. I don't think I have no issue with RO because my Canadian wife stayed with me around 2 years plus my physical presence also was around 1.5 years since 2010, I may disclose this to Officer to confirm my RO status, I hope they would take, accompanied Canadian citizen while outside Canada, into account. Few more queries,
1)what is the best option to change the address as I have sent 2 emails, via my lawyer, to CIC to update but nothing happened to e-case, still the old address.
2) Will be a negative, if I call from outside to call center from local number to check the status or should I call from my Canada number (roaming call) to check the status,
3) Generally what type of question call center may asked to confirm the identity &
4) Could my lawyer call on my behalf to check the status?

Looking positive to have friendly advises on my queries,
Best regards,
Ken

 

[LKetchup]

Re: Entering Canada with an expired PR card -Advice

Hello Leon/Musafir.

We ( family of 4, spouse & 2 kids ) have done my landing in Toronto in May 2010 and stayed for 2 weeks.
My PR has expired in June,2015. I have not met the residency conditons or applied for a SIN card or anything as such.

We would like to now move to canada permanently.

I wanted to know is it possible to renew my PR ?

I have a US Visa and planning to visit US in March 2016 and wanted to travel to canada, is it possible to enter Canada by road through a US border as my PR is expired.
I understand that it purely depends on the Immigration Officer mood at that time to allow to report or not to report.

Assuming that i am allowed to enter cannada through the US border by road,
Is it possible that i can also travel back out of cannada by road and return back to US, will they check the passport/PR on my way back also.

As i am planning to ask my family to stay there till i move permanently in july/Aug 16.

rgds

rgds

 

[Msafiri]

Re: Entering Canada with an expired PR card -Advice

...I wanted to know is it possible to renew my PR ?

You can renew your PR Card if you meet the RO...you don't so applying for a PR Card would be a bad idea.

....I have a US Visa and planning to visit US in March 2016 and wanted to travel to canada, is it possible to enter Canada by road through a US border as my PR is expired.
I understand that it purely depends on the Immigration Officer mood at that time to allow to report or not to report.

CBSA must admit you since PRs have the constitutional right of entry into Canada if they can make it to the border. However CBSA agent can decide to report then again he/she may not. If reported the only way you can save your PR is to have a good reason on H&C grounds for the breach. Most PRs have lifestyle reasons typically a better job some other place than Canada for the breach which from successive case law the courts don't accept as a valid reason leading to PR loss and removal.

....Assuming that i am allowed to enter cannada through the US border by road,
Is it possible that i can also travel back out of cannada by road and return back to US, will they check the passport/PR on my way back also.

As i am planning to ask my family to stay there till i move permanently in july/Aug 16.

So you are in RO breach hope to get back into Canada without report then leave Canada again while still in RO breach then re-chance an entry without report a second time? Gambling with your PR is a risky strategy. When you enter the US you deal with CBP when your return to Canada you deal with CBSA again so if you got a pass on the RO breach the first time it no longer counts and you get to deal with a different CBSA agent who may have a different opinion to the previous agent. Each re-entry assumes no report or if reported there is an appeal in place. Do some leg work and read this thread or the one pertaining to re-entry when under report it will detail your options.

 

[younes123]

Hello Guys,

I heard entry requirements are changing, is it still possible to enter Canada in private vehicle with an expired PR card?

Thanks

 

[mabobine]

I have a couple of questions about my entry to canada.
1. I am usa citizen and permanent resident of Canada with expired card for me, my wife and my one daugher. My other daughter who was born in usa doesnt have canadian pr. Would it be ok to travel to canada with my us paaport and then stay there until i meet my residency requirements to get a new card?
2. How should i deal with my second daugher's case who is not canadian immigrant.

Thanks in advanvce for your help! :'(

 

[cempjwi]

I have a couple of questions about my entry to canada.
1. I am usa citizen and permanent resident of Canada with expired card for me, my wife and my one daugher. My other daughter who was born in usa doesnt have canadian pr. Would it be ok to travel to canada with my us paaport and then stay there until i meet my residency requirements to get a new card?
2. How should i deal with my second daugher's case who is not canadian immigrant.

Thanks in advanvce for your help! :'(

If you still can meet your RO you can seek obtaining a travel document for those of you who have an expired PR card.

If you know you have not met your RO, then it gets tricky. You could board a plane using your USA passport alone just to get to Canada by air. By land or air you must declare your PR status at customs and deal with the complications there. Trying to enter Canada deceiving a customs agent is not the best way to go about it, you will be misrepresenting the purpose under which you are seeking entry to Canada. If you try, it is likely that your passport or bio data will be flagged or matched to your PR status. You may be allowed to temporarily enter Canada conditionally while a proceeding takes place.

Under both scenarios, you still have the issue of your non-PR daughter, whom you could not sponsor until you are in Canada (or in Canada with your RO restored). Problem is that a customs agent may decide not to let your non-pr daughter into Canada at all as she may pose a risk of overstaying and becoming a burden on Canadian health services, for example, because she obviously will not leave because you are not leaving.

 

[cempjwi]

Re: Entering Canada with an expired PR card -Advice

Hello Leon/Musafir.

We ( family of 4, spouse & 2 kids ) have done my landing in Toronto in May 2010 and stayed for 2 weeks.
My PR has expired in June,2015. I have not met the residency conditons or applied for a SIN card or anything as such.

We would like to now move to canada permanently.

I wanted to know is it possible to renew my PR ?

I have a US Visa and planning to visit US in March 2016 and wanted to travel to canada, is it possible to enter Canada by road through a US border as my PR is expired.
I understand that it purely depends on the Immigration Officer mood at that time to allow to report or not to report.

Assuming that i am allowed to enter cannada through the US border by road,
Is it possible that i can also travel back out of cannada by road and return back to US, will they check the passport/PR on my way back also.

As i am planning to ask my family to stay there till i move permanently in july/Aug 16.

rgds

rgds

To apply renew a PR card you must be in Canada. However, it is not likely your PR card will be renewed as you have clearly not met your RO.

No, it is not up to the immigration officer's mood to let you in Canada. The officer will indeed make queries about your RO and if he suspects you have not met your RO you will be reported. You may be allowed to enter Canada for a period while your RO is officially sorted out by you providing proof that you have met your RO (clearly not).

If you were allowed to enter Canada or not, and you were to return to the US, it will be up to US customs and you would have to show only the documents you used to enter the US in the first place. However, if you are allowed into Canada conditionally based on your RO issues it will definitely not help your case that you are planing to leave again.

 

[cempjwi]

I am wondering why this loophole still exists. Clearly, before eTA, visa exempt citizens whose PR cards were expired or whose RO was in question were benefiting from being allowed to fly into Canada on the strength of their national passports alone, dealing with the actual issue in Canada, while citizens that required a visa had only one choice, which was to run to the US/Canada border from the US side, if they were lucky enough to have a US visa. After eTA is finally in place, an eTA document will unlikely be issued for anyone who is a suspected PR (if the system really works as it should), preventing those citizens from flying to Canada without a PRTD, but they still will have the choice of flying to the US to pile up at the border, adding themselves to those that are not visa exempt; I pity those border agents. I mean, does Canada really want this kind of PR tourism? Canadian RO is way too flexible (compared to that of the US, for example) and I am not even sure US PR's are allowed this border "trick" from Canada or Mexico at all. It seems to me that it is a shame that someone goes through an immigration process that is time consuming and costly for something they don't really value, but surely want now, and then don't, and then want again a few years later. Sure, many will claim "I had a family emergency" but statistically speaking a large proportion is not such an emergency, many just land and go to secure more time that turns into years to oblivion, many trying to return 5 or more years after they landed. I say that if you are not ready to move to Canada then don't clog up the immigration system and let others who really desire to be here take the opportunity.

 

[pdo]

Hey

I'm going to hop on this thread rather that start a new one that has essentially the same subject heading. Here's the dilemma:

• 
  -PR since June 2012.
  -PR Card has been lost.
  -Have lived in Canada essentially that whole time, minus a few months during a parental leave to visit family in the US. But I more than meet my 730 days RO. We travel, but live and have lived in Canada continuously for nearly 10 years.
  -Applied for replacement but have a trip planned to see family in late August, so it's really unlikely I'll get the replacement before then.
  -Planned flight (already booked the ticket) is from Vancouver to Minneapolis for a 5 day trip.
  -I have a US passport (US born citizen, no other passports) and my daughter, who is travelling with me has a Canadian Passport. She's also a US citizen but we don't have her US passport.
  
  I had travelled without having a PR card before, just forgot it at home, and it seemed like no big deal, but we were crossing by land. Also, it seems like they changed some regulations recently that make it harder to travel by air without proper documents. I've looked into the PRTD situation, but that seems confusing. You have to apply when out of Canada? So if you're only going to be out of Canada for five days, it seems like it wouldn't work? Unless you were in NY or LA and could go to the VAC office in person. Because as I am understanding it, this has to be done through one of these two VACs and not an embassy in another city?
  
  What I am confused about is, given that I have a US passport, will I be able to board a plane because I am from a visa exempt country? Is it possible to get a PRTD on a five day trip into the US? Is the only option to try to rebook the flight to land in Seattle/Bellingham and make my way back by land?
  
  THANKS!
  

 

[Rob_TO]

What I am confused about is, given that I have a US passport, will I be able to board a plane because I am from a visa exempt country? Is it possible to get a PRTD on a five day trip into the US? Is the only option to try to rebook the flight to land in Seattle/Bellingham and make my way back by land?

If you aren't conveniently close to one of the 2 or 3 visa offices in all of USA that does PR TDs, then you'd need to mail your passport to them to get a PR TD. Mailing it, having it processed, and getting it mailed back to you all in 5 days would be incredibly risky and if any delays would strand you until you got passport back.

With a visa and eTA exempt US passport, most likely you can just fly back to Canada with that alone. Just don't mention to the airline upon checkin that you're a PR, or it could cause them to demand a valid PR card. Just fly by posing as a visa-exempt foreign national.