Expired PR card and Dormant SIN (Australian wishing to return to Canada)

[jojochu]

Hi there,

I have a PR card that expired in 2010 and I also assume my SIN is in dormant status too. I am not meeting 730 days requirement to renew my PR card.
However, I am wanting to return to Canada and have a few questions:
1, Can I return to Canada on my AUS passport and then wait for 730days to apply for renewal of my PR card?
2, Can I look for a job while my SIN is dormant? If yes, how to go about it.
3, What is involved to re-activate my SIN?
4, Can I purchase a property without having an active PR card?
5, Can I open a bank account and/or apply for a driving license without a PR card?
6, How do I go about keeping records of my 730days stay in Canada? Is Airline ticket or stamp in my passport sufficient to prove I was in the country for 2 years?

Thank you guys.
Jo

 

[Copingwithlife]

Hi there,

I have a PR card that expired in 2010 and I also assume my SIN is in dormant status too. I am not meeting 730 days requirement to renew my PR card.
However, I am wanting to return to Canada and have a few questions:
1, Can I return to Canada on my AUS passport and then wait for 730days to apply for renewal of my PR card?
2, Can I look for a job while my SIN is dormant? If yes, how to go about it.
3, What is involved to re-activate my SIN?
4, Can I purchase a property without having an active PR card?
5, Can I open a bank account and/or apply for a driving license without a PR card?
6, How do I go about keeping records of my 730days stay in Canada? Is Airline ticket or stamp in my passport sufficient to prove I was in the country for 2 years?

Thank you guys.
Jo

Australian passports require a ETA for Canada . If you hold a PR card, expired or not , you’re not eligible for a ETA .You apply for a PRTD with valid reasons that you’ve been out of the country for more than a decade , or attempt to cross the US/Canada border without being reported
If you attempt to cross the border with an expired PR, chances are pretty good you’ll get reported there, since it’s been expired a decade
If you’re reasons aren’t accepted for a PRTD then the revocation of your PR status starts

 

[scylla]

Hi there,

I have a PR card that expired in 2010 and I also assume my SIN is in dormant status too. I am not meeting 730 days requirement to renew my PR card.
However, I am wanting to return to Canada and have a few questions:
1, Can I return to Canada on my AUS passport and then wait for 730days to apply for renewal of my PR card?
2, Can I look for a job while my SIN is dormant? If yes, how to go about it.
3, What is involved to re-activate my SIN?
4, Can I purchase a property without having an active PR card?
5, Can I open a bank account and/or apply for a driving license without a PR card?
6, How do I go about keeping records of my 730days stay in Canada? Is Airline ticket or stamp in my passport sufficient to prove I was in the country for 2 years?

Thank you guys.
Jo

There's pretty much no chance a PRTD will be approved given how long ago your PR card expired.

You cannot fly to Canada without either an approved PRTD or a valid PR card. You'll be refused boarding by the airline without one of these.

Your most realistic option is to fly to the US and attempt to enter Canada through a land border without being reported for failing to meet the residency requirement. If you can do this and then stay in Canada for 730 days without leaving, you'll be able to retain your PR status and apply for a new PR card.

I think you should be able to reactivate your SIN without a valid PR card. You would go to a service Canada office to do this. However getting provincial health care coverage may be an issue for the 2+ years you are without a valid PR card. You may have to pay for everything yourself during this period. I don't know about the driver's license. Getting a bank account should not be an issue.

Needless to say, you don't want to try any of this now with COVID-19 underway. You'll need to wait until travel bans are no longer in place.

 

[jojochu]

Hi guys,

Thank you. I see and appreciate your feedback.

So there is no any possibility to enter Canada on tourist visa considering AUS-CAN have a visa-free arrangement? I am not sure how ETA works in this case. Would they check if I hold PR status in Canada or is it pretty much question of being picked up at the customs if anyone asks?

Thank you again.

Cheers

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi guys,

Thank you. I see and appreciate your feedback.

So there is no any possibility to enter Canada on tourist visa considering AUS-CAN have a visa-free arrangement? I am not sure how ETA works in this case. Would they check if I hold PR status in Canada or is it pretty much question of being picked up at the customs if anyone asks?

Thank you again.

Cheers

The eTA app will flag your PR status and it will be refused.

 

[scylla]

Hi guys,

Thank you. I see and appreciate your feedback.

So there is no any possibility to enter Canada on tourist visa considering AUS-CAN have a visa-free arrangement? I am not sure how ETA works in this case. Would they check if I hold PR status in Canada or is it pretty much question of being picked up at the customs if anyone asks?

Thank you again.

Cheers

No chance of entering Canada on a tourist visa. You need an approved eTA to board the plane to Canada even with the visa-free agreement. You would need to renounced your PR status first to qualify for an eTA. Once you renounce your PR status, it will be officially lost and gone.

No, the fact you are a PR would not be picked up at customs. You won't make it that far. It would be picked up far earlier - specifically at the time you try to apply for the eTA online from Australia. Yes, the system will automatically show you are a PR and refuse the eTA.

 

[canuck78]

Would add that you also can’t sponsor anyone until you are compliant with your. If you got married or had children in the past 10 years that could be very problematic.

 

[jojochu]

Thanks guys, if I decide to risk it to travel from the US to Canada, does it need to be a private car or bus? And what document I need to present, would it be my expired PR card or the letter I got from the Canadian Gov.? Or SIN card with my Aus passport?

Thanks heaps.

 

[scylla]

Thanks guys, if I decide to risk it to travel from the US to Canada, does it need to be a private car or bus? And what document I need to present, would it be my expired PR card or the letter I got from the Canadian Gov.? Or SIN card with my Aus passport?

Thanks heaps.

It needs to be a private vehicle. So that would be something like a rented car or a taxi (if you can make arrangements). In some places you can walk across. You cannot take a bus.

You would need to have your Aussie passport and the expired PR card.

What do you mean by the letter you got from the Canadian government? Do you mean the original one confirming you are a PR? If so, you do not need that. The expired PR card is fine.

 

[Bs65]

https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/self-isolation-instructions-for-novel-coronavirus-covid-19.aspx#Returning-from-travel-WITHOUT-symptoms-

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#_Travellers_without_symptoms:

Note that currently it is not possible to enter Canada from the US unless having been in US a min of 14 days before trying to cross border assuming of course can get into the US in first place. See above link

 

[jojochu]

When you crossing from the US to Canada, what questions do you get asked? Is one of them if one is Permanent Resident in Canada? Or since I would not travel on ETA which is not needed for crossing overland, how will they find out about your residency if you want to travel on dif. passport?

 

[canuck78]

When you crossing from the US to Canada, what questions do you get asked? Is one of them if one is Permanent Resident in Canada? Or since I would not travel on ETA which is not needed for crossing overland, how will they find out about your residency if you want to travel on dif. passport?

Things like birthdates and names pull up a ton of information. We are also in a security agreement with Australia which will have your previous citizenship information. All depends on what information gets pulled up. Given there are flight from Australia to Canada you travel plans are a bit of a red flag.

 

[Bs65]

So as above your name/DOB will usually be enough to id you as a PR plus when filling in a customs declaration card you have a choice visitor versus resident. You are obviously not the former, visitor and if you check that box not advised to lie to CBSA , failing the RO could be the least of your problems.