+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

How to deal with CBSA (multiple entries)

cananner

Member
Mar 3, 2019
14
2
AOR Received.
14-08-2019
Hi all,

My husband and I recently applied outland for his PR from the US. We are moving to Montreal next week (we have an apartment lined up). We're going by plane. My parents are flying here and roadtripping back to QC with our car, so they'll be crossing the border with it (they'll have a notarized letter from us allowing them to use it) (we'll officially import the car later on). A few weeks later, I will be crossing the border into the US and back, to pick up our stuff from storage.

I know the general rule is to keep it simple at customs. It's been suggested that, when we arrive by plane, we just tell the border agent that we're visiting. My parents were going to say the same thing, that they're taking our car because we're visiting, and that we'll be driving it back at the end of our trip. What I'm wondering is whether it's safe to use the "visiting" story if I'll be crossing into Canada again a few weeks later, with a U-Haul full of stuff, and will obviously have to say "I'm moving my stuff into Canada where I now live". Is it likely fine, since I'm a Canadian citizen entering Canada, which I should be able to do freely (as opposed to my husband coming with me to get the stuff, which I'm sure would complicate things)?

Would it make more sense for us to mention the application up front? I'm just not sure how to present all the information, or what to leave out while being as honest as possible. My husband no longer works full time at his job, but has been kept on as a consultant who works remotely, so if needed, he could honestly claim that he works for such-and-such company in the US. Are these our main options?:

most honest: I say that I'm officially moving (I can give my new address if they ask where) and that's he's visiting while we wait for the application to be processed.

less honest: I say that I'm planning to stay permanently (would just say that I'll be staying with family for now) and that he's going to stay as long as he's allowed, while waiting for the application to be processed.

least honest but possibly easiest: No mention of the application. We say we're just visiting, and when they ask the duration of the visit, we could say it's for about a month. I'm not too worried about the lack of a return ticket in this case, since we could say our return is by car.
 

bellaluna

VIP Member
May 23, 2014
7,373
1,764
IMO, with a U-Haul, you should be as honest as possible, and till this point, you've done everything by the letter, and your plans are perfectly within immigration rules.

But yeah there's also the risk you run into a cranky CBSA officer.