Inland PR Applicant (sponsorship approved) Travelling outside Canada

[catn87]

Hi there! So the exciting news is that on Sunday morning, my husband and I received notification that he was approved to be my sponsor. (We sent our application in on October 4, 2013, so it seems the website is accurately reporting!) In that letter, most things were cleared up - I know that I can now apply for an Open Work Permit and that I need to have my medical exam done (this has been scheduled with the local panel physician for April 9th). The one thing it did not address was whether I was able to travel outside Canada at this point.

I am a US Citizen, I have been keeping an updated Extension of my visitor status while we wait for everything to process. All we want to know is if I am able to travel back to the US (or elsewhere) without risking being turned away at the border. Do I need to wait for the full application to be completed? There are several reasons for travel. Ailing family members, simply SEEING the family members I have not seen in 2 + years (2 years since our wedding, but it was a small ceremony so I haven't seen many of them in much longer!) as well as events that we would like to attend Stateside coming up this year.

I haven't been able to get through on the CIC phone lines (not that I'm surprised), so I thought I'd see if anyone here had a solid answer for me! Thanks so much for your help, and best wishes to everyone in their immigration journey!

 

[zardoz]

Hi there! So the exciting news is that on Sunday morning, my husband and I received notification that he was approved to be my sponsor. (We sent our application in on October 4, 2013, so it seems the website is accurately reporting!) In that letter, most things were cleared up - I know that I can now apply for an Open Work Permit and that I need to have my medical exam done (this has been scheduled with the local panel physician for April 9th). The one thing it did not address was whether I was able to travel outside Canada at this point.

I am a US Citizen, I have been keeping an updated Extension of my visitor status while we wait for everything to process. All we want to know is if I am able to travel back to the US (or elsewhere) without risking being turned away at the border. Do I need to wait for the full application to be completed? There are several reasons for travel. Ailing family members, simply SEEING the family members I have not seen in 2 + years (2 years since our wedding, but it was a small ceremony so I haven't seen many of them in much longer!) as well as events that we would like to attend Stateside coming up this year.

I haven't been able to get through on the CIC phone lines (not that I'm surprised), so I thought I'd see if anyone here had a solid answer for me! Thanks so much for your help, and best wishes to everyone in their immigration journey!

There is always a risk of being refused re-entry. Having an active inland application will help but it's not absolutely guaranteed.

 

[jpsant]

its not a good idea as you might not be able to re-entry and your application will be cancelled.
But you can try.

 

[catn87]

Thank you for your responses. An update here - Said ailing family member, my uncle, passed away late Thursday night. His wife passed this morning. Has anyone ever worked with their MP or any other government figure to arrange travel for a special circumstance? My family will understand if I can't be there, but I need to do everything in my power to get to California in the next week. I've already contacted my MP via e-mail, just wondering if there are any other avenues I can pursue. Thanks in advance.

 

[truesmile]

You won't get a pre-approved re-entry guarantee from anyone. Best thing would be go and come back quickly and quietly without so much fuss.

Coming from the US you of all people should have the least of worries upon re-entry.