Landing and returning after 2 years as a Student

[dawn]

Hi there.

Would greatly appreciate anyone who would answer my questions below:

1) I plan to land to Toronto via New York in March 2010. Can I actually do that? If yes, where should I specifically do the immigration interview and documentation check?

2) I plan to stay in Canada for 5 days and give a friend's address to send in the PR card. Is there any problem with that? When should I typically update my address from CIC website to reflect my friend's address? Before or after landing?

3) I plan to go back to Toronto after 2 years to study. Would the tuition fee for Canadian resident apply to me even if I haven't actually reside in Canada? When I apply in Canadian universities outside Canada, can I already declare that I am a Canadian resident if I get my PR card?

4) Will there be a problem if I return to Canada after 2 years from landing?

Thanks very much for taking time to read and answer my questions.

 

[Karlshammar]

1. You will land in Toronto.
2. If they know it's just your friend's address and not yours they will not send the PR card there. You can give them your current address while you land. If you don't have your own address they will tell you to let them know when you have one, but if you don't make it within a specific time (I think it is 60 days?) you lose your initial PR card (just the card, not your status) and you have to make a new application for a PR card when you are ready.
3. You will be a PR as soon as you land; you don't need the card for this. Yes, Canadian PRs always pay resident tuition.
4. You only have to be in Canada 2 years out of every 5, so if you head back after 2 years you should still have enough time to accomplish that.

 

[dawn]

Thank you very much Karishammar!

May I just make a follow-up question on #2:

If I say I will be staying with my friend's residence, is that ok? Will they send the PR card to my friend's address then?

Thanks again!

 

[Karlshammar]

You're very welcome, Dawn!

If you are staying there permanently as his/her roommate, then yes, that would be your actual residence and acceptable. If you are staying there temporarily, then no, they most probably would not accept it.

Thank you very much Karishammar!

May I just make a follow-up question on #2:

If I say I will be staying with my friend's residence, is that ok? Will they send the PR card to my friend's address then?

Thanks again!

 

[dawn]

Hi Karishammar,

Merry Christmas! I really appreciate your quick response.

Honestly, I am a bit nervous to land in Toronto becuase my intention is to stay there for only 5 days, have my PR card processed and return to Toronto after 2 years as a student. I can't relocate to Canada permanently yet becuase there are still a lot of things I need to attend in my home country. I intend to apply for masteral studies online from my home country and claim that I am already a resident as soon as I get my PR card to avail of the lower tuition fee (versus foreign student). My visa will expire in August 2010, so I need to land in Canada before then but I intend to come back only in August 2012. Again, I would be grateful for any advise you can give me on how to pursue this plan.

For my comfort, I prepared sort of a list of follow-up questions to guide me in planning for my trip:

Landing – road trip from New York to Toronto

1) Where exactly would the immigration formalities be done?
2) I will be with my sister and a friend in a car. How are formalities done in this set-up
3) My things are in the car. Would my things be inspected?

List of things to be brought to Canada

1) If I bring in stuff for a five-day stay only, would that be questioned? How should the list be prepared so as not to indicate how long I intend to stay in Canada?
2) In the “List of Things to Follow”, should the date when the things should arrive be stated? Would taxes for things sent after 2 years still be exempted?

Address where PR card should be sent

1) I will just use my friend’s address where the PR card will be sent. If asked if that is my address, I will answer “yes” even if I will be staying in another place during my five-day stay in Canada. Do they check if you are staying in that address or not before they sent in the PR card?
2) If the PR card arrives in my friend’s address, I will ask her to courier the same to me so I can come back to Canada next time. If for some reason the PR card got lost, can I reapply online?

Funds

1) How much funds considered as sufficient to support your stay in Canada?
2) Can funds be in US dollar bills?
3) Can I present dollar funds deposited in Citibank (office outside Canada) with ATM card, which I can use to withdraw funds from Canada?

Coming back after 2 years

1) If I come back to Canada after 2 years, will I be questioned? Is there any ground for not allowing me to enter Canada for that reason?
2) If I come back as a Student, would my immigration papers change?

Thanks again Karishammar and enjoy the holidays!

Dawn

 

[Karlshammar]

Landing

1. When you cross the border into Canada.
2. Not sure, as I was alone. Are they landing as well? In that case they will land all of you. If not, they would be processed as visitors.
3. It's at the discretion of the officer. You do have to have a list of everything you are bringing into Canada, and all the goods that are to follow.

List of things

1. I had nothing to bring as I had already brought everything over (I was here as a temporary worker when I landed).
2. Not sure on this one. Does anyone else have any knowledge on this?

Address
1. They will not check if you are staying there, and are unlikely to question it, but I must say that I don't advise lying to immigration officers.
2. No, and you can only apply from inside Canada. Only the first card will be mailed out. If you apply for a new one, or a renewal, you have to pick it up in person at a CIC office inside Canada. They won't make exceptions to that.

Funds
1. Depends. What category are you landing under?
2. I do now know for sure, but I don't see why not.
3. This one is beyond me as well. Spousal sponsorships do not require any finances, so I never researched this area, to be honest.

Return
1. You are still able to fulfill the 2 out of 5 years requirement. However, they may question if you permanently surrendered your residence in Canada.
2. If you are a PR you will be a PR until that status changes. There is no such thing as a "student PR."

Just to let you know, there is no need to have a PR card to get resident tuition. As soon as you land you will be given a Confirmation of Permanent Residence. It generally can't be used for international commercial travel, but a copy of that faxed to your university will prove your PR status to them.