If my renewed PR card needs to be picked up in person in Canada and I am currently residing outside Canada what are my options?
Do I need to apply for a PRTD to enter Canada to pick up my PR card? That seems paradoxical as the PRTD process is pretty much the same as the PR card renewal process. Why would a visa officer assess my application for the PRTD when my new card is literally sitting in an office in Ontario as proof that I successfully completed the renewal process?
Is there any alternative route, e.g. entering Canada without a PRTD if you can show the letter that your new PR card needs to be picked up? Can the PR card be sent to a visa processing center, embassy etc? Picking up the new card in person is such an inconvenience for global citizens and I understand from other threads here that it's a mere technicality as you will most likely be handed the card anyway.
The what part has been covered.
To be clear about it, though:
If in-person pick-up is required, there are NO options other than to pick up the card in person. If the PR is outside Canada, of course the PR must travel to Canada in order to appear in person to pick up the new card.
There are NO special requirements for entering Canada. Like any other PR, the PR is entitled to enter Canada and no particular documentation is necessary for this. Of course the PR must establish identity. And status. But status is usually readily verified once identity is established. In any event, a PR does NOT need a PR card or a PR TD to enter Canada, although the PoE examination usually is easier and goes more quickly if the PR does present a valid PR card or PR TD.
The problem the PR abroad can have is finding transportation to Canada. If in the U.S., or if able to travel to the U.S., the PR can use private transportation to get to a PoE. And, once at the PoE, again the PR is entitled to enter, no particular documentation necessary. Otherwise, if the PR needs to fly to Canada, the airlines will NOT allow the PR to board a flight unless the PR presents either a valid PR card or a PR Travel Document. Rather straight forward rule. Some exceptions apply.
The WHY side of this is relatively straight-forward as well, but a reminder may be warranted and should be relatively painless. Especially given implications inherent in recent trends.
Thus, the longer explanation:
If my renewed PR card needs to be picked up in person in Canada and I am currently residing outside Canada what are my options?
-- No options. In-person pick-up means the PR must pick-up the PR card in person. No alternative delivery arrangements are available. Where you are living is essentially NOT relevant. It is up to the individual PR to arrange transportation to the local office where the card can be picked up.
Do I need to apply for a PRTD to enter Canada to pick up my PR card?
-- No. A PR is entitled to enter Canada. No particular documentation is necessary. Of course the PR must establish identity and status, but a passport will establish identity and once identity is established the PoE officials can, usually, readily verify PR status. Of course it helps if the PR can present the CoPR or an expired PR card, to facilitate verification of status.
That said, you appear to be asking about
how can you TRAVEL to Canada rather than about entering Canada. If you want to fly to Canada, yes, if you do not have a currently valid PR card and you do not qualify for one of the exceptions, then YES, you need a PR TRAVEL DOCUMENT in order to fly to Canada. (
A similar rule applies to Canadian citizens, who similarly must present either a valid Canadian passport or have a special Travel Document. Thus, for example, even though an individual is a born-in-Canada citizen, he or she still needs to show a Canadian passport or special Travel Document to board a flight to Canada -- a birth certificate showing birth in Canada, and a pile of other documents like a Canadian drivers license, health care card, certificate of citizenship, and a certified letter from the citizen's MP, will NOT work.)
PRs with status to travel via the United States can go to the U.S. and use private transportation to cross the border into Canada. No PR TD is needed for this.
Why would a visa officer assess my application for the PRTD when my new card is literally sitting in an office in Ontario as proof that I successfully completed the renewal process?
A PR abroad without a valid PR card is PRESUMED to NOT have valid PR status. See Subsection 31(2)(b) IRPA, which states that "
a person who is outside Canada and who does not present a status document indicating permanent resident status is presumed not to have permanent resident status."
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/page-8.html#h-21
"
OH, I left it in my other coat pocket," does not fly. Even if indeed the PR has a valid PR card but left it in his other coat pocket. Likewise, "
OH, it is in an office in Ontario waiting for me to pick it up." Nice try. No cigar.
Moreover, a PR Travel Document is only issued to a PR who establishes identity, PR status,
AND current COMPLIANCE with the PR Residency Obligation AS OF THE DATE THE APPLICATION FOR THE PR TD IS MADE. (Well, there are other TDs which someone with an appeal pending can obtain.) The PR RO is a continuing obligation. The fact that IRCC has determined a PR met the PR RO as of, say, August 5, 2018, the date an application for a new PR card was made and thus sufficient to issue a new PR card, does NOT mean the PR is still in compliance with the PR RO as of December 11, 2018 when he applies for a PR TD. To qualify for a PR TD TODAY, December 11, the PR must show compliance with the PR RO as of today, December 11, 2018. That is, show at least 730 days presence (or other credit) during the five year period December 11, 2013 to December 11, 2018.
(This is similar to having to show compliance with the PR RO at the PoE, if examined about RO compliance. A PR with a very new PR card can be asked about PR RO compliance when he shows up to enter Canada, and if so examined will need to show that as of that day, there at the PoE, he meets the RO based on 730 days presence in the five years preceding THAT DAY . . . even if he was just issued a new PR card just three or four months ago. REMINDER: dates on PR card are NOT relevant in assessing RO compliance.)
AND MOREOVER, the fact the PR card has been issued and is available in the local office for in-person pick-up DOES NOT constitute DELIVERY let alone possession of the new PR card. An in-person card pick-up almost always involves, at the least, a
counter-interview, in which the PR is required to show some documents (at the least to verify identity) and oft times is asked some questions to screen the PR for possible further processing BEFORE the card is actually delivered to the PR. This is usually a perfunctory formality BUT IRCC nonetheless retains the PR card unless and until this step is SUCCESSFULLY completed. If during the counter-interview the agent notes reason for further processing, the PR card will NOT be delivered pending further processing.
As for global citizens, I am NOT aware there is any such status, no more than what it means to be a person, same as the rest of us, all seven billion or so of us. The vast majority of whom cannot easily travel to Canada or legally live in Canada. (I love how inclusive Canada is, COMPARATIVELY, but I am not deluded about the scope of this, recognizing that the vast, vast majority of the world's citizens will never be allowed to come to Canada let alone live here.)
I am sure, however, that the Canadian government does NOT recognize any formal global citizen status. Canada basically recognizes two broad groups: Canadians and Foreign Nationals. Canadians are those who are either a Canadian citizen or a Canadian PR. Everyone else is a Foreign National.
In the meantime: While there are some exceptions which allow a PR to keep Canadian PR status despite living abroad, the purpose of PR is so the individual can settle and
LIVE IN CANADA PERMANENTLY. And the rules governing PR are explicitly interpreted and applied with due consideration given to this purpose . . . including, specifically, the RO rules, in which it appears IRCC and the IAD are increasingly focused on approaching their application and enforcement of the rules in a way that is consistent with that purpose. In an increasingly global economy and society this may seem outdated. Nonetheless, border control trends appear to be in the direction of more, stricter limitation, not less. What this means, in practical terms, is that short of becoming a Canadian citizen, the Canadian immigration system tends to NOT facilitate keeping PR status for those who do not settle in Canada permanently, noting that even though the specifics of the RO allow individual PRs some flexibility of this sort, that is NOT their intention.
Bottom-line in this latter regard, and perhaps the main reason for this lengthy reminder, it will be prudent for PRs who are spending extensive periods of time abroad TO BE PAYING SPECIAL ATTENTION to possible changes in law, policy, and practice. The future has not been determined, as yet, but some handwriting on the wall suggests keeping PR status in the future may get tougher for those who are not clearly well-settled and staying in Canada.
