PR Approved - Questions on port of entry / passport expiry

[TStuart]

My partner's PR has been approved and we're moving to Canada from the UK in a few months.

A couple of questions please:

1) We put Ottawa as our port of entry. Does it matter if we don't fly into Ottawa or even settle there? When completing the application Ottawa was on our list of places we wanted to settle but we may start off or end up somewhere else. Will the authorities mind if she goes through the 'checking-in' process at a different airport?

2) Her British passport expires in July 2014. Would it be better to renew it now while we're in the UK and then inform the Canadian High Commission about getting a new confirmation of PR? Or should we get to Canada first this spring and then renew the passport while in Canada? Could she be refused entry into Canada if her British passport is due to expire a couple of months after entry?

Thanks

 

[zardoz]

My partner's PR has been approved and we're moving to Canada from the UK in a few months.

A couple of questions please:

1) We put Ottawa as our port of entry. Does it matter if we don't fly into Ottawa or even settle there? When completing the application Ottawa was on our list of places we wanted to settle but we may start off or end up somewhere else. Will the authorities mind if she goes through the 'checking-in' process at a different airport?

2) Her British passport expires in July 2014. Would it be better to renew it now while we're in the UK and then inform the Canadian High Commission about getting a new confirmation of PR? Or should we get to Canada first this spring and then renew the passport while in Canada? Could she be refused entry into Canada if her British passport is due to expire a couple of months after entry?

Thanks

1) It only matters if you were applying either through Quebec or via a provincial nomination.
2) You would be better off landing with the existing passport and renewing it via the British high commission in Ottawa after landing. There should be no issue with the short remaining life span of her existing passport.

 

[PMM]

Hi

1) It only matters if you were applying either through Quebec or via a provincial nomination.
2) You would be better off landing with the existing passport and renewing it via the British high commission in Ottawa after landing. There should be no issue with the short remaining life span of her existing passport.

1. IMHO, I would renew it now. If you apply for Canada, the application goes to Washington, it costs £ 275 whereas it costs £ 72 to renew in the UK.

 

[zardoz]

Hi


1. IMHO, I would renew it now. If you apply for Canada, the application goes to Washington, it costs £ 275 whereas it costs £ 72 to renew in the UK.

Hmm. £200, or the hassle (based on my personal experience) of dealing with the visa officers in the CHC in London to get a replacement COPR? I know which I'd choose. However, it is indeed up to the OP's mother which path to choose.

 

[Alurra71]

Hmm. £200, or the hassle (based on my personal experience) of dealing with the visa officers in the CHC in London to get a replacement COPR? I know which I'd choose. However, it is indeed up to the OP's mother which path to choose.

Unless she changed her name or any of her vital information has changed, I don't see how renewing her passport now would hinder her COPR. So long as she brought along her old, now invalid passport to let them check them both it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[TStuart]

Thanks for the advice.

I am tempted to have her renew it now and like you mention, take the old one with us for verification. I'll try to get a definite answer out of the CHC in London but I don't know how long this will take!

 

[Msafiri]

Hi


1. IMHO, I would renew it now. If you apply for Canada, the application goes to Washington, it costs £ 275 whereas it costs £ 72 to renew in the UK.

North American Regional Passport Office was closed back in 2013 for 'cost saving' reasons though it had a bad reputation for poor service. All overseas applicants for UK passports now have to send their application to the Durham office in NE England. Best for the OP to renew their passport in the UK now. You get up to 9 months credit for early application so she won't lose anything..actually she may avoid an annual increase around April/ May 2014 in line with the UK fiscal year where there may be budgetary issues. Another advantage is that you get the most recent chipped passport that will make it easier for cross border trips to the US - your current passport may not be 'biometric' compliant for ESTA if the bio-data page is not of a scanned photo.

Present the new passport with the old passport having the PR visa at the POE. Landing must be completed prior to the PR Visa expiry data. As per the current enforcement manual dealing with POE examinations you will be ok. Plenty of visa holders show up with old passports having the visa and new passport for whatever reason usually the visa validity extends beyond the passport validity although CIC now resolving this by issuing visas only to the validity of the passport. Alternatively if you have enough time post new passport issuance go back to CHC London to get the PR Visa transferred but check with them how long this will take.

Not sure of the OPs UK status but if you are not yet a citizen and qualify to apply do so now...you will be a UK citizen before she lands. Make sure you store the expired passport safely if presented at landing. You will need it when applying for citizenship.

 

[zardoz]

The UK passport holder will not need an IM-1 visa actually inside the passport. Only a COPR with the existing passport number on it will be issued.