PR card / Work as an engineer

[rco589]

Hello everyone!

I got the visa stamp on my passport and I have to be in Canada by August. I am not completely prepared to stay there permanently yet and would like to go back after some time, 1 year at most. My plan is to go to Vancouver although I think I said Toronto in the visa application. So I have a few questions related to several topics:

1. I have read that I can mail my PR card to a friend and have that friend send it to me via DHL or something. I asked a friend of mine who is currently living in Canada and she told me that what I want to do is not completely legal and that when they got there, they received calls to their phone from people wanting to make sure they were actually staying at the address they provided. So, do they actually call and make sure you are staying where you say you are? And if so, what happens is they receive no reply, as I will not be in Canada at all? Is it actually illegal to do what I intend to do with the PR card?

2. I also read that sometimes, they will not send you the PR card but ask you to pick it up at a local office. I know it seems obvious but I need to confirm if a) only the person of the PR card can pick it up or if you can make a permit for someone else to pick it up for you and b) could I ask to pick the PR card at a local office instead of having it sent to an address?

2. I read that the place you put in your application (Toronto in my case) does not have to necessarily be the place you reside in. Can someone confirm this? Is there some additional step I should take if I want to be in Vancouver instead of Toronto?

3. I am an Industrial Engineer although I am not sure if my title in a future job would be actually that of Eng. I could be a consultant, planner, etc., several other things that do not include that word in my job title. Now, is it necessary anyway to be part of the Engineering association or board or the province I intend to reside and work in? In my country, people generally become part of the board if they work for the public sector, especially Civil Engineers when they have to sign official plans or something like that. For people working in private companies, it is not necessary at all to be part of the board. Is it a similar situation in Canada?

I truly appreciate any and all information you will be able to provide, I know you guys speak from experience but if, in addition to that experience, you can provide a link to some official document backing what you say, it would be great. Not that I doubt what you are saying but just in case some rules or things have changed in time, I wanna make sure I have the latest information.

I have tried looking for answers to these questions on the CIC site but no results come from the search engine that actually matches what I am looking for.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to even read all this and for responding.

 

[ContactFront]

1. No they don't call you. Some people mail or ask friend to physically carry their first card abroad. I didn't do it so can comment on the legality as I didn't do any research into it.
2. No you don't need to go to an office to pick up your first card. It only happens to some people when they renew their cards
3. When you first land, it's recommended to land in the same place as indicated in your application. This is not required but border officers may (or may not) ask you questions if you land in another province thousand miles away. Once you've landed an become a PR you can reside anywhere in Canada.
4. Depending on the nature of your job. you may or may not need a license. I don't work in your profession so take this with a grain of salt. Go to the provincial government website and do your research

 

[Bs65]

1. It is neither illegal to have a card addressed to you at a friends address in Canada or for that friend to mail or courier to you outside Canada. Sounds as though the friend does not want to be involved. Nobody is likely to call anyone given you give an address in good faith for your card so if the address is not valid or card gets lost it is down to you not CBSA/IRCC.

2. It can occasionally happen for a PR card to be picked up from an office but maybe not a new initial one unless it is applied for post initial landing or a renewal. Do not believe anyone but the PR card holder can pick up.

3. Can be an issue if applied under PNP to land in a different province unless having an onward ticket. After landing as per the previous answer you can live and work wherever you want regardless of sponsor. If on express entry then you may or may not get some CBSA grief but ultimately you have to complete landing at first POE anyway regardless what you said in your application.

4.Being an engineer in Canada is regulated so expect there is plenty of guidance out there if you search for it, not on the IRCC/ site but Engineering regulatory sites.

 

[rco589]

Thank you both for your replies! Now some things are clearer to me but I still have a couple of questions:

1. If the card (while being sent to my friend) gets lost, then I would need to enter Canada again on a PRTD and start the process of getting a new card, correct? In that case, I would need to enter Canada and go straight to an office? or how does it work? I mean, the first time, the process starts the moment you get to the Canadian airport but what happens the second time you enter the airport with a PRTD and they have it in the system that you already applied for a PR card?

2. I read that if you do not provide an address for 180 days following the start of the PR card process, they cancel it and you have to apply for a new one. So, if, in the case that I do not have a friends address and just leave Canada to come back later, if I get the PRTD and go back to Canada over 6 months later, I could just apply for a new card right? The PR card process starts at the moment you enter Canada, wether or not you stay or provide a valid Canadian address, correct?

Once again, thanks for your time and patience !