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Soft landing in March/April 2020 and coronavirus concerns

cancan0505

Star Member
Mar 5, 2020
58
2
You need to quarantine no matter what when you enter Canada. But I guess they can’t stop you from returning back after 14 days.



If you are from the USA, you are exempt from the restrictions.
If you are not from the USA, you are exempt only if you got COPR before March 18.

Source - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/travel-restrictions-exemptions.html
This website states the following. Do we know if soft landing is considered essential?

All other foreign nationals
To be eligible, you must meet 2 requirements:
 

eris

Full Member
Jun 29, 2019
20
2
Philippines
Am sharing my recent landing experience, landed end of April and returned to US after 16 days of self isolation.

Took a direct flight from US to Toronto airport, American Airlines. The agent took our visa and did not even ask for COPR document, though he was on the phone for sometime and took about 10 minutes to check us in, but no issues. Traveled with spouse.

On landing we had to fill out a couple of forms about Covid, one for symptoms and declaration and one for details about where we will be staying and isolating. The forms also ask for detailed contact information, phone number email, address etc.

CBSA officer asked us for detailed plans about isolation, including how we plan to get groceries, we had all proof (bookings, statement from AirBnB host etc) but they took our word for it which was nice :). For groceries our AirBnB host delivered the first batch (which we told the officer and they seemed to accept that) and placed them in the house, for the rest of the days we ordered using online ordering. We used a site called inabuggy it was expensive ($20 delivery fee) but very fast, same day delivery.

The actual landing part is done by a different immigration agent, they asked all the usual questions about proof of funds, what are your plans etc. They also double checked our self isolation plans and asked about how we will go to the AirBnB, we said Uber, they said that is fine as long as you don't stop anywhere and wear a mask. Overall very friendly and smooth PR process, they said now you are officially PR and signed the COPR, said PR card will take 1-3 months, if it takes longer raise a webform but its probably because of Covid19 :( . The officer was very friendly and even accepted my cousins address to mail the PR card :). She asked us if we are "running away from Trump" :D and said that current US immigration policy has been a gift to Canada :)

Finally at the airport we got our goods to follow stamped, this took the longest about 30 minutes, but eventually worked out.

Took an Uber to the AirBnB, Toronto airport was nearly empty.

We had carried dried food : rice, daal, spices, salt, sugar, tea etc. No fruits or vegetables, I think at some point CBSA asked us if we are carrying fruits but that's it. We were quite comfortable with online delivery + our packed items.

We spent 14 days locked up inside our AirBnB, ordered groceries and takeout, it was tiresome to be indoors but overall not too bad.
Our self isolation period was smooth except that I missed a call (my phone was turned off and it was 830AM on a Saturday :( ) from the Canadian health authorities, all it said was:

"Sorry to miss you, we will call you back"

It seems this was part of their effort to track self isolation and if you are following the guidelines, no one called me back and to the best of my knowledge no one came at my door either, so I am a little nervous about that but I would recommend that everyone traveling keep a phone on loud and near them at all times :D .. because 99% someone will call you and you don't want the stress of missing their call!

When we originally traveled we booked a 1-way flight, and had planned to spend 2 weeks after isolation with my cousin and potentially look for jobs for my spouse, but rumors/reports started to circle about new H1B restrictions in the US so after 16 days we returned to US. I used AVR it was smooth but took a long time (total 2 hours at the airport even though it was fully empty).

Returning again Toronto airport was empty, we could not find a direct flight so had a connection the flight within the US was 100% full :( .. the flight from Toronto to US was ~20% full, and the US airport seemed to be at 70% capacity!

I won't feel comfortable until I have the PR card (current wait time is ~115 days :( ) in hand, but happy to finish the landing process even though we had to return sooner than we wanted.
Hi, can I ask for more details about your airbnb booking? like if immigration or border agents asked if you will be sharing the space etc? i've read some posts dissuading people from booking shared spaces, as the people sharing these spaces will, presumably, not be in quarantine. i'm trying to book a space, but most in my price range are private bedrooms only, so i would have to share a bathroom and kitchen with other people. i'm trying to figure out if that will be a problem. many thanks for your response, i understand this was a while ago.
 

cicuser

Star Member
Oct 11, 2017
70
14
Hi @eris we have recently moved to GTA from the US and currently under a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The government is very particular about your quarantine plan and you will be asked about it at the airport. Of all the things, we were only asked about our quarantine plan. They will most likely have objection due to shared places unless everyone in the apartment will quarantine with you. I would suggest to find a basement with separate entrance, kitchen, laundry etc. to avoid running into any issues. They are relatively cheaper. The flyers they hand at the airport clearly specifies that they recommend not to stay in a hotel to avoid as much contact as possible, so a private bedroom with shared spaces might lead to some issues at the airport. Just my personal opinion.
 
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ryeCatcher

Hero Member
Apr 21, 2019
470
106
Hi @eris we have recently moved to GTA from the US and currently under a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The government is very particular about your quarantine plan and you will be asked about it at the airport. Of all the things, we were only asked about our quarantine plan. They will most likely have objection due to shared places unless everyone in the apartment will quarantine with you. I would suggest to find a basement with separate entrance, kitchen, laundry etc. to avoid running into any issues. They are relatively cheaper. The flyers they hand at the airport clearly specifies that they recommend not to stay in a hotel to avoid as much contact as possible, so a private bedroom with shared spaces might lead to some issues at the airport. Just my personal opinion.
Yup this was my experience as well, which was a while ago of course.
Basically if you have shared spaces (like kitchen etc) they expect everyone in the house to follow isolation procedures.

I'd try to find a private space completely for myself if possible.
 
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eris

Full Member
Jun 29, 2019
20
2
Philippines
Hi @eris we have recently moved to GTA from the US and currently under a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The government is very particular about your quarantine plan and you will be asked about it at the airport. Of all the things, we were only asked about our quarantine plan. They will most likely have objection due to shared places unless everyone in the apartment will quarantine with you. I would suggest to find a basement with separate entrance, kitchen, laundry etc. to avoid running into any issues. They are relatively cheaper. The flyers they hand at the airport clearly specifies that they recommend not to stay in a hotel to avoid as much contact as possible, so a private bedroom with shared spaces might lead to some issues at the airport. Just my personal opinion.
Yup this was my experience as well, which was a while ago of course.
Basically if you have shared spaces (like kitchen etc) they expect everyone in the house to follow isolation procedures.

I'd try to find a private space completely for myself if possible.
Ok, thanks for sharing your experiences. Guess it's better to shell out than run the risk of the isolation plan being rejected.
 

syahska

Star Member
May 13, 2016
56
7
a quick question. I did a soft landing in Toronto for a week starting 8th Apr 2018 and got back on 15th Apr 2018. This means that i will need to max enter Canada by 7th Apr 2021 and not step outside the country if i want to retain my PR. With my one way ticket booked for 20th Jan and coronavirus not showing any hopes of reducing, this might impact International flights. In the event that it does extend beyond and i am unable to fly till post April, what happens to my residency obligations. Anyone care to provide guidance ?
 

nisu

Newbie
Aug 19, 2019
9
2
Sorry. I don't have any experience in entering US on AVR.
I believe there are several posts on this forum that talk about AVR specifically and maybe of help.
I recently traveled for soft landing to Canada and came back on AVR. Here is my experience:

Entry to Canada Via owned Car: May 31 2020
14 day quarantine: May 31 2020 to June 14 2020
Reentry using AVR via land border: June 14 2020
AVR Experience: Me (Current status H1B, Valid I797 , I94, old expired F1 visa)and my wife ( Current status F1, Valid i797, i94, old expired F2 Visa) Came back smoothly. I parked the car in the parking lot, CBP officer came to our car and asked few question like where do u work and for how long then went back in with our passports, cam eout in 20 min and said we are all set, just paied $6 each for new i94 issue fee. It was very smooth experience.