Travel on plane with old work permit before PR comes

[ofvgard]

Hi guys!

Im going to land this saturday then immediately apply for my PR card. CIC says it takes 58 calendar days. Whats that supposed to mean? Will that include weekends & holidays?

I have planned a vacation to visit my family late march 20~. I havent bought the ticket yet but I ideally Id like around that time since they have time off work around that time and it would be my birthday aswell.

I think I have just borderline enough time to get my PR card. Question is just incase I didnt get it before my flight, can I still return to canada using my work permit and multiple re-entry? They are both valid till end of July.

 

[computergeek]

Question is just in case I didn't get it before my flight, can I still return to Canada using my work permit and multiple re-entry? They are both valid till end of July.

You won't have your work permit any longer. They'll remove it from your passport when they put your COPR into your passport. I'm not sure about the TRV, I'd expect they will leave that in your passport.

Keep in mind the issue is for the airlines, not for CBSA - CBSA will be able to pull up your file on the computer and see you are a PR (ENF 4 describes how to verify that a person without ID is a PR if necessary so it can be done.) The airlines, however, won't let you board if they don't have clear evidence you can enter Canada. A TRV should be sufficient, as is a PR card. If the TRV is still "live" then you won't have a problem, because that should be enough to satisfy the airline.

Otherwise, you have two options:

(1) You can have someone send your PR card to you. You won't need it to LEAVE Canada, only to RETURN to Canada. If you're willing to pay the price to have it sent to you out of Canada, you can do so - just have a friend or family member pick it up and send it along to you.

(2) You can apply for a PR travel document. Check for the processing time of that. I've seen some offices that do it in a matter of days, while others take months to do so.

Good luck - and congratulations on your imminent change in status.

 

[SenoritaBella]

I did my landing inland, they did not take my work permit which was still valid. It is however possible that after you "land", the officer may cancel your TRV by drawing a line across it and will cancel the PR visa in the same manner(since it's a one time entry visa).

If your TRV is cancelled, you will not be able to re-enter Canada.

You can do one of two things:
1. check the expiry date of the PR visa and if you will be back to Canada BEFORE the expiry date, you can leave Canada using your TRV and "land" as you return from your trip. Be sure to take your COPR with you.

2. Do the landing BEFORE you leave Canada - your PR card is automatically processed once you land...no need to apply for it. Try to see if you can make a reservation for your flight with an airline or agency. This is a situation where you pay a small amount like $15 or $20(non-refundable) for them to reserve the travel dates for you at the current price and they give you a specific timeline during which you have to purchase the ticket or they will make the seat available to other passengers. If you can't travel by that time, no harm done and you can pay to reserve another date. Air France has this reservation option, not sure about the other airlines but you can check.

Anyway, once you get a reservation, write a letter explaining that you need to travel by those dates and why and kindly ask if they would consider speedy processing for you? Submit the letter and reservation to the officer when you go to "land".

If the PR card doesn't arrive by the time you need to travel, you can apply for a travel document at the Canadian visa office of the country you are visiting.

If you ask me, I would prefer to land before leaving Canada.

 

[ofvgard]

Thanks for your input!

I have two TRVs now. I have the single entry for my PR landing, and I have a multiplte entry TRV I got when I got my work permit, valid until July/date of my WP expiry. So I hope that the airline will accept my valid TRV. I live alone so no one will be at my place to check my mail.

Ill definitely land first as I want to start the days that would count towards Citizenship. Ill definitely try out like you suggested, Senioritabella. Ill see to it if I can reserve the dates on the airline (air canada) and hope I can get my PR right away. 58 calendar days will be a week before my flight.

If not my last resort is to apply for a travel document ...which reminds me, the place Im going is Japan, and I remembered something like any canada visa stuff needs to be sent to Philippines to be processed before returning?? When my family visited me they had to send their passports to Philippines to be processed. I hope that wont be the case for my travel document. And I definitely hope its not months lol

Ps.- Just checked, and yes I 'll need to send it to the philippines. And processing is 5 working days + mailing time. Which is not bad. At least now I know I have an option to fall to if I need to

 

[computergeek]

I have two TRVs now. I have the single entry for my PR landing, and I have a multiplte entry TRV I got when I got my work permit, valid until July/date of my WP expiry. So I hope that the airline will accept my valid TRV. I live alone so no one will be at my place to check my mail.

You could always explain the situation to the CBSA officer and ask him not to cancel the multiple entry TRV in case the PR card hasn't been delivered in time. It's not as if the officer is giving you some additional special interest.

Ill definitely land first as I want to start the days that would count towards Citizenship. Ill definitely try out like you suggested, Senioritabella. Ill see to it if I can reserve the dates on the airline (air canada) and hope I can get my PR right away. 58 calendar days will be a week before my flight.

I landed 13 October and still haven't seen my PR card, so you'd definitely be cutting it close.

If not my last resort is to apply for a travel document ...which reminds me, the place Im going is Japan, and I remembered something like any canada visa stuff needs to be sent to Philippines to be processed before returning?? When my family visited me they had to send their passports to Philippines to be processed. I hope that wont be the case for my travel document. And I definitely hope its not months lol

Ps.- Just checked, and yes I 'll need to send it to the philippines. And processing is 5 working days + mailing time. Which is not bad. At least now I know I have an option to fall to if I need to

5 working days + mailing time is not bad at all.

 

[PMM]

Hi

You could always explain the situation to the CBSA officer and ask him not to cancel the multiple entry TRV in case the PR card hasn't been delivered in time. It's not as if the officer is giving you some additional special interest.

I landed 13 October and still haven't seen my PR card, so you'd definitely be cutting it close.

5 working days + mailing time is not bad at all.

Except the OP when s/he "lands" is a permanent resident, and is no longer entitled to a TRV (visitor visa)

 

[computergeek]

Except the OP when s/he "lands" is a permanent resident, and is no longer entitled to a TRV (visitor visa)

Agreed, but we're talking about the airlines here, not the POE. If an airline person sees the TRV, they will accept it at face value.