travelUS2C said:
Can someone advise if there will be any issue travelling to Canada on GC if I still have Canada PR card that will expire in next couple of months? Have been out to Canada for 2 years.
Thanks in advance.
There is a difference between what is required at a PoE to obtain entry into Canada versus what is involved in actually traveling to Canada, that is, the physical process of getting oneself to a Canadian PoE. For example, apart from what may be required at the PoE, there are specific rules governing what documents must be presented before boarding commercial transportation (such as an airline flight) carrying passengers to Canada.
Screening PRs at PoE:
A Canadian PR is entitled to enter Canada. Thus, at a PoE a PR does not need to present any prescribed documents in particular, but must establish identity and PR status with whatever documents the PR does present. That is, all the PR needs is sufficient documentation to establish identity and PR status (passport plus one of the following: valid or expired PR card; Record of Landing; or CoPR), and typically a PR's passport is linked to the PR's client number in the CBSA and IRCC databases, so usually this is sufficient to also establish status. (However, the scope and duration of inquiries at the PoE are likely to increase the less definitive the PR's documentation is; for example, possession of an expired PR card will usually suffice to readily establish status but there may be a secondary examination as to compliance with the PR RO; more so if the PR presents a CoPR; in contrast, a PR without any documentation directly showing PR status, can anticipate a significantly longer delay in the border examination while the CBSA does some background checking to more fully verify status.)
For more information about PoE examinations generally, see the operational manual ENF 4 Port of entry examinations at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf04-eng.pdf
For examination of PRs in particular, see section 11 beginning on page 43
For example, see section 11.3 for establishing PR status if the traveler lacks specific documents showing PR status.
In any event, once you reach a PoE, as a PR you will be entitled to enter Canada. Given the length of your absence, it will be prudent to carry in your hands (not in checked baggage, not in the trunk or backseat of a car, but in your hands) some proof to show you have been in Canada sufficient to be in compliance with the PR Residency Obligation. If the officers perceive you to be in breach of the PR RO you will still be allowed to enter Canada; you could, however, be reported for the breach, even issued a Removal Order, but still allowed to enter.
Travel to Canadian PoE via private vehicle:
There is no Canadian restriction which affects how a person can travel to a PoE using private transportation. Typically this would be via private automobile to a land crossing PoE on the U.S. and Canada border. As already noted, upon arrival at the PoE and seeking entry into Canada, a Canadian PR is statutorily entitled to enter Canada. Thus, no particular documents are required, just sufficient documentation to establish identity and PR status (passport plus one of the following: valid or expired PR card; or Record of Landing; or CoPR), and typically a PR's passport is linked to the PR's client number in the CBSA and IRCC databases, so usually this is sufficient (see caution above).
Travel to Canadian PoE via a commercial carrier:
As noted, there is a difference between what is required at a PoE to obtain entry into Canada versus what is required to board commercial transportation (such as an airline flight) carrying passengers to Canada.
In particular, IRPA section 148(1)(a) prohibits commercial transporters from carrying to Canada a person who does not hold a prescribed document. For PRs the
only prescribed documents are either a valid PR card or a PR Travel Document. (See, for example, section 11.6 in the operational manual ENF 4 cited and linked above; also see IRCC's formal information at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/about-pr.asp )
As I understand it, a person who has been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence is "visa-exempt" for purposes of entering Canada, per IRPA Regulation 190(1)(c), and thus can present a passport plus the U.S. Green Card when boarding a flight headed to Canada. How this goes in practice is not something I have seen many reports about, one way or another.
Technically this does not modify or obviate the rule for a Canadian PR, that the PR must present either a valid PR card or a PR TD for purposes of being allowed to board a flight to Canada. Thus, technically, as a Canadian PR you should present either a valid PR card or a PR TD to obtain a boarding pass for a flight to Canada.
How it works in practice
might be different. In the past the odds were probably good that passport plus GC sufficed, but again I have seen no anecdotal reports about how this has in fact gone for anyone. My
guess is that this is no longer so, but since we do not know precisely what happens now in the recently implemented IAPI system (operated and maintained by CBSA), which now must clear all passengers before a boarding pass is printed, it is uncertain whether you might, in effect get-away-with boarding a flight to Canada without showing a PR card.
