RCaesar

Hi there,

I currently have a open work permit in Canada until 2019. I have recently come back to the UK for a family issue. I booked these flights quickly after hearing the bad news and rushed through eTa thinking everything was ok. 1 day before flying back to Canada I opened the email on my phone to see they need another ACRO Police Check, because I have a work permit I thought it would be ok with WestJet in Gatwick. Today I got turned around and told until eTa lands there's nothing they can do ..

Since then I have applied for the police check with the premium service so CIC should receive this within 4 days.

I am now panicking because I have bills to pay and fiancée and work to get back to, can anybody out there offer any advice/experience or any kind of timescale?

Will my application be in a different queue from holiday makers as I have worked and lived in Canada for almost 3 years ?

Thank you in advance

christmasoompa

Unfortunately, as you've found out, having a work permit doesn't mean you're exempt from needing an ETA, and I'm afraid it won't give you any advantage when it comes to processing times either.

Is your police cert likely to be clear?

RCaesar

No live trace.

8 years ago was given a caution for possession of class b &c drugs.
I am currently applying for residency and have sent 2 ACROs previously for express entry and provincial nominee program. I should have had an ETA on our work permits because it was after August 2015 but my luck is I don't..

Thanks for the quick reply

christmasoompa

Ah, I see. There don't seem to be a lot of timescales around for ETAs with an old conviction, but it seems to be about a month from the few I have seen.

So your work permit was issued after August 2015? Or before? You said 3 years, so I assumed it was before, is that not the case?

RCaesar

Sorry, I meant that I have been working in Canada applying for Iec then had work permits for 3 years now. I also have a work permit valid until 2019 that was issued January 2016. On way to live back with my dad for abit really hoping it's faster than a month especially as they have all my information and previous police certificates already !

Engineer_abroad

If your work permit was issued in Jan 2016 then a ETA should of also been done for you at the same time. Note I said should, someone at my work had the exact same issue in not being allowed to board. They did an application there and then at the airport was able to board and queried it with CIC on getting back to Canada and was refunded the difference.

After that I just went and got my own rather than risk it.

RCaesar

Crazy! So they were asked for further information from their eta application, then managed to bypass it by reapplying stating they had a work permit ? Why would some work permits have no eta but others do ?? Stupid system

Engineer_abroad

Because it is a separate application that should be done at the same time as a work permit is issued. My guess is that wasn't well rolled out to CBSA officers from CIC and so on many work permit applications it did not happen.

Just to clarify they didn't bypass it they just applied for an ETA and then claimed the money back from CIC as they should not have had to get one.

Snowy560

Not necessarily for an in Canada extension. Depends when the extension was issued:

"Extension issued before May 1, 2017
If you never received or applied for an eTA before, you will need to apply for one if you plan to leave and return to Canada by air.

Extension issued on or after May 1, 2017
If you extend your permit, we will issue you an eTA automatically when we approve your permit."

Online Help Centre - List of questions and answers - by topic

RCaesar

If I had known this I wouldn't have even left the country. Now I'm stuck in limbo for x amount of time. Sent a case specific email, they have all my information from previous applications so really hoping that puts me in some kind of good stead in terms of the queue

enak

One idea, given the urgency...

Have you already got an ESTA for the US perhaps? (I don't know what the rules on cautions are for that - perhaps you can get one quicker than an ETA)

If you've already lost your Westjet flight then you could instead fly to the US using an ESTA, and then get a greyhound across or something. ETA not needed for land border, so a UK passport and a Work Permit ought to get you in.

RCaesar

Thanks Enak. Unfortunately I think I would have the same issue getting into the US by air. A couple of years ago I had to loose a bunch of money on a holiday to Hawaii because of my caution. Westjet have banked my flight so I can reuse once I have the eta but I think etsa would be the same result as last time.

enak

A plus-point for WestJet there!
Hopefully the eTA will come soon. Failing that I guess you take a luxury liner or google for space on a cargo ship :-)

RCaesar

Yeah. I might still send a ETSA in to see what happens, I just want to get into Canada as soon as possible

RCaesar

**Change on file***
CIC have made it possible to upload the new police check once i get it, this was within 1 day so im hoping that my application goes as quickly as this once ACRO is uploaded tomorrow