PR cards
 

Does anybody know what happens if you are not a Canadian citizen and you don't have a PR card and you go to England on holiday.

I had heard that depending on the mood of the airline people - they can refuse to allow you back on the plane when you try to come back to Canada. I would assume that eventually you could get back by going to Canada House or something and proving that you have lived here for years, but does anybody have any experience with this?

Its not me by the way - I am a Canadian citizen.

Re: PR cards
 

Hello there,

If you are not a canadian citizen, and you want to go to England, you need a visa to start with, unless your country has a visa waiver with the UK.

If you do go to England on a visa, and decide to come back to Canada, the airline will check your ticket, passport, and visa. Some might not check your visa, but when you get to Canada, immigration will definitely check it, and if you don't have the right documents, you won't be let in. Word of mouth about how long you've lived here, won't help your case.

If you in Canada illegally, or on a temporary visa, its not a wise idea to leave the country. It says on the visa, `This does not guarantee re-entry.

Tell your friend this
:D


cheers

No - I guess I didn't explain properly. My sister is English. She has lived in Canada for about 30 years but she is not a Canadian citizen and the last time I spoke to her, she hadn't applied for a PR card. My Mom, who might very well have got the story wrong, told me that she is going on holiday to England without a PR card and with just an English passport, and I said then she might be out of luck if the person checking the documents at Heathrow is in a bad mood, they might not let her back on the plane.

Well....if she has lived here for 30yrs and hasn't been bothered to apply for citizenship or PR, she is taking a big risk. I guess she can go to England since she has a british passport, but when she is coming back and they ask her here in Canada how long she is staying for, that is when the problem is going to start.

I'll say that she applies for her PR card if she is here legally, so she doesn't encounter any problems when coming back. The law does say all returning permanent residents should have a PR card.

Good Luck

I know. I agree. My other sister in England told me that the sister here doesn't want to become a Canadian. She wants to remain English. And she said it in the tone of voice that sounded like one was lowering their standards by becoming Canadian. I said, in response, I am a Canadian and I am English. I have dual nationality and I can have both passports. The only reason I picked a Canadian passport was because it was cheaper than an English one!

And besides which, it seems to me that if you have lived in Canada for 30 years, like my sister has, then you are just about as Canadian as its going to get and not becoming a citizen is a mere formality.

She said she is afraid she wont be able to answer the citizenship questions. For crying out loud - she has been a systems analyst and a teacher - there is no possible way that she could fail to answer the questions. I mean - if you speak one of the official languages, if you watch the news and read the papers and are borderline intelligent - you will pass!!

The link below should answer your question a little bit more:

http://www.settlement.org/sys/faqs_d...faq_id=4000504

cheers

Re: PR cards
 

My understanding of this from the immigration forum is...

As a british citizen she can come and go freely from the UK, so getting into the UK is no prob.

As I understand it the PR card is basically a security document that makes it much easier for airlines etc to identify who has the right to land in Canada, before they let you on the plane. The thinking seem to be that the average airline employee has no clue what a genuine IMM1000 looks like, so its much easier to have a standardised card.

To board the plane from UK to Canada, she *should* have the PR card, as it shows she is allowed to enter canada. BUT all (well nearly all) UK citizens are allowed into canada under the visa waiver program as a Visitor, so she should be allowed on the plane back without the PR card too.

OK...so once she get on the plane, what happens when she gets back to canada, and comes through immigration...she cant say she is a visitor, as it is not true. The IMM 1000 in her pasport is still valid proof that she is a permanent resident, but the immigration official may, or may not, take a dim view of not having the PR card yet, and might detain her for a while until he gets confirmation the IMM1000 is valid and for real.

The bottom line from what I have read elsewhere is that she is a legal resident in Canada, and can prove it with the IMM1000, along with other proof of living in Canada such as health card, drivers license etc, but it will probably take a while, depending on the individual immigration officials discression. So as long as she has her IMM1000 landing record, and a lot of patience and good humour to jump through hoops for the immigration official on landing back in Canada, she should be OK.Unfortunately I dont know anyone who has actually done this, and this is not meant as legal advice!

To be absolutely safe she should go to the CHC in London after she arrives and apply for the Travel Document, in order to make sure she can get back into canada without any trouble. Find out what documents etc. are required at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/travel.html


On a side note I would apply for citizenship ASAP to avoid this mess in future. Thats what I did! Damned if I am going to keep renewing a PR card. Having recently done the test, no one with half decent english skills has anything to fear, read the book they give out and you would have to actively try to not get a passing mark.

Good luck

Iain

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice. I have passed it along to my sister.

The only thing we were wondering about was the fact that on the Travel Document page it says:


This application is for permanent residents outside of Canada who need proof of their status so they can return to Canada.

Use this travel document if you have lost your documents showing your permanent residence status.


The fact is that yes, I think she has lost her IMM1000 document. I believe she put it through the wash years ago. I am not even sure if she has the remnants of it!

Can you obtain a Travel Document if you have lost your IMM1000 years ago and you deliberately went to England without it - or is this supposed to be if you lose it on the trip?

Any idea how long it takes to get one of these Travel Documents?

Also, to complicate the issue even further, her husband has a Ukrainian last name which they adapted to a Canadian one. SOOOO - her passport is in her "real" name but all the rest of her documents, driver's licence, house deeds etc. are in her real "anglicized" name.

I wont use the actual name but basically her passport says "Ann Froczyk" while her driver's licence and house deeds say "Ann Frost".

I believe the only documents with the real name are her marriage certificate and her passport.

I told her - QUIT PROCRASTINATING - get down and apply for your PR card, your citizenship and your change of name TODAY!!!

Problem is my Mom is 88 and has had two heart attacks recently and as my sister hasn't been to visit for a few years - she thought she should go as quickly as possible.

I tried phoning the CIC call centre but of course its permanently busy. Not only my Mom but both of us may be dead before we get through to them on the phone!!!

There is a fast track to get a PR card, as documented on the CIC site, so I would try this first. Dont know how long it takes though. You would have to go to a CIC office to pick up the forms to save some time, otherwise CIC have to mail you some of them, which will take a little time.

I guess if she is leaving right now her best bet is the travel document. www.cic.gc.ca/english/pr-card/urgent-cases.html

Typically this is a one day deal to get the travel document, but it is not clear how this will work in these circumstances. I would definatley explain all this in the immigration forum, as there is a lot more experienced people there who probably know the answer.

It might also be an idea to get a friend or relative in the UK to go to the CHC and find out exactly what she needs if her IMM1000 is long since destroyed. They could try calling, but I suspect that is as much use as trying to call CIC from within canada. Maybe calling Buffallo CIC is an option, but its probably just as bad, at least they deal with travel docs there, so someone there might know what your sister would need ?

Just looking at the stuff you need for the PR card (the document checklist) it says certified copy of IMM1000 (prefered option) or provincial drivers license or income tax assesment from CCRA, so maybe the same applies to a travel document, even though this is not mentioned in the guide for the Travel Doc?

The best thing all around would be if she is not leaving right away to apply for the PR card asap, and follow the instructions for urgent cases, which means sending a copy of your ticket with the forms and clearly identifying the fact it is urgent on the envelope. If it doesnt come through in time then go anyway and do the travel document thing, at least CIC will have a record of your PR card application with the supporting documentation, so it should be easier to get the TD than if you just walk in out of the blue.

Good Luck, it is a bit of a mess isnt it?

Iain