John Thom Don

Hi,

I know there are posts and threads relating to this before, and forgive me if I am going over old ground but I am starting to get a little worried about what I can and cannot get away with regards the above and am looking for some upto date opinions/experiences to help.

I landed PR 11th July and am returning to UK 9th August for 5 days to attend the wedding of a family member. I haven't received my PR card yet and have contacted CIC today who confirmed it is still showing as in process, basically this means I won't have it when I travel to UK.

I am flying with Air Canada, I have checked their website that suggest they will not allow me on the return flight with just my passport & IMM5292 (confirmation of Perm Residence). I sent an e mail specific to my case to them and got a reply giving me a link to the item I'd already seen on the website.

One other option is that my housemates courier my PR card to me if it arrives while I am away, however the short timeframe for my stay in the UK makes this awkward.

I have had a look CHC London's website and am aware that I can get a temporary travel document. CIC suggest I apply for this now but as I need to enclose my passport with the application it is a non starter. Does anyone know if these Travel Documents are issued on the day there & then?

I want to avoid an 8hr round trip to London while I'm in the UK if I can.

Any help/advice or even better own experiences of this situation would be great (sorry it's such a long post)

John

CalgaryBlade

As you state, you have two choices:

1) Get the card sent to the UK via UPS or whoever

2) A trip to London to get the $50 travel permit

If you got to London, get to CHC by 6:00am unless you want to queue for a long time. Once you are dealt with, it takes about 30 mins to get you permit/vias in your passport.

As a PR who landed in 1994 and didn't have a card until I came to live here last year, I have done the CHC visit 3 times since they brought in the new rules. Prior to this it was just a grilling at customs in Canada "why don't you want to come and live here".

Biiiiink

Hi John,

Have you seen the discussion on this on the other forum just now? If you read Jeremy (JAJ's) reply he points to the Air Canada website that says the PR card is a must only for non-visa waiver nationals (i.e. not British nationals). I think it's on page 2. This policy does not apply for ThomasCook flights - they want to see a PR card or a return ticket - but that's irrelevant if you're going AC, just mentioning it in case anyone thinks it's an across the airlines policy

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=317890

Biiiiink

babsi

I had exactly the same problem.

In 2002 I came back to the UK for 4 months and didn't have any documentation except a letter from immigration saying that I was my PR was in process. I phoned up immigration and they said I should get back into Canada without any problems. So I went ahead and booked my flight with Delta one way. Got to the airport and they wanted either a return ticket or something more official and didn't have it, they wouldn't let me on the flight. A few days later I booked a return ticket with My Travel with no intention on using the return and everything was fine, when I got into Canada, I had no problems at all clearing immigration and they knew exactly what my situation was.

The 3 times that I have flown back from London to Canada since then I have always been asked to show my PR card by 3 different airlines.

John Thom Don

Thanks for the reply.

I've got confirmation from Air Canada that I'll get on the flight, it's when I get to Immigration that I'm worried about.

I know that things have changed since Dec '03, just was hoping there would be some people who had entered Canada successfully without the card.

John

JAJ

Lots of people with visa waiver passports have returned to Canada without the PR Card. Provided Air Canada let you board the flight (which they should do):

- present yourself to Immigration as a returning PR

- bring as much evidence of your PR as you have available (cancelled IMM1000 or COPR document, even the letter from CIC granting your visa).

- bring evidence of your residence in Canada (SIN card etc).

- be prepared for a wait at secondary inspection and an interview about your status.

Bring print outs of the relevant pages from the Air Canada website in case you come across someone clueless at check-in:
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...traveldoc.html

where it says:

"As of December 31, 2003, permanent residents from a non visa- waiver country who are returning to Canada will be required to provide the wallet-sized plastic Permanent Resident Card or a visa to re-enter Canada as the IMM1000 Record of Landing will no longer be acceptable. Without a valid PR Card or visa these passengers will not be permitted to board the aircraft and will need to contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate to obtain a limited use travel document to re-enter Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.html#exemptions"

Jeremy

ramac

My husband travelled back to the UK last August without a PR card and he was in the same worried state as yourself. He had to return without any notice diue to a death in the family. I was left here frantically calling immigration/airline companies/government offices to be sure that he would be allowed back on the plane without a PR Card.
After days of being passed from pillar to post, I called Customs at Pearson International and spoke to a real life customs officer who gave me his name, and ID number. He assured us that there would be no probelm coming through customs. Some of the airlines are more relictant to let you on the plane without the PR card, but British Citizens do not have to be in possession of a PR card to gain access back into the country. My husband boarded the plane without any issue and went through customs without any issue. HHe had all of his travel documents and landed status info.

Two months later, I also travelled home without the PR card and had no trouble whatsoever at the airport or boarding a plane.

In June of this year, we travelled to the states 3 times and again we had no problem or where even asked at the border crossing for a PR card.

I am not advocating that people should not have a PR card, but our experience is that we have never needed it.