Essex Lady

We were awaiting our PR cards for our family of 4, having landed without any problems at the end of July.

Our friend in Vancouver has kindly let us use her address for delivery of the cards. 3 arrived with her a few weeks ago, the 4th has not, which is our son's. However she got a letter today for us stating that our son's photos do not meet the specifications required (this is odd, since all 4 of us had photos done together at a specialist photo shop). The letter states that a new picture is required within 180 days of the date of the letter, suggests an appointment date for the retake of photos in November IN VANCOUVER and, if we can't make the appointment, that we can go any Monday to the address in Vancouver. It also states that photos that are mailed in will not be accepted under any circumstances.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and is there any other way of resolving this that does not include a flight to Canada for our family? We had not planned to fly back to Canada until next summer and are very restricted by school holidays, not to mention the expense of having to go back again just for a set of photos!

Any help on this gratefully received.

Jim Humphries

Well, you do have 6 months to comply. There is no work around and the photo must be taken in Vancouver unless you develop an address elsewhere in Canada.

Essex Lady

Thanks for the reply.

We were hoping that there was some way of getting the photos done/accepted by the London office.

the big burp

we had the same problem for my husband, no work around as far as i know. we will get a visa i.e. resident return visa before we go to canada and will have to apply for a pr card once in canada (you have to apy the $50 fee)

Essex Lady

Are you saying that we do not have to go within 180 days and can just pay $50 for the card when we finally arrive in Canada?

Just wanted to clarify this as clearly it makes a big difference to us financially!

Thanks.

Jim Humphries

The 180 days refers to expiry of the original application for a PR card. It is possible to come later, but within the time necessary to meet the 2 years out of 5 rule for retaining PR status and then apply for a PR card. Note that the card is not needed for entry to Canada if you are from a visitor-visa exempt country such as the UK. It is for the use of airline companies that would use it to determine whether you will be admitted to Canada on arrival.

Essex Lady

Thanks for this, all sounds a bit more promising now. Just wanted clarification as we haven't got the letter yet - it is on its way from our friend in Vancouver.

bjg

Hi there, I thought I'd throw my story into the pot!
We had a similar experience....

We landed in June (YAY!) but had to come back to the UK to sell our house (BOO!), so we gave an address of a friend in Kelowna for the PR cards to be sent to.

She received a letter saying that we (my wife and me) needed to have the photos re-taken and to send them in with a completed IMM 5455 (supplementary Identification Form)

This seems to be about the only form you can't download from the CIC web site, so we ordered it online to be posted to our friends house and then for her to post it on to us. (we wanted to use the original as it comes with a sticky square for you to attach your photo) We then sent the document back to her with two new photos taken at Jessops and asked her to post it on to CIC Kelowna. This may seem very long winded but we know that CIC frown upon PR cards being posted out of the country (although it seems lots of people do it!), and we wanted it to appear as though we were doing all this from within Canada. Naughty I know, but we've jumped through enough hoops already!!

I'm glad to report that she received the PR cards about a month later (although my wifes took an extra two weeks)and has since posted them to us. And very nice they are to!

Of course this may be true only of CIC Kelowna, and Vancouver may process things differently. But if you've got a friend who's prepared to do lots of posting for you, it may be worth a shot?

The house is sold, so the move to Canada proper happens on Dec 22nd. Can't wait!!!

Good luck!

Reidies

If the OP got the same red letter as us - it states very clearly that " all persons appear in person" so I am not sure how you get around that. Our letter doesn't mention anything about IMM5455.

As we are in Canada it's not a problem for us though.

Lethe

I received a letter stating the pr photo feature my head too prominently today but was informed to just get it re-done and either pop into the Niagara office or send them in the post but make sure they don't crease. We will take them on monday and drop them round that afternoon. Seemed strangely laid back for CIC!

Jim Humphries

How great that saner heads have prevailed and allowed some to redo the photo and send it in. The original requirement to have th retake done at a CIC was too strict and too labor consuming to boot.

marknh

Hi, Sorry tojump on your thread, but I am landing on sunday. I would like to clarfiy where the PR card pictures come from. Am i supposed to take some with me, or are these the ones that i sent with the application.

Thanks
Mark

bjg

Hi Mark,

Yes, it's the photos that you've already supplied that are used.

Unfortunately we used photo booth pictures with our application, and these were not acceptable as far as the PR card element was concerned. (although they were fine for the Visa!)

Good luck with your landing. It's all very straight forward and you'll be a PR in no time!

Cheers!

marknh

Thankyou for that.

Mark

vash2009

EssexLady, I have the exact same situation as yourself. My 180 days expire in Feb but I can't travel to canada in that time frame as the schol hols restirict me ,not to mention expensive. We landed in April 2010 and we plan to migrate fully in July 2011.

I will be applying for a travel document as my PP is not from a visa exempt country.

Does anyone on the forum know the following answers though, as i can't get through to the embassy .

- Do you get the travel docu the same day? and how long is it valid for ?

- Once in cda and i apply for the PR card (after the 180 days) does it fall into the category of a new application for PR card and i have a longer waiting time.?

-Does anyone know, if I have a representative in canada if they can send in the photos for me before the 180 days?

-A tele number for the Cda embassy here in UK.

thanks much.

and Good luck Essexlady, it is pretty stressful thinking about the financial restraints of travelling back to cda just for a photo retake. I have written CIC in cda but no reply as to if i can submit the photos via the cda embassy in the UK.

Looking fwd to the replies.