towch

Right now, has anyone ever returned to Canada without yet receiving their PR cards?? ours have been delayed as they claim the photos are wrong, background not white enough and the size of our faces too big by a whopping 1mm-2mm so we have had a new set done and sent them off to Canada again.

We landed in Feb 2010 and all other paper work is sorted, we returned to sell the house and at last it looks like we may have a buyer,fingers crossed! so instead of waiting for months on end we would like to get over there before the school term restarts in Sept.
I know we can apply to Canada House in London for tavel docs but i was wondering if anyone has re-entered without this extra hassle & expense?

I still have our copy of the COPR that came with the Visa, would they accept this or can we just enter as a normal visitor and pick up our PR cards at a later date when they are ready???

Cheers in advance for ideas

britsnake

I entered with travel documents, but was told when I arrived in Canada, that I had wasted my money as I did not need travel documents and that I should not do this again. He acted like I was an idiot for getting this.

But...

When I was in the UK, travelling on a one way ticket, the airline staff DID check my travel documents. Initially, they checked the page of my initial landing which they claimed was valid for only one entry. I then flicked the page for them and they were happy.

So technically, you do not need travel documents, but if you are travelling on a one way ticket on a low cost airline, the airline may give you problems.

towch

Thanks Britsnake,

I was thinking of just entering as a family on holiday and then staying, we already have a house so accommodation is sorted.
we might just arrange a cheap package holiday c/w return tickets so nothing unusual flags up.
My concern is that when we pass through immigration they will stop & ask for our docs and if not satisfied will send us back, i guess to be safe we'll end up getting travel docs from London and cough more money!!
when you entered did you tell them you where a returning PR??

britsnake

I did not have to tell them that I was a returning PR, it was on their system. Thats why they told me I did not need travel documents.

mmaganti

From what the immigration officer at our landing told us, it's not customs/immigration who will stop you when you have no PR card, it's the airlines. So, it depends on the airline.

tommy_mcl

Hi

I landed in Feb and came home after 2 weeks. The immigration officer told me that the travel documents are only required by the airline as mmaganti states.

Anyway I fly back next Friday so hopefully won't have any problems - although I have a return flight ticket. Will let you know (hopefully from Canada ) if I got any problems.

towch

Cheers all, thanks for the replies.

I now have a contact number for the Kelowna office who is handling our PR cards so i can call them later on & chase things up. But if all else fails i'll just buy return tickets as normal.

Fingers crossed we'll be in New Brunswick by end of August

tommy_mcl

Arrived in Halifax today and did not have any problems without PR Card. But do have a return ticket.

towch

Great news Tommy, i take it that you just passed through the normal immigration channels the tourist used.i have been looking at flights to Halifax and then taking an internal flight to Saint John NB where our house is, Which carrier did you use??
Our PR cards are being processed now after sending updated photos, but my daughter has to resign her form as part of the signature just strayed outside of the box...bloody padantic red tape!!!
Never mind, be there soon and i hope everything goes ok with you, Just need to find work then.
Cheers.

bewillow

You do NOT need a PR card if you reenter Canada by land in a private car. So flying to the US and driving to Canada is always an option.

And I suspect it is very unlikely that Canadian immigration will turn you away at the border if you have PR. They have the records, and it may in fact be illegal to turn you away if your PR is still valid (specifically if you meet the residency requirements).

It is the airline who (often) needs the reassurance. They will get fined if you get turned back, and so they do not want to take any chances.

iaink

You are likely to have just as much trouble persuading the airline to let you take a one way trip to the US surely, not to mention the hassle of a one way international car rental

If you are going to go to those lengths you might as well get a return ticket to a Canadian destination, board it using your UK passport and have canadian immigration check your status when you land, or else go get the travel document...

tommy_mcl

Hi

Just went through the normal queue, flew Air Canada - all on time and ok as far as flights go - I booked about 3 months ago so only cost £520 return. This included BMI flight from Glasgow to London.

Wife is coming out next week, same route and airlines £920 return, best to book early if possible.

The guy sat next to me on flight was going on to St Johns. They actually switched him from the direct flight as he would get in a couple of hours earlier going via Halifax (must leave London quite a bit later).