PR Card Issue

broket wrote: . . . so I have to either postpone my return or just go to Canada and explain my situation at the immigration counter, which may or may not work. So to put it another way, it's either losing my job or taking my chances on re-entry.

First, a Canadian PR who can establish his or her identity at a Canadian POE will be, and must be allowed entry (without being detained except for some extreme exceptions, such as persons who are a clear security threat). Thus, if you have a currently valid passport, and your expired PR card, and there is no issue regarding who you are, you will be allowed to enter Canada if and when you reach a Canadian Port-of-Entry.

Worst case scenario is questioning regarding compliance with the PR residency obligation and if the examining officer determines that there has been a breach of the residency obligation, a 44(1) report which is usually then promptly reviewed by a senior officer (technically the Minister's delegate) who may issue a Removal Order, and then you are allowed to enter Canada (and you have thirty days in which to file an appeal; in the meantime the Removal Order is not enforceable . . . it becomes enforceable after thirty days if you do not file an appeal, or if you appeal and lose, when you lose the appeal). That is the worst case scenario. You get to enter Canada but will have to appeal a Removal Order and in that process show you have complied with the PR residency obligation.

If there is no doubt about your compliance with the PR residency obligation, there should be no significant problem at the POE (beyond the usual other stuff, customs issues, questions to confirm identity, things which any Canadian, citizen or PR, can encounter upon returning to Canada).

Actually, frankly, for any PR with a potential issue regarding residency obligation compliance, even though having a valid PR card in possession ordinarily reduces the risk of being referred to secondary from the PIL (primary inspection line), for immigration (apart from customs issues), if there are questions about the PR's compliance with residency, it matters little whether or not their PR card is currently valid. That is, a PR with potential residency issues (hence admissibility issues), is taking his or her chances at the POE even if the PR has a currently valid PR card . . . the currently valid PR card does not preclude being issued a Removal Order for inadmissibility.

The biggest problem with being a PR abroad without a currently valid PR card is for people carrying a passport from a country which does not have visa-exempt status; for PRs without visa-exempt status and without a currently valid PR card, or PR travel document, it can be difficult if not impossible to travel to a Canadian destination, to even reach a Canadian POE. Commercial carriers (like airlines) must screen all international travelers destined for Canada and assure they have a currently valid travel document authorizing travel to Canada. In other words, if not visa-exempt, the PR without a currently valid PR card will not be allowed to board a flight headed for Canada.

Bottom-line: PRs who reach a Canadian POE are not really taking any chance they will be denied entry because they do not have a currently valid PR card in possession so long as they can establish their identity.

broket wrote: My renewed PR card wasn't processed in time for my departure, so I applied for Travel Document as soon as I got here.  Today, I was contacted by Visa processing Center in my country saying that it usually takes more than a month (in some cases, two months) to process travel document so I have to either postpone my return or just go to Canada and explain my situation at the immigration counter, which may or may not work. So to put it another way, it's either losing my job or taking my chances on re-entry.

I highly recommend that you, your employer and any relatives that you have that are Cdn citizens contact your MP's office ASAP. They may be able to expedite the travel document.


Edited by eileen - 08 Jan 2014 at 8:38pm

I'm pretty sure getting or renewing a US visa in time is much easier than getting the stupid travel document ... I'd also suggest flying to US first and then cross the land border.

just letting know