Hey everyone! We got our visa back in the mail today and now the only left to do is book a flight. However - my boyfriend already has a flight booked for next week as it's my sister's wedding and he was coming over for that regardless since he also has an Irish passport aside from his UK passport, which was the one we sent off for the visa. Now that he has his UK passport and visa back, what are the rules to landing/travelling on it?
He was planning on being here for two weeks for the wedding and house hunting, then flying back to Ireland to tie up some loose ends and say his goodbyes, then fly back over to officially "land" in September. Would he be allowed to enter Canada on his visa, apply for his PR card while he's here, then go back to Ireland for a few weeks and then re-enter Canada? (sorry, confusing I know). Or should he just use his Irish passport to travel over here for the wedding and back to Ireland, then use his UK passport and visa to officially enter in September?
Also, when he does enter, what should we be prepared for? Any rules to follow?
He should land now. As a permanent resident, he's allowed to travel freely so there is no reason why he should leave Canada at any time he wishes to.
The landing is pretty simple, he just shows his passport and COPR, gives an address to where his PR card will be sent and answers a few simple questions.
Also prepare a list of goods he's bringing in and the list of goods he'll be bringing in at a later date, though from recent experiences, nobody looks at those.
I'm assuming he will give your address for the PR card. When you receive it, mail it to him in Ireland. Though I think he should be able to return with his COPR alone.
Happy landing! ^^
Ditto mitamata. Definitely plan to do the "landing" upon arrival. He is in the system and it could confuse things otherwise.
Note: if you are in Ontario, he should wait to apply for OHIP until after he has returned to stay in Canada, since he must be physically in Ontario for five of the first six months to be eligible for OHIP. I do not know if any of the other provinces have similar restrictions for health coverage.
While he will have no problem booking a later flight to return to Canada in September, when it actually comes time to board the plane it is definitely better to have the PR card in hand, especially if he has a one-way ticket.
The probability is that he will have no problem being allowed entry into Canada even if he does not have the PR card in possession (as long as he has his passport and the CoPR affixed in it).
The problem can be the airlines. In some cases where the passenger only has a one-way ticket they may be inclined to not take the chance that the person will be refused entry into Canada because then the airline has to fly that person back at their own expense (which I think they can sue to recover from the passenger, but no one likes to buy lawsuits let alone lawsuits against customers). Depends entirely on the discretion of the airlines. Perhaps, if he has not received the PR card yet, he could use the Irish passport for boarding the plane . . . but show the UK passport with CoPR affixed upon landing in Canada.
What was said about the airlines is very true,having spent 5 years with an airline that involved international departures we would and did deny boarding to passengers if we though they had insufficient travel documents for entry of the destination country.
However, (not always varies by airline) one can buy a roundtrip since many times they can be cheaper or close to the same price and no red flags would be raised.
The COPR alone is probably not sufficient for commercial travel and I'd venture isn't on the airlines list of approved travel documents.
CIC itself says its not valid for travel by commercial carrier so keep this in mind.
He can apply for his SIN while here the first time, but healthcare depends on province, BC requires one to be permanent living and be physically present in BC, so he would need to wait until his return but can apply the second he is living and physically present but coverage would not start until the 1st day of the 3rd month.
Varies by province though.
okay, so let me make sure i have this right - when he comes next week, he should enter on his visa, then apply for PR while he's here (2 weeks). then he can fly back home, i send him the PR card in the mail, he flies back and has no problem entering because he has PR?
he'll been coming through halifax international (i live in prince edward island) and they're usually pretty good with entry stuff. how long does it usually take to receive a PR card? once i get it at my address here i'll just send it to him expresspost. so there isn't any problem with him leaving the country again right away once he enters on his visa?
You got it right. I believe the PR card takes some 6 weeks at the moment, though I've heard people say they got it in less than that and yet others had to wait longer. So it's just an estimate.
And no, there's no problem with him leaving the country. They're not very careful with who leaves, it's the ones who enter that they care about ;)
OleanderAvenue Wrote:okay, so let me make sure i have this right - when he comes next week, he should enter on his visa, then apply for PR while he's here (2 weeks). then he can fly back home, i send him the PR card in the mail, he flies back and has no problem entering because he has PR?
he'll been coming through halifax international (i live in prince edward island) and they're usually pretty good with entry stuff. how long does it usually take to receive a PR card? once i get it at my address here i'll just send it to him expresspost. so there isn't any problem with him leaving the country again right away once he enters on his visa?
4 weeks or so seems to be about the norm but since you live closer to Nova Scotia the mail time should not be as long, so you might see it a little quicker. (they PR cards are processed and mailed from Nova Scotia.)