Guys my friend has an issue. He got his permanent residence this month but didn't receive PR card yet. But he travelled to one of the Caribbean country. He showed his national passport at the border. Because he has Canadian visa for 10years on his passport they let him to entry to country.
My questions are
1. Is his Canadian visa still valid ( because he applied for refugee to become a PR) ? 2. How he will enter to Canada if his visa is not Valid any more? ( he has no PR card and PR travel document yet)
No. But he can try boarding the airplane and they might let him board. Once he arrives in Canada, they probably can't deny him entry as he has PR status and is just missing his PR card. Your challenge is to board the airplane.
And it makes sense why US immigration is separate at all airports; they vet the passengers at source or departure to ensure no unwanted people can get through. Maybe Canada should consider a similar model. Lol
You said "Once he arrives in Canada, they probably can't deny him entry as he has PR status and is just missing his PR card" . but cic.gc.ca says that person must have a PR or PRTD to come to Canada. It's little bit confusing
Exactly! The latter is my opinion but technically he shouldn't be allowed to board a flight without PRTD or PR card if the airline actually has a way to verify visas electronically which has been debated by people but no one has provided a solid answer.
Considering his visa looks valid with a valid date, if he somehow boards the airplane and lands in Canada they will just wonder how he made it and probably pull him aside for a few hrs to question and stamp his visa canceled and let him enter. He clearly cannot be detained in Canada because he is a landed immigrant with valid status. So that's probably the worse which can happen or he gets refused boarding and reschedules flight for after he gets PRTD and loses a bit of money.
TBH, it was very dumb for him to travel first and then think about returning unless it was an emergency.
Damn. My bad. Sorry! I didn't realize he was a refugee claimant. Well, in that case, he should have requested a RTD to travel instead of using the passport of his country of citizenship. This is complicated.
You were right, he got his permanent residence 2 weeks ago. Waiting for PR card.
I'm wondering about How Canadian border let him to use his national passport?
Your friend could lose his protected person status if he is using his home country passport. He shouldn't be travelling with it at and it should have remained in Canada at his home.
he should not have traveled using his national passport. He was supposed to apply for RTD document. Yes it is inconvenient and yes not all countries accept it, but that is the reality. Yes this trip might cost him residency.
And people have also had their refugee status revoked for obtaining and travelling on their home country passports as well (and not to their home country either). It isn’t fear mongering, it’s cautionary advice! So, those who choose to renew and specifically travel with a home country passport while a refugee or PR that was obtained as a refugee should really avoid doing so. There is a significant risk that refugees (claimants, refugees with status and refugees with PRs) should be aware of.
