Personal Situation - need advice on re-entering Canada without PR in hand

Hi all, We are currently in USA. we did soft-landing this July and got a photo resubmission request for PR card dispatch in the first week of October. We resent the pics last week using USPS priority express and waiting for the PR card. Meanwhile, I got laid off last week from my current position(On H1B) due to major restructuring and Covid situation at our company. Since then I am actively pursuing some calls with some hiring firms in Canada. One of the client seems to be interested in offering a position but needs me in Canada in the next 3 to 4 weeks, even though they offer remote work but inside Canada only. I am not sure how long would be PR card processing takes and am just wondering is there any other way that I can pursue to enter Canada without my Initial PR card in hand. Please let me know if there is and what should be the right approach to this situation? Thanks in advance

First of all, I’m very sorry to hear of your situation about the job loss.

Since you’ve already landed as a PR in Canada earlier in the year, you are in a good position. There are no restrictions on permanent residents travelling into Canada. You can enter Canada anytime by road using your COPR. I wouldn’t worry about getting the physical PR card in hand, without it you can’t fly into Canada; so depending on where you’re currently in Canada it’s perhaps an inconvenient or long road trip but no issues with the documentation on being allowed entry.

As for actually moving here, I think that depends on your job situation. If you can find a job in America sooner than you can in Canada, then you should stay put at-least till you find a job in Canada. But if you can find a job in Canada and you said that there was a client who was interested in Canada, then I think it’s an excellent idea to move straightaway.

In all my conversations with people, the single most important factor in determining whether they have a great immigration experience is dependent on lining up the first job in Canada.

4 Likes

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Panditji. I should have been more clearer in explaining my situation. We have our COPR valid until July 21, 2020 and we landed on July 11, 2020 and became PR. Can we use the same expired COPR to enter Canada? While I was researching on the internet, I came across something called PRTD document can also be used for entry when we don’t have a PR in hand. Is it applicable to our situation since we don’t even have our first PR Card in hand? Please let us know what you think. Thanks in advance!

When you soft landed, the officer would have updated your COPR with some details and dates. Those are your date of entry and how long your current PR is valid. Example if you landed on July 11 2020, the officer might have noted July 10 2025 as the date of expiry for your PR. That’s the new expiry date for your COPR. I think you should be good.

1 Like

Yes Absolutely, the validity of the COPR is the date till which you needed to land in Canada.

Since you validated your COPR, you’re now a Canadian PR. You can use that in a land border to prove your status in Canada and enter freely.

COPR is a very important document and can be used for re-entry at the land border, i don’t believe it expires after you have landed
. My brother who was awaiting his canadian citizenship and his pr renewal was pending at that time was able to re-enter using the COPR after visiting me in the US.

1 Like

Thank you everyone for clarifying on this. This is a huge relief for the turmoil that is going on right now. Hopefully things turn out right and I would be able to move to Canada with a job in hand. Thanks again.