Hi, I am an inland and completed my landing process recently and waiting for my PR Card. I am resided in Toronto and going to the US for Christmas holidays and coming back to Buffalo NY by Flight and taking Bus to Toronto. Can I use my COPR (not intended to travel) for return? I think bus driver will not allow but I have a Visitor visa stamp on my passport which I can show it and then during the border crossing I can show my COPR to enter. is that correct?
Thanks.
I’m not sure what checks the Bus operator runs, specifically if they just visually verify the identification or if they run it through an online check that IRCC provides.
If it’s a visual check, then you will be fine at the border. If they don’t let you board then you’ll need to find alternative means of transportation to get to the border.
I crossed the border once with a valid visitor stamp and a COPR in a rental car (I had started and ended my trip in Buffalo) so it wasn’t exactly an issue for me.
I wasn’t sure if I could show my visa for travel (plane / bus / train) and CoPR at immigration counter, so I drove across the border. The immigration officer just looked at my copr and passport, didn’t ask anything about the visitor visa stamp.
What you are thinking is correct. But I’m not sure if during the border crossing, you’d stand as the odd one out (to the immigration officers) to cross border in a bus with a CoPR.
Thanks, both of you. I will book an enterprise in Buffalo and drop it in Pearson. That way, I can just stop my car at the border toll and enter Canada.
Hey @ntn related question - how was the overall experience at the land border crossing, with respect to time and convenience ? Did you have to deal with a lot of traffic?
I’m thinking of driving thru Buffalo and visiting NYC and was wondering if is less of a hassle than flying.
Flying imo is less of a hassle if you are short of time.
When flying, your US immigration is done in Canada (at Pearson. Not sure if you plan to fly Porter from the city airport).
Other than that, If you are up for driving, it is manageable to drive same day (it can be an 8-10 hr drive based on traffic and stops). If driving through Niagara you can check https://www.niagarafallsbridges.com when you are about 30-45 mins away from crossing and choose one that has less traffic
Flying sometimes is cheaper if you fly from BUF to NYC, so if you want to have immigration at land border crossing that’s an option.
I have found driving is easier and more convenient when splitting the trip and staying overnight at Syracuse (that’s roughly half way). So I can leave after evening rush hour, and reach Syracuse ~11pm, next day it’s a comfortable 4 hr drive to NYC or back to Toronto (and you’ll reach the metro area after morning rush hour). This way, I never hit traffic anywhere, including the bridge crossing (but each time I drove across the border it was either mid day weekday or late night weekend).
is it possible to do one way rentals from US to Canada? I wasn’t sure if that’s possible.
Yes , I did my final move by flying into buffalo , and driving a rental from Buffalo to home in one way rental , crossing at peace bridge . Returned the car at a local Avis shop.
For my family it was first landing , and for me it was second , and immigration was pretty smooth . Done in 10 mins .
Yes. It’s possible but rental companies will charge more. For 1 day, it will be anywhere around $200-250
There’s typically a premium on one way rentals because the rental company can’t rent out the car in the other country. So the car needs to be shipped back generally.