Mary Keyork supplies Immigration Legislation companies for tons of of immigration purposes in all classes and has appeared earlier than all three divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board in addition to on the Federal Courtroom of Canada, efficiently representing purchasers in advanced immigration purposes and hearings.
My passport is expiring, and I’m about to use for immigration standing. What ought to I do?
We strongly advocate that you simply prolong your passport if it is because of expire within the subsequent six months and you’ve got plans to journey to Canada, make an utility for Canadian short-term resident standing or prolong your standing.
As a common rule, immigration officers can solely problem standing paperwork for the size of validity of an applicant’s passport at a most.
Visa-Exempt International Nationals
If you’re visa-exempt (i.e., don’t want a Non permanent Resident Visa to journey to Canada) you’re eligible to make an utility for short-term residence at a Canadian port-of-entry. There is no such thing as a rule that prohibits you from coming into in case your passport will not be legitimate for a minimum of six months; nonetheless, timing is essential as a result of your standing might be restricted to the length of your passport, at a most.
Contemplate an instance: Marwa is visa-exempt, and she or he is planning to enter Canada as a customer. Her passport is expiring in 30 days, and she or he needs to remain in Canada and journey the nation for 3 months. Along with her present passport, Marwa will solely be granted customer standing for 30 days on the most. If she needs to remain in Canada longer, she should both renew her passport earlier than she enters or obtains a brand new passport earlier than her short-term standing expires after which apply to increase her standing along with her new passport from inside Canada. If she doesn’t do both of those, Marwa should depart Canada in 30 days.
Don’t overlook – most visa-exempt international nationals want an Digital Journey Authorization (“eTA”) to journey to Canada. Your eTA is linked to your passport electronically. Everytime you acquire a brand new passport, you must apply for a brand new eTA.
Non-Visa-Exempt International Nationals (Purposes Made Outdoors of Canada)
If you’re making use of for short-term standing from exterior of Canada, we recommend that you’ve a passport with a minimum of six months validity earlier than you submit your passport for visa issuance.
Non-visa-exempt international nationals want a Non permanent Resident Visa (“TRV”) to journey to Canada. TRVs are issued during a sound passport, at a most, and international nationals can not enter Canada as soon as the TRV expires. It’s subsequently essential to make sure that your passport is legitimate on the date that you simply want to enter Canada, and ideally for the whole length of your supposed keep in Canada. In case your passport expires earlier than you plan to exit Canada, you’ll have to apply to increase your short-term standing as soon as a brand new passport is obtained.
Let’s take a look at an instance: Shelley has a Canadian job provide and meets the entire necessities for the employee class. She is planning on coming to Canada as a employee for 2 years. Shelley wants a TRV to journey to Canada and might be making use of on the visa workplace in her residence nation. Shelley submits her work allow utility and, when it’s accepted, she mails her passport to the visa workplace for TRV stamping. When she receives her passport again, she notices that the TRV is simply legitimate for the subsequent 60 days. It is because Shelley’s passport expires in 60 days and the visa workplace couldn’t prolong the TRV previous the validity of her passport. Shelley has two choices: she should enter Canada, acquire a brand new passport and prolong her work allow all inside the subsequent 60 days; or, she should apply for a brand new passport earlier than she travels after which submit an utility for a piece allow and TRV from exterior of Canada once more in an effort to get a two 12 months TRV.
Non-visa-exempt international nationals who prolong their standing from inside Canada ought to be aware that there are two purposes required to increase short-term standing. In Shelley’s case, she would want to first apply to increase her work allow after which, as soon as that utility was accepted, she would want to use to acquire a brand new TRV. This consists of mailing a sound passport to an workplace inside Canada.
This course of needs to be rigorously timed to make sure that short-term standing is maintained and journey plans are usually not interrupted whereas candidates are with out their passport.
Household Members Included in an Utility
The knowledge above additionally applies to relations included in an utility. In case your partner or baby is accompanying you to Canada and their passport expires earlier than yours, their standing might be restricted to the validity of their passport at a most. This will imply that, as soon as your partner or baby’s passport is renewed, you’ll need to submit an extension utility for them earlier than you prolong your standing to make sure they’re legally approved to stay in Canada with you.
Everlasting resident candidates
As soon as you’re accepted for everlasting residence, you’ll need a sound passport to finish the touchdown course of and formally grow to be a Canadian everlasting resident.
For non-visa-exempt international nationals, you’ll obtain a everlasting resident (“PR”) visa in your passport when your utility is accepted, alongside together with your Affirmation of Everlasting Residence “CoPR”). Like a TRV, your PR visa will solely be issued to the validity of your passport at a most. You’ll have to enter Canada to validate your CoPR on or earlier than that date. In case your PR visa expires and you don’t full the touchdown course of in time, you’ll have to apply over again.
Visa-exempt international nationals who don’t require a PR visa to finish the touchdown course of nonetheless want a sound passport on the time of touchdown.
CoPRs even have an expiry date, and you have to guarantee that you may full your touchdown with a sound passport on or earlier than that date.