Sometime ago, I received a call from
someone asking if his mother who has been granted a single-entry visa to Canada
can go to the US and then return to Canada using the same visa. He was also wondering whether the extension
of her mother’s stay as a visitor beyond six months will be adequate to allow
her to travel to the US for a few days and then re-enter Canada.
The answer is yes. However, this seems to be a common source of
bewilderment for many. I believe that
the confusion partly arises from the failure to realize the crucial
distinctions between the various types of immigration documents. So I will try to explain some of these
distinctions below.
Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)
Under Canadian immigration law, the
document issued to allow a person (from a non-visa exempt country such as the
Philippines) to enter Canada is called a temporary resident visa or a TRV. This is the document that is stuck on a page
of one’s passport. The TRV could be
issued for a single entry or for multiple entries. If it is a single entry TRV, then it expires
soon after it is used to enter Canada, even if the expiry date indicated on the
document has not passed. If it is a
multiple-entry TRV on the other hand, the person may enter and re-enter Canada
until the expiry date indicated on the visa.
However,
the issuance of a TRV by a Canadian consulate or visa office abroad
(please note that only consulate offices abroad may issue TRVs) is not a
guarantee that a person will be allowed to enter Canada. The TRV holder would still have to satisfy
the immigration officer at the Canadian port of entry that he or she will leave
Canada at the end of the authorized period of stay. Once the port of entry officer is satisfied,
the usual maximum stay that is granted to a temporary resident is six months,
unless a longer period is justified, such as a longer period of study or
work. If the officer is not satisfied
that the person will leave Canada after the temporary period of stay or deems
the person inadmissible on medical or security grounds, then the person may
still be refused entry to Canada. Yes,
even with a valid TRV.
The TRV is issued to anyone who is entering
Canada on a temporary basis, whether as a visitor, a student or a worker.
Visitor Record, Work or Study Permit
The additional document that is issued by
the immigration officer at the port of entry is called the visitor record, work
permit or study permit, depending on the purpose of one’s temporary stay in
Canada. This is the piece of paper with
the annotation: “This document is not valid for re-entry.”
An extension of any of these types of
permits may be applied for from within Canada with the caveat that it is only a
permit to stay, work or study in Canada.
The TRV on the other hand, which is the document allowing entry to
Canada, is not automatically extended along with the visitor record, work or
study permit. This then results in
people having valid visitor record, work or study permits but whose TRVs have
expired. Once they leave Canada, they
will have to re-apply for a TRV to re-enter Canada even if their study or work
permits are still valid.
Other permits and visas
There are of course other types of
immigration documents which could even add to the confusion. For instance, there is the temporary resident
permit (TRP) which is a permit issued to temporary residents who are deemed
inadmissible but are allowed entry based on “compelling reasons”. Then there is the permanent resident visa
(PRV) which is issued to people who are granted permanent residence in
Canada. Once the person “lands” as a
permanent resident in Canada, the permanent resident visa expires and the
person is issued a Record of Landing or Confirmation of Permanent Residence
document. The Permanent Resident (PR)
card then takes the place of a TRV when a permanent resident leaves and wishes
to re-enter Canada. The possession of a
PR card however, does not guarantee the retention of one’s PR status. The validity of one’s PR status will depend
on whether one has satisfied the residency requirements and/or is found
inadmissible for some reason, e.g. having made any type of misrepresentation to
Canadian immigration authorities.
One can only hope that Citizenship and
Immigration Canada will eventually come up with a less confusing system. Or will at least devise better and more
accessible ways of informing those concerned.
The author is lawyer (barrister,
solicitor and notary public) in Toronto and may be reached at
mdsantos@osgoode.yorku.ca.
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