In Canada, for permanent residents applying for citizenship or those wishing to renew their permanent resident cards, the duration of residence must meet certain criteria. How can one prove that they have resided long enough? Experts from World Immigration Group state that, at this time, entry and exit records become very important.
However, currently, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) only records the names, entry dates, port of entry, and passport numbers of incoming individuals, without any record of exit dates. In such cases, tourists entering Canada on a visitor visa can easily overstay in Canada.
The Canadian government stipulates that tourists entering Canada on a visitor visa may not stay for more than 180 days (according to the date stamped by the customs on entry). Upon leaving Canada, visa holders do not go through any exit checkpoints and thus have no exit records; even if they exceed the duration of stay, they can still board their flights without issue. However, just last week, the Canadian Ministry of Immigration announced new policies regarding entry and exit management.
Implementation and Timing of the New Policy
Based on the Bill C21 passed on December 13, 2018, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will soon implement the collection of management data and information regarding entry and exit travelers. This will take effect for cross-border entries and exits by land starting June 2019, and for air travel starting June 2020.
Risk of Overstaying
For example, in the case of returning to China, travelers must register their entry with Chinese customs, which will then create a record in their passports. If someone has previously overstayed, upon their next entry into Canada or application for a visa, border officers and visa officers can easily determine through date comparisons whether the applicant has previously overstayed.
Confirmed overstayers may face imprisonment and deportation; according to existing laws, upon receiving a deportation notice:
1. They must wait one year before they are eligible to apply for a Canadian visa again;
2. If the individual leaves Canada voluntarily and is discovered by immigration when attempting to re-enter or apply for a visa, they must wait six months before being eligible to reapply for a Canadian visa.
World Immigration Group kindly reminds individuals visiting Canada and parents visiting family to carefully track their duration of stay!
Currently, World Immigration Group, a leading organization in the investment immigration sector and ranked among Asia's top 500 brands, offers low-threshold Quebec investment immigration programs that provide straightforward paths to obtaining a Permanent Resident Card, as well as quick-entry entrepreneur immigration programs for Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, all providing quality Canadian investment immigration options to help investors realize their dreams of immigrating to Canada. If you are interested in immigrating to Canada, please call us at: 400-138-2929.