WARNED by the CanTrail bus driver to have proper documents ready for inspection at the land border, passengers from Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train got off the bus. It was April 29, 2023.
Andre, the CanTrail driver, had taken the baggage from the luggage compartment of the bus for inspection. The two German shepherds on a leash sniffed their way through the bags uneventfully.
Francisca and her two other caregiver friends from Los Angeles took out their Philippine passports and green cards.
I limped my way as well to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) inspection building. CanTrail’s front seat (reserved for seniors or persons with disability) was not roomy enough for leg stretching. My titanium knee was aching for movement.
Upon seeing me with a cane — limping — one of the CBSA officers got up from the counter and opened the door for me. I was the first to be inspected. Francisca and her companions were eight people behind me.
“What brings you to Canada?” the CBSA officer asked while checking the stamps on my passport and reviewing my answers on the declaration card.
I only have a dark brown with orange lining carry-on duffel bag and my backpack. Neither was opened.
“I am going on a cruise from Vancouver to Alaska — an item on my bucket list,” I said.
“Then I’m flying back to San Francisco for a two-day camping trip at Yosemite, then taking an hour-long flight to Los Angeles and back to the Philippines,” I continued.
The CBSA officer seemed surprised and amused that a cane-dependent elderly would be either brave or dumb enough to take on the challenges of Yosemite Park.
Sensing his apparent disbelief, I added, “My nephew and niece booked the trip. They will be hitting the easy to strenuous Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall Trails. I will be in the cabin taking in nature and easy walks around the park.
The slightly knitted brow cleared. With a hint of a smile, he handed back my passport and motioned me to take one of the post-inspection seats. Two other passengers joined me, two Asian twenty-somethings with their carry-on. Francisca and friends came later smiling and nodding to me.
All of us were granted official visitor status in Canada.
Entering Canada
Even Canadian citizens returning home have to follow the same straightforward three-step process to enter Canada.
Step 1. Pre-arrival: Complete a declaration card
Citizens, residents and visitors should complete the declaration card before arrival. It will be stressful asking for a declaration card from a CBSA officer at the port of entry or land border, then looking for a pen in your bag — or worse, borrowing one — as the other passengers present their declaration cards and motion toward the exit after inspection.
The declaration card requires your complete name, date of birth, citizenship, home address, method of travel (whether arriving by plane, rail or ship), purpose of the trip and duration of stay in Canada. Passengers are also required to declare what they are bringing into the country and signature. Short, clear and straightforward. Up to four people living in the same address may be listed in one card.
Step 2. Arrival: First CBSA checkpoint
Upon arrival at the terminal or land border, passengers must follow the signs to the first CBSA checkpoint — referred to as Primary Inspection — where a border services officer will examine the declaration card, identification and other travel documents.
All travelers are directed to a booth, asked a series of questions to determine immigration status, the nature of any goods being brought and if applicable, any duty-free allowance and personal exemption entitlements.
As long as items are declared including purchases and food, plants, animals and/or related products of any kind, one may not be subject to a secondary inspection, seizure of goods, or worse, detention, and sent back on the first flight /trip back to the country of origin/embarkation.
Step 3. Baggage and second CBSA checkpoint
After clearing primary inspection, passengers then proceed to the baggage claim area, on to the next CBSA checkpoint, present the declaration card (receipt from duty and taxes paid, if any) then exit and meet the person picking you up, if any.
Otherwise, solo travelers may take a taxi to a booked hotel.
Upon arrival at the CanTrail terminal in Vancouver, passengers went into the station. Some like Francisca had friends waiting outside with a van. In my case, I flagged a taxi and asked to be taken to downtown Vancouver to a hotel near Canada Place at the Port of Vancouver. This is where the Grand Princess departs for two Alaskan ports, Juneau and Ketchikan.
Visitors may work and stay without leaving Canada
Before the pandemic, visitors in Canada who qualified for and were issued either a study or work permit must leave Canada and return with evidence of the changed entry document. Some had to return to the Philippines and apply for the study or work permit at the Canadian embassy in Makati.
In consideration of foreign nationals who could not return home because of Covid and lockdown conditions at home and because the country was experiencing a labor shortage, the Canadian government allowed visitors who receive a valid job offer to continue to apply for that work permit and stay in Canada.
On Feb. 28, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) extended this public policy for another two years, until Feb. 28, 2025.
On April 5 this year, “the Bank of Canada’s latest Business Outlook Survey indicated that labor shortages were their second-most pressing concern, behind cost pressures. Small-business owners consistently say that a lack of skilled and unskilled workers is the biggest impediment to increasing sales, according to surveys from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.”
Eligibility to stay longer
To qualify under this two-year extension, IRCC states that the visitor must:
– Have valid status in Canada as a visitor on the day they apply
– Have a job offer that is supported by a labor market impact assessment (LMIA) or an LMIA-exempt offer of employment
– Submit an application for an employer-specific work permit no later than Feb. 28, 2025
– Meet all other standard admissibility criteria.
Applicants who currently have visitor status but who have held a valid work permit in the past 12 months can get interim work authorization to start working for their new employer while their work permit application is being processed.
Stay even longer
Under Express Entry Canada’s immigrant selection system, a visitor who successfully changed status to a work permit may qualify for permanent residency by submitting a complete candidate profile in the Express Entry (EE) candidate pool.
Regular draws are made and invitations sent to EE candidates who meet the lowest ranking score for a specific draw.
On April 26, 2023, Canada issued 3,500 invitations to EE candidates whose lowest score was 483 points.
In 2021, 443,004 EE profiles were submitted through the system, an increase of 23 percent from 2020 and 33 percent from 2019.
A visitor who was able to get a job offer during the two-year extension and subsequently worked for one to two years in an eligible occupation, may submit an EE profile and qualify for either the Canadian Experience Class or the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
If the same visitor (34 years old, single with a Canadian equivalent bachelor’s degree, proficient in English) has worked for two years and the same employer provided a job offer to support his or her residency application would have gotten 500 points and could be invited to apply for residency.
In 2019, 1,331 EE candidates from the Philippines were issued invitations to apply for permanent residency, dropped to 820 during the pandemic and rebounded to 2,937 in 2021, according to Canada’s Express Entry Year End Report for 2021.
Unless Francisca gets a better job offer from a Canadian employer, she is likely to return to the US where she may apply for citizenship after maintaining five years in green card status.
Back in Vancouver
While waiting for my cruise ship at Canada Place, I met Jill R with Roger who was enjoying his last onshore excursion before Holland America Line gets back to the open sea.
Incidentally Roger holds a C-1D visa. He is a crewman on a cargo ship. Roger has a US citizen fiancée — an RN working in Syria.
Since they had met in person in the last two years, Roger’s fiancée can file the I-129F petition for him. His two minor children could be included and get their K-2 visas from the US Embassy in Manila. Roger gets the K-1 visa as the principal applicant.
Two days later, it was my turn to board the Grand Princess on a five-day voyage from Vancouver to Alaska.
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