Valid Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) holders can complete their landing in Canada as of today, June 21, 2021.
The Government of Canada made the announcement this morning at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST).
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In its announcement, the Canadian government said that the COPR must be valid for an individual to travel to Canada to complete their landing.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is working with expired COPR holders to reissue new COPRs.
A COPR is issued to those who have been approved by IRCC to immigrate to Canada. This means the individual has met IRCC’s program criteria, paid their fees, and passed health, security, and criminality screenings. With a COPR, they can travel to Canada to begin their new life.
However, a total of 23,000 COPR holders, according to Canadian government data, have not been able to travel to Canada since March 2020, when the Canadian government imposed coronavirus travel restrictions.
Up until today, only those who held a valid COPR issued on or before March 18, 2020 were exempt from Canada’s COVID-19 travel restrictions. Those who got their COPR after March 18, 2020 could only come to Canada if they met one of Canada’s other travel exemptions or were a resident of the United States and were moving to Canada to settle permanently.
Canadian government: Do not travel to Canada if your COPR is expired
The Canadian government noted that more information on when and how to obtain a new COPR will be posted shortly on IRCC’s website.
It stressed that anyone with an expired COPR should not book their flight or attempt to travel to Canada until IRCC issues a new COPR to them.
COPRs are valid for up to one year. They are tied to the applicant’s passport and their immigration medical examination. Many individuals have been unable to travel to Canada due to coronavirus disruptions or because they do not fall under one of Canada’s travel exemptions. This has caused their COPR to expire. They will not need to go through the immigration process again, however they will need IRCC to reissue a new valid COPR to enable them to travel to Canada.
COPR holders will need to follow Canada’s travel rules upon arrival, such as possibly quarantining for 14 days. However the federal government also announced today that those fully vaccinated will be exempt from the quarantine requirement.
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