With summer season upon us. the end of the leniency period of the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) regime, and the development of Canada’s Interactive Advanced Passenger Information (IAPI) system, Canadian Border Officers are about to get very busy.
Upon arriving at a Canadian airport, as many traveller’s have experienced, those without Canadian permanent resident status, citizenship, or special travel document (e.g. APEC) are often forced to wait in a long-line of fellow travellers preparing for primary inspection.
At YVR, you enter into a large blue-carpeted, room where you join others in a winding line. Canadians and PRs get a separate automated computer line.
For those nervous about border entry and how to best express themselves to an officer upon entry, I highly recommend ENF 4 – Port of entry examinations, IRCC’s enforcement manual. While this is not the exact training manual provided by Officers nor does it hold legal authority, it is as close to an instruction manual as is publicly accessible.
I found two portions of the manual quite interesting (found on pages 28-29, 31 of ENF 4 and may be of use to many of you.
Primary Immigration Line
First, contrary to public perception, there is some rhyme and reason to CBSA’s line of questioning. As stated in the manual (section 7.5) in primary examination questions will be asked such as:
- What is your citizenship? (to gauge citizenship/eTA related issues)
- Where do you reside? How long have you been away? (to gain information about residency – A28 residency obligation questions)
- What is the purpose of your trip to Canada? (to gain information for control purposes)
- Do you intend to take or seek employment while in Canada? (this triggers enquiries into whether the individual is seeking entry into labour market)
- How long do you intend to stay in Canada (this triggers whether an individual is seeking a visitor record for longer than 6 months and perhaps (although not written in manual) whether there is a risk of overstay
- What is your name? (this helps clarify any identity related issues – re: declaration card).
According to ENF 4, Border officers are not supposed to canvas criminality issues at Primary and refer these cases to Secondary. In the case of visa-exempt foreign nationals and TRV applicants, much of this will already be in the system (unless misrepresented) usually already triggering the referral.
TELO Coding
The Border Services Officer is to access four reasons for referral – the time of stay, intent to seek employment, lookout (i.e subject to watch for/flag), or Other (reasons not covered). Lookouts are most common as flags in GCMS, the automated system that the Border Officer will have upon entering your vitals into the system. Everyone should now expect that a GCMS entry has been created for them – this is triggered by any eTA application, any temporary residence or permanent residence application, and even being a listed family member on any existing Canadian temporary or permanent resident’s application.
Consider the above the triggers for secondary.
Immigration Secondary
If you are sent to secondary or you are an individual making or finalizing a temporary resident application or permanent residence landing you will be sent to a separate area. At YVR, this involves gathering your luggage, parking it in a fenced off area, and walking into a very cold room to await an Officer.
On pages 37-38 of ENF 4, the manual canvasses basic questions the border officer should ask at secondary. It is important to note many of these are repeats – as discrepancy in answers can itself trigger follow-up investigation.
The questions (follow by issue triggers) are
- What is your name (identity)
- What is the country of your citizenship? (citizenship)
- Where do you reside? (residency)
- What is the purpose of your trip? How long do you intend to stay in Canada? Where in Canada are you planning to go? Do you intend to look for work in Canada? Do you intend to study in Canada? (intentions – whether holding relevant visa/whether will leave at end of stay)
- May I see your ticket, please? What sources of funds do you have access to while in Canada? (funds available)
- What is your occupation? Do you intend to visit anyone in Canada? Do you have any family or friends in Canada? (personal history – ties to Canada/home country, will they leave at end of stay)
- Do you or have you had any health problems? Have you ever been convicted of a crime or of an offence? Have you ever been refused entry into or removed from Canada? (background – in admissibility).
At YVR, several steps usually follow. If it is a simple application (i.e. an approved study permit that needs to be printed), the border officer will print it on the spot and provide it to you. If it is for a family or may take some time, you may be asked to sit down for a few minutes as the Border Services Officer completes the printing. If there are concerns about you or you require further examination, you will be placed into yet another area where the appropriate inquiries will be made as you wait.
Conclusion
Before entry into Canada, especially if the circumstances, may be factually convoluted, it is useful to seek advise (or advise in the case of counsel) on how to truthfully answer CBSA’s questions in a manner that is honest, forthcoming, but does not trigger unwarranted suspicion.
Many times, coming off a flight jetlagged, documents in a scattered pile, it is easy to make very human errors that are not intended as misrepresentations. Unfortunately under Canadian immigration legislation, misrepresentation does not require intent and the statements you make will be recorded and could have severe long-term consequences upon your future entry.
Having myself seen the secondary process a few times both at airports and land borders, I can tell you that the mood is nervous, the uniform’s intimidating, and often times the questions (if English is not your primary language) seem like personal investigations.
Having a plan in mind and responses prepared to concerns is always good practice and one that I review with my clients before any attempted border entry or application.
