Visa Questions at the Border
Posted date : Nov 4, 2017.
Dear Bird Talk,
Neighbours from Kelowna recently arrived in Hemet, California and e-mailed to say that the customs officer asked a new question:
“Show me your Visa statements to prove that you have been in Canada for six months.”
Our neighbours didn’t have the hard copies, but offered to pull up the details on their computer if allowed to plug it in and hook up to the Internet. After some discussion, they were waved through with the warning that they should be prepared in the future.
You may want to pass this on to snowbirds who have not yet departed.
Peter Sloggett
Past CSA director, British Columbia
Response:
Thanks, Peter. This is a new one to us, as well. We hope that it was just a cranky border guard, but there may be some action item behind the request. Length of residence in Canada will become a more important issue in the future, we suspect, to help identify forged passports and to flag normal residence in countries other than Canada.
