CBSA officer said I can visit for less than 14 days...

[Cdnusagurl 22]

If I have a solid 14 day quarantine plan in place.

 

I haven't seen my husband since March 2020, so I broke down today and told him that hell or high water I was gonna see him before the end of the year. Since he can't come here due to a mandatory 14 day quarantine when he returns to Canada, he said we should look into me visiting him. So that's what I did.

 

Called up CBSA and asked the officer if I (a Canadian PR) could visit my husband (a Canadian citizen) for less than 14 days. I was expecting a flat no, but the officer said that if I have a solid 14 day quarantine plan in place, I can leave whenever I want. He said they can't hold me hostage there, and as long as I stay in our house for the entirety of my visit (which I planned to do anyway), that I would be good.

 

So now I'm going to Canada for 10 days in November. I'm so excited to finally see my husband again! 🥰 Oh and our little pups that are driving him crazy, haha.

 

[pooj97 89]

Interesting! I didn’t know we could come for less than 14 days if we have a solid quarantine plan and just go to the airport and nowhere else during it. Please let us know how your trip in November goes! I was thinking about visiting too but I thought it had to be for at least 15 days

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

14 hours ago, Cdnusagurl said:

If I have a solid 14 day quarantine plan in place.

 

I haven't seen my husband since March 2020, so I broke down today and told him that hell or high water I was gonna see him before the end of the year. Since he can't come here due to a mandatory 14 day quarantine when he returns to Canada, he said we should look into me visiting him. So that's what I did.

 

Called up CBSA and asked the officer if I (a Canadian PR) could visit my husband (a Canadian citizen) for less than 14 days. I was expecting a flat no, but the officer said that if I have a solid 14 day quarantine plan in place, I can leave whenever I want. He said they can't hold me hostage there, and as long as I stay in our house for the entirety of my visit (which I planned to do anyway), that I would be good.

 

So now I'm going to Canada for 10 days in November. I'm so excited to finally see my husband again! 🥰 Oh and our little pups that are driving him crazy, haha.

 

I think that is because is that you are a Canadian PR. Canadian Permanent Residents enter by right into Canada as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. People who are not Permanent Residents, Work Permit holders or Canadian citizens must commit to a 15 day stay. Canadian PRs can still come and go, regardless of whether they have a quarantine plan, however, if they don't have a plan, you will be directed to use government accommodation possibly at your own expense. If you're a visitor, and don't have a solid quarantine plan, they will refuse your entry. 

 

Now there's nothing stopping visitors exiting before those 15 days are up in those circumstances, but I would imagine that the CBSA would use their discretion and deny further non-essential entries during the closure because of failing to comply with the terms of the previous entry. I'm basing that of zero anecdotal evidence, as I haven't heard of visitors staying less than 15 days here, but I wouldn't risk it to be honest.

 

Also as you appear to be a Canadian PR who appears to be residing outside of Canada, please ensure you are in compliance with the Residency Obligation as you could be referred to IRCC for revocation of status when you enter if you are not: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=727&top=10

 

The exception to the above is if you are living abroad living with and married to Canadian Citizen

Edited October 7, 2020 by CanadaDude

[darth vader 133]

22 hours ago, CanadaDude said:

I think that is because is that you are a Canadian PR. Canadian Permanent Residents enter by right into Canada as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. People who are not Permanent Residents, Work Permit holders or Canadian citizens must commit to a 15 day stay. Canadian PRs can still come and go, regardless of whether they have a quarantine plan, however, if they don't have a plan, you will be directed to use government accommodation possibly at your own expense. If you're a visitor, and don't have a solid quarantine plan, they will refuse your entry. 

 

Now there's nothing stopping visitors exiting before those 15 days are up in those circumstances, but I would imagine that the CBSA would use their discretion and deny further non-essential entries during the closure because of failing to comply with the terms of the previous entry. I'm basing that of zero anecdotal evidence, as I haven't heard of visitors staying less than 15 days here, but I wouldn't risk it to be honest.

 

Also as you appear to be a Canadian PR who appears to be residing outside of Canada, please ensure you are in compliance with the Residency Obligation as you could be referred to IRCC for revocation of status when you enter if you are not: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=727&top=10

 

The exception to the above is if you are living abroad living with and married to Canadian Citizen

I disagree. As long as you are granted entry and are quaratined during your stay, you are free to leave whenever. If you plan to stay more than 14 days, the first 14 days have to be under quarantine. It is that simple. If you are unsure, always do the smart thing - research. Call CBSA and CBP, contrary to popular belief they are really helpful.

Edited October 8, 2020 by darth vader

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

1 hour ago, darth vader said:

I disagree. As long as you are granted entry and are quaratined during your stay, you are free to leave whenever. If you plan to stay more than 14 days, the first 14 days have to be under quarantine. It is that simple. If you are unsure, always do the smart thing - research. Call CBSA and CBP, contrary to popular belief they are really helpful.

The CBSA literally say you must intend to stay for a minimum period of 15 days if you are entering under the family exception. Like I said, I don't know what happens if you exit before that period is up, but honestly, if people aren't following the rules that's ruining it for everyone else. It took a *lot* of pressure on the Feds to provide these exemptions, we should be following the requirements that they set out so that they don't remove this exemption.

 

If you decide to enter for less than 15 days for a family non-essential reason, don't be surprised if they deny you entry next time. Not worth the risk imo. And to be honest, if you're a non-Canadian entering Canada and not following the rules, you shouldn't be coming up here.

 

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/services/covid/non-canadians-canadiens-eng.html

 

The only people who can enter for nonessential reasons for less than 15 days are Canadian citizens and PRs...possibly work permit holders too.

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by CanadaDude

[Cdnusagurl 22]

I'm a Canadian PR, so that may be why I have an exception. I don't know and honestly I do not care as long as I get to see my husband whom I haven't seen since March of this year. It was between going now and waiting til next April, which to me is ridiculous.

[Cdnusagurl 22]

7 hours ago, darth vader said:

I disagree. As long as you are granted entry and are quaratined during your stay, you are free to leave whenever. If you plan to stay more than 14 days, the first 14 days have to be under quarantine. It is that simple. If you are unsure, always do the smart thing - research. Call CBSA and CBP, contrary to popular belief they are really helpful.

This is EXACTLY what the CBSA officer told me. He said that as long as you have a solid plan to quarantine for 14 days and do not break that plan, that you can leave before the 14 days is up as long as you exit the country without any detours. My plan is to quarantine with my husband at our home that we own for 10 days, and then leave and come straight back to the US. Unfortunately I have a multi-hour layover at the airport due to them drastically cutting flights in and out of the country. Even then, I plan to sleep in the airport and live off the snacks I'm gonna buy in the US before I leave to go see my husband.

[NikLR 13,227]

Does your husband have to quarantine during the time of your visit?  Does his job have any requirements that he must quarantine after you leave? 

[Cdnusagurl 22]

Because I can see this is a very sensitive topic for everyone, I will just say this. I went and saw my husband and we had a great time with one another while I quarantined at our home for the entirety of my stay.

[NikLR 13,227]

Did your husband also quarantine during this time?