International Travel as a Permanent Resident

H

Hack_It

Registered Users (C)
Hey guys,

I have a side question while waiting for my interview. Do other countries treat Permanent Residents and US Citizens the same as far as visa/visa waiver issues? For example, I know Canada will honor the Green Card for visiting purposes even if the original citizenship of the GC holder requires visa to visit Canada. How about all other countries? As far as I know there are only a few countries (~5-7) that require visitors visa for US Citizens. Is it the same for GC holders or it varies from country to country?

Thanks.
 
Apart from Canada and Mexico, I believe Switzerland allows GC holders to enter visa free, irrespective of what passport the GC holder possesses.
 
Hack_It said:
Hey guys,

I have a side question while waiting for my interview. Do other countries treat Permanent Residents and US Citizens the same as far as visa/visa waiver issues? For example, I know Canada will honor the Green Card for visiting purposes even if the original citizenship of the GC holder requires visa to visit Canada. How about all other countries? As far as I know there are only a few countries (~5-7) that require visitors visa for US Citizens. Is it the same for GC holders or it varies from country to country?

Thanks.
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Hi:

The majority of countries do not treat US citizens and US permanent residents the same. Most countries design their visa waiver requirements around the CITIZENSHIP of the visitor --- not the visitor's residence. Remember that, except by special agreement, a GC is an "internal" US document and has no relevancy to the visa systems of other countries.

E.g. if you are a US citizen, you can travel to Australia with an electronic travel authority(ETA), essentially an electronic visa. However, if you are a U.S. permanent resident but have the citizenship of a country that requires a paper visa for Australia, you will need to apply and undergo all the specific procedures for obtaining a regular Australian paper visa. Note, that you may be from another country, e.g. the UK, which also only require an electronic visa for Australia, in which case you can use that. But your eligibility is determined by CITIZENSHIP status, NOT your permanent residence.

If you think about it, this makes sense. Can you imagine e.g. an Iranian person, having been granted permanent residence in the UK, showing up at a US port of entry and attempting to enter under the US Visa Waiver Program, claiming that British permanent residence is virtually the same as British citizenship. CBP would never let him in.

Visa exemption based on US permanent residence is an exception --- not the rule.
 
Thanks Piano for the detailed reply. That's exactly what I thought it would be but just wanted to double check with someone who knows more details.
Keep up the good work and take care!
 
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funny coincidence...

Hack_It said:
Thanks Piano for the detailed reply. That's exacly what I thought it would be but just wanted to double check with someone who knows more details.
Keep up the good work and take care!
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Hack_it,

I just realized that you got married on the same day that I got married.. :) However, I claim all exclusive rights to celebrate in the entire DC area for a day.... he he he he.... :D

You can visit Switzerland without a visa, as long as you have a return ticket and sufficient funds, you don't need a visa as long as you are staying for less than 90 days. Your PR card will suffice for the Swiss POE officers.

Piano's rationale does make sense and it correct that it is a an exception not a norm. For UK and Australia, if you are from a common wealth country, then you don't need a visa to visit another commonwealth country. For example, someone from South Africa can visit the UK without a need for a visa. This applies to an Australian visiting the UK. Also, someone from Barbados can visit Australia without a visa, as they are members of Commowealth states.

All the best...
 
I am afraid that is not entirely true. Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (and many African states) are members of the Commonwealth. However citizens from these countries need visit visas for the UK, Canada and Australia.

Al Southner said:
For UK and Australia, if you are from a common wealth country, then you don't need a visa to visit another commonwealth country. For example, someone from South Africa can visit the UK without a need for a visa. This applies to an Australian visiting the UK. Also, someone from Barbados can visit Australia without a visa, as they are members of Commowealth states.
Click to expand...
 
Guys i was wondering if one did not have the physical green card with him but the I-551 stamp on the passport only. Can he still visit Canada, Mexico, Switzerland etc?
 
Al Southner said:
Hack_it,

I just realized that you got married on the same day that I got married.. :) However, I claim all exclusive rights to celebrate in the entire DC area for a day.... he he he he.... :D

You can visit Switzerland without a visa, as long as you have a return ticket and sufficient funds, you don't need a visa as long as you are staying for less than 90 days. Your PR card will suffice for the Swiss POE officers.

Piano's rationale does make sense and it correct that it is a an exception not a norm. For UK and Australia, if you are from a common wealth country, then you don't need a visa to visit another commonwealth country. For example, someone from South Africa can visit the UK without a need for a visa. This applies to an Australian visiting the UK. Also, someone from Barbados can visit Australia without a visa, as they are members of Commowealth states.

All the best...
Click to expand...

Congrats Al on your wedding! A good date to get married, isn't it...
Since I am a Bulgarian Citizen I can travel within EU contries without any visa required (including the UK). However, I'm an adventures person so I like to explore areas that I've never been before like Asia, Africa, Australia, etc. So I guess that's another reason, other than being able to vote, to go for the US Citizenship.

As far as travelling to Canada only with the stamp....not sure. Maybe a Canadian Citizen with US Green Card would know more details.
 
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Canada and Mexico honour the I-551 stamp. Switzerland needs the actual card.

Hafiz74 said:
Guys i was wondering if one did not have the physical green card with him but the I-551 stamp on the passport only. Can he still visit Canada, Mexico, Switzerland etc?
Click to expand...
 
Why would a Canadian citizen need to show his GC or I-551 stamp? Being a citizen, he or she is guaranteed admission to Canada.

Hack_It said:
As far as travelling to Canada only with the stamp....not sure. Maybe a Canadian Citizen with US Green Card would know more details.
Click to expand...
 
:p sorry, I have a stupid question, sort of related to this.
So....
I am wondering, when I　ｕｓｅｄ　ＡＰ　ｔｏ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｂａｃｋ　ｔｏ　ＵＳ，ｗｈｅｎ　we try to pass through the custom, where should I go? Come in as a Visitor? or Citizen side? how about after I received my GC? :o
 
Triple Citizen said:
Why would a Canadian citizen need to show his GC or I-551 stamp? Being a citizen, he or she is guaranteed admission to Canada.
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Good point....but still I would have thought that a person from Canada would know better about traveling arrangements between US and Canada than anyone else. At least that's the case with me when it comes to US/BG traveling.
 
Using your AP for the first time means a trip to secondary, so it really makes no difference which line you use. Once you have GC, most airports let you use the "US Citizens" line. Once I got confused at Pearson Airport (Toronto). They had a line for Canadian citizens and one for US citizens and permanent residents. I could have used either. A passing CBP officer informed me that GC holds more weight than my Canadian passport as far as crossing into the US is concerned. So I followed his instructions.

cindywang16 said:
:p sorry, I have a stupid question, sort of related to this.
So....
I am wondering, when I　ｕｓｅｄ　ＡＰ　ｔｏ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｂａｃｋ　ｔｏ　ＵＳ，ｗｈｅｎ　we try to pass through the custom, where should I go? Come in as a Visitor? or Citizen side? how about after I received my GC? :o
Click to expand...
 
As I mention above in the thread, Canada honours the I-551 stamp :)

Hack_It said:
Good point....but still I would have thought that a person from Canada would know better about traveling arrangements between US and Canada than anyone else. At least that's the case with me when it comes to US/BG traveling.
Click to expand...
 
Hack_It said:
Good point....but still I would have thought that a person from Canada would know better about traveling arrangements between US and Canada than anyone else.
Click to expand...

Actually, the opposite is true. A Canadian citizen is probably the least informed person on non-citizens traveling to Canada; since he or she has never head to deal with what they need to.

It's much like a US citizen knowing about visas required to enter the US - they don't know, because they have never needed to know.
 
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