A member asked about crossing into Canada by land using a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) issued the prior year, after already doing a 'soft landing.'
Historical note: these answers reflect Canada's COVID-era border rules (hotel quarantine, ArriveCAN, PCR testing), which no longer apply — treat the specific rules below as historical context, not current requirements.
- Land-border crossers were exempt from the hotel quarantine that applied to air travellers at the time, but still had to complete a 14-day self-isolation period after entry.
- An ArriveCAN registration receipt was required before travel — travellers needed to complete this digital registration and have proof of it at the border.
- A negative PCR test within a tight window (72 hours) was also required, and members noted testing turnaround times of 5–7 days made this logistically difficult — worth planning test timing carefully around travel dates.
- The original question about whether a soft-landing traveller needs anything extra to bring in belongings on a later trip wasn't conclusively answered in the thread.
Takeaway for anyone reading this today: check IRCC's current entry requirements before travel, since the quarantine, ArriveCAN, and testing rules described here were temporary pandemic measures and have since been lifted.