An inland PR applicant who had just replied to the Portal 1 (P1) email asked whether they could travel to their home country for a family event before Portal 2 (P2). Members shared real experiences:
- Declare your travel when replying to P1. One member declared their travel plan in the P1 reply and attached tickets — P2 still arrived within 2–3 days, and they followed up by email about the travel. Another replied to P1 from outside Canada, stating they were currently abroad, and also raised a webform. Transparency, via the P1 reply and/or a webform, is the consistent pattern.
- Timing is unpredictable. The typical gap between P1 and P2 was described as about a month, but members reported P2 arriving anywhere from the next day to 2–3 days after P1. If you can return within a month, you're generally fine — but don't count on the gap.
- Know what P1/P2 actually are. Neither email makes you a PR — you become a PR only when the COPR is issued after P2. Until then you re-enter Canada on your existing status (e.g. a valid TRV). One member noted their TRV remained valid even after COPR — check your GCKey rather than assuming.
- The real risk is being outside Canada at the wrong moment for an inland process; members managed it by informing IRCC at every step.