关键词：身份信息、官僚主义、意外费用

近期，加拿大永久居民（PR）在出入境时频繁遭遇"身份危机"。许多持合法身份的PR被要求反复自证"我是我"，甚至面临行程中断、心理崩溃的窘境。一位网友反馈：“现实是，永久居民在加拿大境外不会被当作加拿大人对待。”


原标题：

Travel nightmares leave frustrated Canadian permanent residents in debt 
旅行噩梦让沮丧的加拿大永久居民负债累累

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Stephen and Poonam McMullin spent weeks in Mexico trying to get an emergency document to replace her permanent resident card. (Submitted by Poonam McMullin) 斯蒂芬-麦克马林（Stephen McMullin）和波娜姆-麦克马林（Poonam McMullin）在墨西哥花了数周时间，试图获得一份紧急文件，以取代她的永久居民卡。(图片由 Poonam McMullin 提交）



从错过工作到债务累积，许多加拿大永久居民表示，在海外因无法出示加拿大身份证件而滞留，给他们留下了长期的心理创伤。
From missed work to mounting debt, permanent residents say being stranded abroad without their Canadian identification has left lasting scars.
  • From A to B, ... “从……到……”，引出一系列结果
  • missed work：错过工作（由于不能按时回国上班）
  • mounting debt：不断增加的债务，mounting = increasing
  • permanent residents：永久居民
  • being stranded abroad：滞留在海外，stranded 指“困在某地无法离开”
  • has left lasting scars：留下了长期影响，这里是比喻说法，scars（疤痕）表示心理或生活上的创伤


CBC 新闻最近报道了 Helen Bobat 的故事。她花了几周时间尝试获得批准，在没有永久居民卡的情况下搭乘航班返回加拿大。
CBC News recently shared Helen Bobat's story. She spent weeks trying to gain approval to fly into Canada without her stolen permanent resident card.
  • spent weeks doing sth.：花了几周时间做某事
  • gain approval: 获得批准
  • without + 名词: 表示“缺少……”


这位加拿大永久居民、英国公民本周终于回到了渥太华，因为加拿大移民局发现，她提交紧急旅行申请的尝试失败，是因为上传的支持文件太多，系统无法处理。
The permanent resident of Canada and citizen of Britain made it back home to Ottawa this week after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) realized her application for emergency travel couldn't be submitted through their online portal because she had too many supporting documents.
  • made it back home：成功返回家中，口语常用表达
  • IRCC：Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada（加拿大移民、难民及公民事务部）
  • application for emergency travel：紧急旅行申请
  • online portal：在线入口，指官网提交系统
  • supporting documents：支持文件，如身份证明、机票等


在她的故事被报道之后，数十人联系媒体，分享了他们自己的旅行噩梦经历。
After her story was published, dozens of people reached out to share their own travel nightmares.
  • was published：被发表，这里使用了被动语态
  • dozens of people：几十人，dozen 表示“十二”，dozens of 即“数十个”
  • reached out to：联系（媒体）
  • travel nightmares：旅行噩梦，指非常糟糕的旅行经历


“现实是，永久居民在加拿大境外不会被当作加拿大人对待。”一位读者写道。
"The reality is that permanent residents are not treated as Canadians when outside of Canada," wrote one person.
  • the reality is that...：现实是……，常用于表达遗憾或事实
  • permanent residents：永久居民
  • are not treated as Canadians：没有被当作加拿大人对待，treat ... as ... 表示“把……当作……”这里是被动语态：are not treated，表示“未被对待为……”
  • wrote one person：主谓倒装，正常语序是one person wrote，倒装现象常见于新闻或引用，简洁自然


任何想在没有永久居民卡的情况下乘飞机的人都必须申请一种特别旅行证件，这一过程被另一位旅客称为“令人震惊且完全不必要，更别提费用高昂了。”
Anyone hoping to fly without their permanent resident card has to apply for a special travel document, a process another traveller called "appalling and totally unnecessary, not to mention extremely costly."
  • anyone hoping to...：任何希望……的人
  • apply for...：申请……
  • appalling：令人震惊的，糟糕的
  • totally unnecessary：完全不必要的
  • not to mention...：更不用说……（引出附加负面信息）
  • extremely costly：非常昂贵的




为什么永久居民不能只凭护照乘飞机？
Why can't a permanent resident fly on their passport?


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Vehicles enter the United States from Canada. (David Ryder/The Canadian Press) 从加拿大进入美国的车辆。(David Ryder/加拿大新闻社）



劳伦斯·黄是一名自1991年起处理移民案件的律师，他将IRCC的流程描述为“单方面的”。
Lawrence Wong, a lawyer who has handled immigration cases since 1991, described the IRCC process as "one-sided."
  • a lawyer who has handled...：who引导定语从句，修饰 lawyer
  • describe ... as ...：把……描述为……
  • one-sided：片面的，单方面的


“你只是提供信息，然后就等他们回复，”他说。
"You just feed them with the information and then you wait for their response," he said.
  • feed them with information：向他们提供信息，feed sb. with sth. 表示“喂给、提供” - 语气分析：这里表达了对流程的不满，语气有些无奈甚至讽刺。


政府没有提供获取永久居民旅行证件的时间表，黄律师表示，这通常取决于你身处世界的哪个地方。
The government provides no timeline for receiving a permanent resident travel document, which Wong said often depends on where you are in the world.
  • provides no timeline：不提供时间表
  • depends on where you are：取决于你在哪里


“处理时间有时可能会很长。我们见过人们不得不等上五六个月的情况，”他说。
"The turnaround time could be quite long sometimes. We've seen cases where people actually have to wait five or six months," he said.
  • turnaround time：处理时间、周转时间
  • we've seen cases where...：我们见过……的情况，where 引导的是定语从句，修饰case


黄律师和其他移民律师给出一个主要建议，以避免长时间等待：飞往美国，再驱车穿越边境。
Wong and other immigration lawyers have one main piece of advice to avoid the long wait: fly to the United States and drive across the border.
  • have one main piece of advice：有一个主要建议
  • to avoid the long wait：为了避免长时间等待



从墨西哥回来后负债 4 万加元

Back from Mexico with $40K in debt


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Poonam McMullin and her husband Stephen say their time stranded in Mexico put them more than $40,000 in debt. (Submitted by Poonam McMullin) 波娜姆-麦克马林（Poonam McMullin）和她的丈夫斯蒂芬（Stephen）说，滞留在墨西哥的这段时间让他们欠下了 4 万多加元的债务。(图片由 Poonam McMullin 提交）



去年十二月，波娜姆-麦克马林（Poonam McMullin） 在墨西哥旅行时丢失了自己的永久居民卡，但她起初并没有惊慌失措。
When Poonam McMullin lost her permanent resident card while on a trip to Mexico last December, she didn't immediately panic.
  • on a trip to...：去……的旅行
  • didn't immediately panic：没有立刻惊慌，panic 作动词表示“惊慌失措”


这位在渥太华居住多年的居民认为，凭借她的英国护照，完全可以从墨西哥登上回加拿大的航班。
The long-time Ottawa resident saw no reason why her British passport couldn't get her on a plane home from Mexico.
  • long-time ... resident：（某地的）长期居民
  • saw no reason why...：觉得没有理由……
  • get her on a plane home：让她登上回家的飞机，get sb. on a plane 表示“让某人登机”


她错了。IRCC批准她的申请后，她还得再经历一道官僚流程。由于她不是加拿大公民，不能进入大使馆。
She was mistaken. Once IRCC approved the application, she had to go through one more bureaucratic hurdle. Since she isn't a citizen, she can't enter the embassy.
  • bureaucratic hurdle：官僚障碍，hurdle 意为“障碍、难关”
  • can't enter the embassy：不能进入使馆


她不得不雇用 VFS Global，这是一家受加拿大政府委托、负责处理文件快递的公司。
Instead she had to hire VFS Global, a company contracted by the Canadian government to process courier documents.
  • a company contracted by...：由……签约的公司
  • courier documents：快递的文件


等她意识到其实可以从美国陆路入境时，她的护照已经“卡壳”了。
By the time she realized she could have just crossed the U.S. land border, her passport was effectively in limbo.
  • by the time：等到……的时候
  • could have just crossed：本可以直接穿越（表示错失的可能）
  • in limbo：处于悬而未决的状态


麦克马林很难从 VFS Global 那里获得任何更新。回复是自动的，而且是西班牙语的，只说她的申请“正在处理中”。
McMullin struggled to get any updates from VFS Global. Responses were automated and in Spanish, saying only that her application was "in process."
  • struggled to get：很难获得
  • automated responses：自动回复
  • in process：正在处理


除了要为额外在墨西哥停留四周的费用买单外，麦克马林夫妇还不得不请假，支付寄养狗的费用、昂贵的电话费以及滞纳的账单费用。
Beyond paying for their additional four-week stay in Mexico, the McMullins had to take leave from their jobs and racked up kenneling costs for their dog, sky-high phone payments and fees for bills that went unpaid.
  • beyond paying for...：除了要支付……之外
  • take leave：请假
  • rack up：积累（通常是负面的，如债务）
  • kenneling costs：寄养宠物的费用
  • sky-high：高得离谱的
  • unpaid bills：未支付的账单


现在他们俩正努力偿还超过4万加元的债务。“我们非常愤怒，”她说。“回到加拿大后，我们只想把这段经历抛诸脑后，回归正常生活。”
Now the two are focused on clearing over $40,000 in debt. "We were so angry," she said. "Once we got back, we just wanted to put it behind us and just get back to normal life."
  • focused on clearing：专注于清偿
  • in debt：负债状态
  • put it behind us：把这事忘掉，不再去想
  • get back to normal life：回归正常生活


尽管她申请了旅行证件，并提交了她在加拿大的居住身份证明，加拿大移民官员还是指示登机柜台人员不让她登机。
Despite a pending application for a travel document and evidence of her residency status, Canadian immigration officials instructed check-in staff to bar McMullin from the flight.
  • pending application：待处理的申请
  • evidence of her residency status：她的居住身份证明
  • instructed sb to do sth：指示某人做某事
  • bar sb. from the flight：禁止某人登机


“我们简直气炸了，因为我是英国人，有英国护照，我们是英联邦成员国，”她说。“感觉就像我们被拒之门外，回不了自己的国家。”
"We were just infuriated because I'm British. I have a British passport. We're part of the Commonwealth," she said. "It felt like we were being shut out of our own country."
  • infuriated：极度愤怒的
  • Commonwealth：英联邦
  • shut out of...：被排除在……之外


麦克马林和丈夫预订了他们结婚时入住过的度假村，还因折扣而得以负担得起这家高档住宿。
McMullin and her husband booked the winter getaway at the same resort where the pair had been married, using a discount that made the high-end accommodations affordable.
  • winter getaway：冬季度假
  • resort：度假村
  • high-end accommodations：高档住宿
  • affordable：负担得起的


但后来他们却被困在那里了。因为她在IRCC申请表上填写了那个地址，又找不到办法更改地址，麦克马林担心快递如果送到她不在的地方会怎么办。
Then they felt trapped there. Since she'd put that address on her application to IRCC and couldn't find a way to change it, McMullin was concerned about what would happen if a courier attempted to make a delivery there when she was at a different accommodation.
  • felt trapped：感觉被困住了
  • couldn't find a way to change it：找不到更改的方法
  • was concerned about...：担心……
  • a courier attempted to make a delivery：快递员试图送货


“太疯狂了，”她说。“我们总共在那儿待了五周，不停地等待，不停地延长行程。”
"It was absolutely nuts," she said. "We were there in total for five weeks, just constantly waiting, constantly having to extend our trip."
  • absolutely nuts：完全疯了，疯狂的（口语表达）
  • constantly：持续地
  • extend our trip：延长我们的行程



被搁置的紧急案件

Urgent case put on back burner


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Wei Yue has travelled to more than 100 countries. He says this West African crossing wasn't easy, but getting back into Canada without his permanent resident card was far more challenging. (Submitted by Wei Yue) Wei Yue 已经去过 100 多个国家。他说，这次穿越西非并不容易，但在没有永久居民卡的情况下返回加拿大则更具挑战性。(图片由 Wei Yue 提供）


魏越（音译）说，在墨西哥一个旅游景点一时疏忽，没有看住自己的包，是一个“菜鸟级别”的旅行错误。
Wei Yue said taking his eyes off his bag at a Mexico tourist attraction was a "rookie" travel mistake.
  • take one's eyes off sth：把目光从...移开，疏忽大意
  • tourist attraction：旅游景点
  • rookie：新手、菜鸟，常用于口语


包被偷之后，他在个人层面和经济层面都蒙受了损失。
When that bag was stolen, it cost him personally and financially.
  • cost sb. personally and financially：让某人个人和经济上都付出了代价


“原本计划只待一周多，结果却多困了四周，”他说。他是在上个月才刚回到加拿大。
"It was supposed to be just a bit over a week and then I got stuck there for four additional weeks," he said, arriving back in Canada just last month.
  • get stuck：被困住
  • additional weeks：额外的几周


他表示，IRCC 的申请流程虽然繁琐，但相对来说还是挺快的。
IRCC's application process was cumbersome, he said, but relatively fast.
  • cumbersome：繁琐的、麻烦的
  • relatively fast：相对较快


“真正的麻烦开始于我必须把申请寄给那家加拿大政府合作的公司。”
"The struggle really started because then I had to send it to the company that the Canadian government is working with," he said.


VFS Global 负责把他的护照送到大使馆，再把带有紧急旅行文件的护照寄回给他。
VFS Global was in charge of sending Yue's passport to the embassy and then sending it back to Yue with the emergency document inside.
  • was in charge of：负责……
  • emergency document：紧急文件


“没有任何更新。我每天打电话，但没人知道我的文件在哪里。”他说。
"No updates. I called daily; no one knew where my documents were," he said.


他被告知申请是“先来先审”，即便 IRCC 认为案件紧急，VFS Global 也不能优先处理。
He was told that applications are processed on a "first in, first out" basis and that even if IRCC considers a case urgent, VFS Global cannot prioritize it.
  • first in, first out：先进先出，常用于物流和行政处理流程，有时也被缩写成FIFO
  • cannot prioritize：不能优先处理


公司证实情况确实如此。VFS Global 的角色仅限于非判断性的行政事务，”公司对 CBC 表示，并补充说公司“不控制处理时间。”
The company confirms that is the case.  "VFS Global's role is limited to non-judgmental administrative tasks only," it told CBC News, adding that it "does not control processing times."
  • non-judgmental：不涉及判断的（即不评估案件优先级）
  • administrative tasks：行政任务
  • processing times：处理时间


经历了近三周的处理等待和几百封邮件之后，魏越说他最后只能“全力出击”——他意识到唯一的办法就是自己争取。
After almost three weeks of accumulated processing time and hundreds of emails, Yue said his only option was to go "full Karen" — realizing that the only way to get action was to advocate for himself.
  • go full Karen：俚语，指非常强硬或执着地投诉或要求服务（源自对“Karen”刻板印象）
  • advocate for oneself：为自己据理力争


他通过 LinkedIn 找到并联系了 VFS Global 的高管。
Yue found and contacted VFS Global executives through LinkedIn.


“突然之间，24 小时内我的护照就出现了，第二天就寄给我了，”他解释道，并指出虽然所有员工都“在努力帮忙”，但却“被流程卡住了”。
"Suddenly within 24 hours my passport appeared and it was sent to me the next day," he explained, noting that all of the staff he dealt with were "trying to help" but were "bottlenecked by processes and procedures."
  • suddenly within 24 hours：突然在24小时内
  • bottlenecked by...：被……阻碍（瓶颈）
  • processes and procedures：流程和程序（强调系统性障碍）


魏越回到蒙特利尔后，VFS Global 表示将对他的案例进行“内部调查”。
After Yue returned to Montreal, VFS Global told him there would be an "internal investigation" into his case.
  • internal investigation：内部调查


虽然他在墨西哥错过了数周工作，还承担了不少花销，但他最在意的其实是错过了一次重要的预约：加拿大公民考试。
While Yue missed weeks of work and racked up considerable costs in Mexico, he was most concerned about an important appointment he missed: his Canadian citizenship exam.
  • racked up considerable costs：积累了大量开销
  • appointment：预约
  • citizenship exam：入籍考试


IRCC 最终帮他重新安排了考试时间，魏越希望自己很快就能完成宣誓，成为公民。
IRCC was able to reschedule it, and Yue hopes to be sworn in soon.
  • reschedule：重新安排
  • sworn in：宣誓就任/成为公民