[Catalonia]: Carles Puigdemont leaves Spain

[Zak]

Part 1 - Parent/Guardian or Representative Details​

Question:	Answer:
1. Are you applying on behalf of someone?	[] Yes [X] No -> Proceed to Part 2
2. Are you applying on behalf of a minor?	[] Yes [] No
3. I am	[] A family member or friend [] A member of a non-governmental or religious organisation [] A member of the Immigration Consultants Regulatory Council [] A Canadian provincial or territorial law society [] A travel agent
4. Are you being paid to represent the applicant and complete the form on their behalf?	[] Yes [] No
5. Parent/Guardian or Representative Surname(s)	X
6. Parent/Guardian or Representative Given Name(s)	X
7. Name of firm/organisation (if applicable)	X
8. Mailing address	X
9. Telephone number	X
10. Fax number (if applicable)	X
11. Email address	X

Part 2 - Travel Documents​

Question:	Answer:
12. What travel document do you plan to use to travel to Canada?	[] Passport - ordinary/regular [] Passport - diplomatic [X] Passport - official [] Passport - service [] Emergency/temporary travel document [] Refugee travel document [] Permit to re-enter the United States (I-327) [] United States refugee travel document (I-571)
13. Which country issued your passport/document?	Spain
14. What is the nationality noted on your passport/document?	Spanish

Part 2(A) - Permanent Residents of the United States​

Question:	Answer:
15. Are you a lawful permanent resident of the United States with a valid alien registration card (Green Card)?	[] Yes [X] No -> Proceed to Part 2(B)
16. United States lawful permanent resident alien registration card (Green Card) number	X
17. United States lawful permanent resident alien registration card (Green Card) number (re-enter)	X
18. Date of expiry	[][][][] Year [][] Month [][] Day

Part 2(B) - Passport Details​

Question:	Answer:
19. Passport number	CAB934216
20. Passport number (re-enter)	CAB934216
21. Surname(s)	Puigdemont
22. Given name(s)	Carles
23. Date of birth	[1][9][6][2] Year [1][2] Month [2][9] Day
24. Gender	[X] Male [] Female [] Other
25. Country/territory of birth	Catalonia, Spain
26. City/town of birth	Amer
27. Date of issue of passport	[2][0][1][1] Year [0][4] Month [0][1] Day
28. Date of expiry of passport	[2][0][2][1] Year [0][4] Month [0][1] Day

Part 2(C) - Personal Details​

Question:	Answer:
29. Additional nationalities (Indicate which countries/territories you are a citizen of)	X
30. Marital status	[X] Married [] Legally Seperated [] Divorced [] Annulled Marriage [] Widowed [] Common-law [] Never Married/Single
31. Have you ever applied for or obtained a visa, an eTA or a permit to visit, live, work or study in Canada?	[] Yes [X] No -> Proceed to Part 2(D)
32. Unique client identifier (UCI)/Previous Canadian visa, eTA or permit number	X
33. Unique client identifier (UCI)/Previous Canadian visa, eTA or permit number (re-enter)	X

Part 2(D) - Employment Information​

Question:	Answer:
34. Occupation	[] Art, culture, recreation and sport occupation [] Finance and administration occupations [X] Education, law and social community and government services occupation [] Health occupations [] Homemaker [] Management occupations [] Manufacturing and utilities occupations [] Military/armed forces [] Natural and applied sciences and related occupations [] Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations [] Retired [] Sales and service occupations [] Student [] Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations [] Unemployed
35. Job title (if applicable)	President of the Government of Catalonia
36. Name of company, employer, school or facility (if applicable)	Government of Catalonia
37. Country/territory (if applicable)	Catalonia, Spain
38. City/town (if applicable)	Barcelonia
39. Since what year (if applicable)	2011

Part 2(E) - Contact Information​

Question:	Answer:
40. Preferred language to contact you	[X] English [] French
41. Email address	cpuigdemont@cat.es
42. Email address (re-enter)	cpuigdemont@cat.es
43. Apartment/unit number or Street number or house name	23
44. Street address/name	Carrer de Pamplona
45. City/town	Barcelona
46. Country/territory	Catalonia, Spain
47. District/region (if applicable)	Subdistrict El Parc i la Llacuna del Poblenou

Part 2(F) - Travel Information​

Question:	Answer:
48. Do you know when you will travel to Canada?	[X] Yes [] No -> Proceed to Part 2(G)
49. When do you plan to travel to Canada?	[2][0][1][3] Year [1][2] Month [0][5] Day
50. Please enter the time your flight to Canada will depart (24-hour format)	[1][2] Hour [5][5] Minute [+][0][1]:[0][0] Time Zone

Part 2(G) - Background Information​

Question:	Answer:
51. Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry to, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country/territory?	[] Yes [X] No
52. Have you ever committed, been arrested for, been charged with or convicted of any criminal offence in any country/territory?	[] Yes [X] No
53. Have you or a family member ever had or been in close contact with a person with tuberculosis?	[] Yes [X] No -> Proceed to Question 55
54. Have you ever been diagnosed with tuberculosis?	[] Yes [X] No
55. Do you have a serious health condition for which you are receiving regular medical treatment?	[] Yes [X] No
56. Do you have any of the following?	[] Untreated syphillis [] Untreated drug or alcohol addiction [] Untreated mental health condition with psychosis [X] None of the above

Part 2(H) - Consent and Declaration​

Question:	Answer:
57. I declare that the information I have given in this application is truthful, complete and correct. I understand that misrepresentation is an offence under section 127 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and may result in a finding of inadmissibility to Canada or removal from Canada. I agree that by typing my name, I am electronically signing my declaration.	[x] I agree
58. Signature of applicant	C. PUIGDEMONT

@Owen

 

[Owen]

The eTA would go through the Ottawa Operations Support Centre and would be approved almost immediately, as nothing stood out as suspicious. The information would be stored permanently on file by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and would be shared with the Canada Border Services Agency and Air Transat check-in staff. An email reply would be sent back to Carles Puigdemont.

"To: cpuigdemont@cat.es
From: eta@cic.gc.ca

Status: eTA approved
Name: Carles Puigdemont
Passport Number: CAB934216
eTA number: J4363463728
Expiration: 16/12/2017

Your application for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) has been approved. You are now authorised to travel to Canada by air.

When you travel to Canada, you will need to bring the passport you used to apply for your eTA, as the eTA is electronically linked to it. Should you obtain a new passport, you will need to apply for a new eTA.

Airline check-in staff and the Canada Border Services Agency will have electronic access to your eTA status using your passport.

In the future, you can verify the status and expiration of your eTA by contacting Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. To do this, you will need the eTA number noted above and details from the passport you used to apply for your eTA.

For information on what to see and do in Canada, visit www.canada.travel. See you in Canada!"

 

[Zak]

---

The 8 hour and 30 minute flight had came to an end and Carles Puigdemont had managed to get some rest as he had taken up one of the business class seats, he had been recognised by a handful of Spanish tourists who were coming to Canada on the same flight and he stopped for photos before heading towards the Canadian immigration where he stopped to give over the required documentation including his deceleration card he had filled out on the flight.

"Hello sir." He smiled, looking at the officer, he was a little nervous but who wasn't when they approached an immigration officer.

Each traveller is responsible for reporting currency and/or monetary instruments totaling CAN$10,000 or more that are in his or her actual possession or baggage.​

The following duty-free allowances apply to each visitor entering into Canada: Gifts (excludes alcohol and tobacco) valued at no more than CAN$60 each. 1.5 litres of wine or 1.14 litres of liquor or 24x 355ml cans or bottles (8.5 litres) of beer or ale. (You must be of legal age in the province of importation.) 200 cigarettes or 200 tobacco sticks or 50 cigars or cigarillos or 200 grams of manufactured tobacco (Special Duty may apply).

Part A - All travellers (living at the same address) - Please print in capital letters​

Traveller:	Last Name, First Name	Date of Birth (YY-MM-DD):	Citizenship:
1​	Puigdemont, Carles	1962/12/29	Spanish
2​
3​
4​

	Number/Apartment No., Street:	City/Town:	Province/State:	Country:	Postal/Zip Code:
HOME ADDRESS​	23 Carrer de Pamplona	Barcelona	Catalonia	Spain	08005

Arriving by:	[X] Air [] Rail [] Marine [] Highway
Flight No./Train No./Vessel Name:	Air Transat (TS) 257
Purpose of trip:	[] Study [X] Personal [] Business
Arriving from:	[] U.S. only [x] Other country direct [] Other country via U.S.

I am/we are bringing into Canada:	Answer:
Firearms or other weapons (e.g. switchblades, Mace or pepper spray)	[] Yes [X] No
Commercial goods, whether or not for resale (e.g. samples, tools, equipment)	[] Yes [X] No
Meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, plants, flowers, wood, animals, birds, insects, and any parts, products or by-products of any of the foregoing	[] Yes [X] No
Currency and/or monetary instruments totaling CAN$10,000 or more	[] Yes [X] No
I/we have unaccompanied goods	[] Yes [X] No
I/we have visited a farm and will be going to a farm in Canada	[] Yes [X] No

Part B - Visitors to Canada​

Duration of stay in Canada	[1][8][2] Days
Do you or any person listed above exceed the duty-free allowances per person? (See above)	[] Yes [X] No

Part C - Signatures​

Traveller:	Signature:
1​	C. PUIGDEMONT
2​
3​
4​
Date:​	[1][3] YY [1][2] MM [0][5] DD

 

[Owen]

The CBSA officer sitting at the desk would indicate for Carles Puigdemont to come over. He would take Carles passport and Declaration Card. Spanish passports being e-passports, he would scan the passports electronic chip and instantly Carles eTA details would come up on his screen. He would check it and cross reference the details with the declaration card and the passport. Nothing would be out of the ordinary and the CBSA officer would stamp Carles passport once and then stamp it again with the date, giving him a visa valid for 6 months. He would sign off the declaration card. Carles would then have to walk through to the baggage carousel and Quarantine inspection stage. Detector dogs would be ran along the baggage carousel, nothing would be picked up from Carles bag. Another CBSA officer would ask to see his declaration card after he collected his bags, he would glance the card and would then sign off on it, pointing him to the exit where it said "NOTHING TO DECLARE", once through that door Carles was in Canada.

 

[Zak]

Carles would walk straight through to the quarantine area where he'd hand over his declaration card, he didn't have any hold luggage with him, just a carry on bag which held his laptop, a folder containing official documents, several clothes and some toiletries.

Carles would walk out of the exit, making his way to the bus stop where he would hop on the 747 Montreal-Trudeau/Downtown bus to downtown Montreal where he used an app on his phone to find his way to the Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion headquarters where he would proceed in, through any security (if any) and would walk to the receptionist.

"Hello. I'd like to speak to a high ranking official please."

Carles had a nervous look on his face, he was looking behind himself at certain points, he knew that he had to be careful because he knew that Madrid would probably know that he had left the country and could send people from the embassy to try and capture him.

 

[Owen]

The receptionist would get up, noticing he was speaking English which she didn't know any of, she would ask one of the other people in the office who could speak English to come talk to Carles.

In a thick French-Canadian accent one would ask, "Yes hello, how can I help you?".

 

[Zak]

The now in-exile President of the Government of Catalonia would slide his passport over to the person who had come to speak to him.

"I am here to claim asylum."

 

[Owen]

She would look at him worried.

"Uhh.. okay. Lemme see if you can talk with our Director for Refugees. One moment please."

She would pick up the phone and ring up his office and tell him the situation.

"He is available, please head up to Level 4 his office is 2 rooms down on the left."

 

[Zak]

The President grabs his things and heads to the elevator and up to the fourth floor where he'd go to the Director of Refugees office, knocking on it and entering.

"Uh, hello. I've been sent her by a receptionist. I'm here to claim asylum."

 

[Owen]

"Take a seat...

Mr. Puigdemont is it? I've heard about your issues in Spain and the whole Catalonian independence referendum. To be honest, Quebec's government is disgusted that the Spanish government has reacted this way. Our Government is attempting to pursue its own independence referendum again like we had in 1995, but Ottawa is not budging. To be honest, we're surprised you came to Canada. CBSA or Ottawa didn't alert us when you passed the border at Montreal Airport. Give me a good reason why I should over-ride Ottawa and give you a Quebec-issued refugee visa."

 

[Zak]

"Because I fear for my life, if I get sent back to Spain then it's almost guaranteed that I will get sent to prison with no fair trial. I've already heard that my home and party headquarters have been raided. My wife has left Catalonia and she's staying with a friend. My fellow government ministers are also trying to leave because Spain is corrupt, they will feed us to the dogs."

 

[Owen]

"Hmm, do you reckon you can assist the Quebec Government in aspiring for our own independence? I want some value out of you Carles, I'm about to piss off a lot of people in Ottawa."

 

[Zak]

"Yes, of course. I may need some protection though because I bet you any money somebody will be hunting me down."

 

[Owen]

"Oh that's gonna cost taxpayers money. I can't let that get out that you're being protected. Alright, I'll give it to you. But it must be strictly on the condition that you're not able to leave Quebec unless you're leaving to go back overseas. No entering any other province or territory in Canada, otherwise the federal government will have full control over immigration matters in those provinces and they will deport you. You will be required to attend compulsory French classes. The Quebec Government will rent a property in Montreal for you to stay at that will be guarded 24/7 by the Surete du Quebec's Division de la Protection des Personnalités."

 

[Zak]

"It's handy that I speak a little French then isn't it." An alert sounded from Puigdemont's phone and he scanned it, looking at what had come up. "Look! They're bastards, they're assaulting and arresting people. This is disgraceful."

 

[Owen]

"Okay well, go find a property and send us the invoice for the rent."

 

[Zak]

Carles leaves and grabs an Uber to a local estate agent where he finds a property and sends the bill across to his representative at the Ministry of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion.

 

[Owen]

2 Surete du Quebec officers from the Division de la Protection des Personnalités would provide guard out the front, sitting in an SUV. The local Westmount Police Station of the Service du Police de la Ville de Montreal would provide additional resources if need be.