Are the fey a collection of sapient critters or spirits? Running wild has them as if the many types are spirits , while Runners Companion has the pixie as an actual sapient critter race. Both descriptions have Vanishing as a power that allows them to go some where in the metaplanes independent of the normal astral travel a earth or fire spirit would use. The reason I am asking is that if they are spirits as depicted in Running Wild then banishing attempts should work as normal. If they are a collection of sapient critter species with an ability to travel the metaplanes than banishing and binding should not work. Folk lore would seem to indicate that the Fey are not spirits as depicted in Shadowrun but a flesh and blood species that travels "underhill" to reach the mortal realms. Traveling "underhill" could be astral travel but for the fact legends abound of normal human travelers finding their way into the realm of farie.
As an aside, if the Fey are Sapient Critters the Immortal Elves (Hate them or love them) could infact be High Fey and not Elves that figured out how to make themselves immortal. THis would make more sense to me from a purely fluff point.
Full Version: The Fey
Canon Answer:
They ain't sure. Some are like spirits, some are like critters, some are like sapients. They have some things in common, and tend to give PCs the heebee jeebies if handled well. Experts disagree on their exact nature.
As an aside, depending on how much currently disregarded backstory you want to use, the immortal elves were modified by dragons (Through magically assisted interbreeding) to be a slave race and revolted. There's a lot of bad blood there on both sides - they have a history.
They ain't sure. Some are like spirits, some are like critters, some are like sapients. They have some things in common, and tend to give PCs the heebee jeebies if handled well. Experts disagree on their exact nature.
As an aside, depending on how much currently disregarded backstory you want to use, the immortal elves were modified by dragons (Through magically assisted interbreeding) to be a slave race and revolted. There's a lot of bad blood there on both sides - they have a history.
To answer your last question first: In canon, the immortal elves are dragon descendants. The dragons made (or used? can't remember right now) the elves as a servant race and they mated. Things got ugly, Alamaise got his scar, and it got outlawed. So no, the story is a different one 
As for the Fey: I just think it's a broad category for spirits and other sentient beings that are very diverse but with similar sets of powers. What they have in common is that they appear a lot in folklore, mostly in European stories (at least the ones that are mentioned in Street Magic, but other continents have their own kind of 'Fey' of course). Some are malevolent, some are tricksters, others are mostly benevolent but can get violent if treated wrongly, but most are utterly alien with (for metahumans) incomprehensible ethics and codes. Maybe you could try to banish them, but it is by no means a guarantee for success. Cold iron does the trick better (severe allergy in game terms).
I've always liked those stories, especially when mixed with other backgrounds (Gaiman, Changeling and similar). This is one of the reasons why my wyld hunt isn't just a bunch of spirits but an actual force of nature made up of diverse individuals and with goals. Other factions of Fey are the Seelie (humanlike appearances, in my world mixed in with the actual Tir na nOg ruling court under Lady Deigh) and Unseelie (animal features, the more sinister types of fey, such as redcaps, etc.) courts and they have their own intrigues set a world apart from the usual 6th world.
In regards to travelling: In game terms they could use astral gates in various forms: Mirrors, Faerie rings (the mushroom thingies), gates in hills, jumping over a river without getting wet feet, etc. pp.
I rationalize it with them using a shortcut over a metaplane I call 'The Crossroads', which intersects with all the other planes. Time gets wonky there, which is one of the roots of all those stories of people staying one night in Faerie and coming back home a hundred years later. You better take a guide if you want to visit.
Of course, it could all be hallucinogenic 'shrooms 
As for the Fey: I just think it's a broad category for spirits and other sentient beings that are very diverse but with similar sets of powers. What they have in common is that they appear a lot in folklore, mostly in European stories (at least the ones that are mentioned in Street Magic, but other continents have their own kind of 'Fey' of course). Some are malevolent, some are tricksters, others are mostly benevolent but can get violent if treated wrongly, but most are utterly alien with (for metahumans) incomprehensible ethics and codes. Maybe you could try to banish them, but it is by no means a guarantee for success. Cold iron does the trick better (severe allergy in game terms).
I've always liked those stories, especially when mixed with other backgrounds (Gaiman, Changeling and similar). This is one of the reasons why my wyld hunt isn't just a bunch of spirits but an actual force of nature made up of diverse individuals and with goals. Other factions of Fey are the Seelie (humanlike appearances, in my world mixed in with the actual Tir na nOg ruling court under Lady Deigh) and Unseelie (animal features, the more sinister types of fey, such as redcaps, etc.) courts and they have their own intrigues set a world apart from the usual 6th world.
In regards to travelling: In game terms they could use astral gates in various forms: Mirrors, Faerie rings (the mushroom thingies), gates in hills, jumping over a river without getting wet feet, etc. pp.
I rationalize it with them using a shortcut over a metaplane I call 'The Crossroads', which intersects with all the other planes. Time gets wonky there, which is one of the roots of all those stories of people staying one night in Faerie and coming back home a hundred years later. You better take a guide if you want to visit.
Of course, it could all be hallucinogenic 'shrooms
I forgot about the dragon breeding program for super elf slaves. It explains their ongoing hostility. I do wonder why the immortal elves would claim the title of seelie and unseelie when the actual critters exist even if the really big ones have not made their way back to the mortal realm. I would not want to be claiming Mab's seat when she returned to find a elf occupying it.
Hmmm. Considering what kitsune are capable of in mythology, I may make them a fae type in my campaign, and save the fox shifters as hengeyokai.
The Fea power of Vanishing makes them really interesting as a long term foe. The power is a free acction and they vanish back to where ever without going through the astral. Kinda reminds me of sudreal from exalted, the fights going bad for me? Poof, I was not there. Can free actions interupt other actions?
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