Vees-Urgh

Ben discusses his concerns travelling without a return ticket

So I am sat at my computer trying to avoid work and before I know it find myself reorganising the filing system I use to sort my emails. Half an hour in, I come across “CANADIAN AFFAIR EMAIL CONFIRMATION” and having not yet received any tickets through the post, thought it wise to review just what the confirmation entailed.

The ticket had been ordered, the seat reserved and the money had been transferred. All seemed just fine and dandy.

But not wanting to leave anything unturned I continued to the small print below and read that “British citizens, British Overseas Citizens and British Dependant Territories Citizens DO NOT require a visa to visit Canada.” This was of little surprise though as I checked some months ago the visa requirements for the countries I plan to travel through with both the UK Foreign Office and various embassies including the Canadian Embassy based in London.

However, three lines beneath this I was stopped in my tracks when I read...
If you are travelling on a one way ticket you must have either a correct entry visa, a return ticket or a Canadian passport.
 ...having neither of these, my heart stopped dead.

Without thinking twice, I frantically spent the day that followed pulling together an application for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) and getting it in the post to the Canadian embassy.

But later that night I reread everything on the Canadian Embassy's website and once again confirmed that I do not require a visa as a British Citizen so began getting in a fret as to what to do next.
I am left feeling really rather uneasy as right now there is uncertainly where just a week ago there was none
The following morning I do something I should have done at the very beginning and phone the airline who basically said that I could fly on a one way ticket but there was no guarantee the offical border person the other side would let me in. The woman said the best way to improve your chances was to buy a return ticket and just not use it, but at a 170 odd quid I told her where she could go.

And then three days later I had it confirmed in writing:
A British citizen does not require a temporary resident visa (TRV) to enter or transit through Canada as a visitor.

When arriving in Canada, the officer at the port of entry will ask a few questions to be satisfied that the traveller will respect the terms and conditions of their stay. In addition to having a valid passport in their possession, the officer may wish to see proof of employment/studies in the traveller's country of residence, evidence that they have sufficient funds to support themselves for the duration of their stay, a clear purpose for the visit, a return ticket and sufficient ties to their country of permanent residence. 

The above considerations are merely a few examples of the issues that will be examined at the port of entry. The overall circumstances of the person on the day they present themselves at the port of entry will be taken into account.
Basically there is no guarantee. The airline will definitely let me on the plane (despite what it says on the ticket) and then everything else is down to the officer at the port of entry. All I can do is make sure I have as much evidence as possible to demonstrate that I'm not planning on working and that I won't stay longer than I'm welcome.

I'm sure in time to come I will see this whole 'episode' as really rather entertaining but I am left feeling really rather uneasy as right now there is uncertainly where just a week ago there was none.