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.
