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My fiancée and I are moving from Switzerland (residency and nationality: Switzerland) to Vancouver, BC, Canada in a week or so for five years with a student visa. The issue is that my fiancée might not receive her visa on time.

I first thought it won't be an issue, she will enter as a tourist and then travel back and forth to the USA (she already paid for an ESTA) to re-enter Canada with her visa once she has received it (her visa application will very probably be accepted). However I am scared that because we only booked a one-way flight (we already bought the tickets) customs officers might not allow her to enter Canada as a tourist. Am I right to be scared? What should we do to ensure we won't have any bad surprise at our arrival in Vancouver?

hippietrail
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Remi.b
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3 Answers3

22

If I was a customs officer and I saw one person has a visa to stay, and the other does not but bought a one way ticket I would most certainly assume that person planned to stay. And in fact, she does. Don't start your time here with a lie. Call whoever is processing her visa and ask what to do. She may have to change her flights and stay back until the paperwork comes through. While this is irritating, it sure beats the alternative.

If she tries going without the right visa, it might just work. But you might instead find:

  • she can't board, you have to fly without her and she has to figure out where to stay (since you've presumably given up your apartment) while she waits for the visa
  • she boards, but isn't let in and has to fly back without you. They don't hold it against her so she can come back once the visa clears
  • she boards, isn't let in, and a note is left keeping her out for a year or even forever. This is unlikely but it could happen

Compared to these choices, her staying back for a week or two seems like a much safer option. But followup with whoever is issuing it - maybe it will arrive just in time, or you can speed things up by travelling somewhere in the next few days to pick it up.

Kate Gregory
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Actually your first concern will be the airline, as rules require them to make sure you have the correct documentation to enter Canada BEFORE they let you on the plane. It is entirely possible that they could prohibit your girlfriend from flying.

Once you get to Canada, it is a crap shoot, they may simply take her word that she is visiting only for a few weeks or they could ask about her return flight.

If you haven't bought your tickets, you could buy a round trip for her (which often cost the same as a one way), which will satisfy the immigration rules and then postpone the return date or simply cancel it.

5

From the FAQ of the Canadian Embassy in Austria:

I do not have a return ticket. Can I travel to Canada with a one-way ticket?

We strongly recommend that travellers who enter as tourists present a return ticket upon entry into Canada, but this is not a legal requirement. Port of Entry officers may want to see proof that the person entering Canada will leave before expiry of their authorized period of stay.

If you are the holder of a work or study permit, you generally do not need a return ticket. At the port of entry in Canada you might have to prove that you are able to fund your return flight.

Remi.b
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