One Way Ticket

[frono]

hey all,
We are going to Canada this Saturday. My daughter and I are Canadian citizens, husband of three years (married in Canada) is not.
We all bought one way tickets because we are leaving Honduras and immediately applying for PR visa within the first week.
Will we be given a hard time because it is only one way? Husband currently has visitor visa for 10 years. Any intel would be great. Thanks.

 

[dominicantiguan]

hey all,
We are going to Canada this Saturday. My daughter and I are Canadian citizens, husband of three years (married in Canada) is not.
We all bought one way tickets because we are leaving Honduras and immediately applying for PR visa within the first week.
Will we be given a hard time because it is only one way? Husband currently has visitor visa for 10 years. Any intel would be great. Thanks.

You are all Canadian citizens so no hard time for you but a visitor (your husband) shouldn't have a one way ticket unless he knows when he's leaving. Also if you're applying within Canada for sponsorship it really depends on the officer to allow him in so most simply get a return ticket to avoid the questioning. Very likely they'll ask him when is he leaving and I'm unusure whether he can just say I'll be applying for PR and work permit right away.

 

[dominicantiguan]

To add. A visitor visa is exactly that. Just multiple entry into a country however it's still at the discretion of the border officer to let you in and give you the max stay of 6 months no matter how many years of visa you have.

 

[scylla]

Airline could refuse him boarding without a two way ticket. I would contact them and ask what their policies are.

 

[cempjwi]

Any visitor to Canada must demonstrate that he/she will leave Canada. A one-way ticket does not fulfill that requirement. The airline will most likely deny boarding, and if they don't, it will be an oversight. If that occurs and the passenger flies, the immigration officer will most likely ask for one. Failing to show one will be cause to denying entry.

Airlines are very picky about proof. As a resident of Canada going from Canada elsewhere with a round-trip ticket, I've been asked to prove that I could return to Canada, even when I am just leaving (only because a return ticket existed - this was Air Canada). Aside the fact that this is an airline overreach, it comes to show how picky those airlines are. I once flew with a dual citizen friend (US and Israel) from Brazil to Canada, and upon showing his Israeli passport (which does not require a visa) he was asked if he had any other passport, so he had to use his US passport! (Air Canada again). I have plenty of stories about how overreaching Air Canada can be. WestJet personnel abroad is like that too.

 

[Jiro]

I am not so certain about what some of the other members are saying. Since the IRCC allows dual intent for the purposes of entering the country. You must demonstrate that your spouse has significant ties back to their home country and also show that the intent to submit a PR application is genuine. This is most easily shown by providing a draft of all the application documents, with the receipt of payment. With a child, you should be fine as well. There is mention that immigration agents err on the side of keeping families together.

We did this earlier in February. Came from US to Canada on one way ticket, was sent to secondary at Pearson International Airport where we explained the situation. Honesty is best. The agent was shown all our documents and that we would be happy to apply via Outland. But with a small child, we wished to apply inland to keep the family together. We had the entire application in draft form, including reference documents and the receipt of payment. After 15 minutes of review, the agent printed up a fancy looking visitor record and sent us on our way.

 

[scylla]

I am not so certain about what some of the other members are saying. Since the IRCC allows dual intent for the purposes of entering the country.

CBSA is not the problem. The airline is the problem. Most won't let you board without a two way ticket since they don't want to swallow the costs of your return flight in the event you're refused entry to Canada and have to return home on the next available flight.

 

[spousalsponsee]

Any visitor to Canada must demonstrate that he/she will leave Canada. A one-way ticket does not fulfill that requirement. The airline will most likely deny boarding, and if they don't, it will be an oversight. If that occurs and the passenger flies, the immigration officer will most likely ask for one. Failing to show one will be cause to denying entry.

That's a bit of an overstretch. There's lots of reasons why people fly on one-way tickets (extended trips where a return isn't available yet, leaving from another location, unknown departure location at the time of entry). I've never had any problem or question flying in or out of Canada on one-ways.

The bigger problem with the departure requirement is CBSA. At the time the visitor arrives, they have to prove visitor intent. Arriving with a Canadian family, and intent to apply for PR is... the exact opposite of visitor intent (and there was a court case earlier that found an American could be excluded from Canada for it). If the airline are worried CBSA might react that way (eg if the person is from a country with a high rate of rejection), then they might want a return ticket. But it won't be for cost issues, since a one-way is often as much, or more expensive, than the return. Which does raise another possibility: buying a return ticket, which could save OP money, and demonstrate at least some visitor intent.

 

[cempjwi]

That's a bit of an overstretch. There's lots of reasons why people fly on one-way tickets (extended trips where a return isn't available yet, leaving from another location, unknown departure location at the time of entry). I've never had any problem or question flying in or out of Canada on one-ways.

The bigger problem with the departure requirement is CBSA. At the time the visitor arrives, they have to prove visitor intent. Arriving with a Canadian family, and intent to apply for PR is... the exact opposite of visitor intent (and there was a court case earlier that found an American could be excluded from Canada for it). If the airline are worried CBSA might react that way (eg if the person is from a country with a high rate of rejection), then they might want a return ticket. But it won't be for cost issues, since a one-way is often as much, or more expensive, than the return. Which does raise another possibility: buying a return ticket, which could save OP money, and demonstrate at least some visitor intent.

While not every one is asked to prove they have a return or onward ticket, it will depend on many factors. One being the nationality of the person intending to enter. For example, Americans or citizens of the European Union are less likely to be questioned when entering Canada. Not having a ticket (return or onward) to leave Canada, especially for non-US citizens or PR's of the US, may be troublesome, mostly for citizens from countries with high overstay rates. Citizenship makes a huge difference.

 

[spousalsponsee]

Citizenship makes a huge difference.

Yes, absolutely it does.

I don't think anyone's arguing for a moment that a person in OP's situation entering on a one-way ticket is a good idea. What's being put about is different reasons why it might generate problems.

 

[Jiro]

CBSA is not the problem. The airline is the problem. Most won't let you board without a two way ticket since they don't want to swallow the costs of your return flight in the event you're refused entry to Canada and have to return home on the next available flight.

A one way ticket is not a condition for boarding. They cannot legally prevent you from boarding a flight on a one way ticket. Many people do this. Backpackers, those on a multi-segment journey utilising multiple carriers, students not requiring visas, etc. What they will check and require before boarding is if you have proper documents to enter Canada. For most visa-exempt countries, it will be eTA.

Regardless, we are getting off-topic from OP's question. Which is, you can enter on a one-way ticket and you can get a Visitor Record upon arrival for inland sponsorship. But you may run the risk of being turned away at the border to which you will need to buy an immediate ticket out country which will be very expensive.

 

[jester]

I'd say it depends entirely on the mood of the CBSA minion. Our experience; I'm a Canadian citizen, my wife Filipino. We arrived at YVR about a month ago. She has a visitor visa good till next summer. She arrived on a one-way ticket. She's visited here a few times in the past and never over-stayed. Told the officer we we just married the week prior in the Philippines and where returning to Canada with dual-intent. Told him she is entering as a visitor and we intend to file in-land ASAP.

No hassle, no secondary, no visitor record. The whole interaction was less than 90 seconds. His chief concern seemed to be if we were bringing back any large sums of money by way of wedding gifts. Stamp, stamp and we're on our way. Airline also never asked anything either.

 

[scylla]

A one way ticket is not a condition for boarding. They cannot legally prevent you from boarding a flight on a one way ticket. Many people do this. Backpackers, those on a multi-segment journey utilising multiple carriers, students not requiring visas, etc. What they will check and require before boarding is if you have proper documents to enter Canada. For most visa-exempt countries, it will be eTA.

Perhaps not - but it happens all of the time based on posts on this forum.

BTW: Students don't need two way tickets since they are allowed to live temporarily in Canada (similar to someone holding a work permit). So no issues for them boarding with a one way. Same goes for someone holding an onward flight to elsewhere (e.g. the backpacker example). That's not really a one way - it's a multi-segment / multi-leg.