Best way to prove you are leaving Canada if you arrive on a one way ticket
 

Hi,

My partner and I are heading of on a RTW from May probably starting in Toronto but we have been told that if you arrive in Canada on a one way ticket without proof you are at some point leaving, then they won't let you in. Someone told us they bought a ticket for the Niagara Falls ferry and I have been looking at Megabus tickets which are very cheap but can anyone tell me if ou need to find a method of transport that INCLUDES or can plausibly include your motorbike? Do they check at customs if the motorbike will be going with you or do they just want to see that you, as an individual have a method of exiting the country?

Ta everyone!

Get a PDF editor.

Adjust the details on an old flight. Showing you're leaving again.

Keep it on your phone and flash it to the person on the desk.

Make sure it's a different airline than the one you're checking in on. And preferably from a different airport. Even better, from another country. That way they have no way to check it and will have to take your word for it.

The truth will set you free
 

If you are shipping your bikes in then that is a reasonable method of leaving the country. Should you try to fool them with a doctored document you could find yourself out of the country with your bikes still in the country.

The best thing to do is don't ever lie to a Canadian border guard. Go to the Canadia border service agency website. You should find answers their. Also email them, well in advance asking your questions, & keep these emails on your phone or computer. This will show your well meant intentions.

In my experience the first hurdle you may hit is the check-in counter of the inwards flight because it is their responsibility to check.

I've used the TIP of a vehicle already in the destination country to prove an obligation to leave the country using that method of transportation and that was accepted, but a couple of other times the check in person has aggressively pursued the airline's policy and once we had to buy an outwards ticket before being allowed on.

If you had a US visa (B1/B2) that would probably be accepted - is accepted by US border officers as not needing an outwards ticket anyway

I think that statement is kind of broad and likely not correct in all cases.

If you are carrying a passport from another first-world country (e.g. anywhere in Western Europe, or Australia, NZ, etc.) then the Canadian immigration people will have no reason to be particularly concerned that you will become an 'unwanted guest' - in other words, an asylum seeker or refugee. The only concern they might have is whether you have the means to support yourself during your visit vs. whether you might attempt to work illegally.

Things might be a little more complicated if you carry a passport from a sketchy country that generates a lot of refugee and asylum requests (e.g. you happen to be a Rohingya Muslim travelling on a Burmese passport). But in such a case, you will probably need a visa to visit Canada, and the immigration folks will have done their due diligence during your visa application process.

If you are asked what your plans are, and you provide a reasonable explanation to the immigration official, I don't think you will encounter any difficulties at all, even though you have a one-way ticket.

I have travelled extensively in my life, in many years visiting more than 60 countries per year, and I have never been asked to show a return airline ticket when entering any country. FYI I travel on a Canadian passport.

As another forum member mentioned above, don't even think of forging or making up a fake airline ticket - that would really get you into a pile of trouble.

Michael

I agree - do not lie to the Canada Customs guys. If they suspect you are not being entirely honest, even if you are, they will really hassle you - trust me on this. I once had a Customs guy hassle me because I forgot to write on my Customs declaration form that I had a bought a $20 T-shirt in the US:

Customs guy: "You were in the United States for a week, and you have NOTHING to declare? You didn't buy anything at all to bring back?"
Me: "Nope. Oh wait, I bought a T-shirt for $20. It's in my dirty laundry."
Customs guy: "Do you know it is a fineable offence to LIE to a Customs officer?"

Jesus, buddy, I forgot to write down that I bought a cheap T-shirt... Didn't say that though, and eventually Mister Angry with a Badge let me go.

I think that if you have an itinerary planned out, just show them a printout, highlighting that you will move onwards from Canada to the USA or overseas.

If you are in Canuckia for more than a couple of weeks, they will likely ask how you plan to support yourself financially, so I might also recommend having some sort of bank statement or letter from your credit card company to show you have sufficient funding to not be a financial burden on Canada.