Rainvapp

I'm not quite sure if I'm posting this in the correct place, apologies if I'm not, but I have a few concerns with an upcoming visit I plan to make to Canada to see and stay with my girlfriend and her family.

First of all I'd like to note I'm 17, technically still a minor and while I understand any alarm bells that may bring up to anyone reading this, I'd appreciate it if anything is brought up concerning my age it's advice on how to proceed with and handle things rather than any contempt for the situation, not to jump to conclusion that anyone here would do that of course! I'm just paranoid

Regardless of that fact and to get to the actual matter and concerns at hand:

1. First of all I'm aware because of my age I'll basically need a letter of consent signed by my parents including their house address and contact details also including the contact details of the person responsible for me while I'm Canada since I will be travelling alone, correct? Of course I don't hesitate to mention that my girlfriend still lives with her parents, so in that regard.. would the details of the person who will be responsible for me be my girlfriend (who is older than myself) or her parents given she still lives with them? Also anything else I should know concerning this or if I'm mistaken on any or if you need more information I'd appreciate if either was pointed out!

2.Other than the letter of consent I'm aware that I'll be asked for the reason of my visit, how long I plan to visit, where I'll be staying/who with and how much money I have, how I plan to get back/if I have a way back and any ties I have back home, more likely than not. Of course in reality the reason for my visit is to be with my girlfriend and her family, the length is as long as possible so up to the 6 months but I'm sure saying 5 months would be safer. Most likely I'll be getting a return ticket that'll last from the day I arrive in Canada to the day I 'plan' to return in 5 months time, I don't know how well that would go over at customs.

Now the concern here is, when asked, what I say exactly? Do I tell them straight, honestly I'm planning to visit and stay with my girlfriend, or do I just tell them I'm there to visit a friend as admiting to seeing my girlfriend may raise suspicion that I don't plan to leave at all (more on that later). So any advice on that would be appreciated too! As for how much money I have.. at the moment how much money I will have available after paying for my trip is sketchy to say the least in the fact I don't rightly know! But.. as far as I am aware my girlfriend and her family will be providing for my needs while I am over there, so I'm wondering how little I could technically 'get away with' and if I had too little what would happen? If more information is needed I'd be happy to supply it.

As for ties back home.. At the moment I'm unemployed and not a student, I live with my grandmother taking care of her as her 'carer'. Not a professionally qualified one of course but basically I take care of her and I do have my family back here but other than that there's nothing expecting me back so to speak. Advice on that would be appreciated too as always! If I'm being vague with anything or you don't quite understand please don't hesitate to say,

3. Earlier I mentioned that mentioning my girlfriend to customs in my mind, might raise suspicion about any plans not to leave at the end of my visit. Now to be strictly and truthfully honest I plan to spend as much time as I can with her on my first admitted visit and then, providing all goes well and given this is the first time I'm meeting her (We met online.. yes I know, online relationships but please with all due respect I'd appreciate any personal opinions of the situation are witheld and rather advice offered, not meaning to sound rude of course! Just paranoid of judgement (again not to say any of you would, please excuse me!))
I plan to extend my visit until the point at which we plan to marry in the future. So technically it's true that it may so happen that I do not wish to leave but rather to stay and extend my visit which as far as I'm aware is possible?

Or would it be better to leave the country and fly back soon after to get another visit admission? I'm sure renewing from within the country is easier if all goes well and things work out between us which I have all faith, trust and feeling that they will! If renewing within how would I go about it and as far as I know I need a reason, what would I provide there? I know I'm thinking quite a bit ahead of myself now but I like to plan ahead and anything offered would be much appreciated!

That's all my tired mind can think of when it comes to concerns at the moment, again I apologise if this isn't the place for this but I'm not sure where I would post it, I also apologise if I'm a bit personal with all this, just want to get it all layed out so anyone who can help in anyway has the most chance of being able to help me completely through this. I'm just concerned about getting there in the plane and being denied entry in the end I guess, something I definitely DO NOT want to happen at all! This is supposed to be a great time for me and her so I don't want anything getting unneccesarily in the way.

Oh and lastly I'd like to point out that after getting in at the Entry point (Winnipeg) if all goes well I'll be catching another regional plane to her (Thompson) So if that affects anything at all let me know! Any other advice would be much appreciated and I can only hope this is the right place to post it and that someone can help me on atleast some of my worries and concerns and I can rest a little easier with plans in my head and everything sorted out. For all I know I could be, being just paranoid about this for no reason but you know.. from what I hear customs can be strict and want to make sure of everything!

Of course not everyone will have been in any situation near or even close to my own but any advice is still appreciated.. and now I'm just dragging this on a little too long and giving you more to read

So I'll stop now and hope you can read, apologise for my paranoid/worry again and thank you in advance! I'm going to catch a quick hour of sleep now before I pass out in my chair.. hopefully my alarm will go off this time and you won't all be waiting if anyone DOES reply, thank you again regardless!

R I C H

What's your back up plan?

You need to be honest with immigration - the questions are likely include:

Purpose of visit?
Where are you staying?
How long have you known them?
Have your hosts guaranteed they'll support you? - let me make a call to them to confirm....
How much money do you have to support yourself with if the relationship doesn't work?

There's absolutely no certainty immigration will give you a 6 month visa, but you'll increase your chances if you've enough $ to take care of yourself and not rely on the parents of a girlfriend you've never met.

How's granny going to cope alone?

mrtomsterman

When I visited my girlfriend they included the same questions Rich said plus:

How did you meet her?
What do you do for a living?
What does she do for a living?

I also met my canadian gf online, dont worry most people dont judge you based on that.

If you have a return ticket then they wouldn't be too suspicious I would suspect.

yzf.shaun

I think you may be looking into it far too much. All be it I am older but have travelled alone to Canada 9 times now. I have been taken to secondary questioning about 4 times but even then it's not been anything other than reaffirming my reasons for visit.

As aoon as you mention girlfriend, fiancee etc they will probably ask you about gifts.
They may want to see a return ticket.
Ask you what right your girlfriend has to be in Canada and how you met.

Just be honest with them. Don't give them a story. Just answer the question you get asked.

Rainvapp

First of all sorry for the late reply, sleep caught up on me and things came up after I awoke, I'm sure you understand!

Now as for a backup plan I am now informed by a good friend of mine that during this week he'll be able to give/loan me up to $2000 (around £1200-1300). If I need to return (due to not being admitted for example) this will cover the expenses of a flight back to the UK, back home.

So basically it's better to just honestly tell them I'm coming to visit my girlfriend, staying with her and her family? I've known them for half a year now (6 months), unsure if that would be a long enough length of time to seem less than suspicious but I'm confident that I should be fine in that regard, but again, I'm not the one who knows here!

Also having their address and phone number will come in handy then for confirmation of support? I'll keep that in mind in that case so they're assured that I do have support for accomodation and other needs during my stay.

As mentioned before the $2000 from my friend as part of my back-up plan (for example if I'm turned back at the borders) will come into play when I'm asked how much I have to support myself. Along with the guarentee of support from her and her family (confirmed by phone call I guess!) I'm unsure if $2000 would be sufficient for my stay given I'll have most of what I need provided for me.

I understand the possibility that I won't be issued a 6 month Visa.

As for my Grandmother, in reality she is still within fit condition to take care of herself, I'm here to make it all that bit easier for her and along with my mothers help getting her neccessities and my two aunties there will be no cause for alterior concern after my leave. She knows herself of my plans and is fine with them, she knows once I'm gone she'll be able to cope herself with my mother and aunties support and if I am needed I will return as soon as possible!

As above I guess it's best just to tell them we met online then and that she is my girlfriend (IF they ask)? Also as mentioned right now I'm not doing much at all so I'm worried about explaining ties back home, of which I only have family right now. She also isn't currently employed or a student BUT both of her parents are currently working. Unsure how, if at all, that will affect things.

I'm a pretty paranoid individual and always think things will go wrong! I like to be sure that to my knowledge nothing will go seriously wrong at all. This is my first time travelling to Canada alone so that's why I'm as worried and clueless as I might seem to be,any and all advice helps! Hoping I can avoid secondary but we'll see when I arrive of course.

Well I don't think I'll be taking any gifts across or anything like that, rather just personal stuff like clothes for the stay. I'll be able to provide a return ticket, just wondering if dating it for 5-5.5 months after I arrive for a return would be wise, remembering that I will be supported during my stay and have $2000 regardless (not much I know but it's all I can most likely garner before the time I plan to leave)

As to her right and how we met well that would be:

1. She's a Canadian Citizen by birth.
2. We met online.

So in the end it's better to just be honest and just answer the questions I'm asked, have a phone number/address ready if they have to confirm that I WILL indeed be supported fully (including accomodation/food/travel if necessary) while I'm there and only answer the question asked directly, nothing more?

Any further advice/information regarding any of this would be appreciated and I apologise if I seem at all clueless! All your help is much appreciated, thank you again and thank you in advance for any further help!

Denhamgirl

oh to be young again...! I did something similar when I was 18 and convinced I was in love and I have to say, I think you are really over-thinking this.
You are right to be cautious, but you aren't doing anything wrong by coming here; you aren't going to be treated like a criminal at customs. 'Tourism' is considered a legitimate enough reason by the government of Canada for the granting of a temporary visa as long as you have sufficient funds and are in possession of a return ticket. You may get a difficult customs officer who might decide s/he doesn't like the look of you or you might get someone who asks you nothing - it's the luck of the draw unfortunately. However, I think your financial situation is the one that's going to cause you problems, you really can't arrive without a stash of $$ or the proof that you have them in a bank account. Saying you will rely on the kindness of strangers (let's be honest, they are) won't cut it. What happens to you if it all goes wrong and you have no money to get somewhere to stay or get yourself home?
Also, at 17 you aren't considered a minor so I don't believe you need consent to travel.
I wish you well on your adventure and hopefully when you look back on it years from now, you'll wonder what you worried about!

Alan2005

You are right to be concerned. I've never heard of anyone visiting their girlfriend in Canada and I doubt it's something immigration officers see more than a handful of times in their careers. It will probably set off all sorts of alarm bells and they will assume you are some kind of terrorist or maybe a drug mule.

Siouxie

If you want to see what evidence they look for, then read sections 7,8 and 9 of the Manual: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resourc...p/op11-eng.pdf Section 9 deals with questions that Immigration (not customs!) may ask when you arrive and shows what answers they are looking for.

Generally, I would not say you are visiting your girlfriend, just that you are visiting friends.

I would ask your girlfriend's parents to write a letter of invitation and confirmation that they will give you financial support whilst you are visiting. Have both their home phone and cell phone numbers with you, together with their address.

I would carry a letter (even though it isn't technically required) from your parents stating that they are aware and consent to your visit.

If it is possible to get a temporary job or get on a course at the local community college that starts in April or September(if you are unemployed it won't cost you anything), you could use this as proof of ties to the UK.

I would suggest you carry a few hundred dollars with you but have the rest of your money in your account in the UK and get the bank to give you a confirmation of balance held to bring with you, so you can show you have sufficient funds in the bank.

I would make sure that you have a return ticket, preferably one that you can change the date of departure on.

Do not carry anything which may be examined and show that you intend to remain in Canada on a long term basis (documents). Before you leave (if you don't intend to go back to the UK before applying for PR) put all evidence of your relationship and how it started etc, your school exam results and any other documentary evidence in an envelope ready to be sent to you.

Don't carry excessive amounts of clothes either, that would imply that you intend to stay long-term.

If things work out for the 2 of you then you can apply for an extention to stay in Canada but you will have to confirm that you have sufficient finances to support yourself and that you understand that should your application be refused that you will leave Canada on request.

If you intend to marry before the age of 18 be aware (depending on the province) that you may need consent from your parents to do so.

Hope that helps a little - and good luck!

Aviator

Immigration is not your first problem. If don't have a return ticket you may not even be able to board the aircraft, especially being a minor. This you won't find out until you try and check in.

Additionally if you do manage to get to Canada on a one one, this increases the possibility of not getting in (which is why some airlines won't carry non residents on one way tickets). It costs more, but you would be better off with an open return.

Deficient

This thread is funny because it reminds me of me, so much worry over nothing, and I am going to second the notion that you are majorly overthinking things and in reality you have very little to worry about.

I too live in perpetual fear of secondary questioning (hasn't happened so far) but when you really think about it, it's only a minor inconvenience of being held up a bit longer at the airport, and it maybe helps to see it as a chance to clear up any misgivings the border folks have about your situation, rather than as some kind of threat. Panic not, you're playing by the rules in every way. A return ticket (no getting around it, you absolutely need to have one) and a sensible-looking stash of cash to cover your backside or at least get you home if the kindness of your gf's family happened to dry up, and you're just fine I think.

I think your concerns are natural, we invest a lot of feeling in all this stuff so worrying is normal. I recently married my still-long-distance Canadian fellow and I am still coming up with exciting and creative ways to make me crap myself about the border agents, even though all of my encounters with them so far have been fine.

Take a deep breath. You'll be OK!

el_richo

Am i the only one a little concerned that the parents are comfortable allowing a 17yr old stranger travelling thousands of miles to pretty much move into their house to boff their daughter, and willing to pay for his indefinite stay?

Instead of worrying about immigration officials, i'd be more worried about what lies ahead once i get out of the airport.

Before you leave, make every effort to watch this documentary.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/

I'm shocked people on here appear comfortable in reassuring a 17yr old kid that everything will be all right in this situation. Had it been THEIR 17yr old son or daughter, i imagine the advice would be somewhat different.

Maybe the OP's paranoia is rubbing off on me.

Siouxie

No, I have as many concerns as you do el_richo however, I am not sure that the OP would be willing to hear them.

Your comment reminds me of an incident when my son was 16.. he met a girl and the first time he went to her parents house for dinner (a 10 minute walk from our house) they told him if he wanted to stay the night it was fine by them!

He ran out of there as fast as he could

Sensible boy!

R I C H

Here's what happened to me, when I was 20 and visiting my girlfriend of the time, who lived New Bedford, Ma.

We'd known each other for 2 years, spent months travelling and working together during the 2 years, in Europe and the US. In other words, there was a pretty strong ongoing relationship.

I landed in Boston and spent 5hrs being interviewed by immigration. They took my address book, called friends and relatives of hers and mine, looked into banking/credit card records to determine whether I had sufficient funds to take care of myself, and cross examined me about my plans for my stay. It was scary and intimidating.

Other than the status of our relationship, the big difference between the OP's situation is that I could prove I could be self sufficient if necessary. I had enough cash, travelers checks and credit card headroom.

I think the OP's getting way ahead of himself thinking about marriage, extending the visit etc etc. He should be more concerned about even getting admitted into Canada, and not assume the gf's family will make any commitment to supporting someone that's a stranger.

Deficient

Well he seems to be looking for advice on getting through immigration and not so much advice on handling life situations.

If he'd been looking for the latter I'd have been inclined to say that maybe the girl's parents, while probably OK with their kid's internet bf coming to stay, maybe aren't quite aware of the fact that they're going to be basically financially supporting a stranger from another country for 6 months. And I would ask if he is absolutely sure that this is what they signed up for when volunteering to let him stay, or has there been a misunderstanding or miscommunication along the way, and is he or his gf assuming things, and so on? Because it looks bizarre to me too. Are they aware that he cannot legally work, for example? They might not be, and they might be expecting him to work and contribute to the household. I think this would be my basic expectation of someone coming to stay for the long term...

I am a bit older than this chap and my mother was opposed to my bf staying under her roof until after he proposed... not because she's old-fashioned and doesn't believe in doing the dirty pre-marriage, but because who wants a total stranger kicking about their house? It's just awk.

But that's not what he was asking, so. I guess if he feels like opening it up to all that chat then he will.

dbd33

If I may, immigration and the girl's family are the least of his problems. He's looking at Thompson, Manitoba. He wants to have a return ticket he can use the day after he arrives.