Single Travelers Immigration

BusinessStudent

Hey all,

I travelled alone [20yo male] to Canada. As soon as I got off the flight there was an man checking everyones passport and It appeared that If you were a single male you would be pulled aside for futher questioning such as what I was doing while on holiday, where I would be staying etc - I then was allowed to go through to Immigration and was questionned again, only this time the Immigration officer marked my form with a pink marker after futher questionning.

As I went to go out the Immigration bit to collect my bag I showed my Immigration card and was again told to turn left to go into a room for futher questionning!

Has any other single traveler experienced this before. I am sure It was because I was traveling alone?

sturll

Just out of curiosity do you fit the profile of a terrorist?

i.e, are you of Ethnic origin etc?

cazziebo

single white scottish reasonably presentable female and been stopped in Toronto a few times.

I think they assume all lone travellers want to live there and work. I always travelled with documents proving that I would be returning - mortgage statements, etc. and it would be straightforward.

that was nothing compared to when I travelled alone with my children - they were downright nasty then. Not pleasant after a 7 hour flight with two tired kids under four.

Tojo_Ralph

.....
The Canadians are notoriously protective of their jobs and depending on your point of entry, you may well find yourself being grilled with regards to the purpose of your visit and for what it's worth, Edmonton is renowned for this.

With regards to the OP though, IMHO it is very, very likely that they were being grilled for the above reasons or possibly customs were simply acting on information relating to a single male travelling alone.

With regards to single parents travelling with children, getting twenty questions from US and Canadian authorities is the norm and they asks the questions to ensure that the parent is not fleeing the UK with the kid/kids and that the other parent has given consent for travel and I think that Canada is one of the countries that now requests/recommends that lone parents traveling with children have documented written consent from the non traveling parent?

If it's any consolation to the mother in question, rest assured fathers entering Canada or the USA are far more likely to get the third degree than mothers.

Edit: See International Travel with Minors (including Canada, Mexico & Caribbean) at bottom of this page.
http://www.nwa.com/services/reqtraveldocs.html

.....

BernadetteN

This sounds like nothing more than profiling and Immigration officials probably use it all over the world. IF you fit a category where there is more likelihood of immigration breaches, you will be more likely to be questioned. Profiling is not just a case of picking out all single males - it could be according to sex, nationality, how you dress, who you are with, what ticketing you are using, where you have arrived from, which airline you have travelled with, how much money you have, who you know etc etc

cazziebo

Thanks Tojo Ralph - after that experience I always travelled with a lawyer's letter but was never asked for it again.

Good link - I'd never seen anything like that before.

kiraroo

Every time i go to Toronto I get stopped. Took me ages to get in there last time because I only had a return eticket. Make sure you take the address of where you are staying and the phone number too to prove you are on holiday and not staying forever, works for me, well sometimes!

flutterbyuk25

Both times I've been I was asked the address of where I was staying (with a friend), how long I'd known this friend and the friend's sex!!

x

worrypants

its not really abourt protecting jobs as canada needs immigrants its more about who they want

unlike the UK ,canada is very very very particular about who they allow in

dont even think about coming to canada if you have a criminal record even if its 25 years old for a very minor crime and even just for a holiday

if only the UK had such controls folk would not be wanting to leave in their droves

Tojo_Ralph

worrypants wrote: »

Dont even think about coming to canada if you have a criminal record even if its 25 years old for a very minor crime and even just for a holiday

I think it is perfectly safe to say that the Canadian authorities have no more an ability to access Police Files held in the UK than the authorities in the USA do.
....

worrypants

you would be inadmissable to canada and if you lie to immigration you are in big big trouble,,,,,,,

I am simply stating a fact
particulalrly for anyone who might at some stage wish to work or even live in canada or return for a holiday in the future

like the USA you can apply for criminal rehabilitation in advance of your entry into canada if you want to play safe