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Flying home.... through Canada

bokiwen
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bokiwen

bokiwen

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I was pricing some tickets today from Pittsburgh - Shanghai in July (if my interview is scheduled). One of the more direct options is via Toronto with Air Canada. If we would return thru Shanghai-Toronto-Pittsburgh, would we have problems??

 

So a couple questions came up:

 

1. Do both of us need a transit (free) visa through Canada?

2. Does INS look suspiciously at this?

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bokiwen

bokiwen

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Looking up some information on this topic, it appears that:

 

A traveller stopping in Canada for less than 48 hours on their way to another country requires a Transit Visa if their nationality requires a tourist visa. The official list of countries requiring a tourist visa is as follows:

 

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, People¡¯s Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel (only Israeli citizens holding valid Israeli ¡°Travel Document in lieu of National Passport¡±), Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, North, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macao S.A.R., Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives Islands, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Fed. States, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Authority, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tom¨¦ e Principe, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia-Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Somalia, South Africa, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia & Zimbabwe.

 

Unfortunately PR China is listed, to apply for a transit visa you must:

submit the following documents:

 

Application form for Temporary Resident Visa to Canada (IMM 5257);

Two recent photographs;

The original and a photocopy of your ticket with confirmed reservations;

Supporting documentation to prove your ties to your country of habitual residence or citizenship (i.e. letter of employment, bank statements, utility bills among others);

The Canadian Transit Visa is issued free of charge, and is valid for a stay of 48 hours only.

 

I'm not sure this is worth the trouble, although there are Canadian Embassies at Beijing , Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Argh.. This is actually one of the better ways to get to China via Pittsburgh, but it sounds like more of a headache than it is worth.

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bokiwen

bokiwen

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Just talked with Air Canada about this. They brought up another problem which basically rules this out: the US customs pre-clearance at the following airports: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. This pre-clearance forces you to go through Immigration and Customs in the Canadian airport, but not in your US arrival airport. Air Canada was not sure I could process my wife through this Immigration and Customs.

 

For me the option wouldn't be bad, but with her, it would probably not work.

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warpedbored

warpedbored

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A Chinese woman I know here in Portland went home to visit on AP before she got her green card. She booked a plane back to Portland with a layover in Vancouver BC. When she checked in for her flight they wouldn't let her board because she didn't have a green card or a transit visa.

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bokiwen

bokiwen

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Go South ?

Go More South ?

Get Southern ?

China Southern ?

 

WUH/CAN/LAX/PIT

 

Trying to stick with Star Alliance --- as I might be possible to use some frequent flyer miles for a free ticket if possible whenever GUZ says they can give me an interview (June? July? ... ARGH!...). Basically was looking initially United, Air Canada, or Air China.... If I cannot use miles, though, that suggestion sounds good!

Edited by bokiwen (see edit history)
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Sebastian

Sebastian

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Go South ?

Go More South ?

Get Southern ?

China Southern ?

 

WUH/CAN/LAX/PIT

 

Trying to stick with Star Alliance --- maybe use a free ticket if possible whenever GUZ says they can give me an interview (June? July? ... ARGH!...). Basically was looking initially United, Air Canada, or Air China.... If I cannot use miles, though, I'll try to go the cheapest!

 

Oh - you really don't mean 'an interview for you', right ? you mean an interview for her, yes ?

 

CZ is part of the OnePass Program

 

I know things are anxious , but I think is useful not to stress about the airplane ticket for her entry into the USA. YOU can stress about YOUR ticket, but don't stress about hers. If You Were Me, you wouldn't set any dates for 'bring her home' until you have , at least, an interview date. Wait a Bit...

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bokiwen

bokiwen

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Go South ?

Go More South ?

Get Southern ?

China Southern ?

 

WUH/CAN/LAX/PIT

 

Trying to stick with Star Alliance --- maybe use a free ticket if possible whenever GUZ says they can give me an interview (June? July? ... ARGH!...). Basically was looking initially United, Air Canada, or Air China.... If I cannot use miles, though, I'll try to go the cheapest!

 

Oh - you really don't mean 'an interview for you', right ? you mean an interview for her, yes ?

 

CZ is part of the OnePass Program

 

I know things are anxious , but I think is useful not to stress about the airplane ticket for her entry into the USA. YOU can stress about YOUR ticket, but don't stress about hers. If You Were Me, you wouldn't set any dates for 'bring her home' until you have , at least, an interview date. Wait a Bit...

 

Yes, of course I mean her interview. Sorry, mea culpa.

 

If I book frequent flyer travel through Star Alliance, I can make changes to the ticket with no penalty before the originating flight. So when I know when her interview date is, I could use my frequent flyer miles to book a round trip for myself. I could also frequent flyer miles to book her a round trip, only hers would originate a round trip from China (she could return in the fall at a later date for vacation). The nice thing about this is you can make changes to your ticket (date, but not destination) on Star Alliance without penalty as long as you did not originate travel. So if she cannot come, should would have not originated travel. That's the reason why I was thinking about an option with Air Canada.

 

If you have 120,000 (60,000 each) miles you can fly coach for 2 people or 180,000 (90,000 each) for business class on Star Alliance round trip. I don't think it's that bad of option.

Edited by bokiwen (see edit history)
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dnoblett

dnoblett

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Just talked with Air Canada about this. They brought up another problem which basically rules this out: the US customs pre-clearance at the following airports: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. This pre-clearance forces you to go through Immigration and Customs in the Canadian airport, but not in your US arrival airport. Air Canada was not sure I could process my wife through this Immigration and Customs.

 

For me the option wouldn't be bad, but with her, it would probably not work.

Yes you can do the customs thing in Canada, Canadians immigrating to the USA do it all the time.

 

The Chinese citizen will still need a transit visa though.

Edited by dnoblett (see edit history)
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bokiwen

bokiwen

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Yes you can do the customs thing in Canada, Canadians immigrating to the USA do it all the time.

 

The Chinese citizen will still need a transit visa though.

 

Thanks for the information... I've never flown through Canada before, but the pre-clearance customs makes a little more sense. It would be funny to have her POE for the United States listed as Toronto!

 

A transit visa is a must... I would go this route, I would have to find out some more information about this. From what I was reading, a travel agent should be able to handle this for them, so maybe it's something we could get done if I book the frequent flyer ticket for her to to come to the US... Or maybe it requires to the Canadian Embassy in Guangzhou??

Edited by bokiwen (see edit history)
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Sebastian

Sebastian

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I think what should make the difference for you, when you are making the decision, is what type o visa she has.

 

Oh - wait a mo... If she's stamped with K3 visa, she has multiple entries into the usa - so she can come to toronto, get the stamp, come into usa, get the stamp.

 

if it's the CR-1 - then what? same situation, right?

 

Be thankful it's not a K-1 visa, Boki - you'd be stuck in Toronto.

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