Can I leave Saturday with a 1-way ticket?

For Canadians living / traveling in the UK

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SpiritNew Member
Topic author
Posts: 4
Joined: 19 Aug 2008
Location: Canada

Can I leave Saturday with a 1-way ticket?

Post Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:44 pm

Is it possible to go to the UK with a one-way ticket and apply for the Working Holiday Program once your there? I want to Leave Saturday for London (which i know is very last minute) but need to look for a job upon arrival. Do you have to have a return ticket if you dont have your WHP set up already? I want to leave for london saturday with a one way ticket but dont know if they will let me through Customs! I plan on returning in about 3 months time, but cant wait around Canada for my visa to be accepted, since i hear it takes quite a while?
I need help! please reply if you have ANY ideas what-so-ever.
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Sarah1983CanuckAbroad Regular
Posts: 52
Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Location: Ontario

Post Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:49 pm

good luck!
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SpiritNew Member
Topic author
Posts: 4
Joined: 19 Aug 2008
Location: Canada

Post Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:50 pm

i have a feeling that was sarcastic. ahhhh
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justinpatrieNew Member
Posts: 3
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Location: UK

Post Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:05 pm

The short answer is: no.

1) I'm pretty sure that you need to apply for the working holiday visa from OUT of the UK.
2) The visa does not take forever to receive. Between submission of application by post to receipt, it took me 4 weeks.
3) If you get to the immmigration post at the UK airport without a visa and a one way ticket saying that you intend to stay and work in the UK you probably will not be allowed in. That said, coming with a one way ticket will not automatically mean rejection. If you came with a one way ticket, didn't have too much luggage and said you were backpacking around Europe and just didn't know when specifically you were heading back, they could let you in. Anything tipping them off that you wanted to stay and work though, should be left behind.
4) Why bother with a one-way ticket anyways? Usually return tickets are the same price, if not cheaper. Besides, you said you knew that you were planning on coming back within 3 months anyways!
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mawie49Junior MemberUser avatar
Posts: 10
Joined: 21 Jul 2008

Post Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:27 am

No, you absolutely can't get in the UK without a visa if you plan to work.

You need to fill an Visa application online, which takes about 30 minutes. Then you take an appointment at the nearest Worldbridge Center in Canada (Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary). If everything is in order, you will probably get your Visa within the following week. I got mine in three weeks. So no, you absolutely can't get a Visa if you are outside of Canada.

I suggest that you only take a one-way ticket since it might be expensive to change the return date, especially if, as I think you do, you intend on going back at the last minute.

There are basically two solutions : you can either decide not to work when you get in the UK or you wait to get your Visa.

I guess you'll have to wait a couple of weeks before you leave.
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SpiritNew Member
Topic author
Posts: 4
Joined: 19 Aug 2008
Location: Canada

Post Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:58 pm

thank-you both so much for replying, it really clarified a lot of my questions. I decided to fill out the WHMV application today and wait until Im for sure approved to buy my plane ticket. Its just there was a VERY cheap flight with Air Transat this Saturday (only 200$!) So i thought if it was possible i would go for it.

I opted not to, because I cant imagine how nerve-racking waiting in line at the United Kingdom Customs might be, let alone how disappointing being rejected would be.

Also, Mawie49, You said there is a WorldBridge Centre in Calgary, do you have any idea where that might? Ive been trying to research where it is but I cant seem to come up with anything. Do you think that maybe if i GO to the Center it might be approved faster then sending everything to Ottawa by Mail?
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mawie49Junior MemberUser avatar
Posts: 10
Joined: 21 Jul 2008

Post Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:02 am

I'm sorry - there is no center in Calgary. Sorry for that misinformation. There are centers in Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax and Toronto only.

Choosing to leave anyway on Saturday would have only costed you the price of your tickets - you would not have been allowed in the UK anyway, unless you specified you did not want to work.

Did you take time to read all the information you need for this project ? I assure you, it's worse than it seems. There is endless information to know about in order to be ready. This is not something to take lightly.

If you filled your WHM Visa properly, you must have received an email telling you to take an appointment at the nearest Visa Application Centre. Did you receive that email ? If not, contact Worldbridge ASAP.

If you did receive it, then you need to take an appointment at a Visa Centre. It is usually in the two following weeks.

I don't think that by showing to the Centre you'd get approved faster. Furthermore, most Centres don't accept payments and therefore you would not be in a better situation. I'm pretty sure you NEED to fill the application online and pay online with a credit card. Then you take an appointment at the nearest Centre and then you wait.

There is no easiest way to do this - trust me, I've been through it.
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Sarah1983CanuckAbroad Regular
Posts: 52
Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Location: Ontario

Post Mon Aug 25, 2008 4:02 pm

Spirit wrote:i have a feeling that was sarcastic. ahhhh


oh, no, i apologise if it came across that way. i was wishing you well b/c you hoped to leave so soon!
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sleepyCanuckAbroad Regular
Posts: 64
Joined: 4 Jun 2006
Location: London

Post Sun Aug 31, 2008 4:14 pm

wow, i can't believe you were prepared to just show up in the uk and sort everything out on the spot like that. to echo what mawie49 said: "This is not something to take lightly." yeah, right on.

sorry, i don't actually have anything to add to this thread. best of luck when you get here!
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