One way flights to rejoin yr boat

[gcrothers]

I'd heard that there could be issues returning to the boat on a one way ticket. In my case it was u.k Gatwick to Trinidad with changeover in Barbados.
And they were correct. Immigration in Barbados pulled us aside to await a meeting with the Thompson rep. They reluctantly agreed to facilitate our onward travel to Trinidad but it was a close call whether we would make the Liat flight to Port of Spain.
Anyone else had these issues, is it only applicable in Carribbean destinations or are other locations affected.
Any thoughts on how to avoid the hassle?
Garry

 

[TQA]

In the Caribbean the country most likely to give you grief when coming in on a one way ticket is Trinidad. In most of the other islands the ships papers if owner/skipper if crew /guest a letter from the skipper saying you are joining yacht XYZ will get you through immigration.

The last time I had crew flying in to Trinidad on a one way ticket I had to get an application in triplicate signed by the boatyard, this went to the immigration office, I was called for an interview and was prewarned to be neat and tidy and wear a collared shirt and long pants. The application then goes to a senior officer who approves it. I was told to allow at least two weeks,

If you have problems contact YSATT they can usually help.

The other way round it is to have a round trip ticket. People have been forced to buy this in Barbados.

 

[Richard10002]

Apropos of nothing, I had a real quizzing when I arrived in Dublin in the late 1970's on a one way ticket to join "my mates yacht". They let me through, so I must have convinced them of the innocence of my trip.

 

[25931]

There are those of us who remember the days when one could only buy a one-way on scheduled flights, the cut-price firms were only allowed to sell return with accomodation - different reasons but there is always someone who wants to make our lives more difficult/expensive.

 

[Graham376]

There are those of us who remember the days when one could only buy a one-way on scheduled flights, the cut-price firms were only allowed to sell return with accomodation - different reasons but there is always someone who wants to make our lives more difficult/expensive.

In 1969 arrived in S Africa without an onward or return ticket and had difficult hour or so convincing them I had enough funds to leave if/when I decided to. These days, no problem moving around EU without return but, wonder if that could change. How do they treat "outsiders" now?

 

[doug748]

Maybe it's cheaper just to buy a return ticket? Must admit I don't know.
If returning to your own boat concocting a official looking mixture of reg docs and log might help.

Some years ago I had no trouble in Barbados or Trinidad with an open ended return ticket. However in Grenada, where I was returning home from, I was held up for some time.

The guy said: "You have no date or flight time on this ticket"

I said: "Yes, I have to go into St Johns, to the airline office, and check availability and book the flight"

He said: "There is no date or flight time, you can't leave the harbour"

I said..........

This went on for an hour or so till he got bored and started watching the cricket.

 

[gcrothers]

Thanks all... It's not easy staying calm in these situations. But you have no choice,.. I think I'm getting better at it though. Just posted this so that others can get their "chill" mode organised before they hit bureaucratic onslaught..

 

[BobnLesley]

...issues returning to the boat on a one way ticket. ..is it only applicable in Carribbean destinations or are other locations affected. Any thoughts on how to avoid the hassle?
Garry

With UK passport/paperwork heading to Curacao the question was raised too, though like with Trini we had a copy of the paperwork regarding the yacht being in the care of the marina and the ORIGINAL boat ownership/insurance documents and also a recent invoice from the marina/boatyard we were stored in.
Asked/questioned once each when heading to the USA and Ecuador but boat papers proved sufficient to answer the questions, No personal experience, but have heard several reports of non-EU passport holders getting hassled flying to French Polynesia.

 

[Ningaloo]

The issue is likely to be with the airline rather than immigration.
The airlines are usually required to verify that passengers meet the immigration requirements of the destination country. I got caught out flying to Philippines without an onward ticket. I would have been ok if I had obtained a visa, but I was relying on getting an entry permit on arrival.
I ended up buying the cheapest onward flight from PH to Singapore that I could find. Without that I would not have been allowed onto the flight to PH.

 

[colind3782]

Worth checking the price of a return ticket, often cheaper than one way.

 

[alex_m24]

Another way is to book a separate fully refundable onward/return ticket from your destination then should your plans "unfortunately change" while in country you simply request a refund.

I have obviously never ever done this...

 

[Lucy52]

A while ago when holidaying in Zante on a package deal the lady on the coach that picked us up asked if anyone was not using the accommodation. It was cheaper to book a cheap package deal to get a flight directly to the island and throw the accommodation away than it was to try and book flights only, I also think there were no other direct flights to the island. The expat were doing this.