Direct flights from POP to T.O.

[Janni]

Does anyone know if you can still get a direct flight from POP to T.O.? A Dominican friend of mine came to Canada in April and got a direct flight with Air Transat.
My concern is....if I have a friend coming to T.O. for a couple of weeks via a "visitor's visa"....would he need a direct flight or if he had to get an American Airlines flight that had a stop over in Miami would that be allowed if his passport was stamped with a Canadian visitor visa only(no American visa)

Also....does anyone know if the flight reservation # needs to be quoted on the invitation letter? I've been trying to contact the Cdn Embassy in Haiti to ask but I can't seem to get thru.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!!

Muchas gracias!!

 

[ricktoronto]

Air Canada does. Not cheap but no stop in the USA either. With no US visitors visa he won't get on a plane that connects in the US, period. That program (TWOV) ended after 9/11 actually in the middle of the PanAm games stranding a bunch of atheletes. Nice guys, eh? The risk is since 99% of the time it will happen, is that there is no secure area in the US airports - so once there even if you "promise" to leave, you can leave all right, right into Miami or New York.

If he already has a visa what do you need an invitation letter for? If he hasn't good luck thinking you will get one even with a letter. This guy better own a bank. They are pretty strict. The flight number adds some legitimacy but just points out he's flying to Canada - buying a one way ticket will send the wrong message so you should buy round trip. Try to buy it here as the DR taxes are more appalling than ours are.

You can also connect via Cubana airliens from Havana on a Santo Domingo - Havana - Toronto flight. For the truly long way another possible route is on COPA to Panama then a flight to Salvador then the non stop on TACA/LACSA to Toronto.

Stick with AC.

 

[Fiesta Mama]

Skyservice and Air Transat have direct flights from POP to Toronto. You can get your friend to book a one-way ticket direct with the tour reps in Puerto Plata (I don't have the numbers of the reps' offices down there but likely someone on this site will). They may not be overly willing to do it initially but if your friend goes in person, eventually they will give in (the reason for this is they don't like booking Dominicans on one-way flights to Canada in case their paperwork is not in order and then the airline will be liable for letting them board). If he books the ticket last minute (the week before) it's likely you will get the ticket for around $500 or less. If you book it in advance, you will still get a rate of at least $700 less than Air Canada.

Believe me, you don't want to go through the hassle of booking a Dominican who has never left the country on a non-direct flight to Canada via the U.S. In addition to a visitor's visa, you will have the added headache of getting a transit visa through the U.S. which is not even a guaranteed thing.

 

[ricktoronto]

A one way ticket for a guy on a visitors visa is a good way to have him not admitted even with a visa. One of the first things they look for. Remember a visa still can and is overruled by the immigration agent at arrivals ( not for immigrants but visitors) if they have a sniff of no leaving the country. Don't forget even the DR technicaly requires a return ticket. They don't ask, Canada will.

The airline might also say the same thing - a return ticket on a charter the wrong way is nearly impossible to obtain unless you can buy a round trip in advance (e.g .from here return and toss the POP-YYZ part) and send it by courier, then this might work.

He needs a R/T ticket. Transit visas for the US are as hard to get as the tourist kind since escape from the connecting airport is a matter of just leaving.

But AC is costly no doubt - but here are some Q , H and V fares that don't sink the ship, if available, (and there are a few in August and early September as examples) bought in Toronto, before taxes.

QKXAP14D AC Q Round-Trip 614.00 (CAD)
QKWAP14D AC Q Round-Trip 676.00 (CAD)
QHXAP14D AC Q Round-Trip 737.00 (CAD)
VKXAP21 AC V Round-Trip 771.00 (CAD)
QHWAP14D AC Q Round-Trip 799.00 (CAD)
VKWAP21 AC V Round-Trip 832.00 (CAD)
HKXAP30 AC H Round-Trip 921.00 (CAD)
HKWAP30 AC H Round-Trip 994.00 (CAD)

 

[Janni]

Gracias para your feedback!

So what you are saying is I CAN buy a return ticket POP > T.O. and T.O. > POP from here? I definately agree purchasing a one way ticket would not be the way to go and I didn't think going thru Miami would be possible!! Thx for the confirmation on that.

So back to the invitation letter....We don't really want to purchase the airfare until we know if the visitor visa is approved.....so it's pretty difficult to quote a reservation # on the letter.

Has anyone seen or heard any positive experience re these visitor visas???? I'm not getting a good vibe here. I'm going to be in POP for 2 weeks as of July 1st. Any tips of anything I can do while I am there to improve our chances of getting approval?????????

I leave in 2 days....so any additional comments would be greatly appreciated ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[carina]

I don?t even think a Dominican citizen with a visitors visa will be allowed to board the plane in Puerto Plata with a oneway ticket, not even pass the passport control.

It is the same as people travelling to the island, a round trip ticket is required. Using the return or not is another thing, but roundtrip is required if you don?t have a cedula/residency.

 

[ricktoronto]

Gracias para your feedback!

So what you are saying is I CAN buy a return ticket POP > T.O. and T.O. > POP from here? I definately agree purchasing a one way ticket would not be the way to go and I didn't think going thru Miami would be possible!! Thx for the confirmation on that.

So back to the invitation letter....We don't really want to purchase the airfare until we know if the visitor visa is approved.....so it's pretty difficult to quote a reservation # on the letter.

Has anyone seen or heard any positive experience re these visitor visas???? I'm not getting a good vibe here. I'm going to be in POP for 2 weeks as of July 1st. Any tips of anything I can do while I am there to improve our chances of getting approval?????????

I leave in 2 days....so any additional comments would be greatly appreciated ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if the CDN fare in Toronto plus our idiotic taxes is less than the DR with ITBIS which is even more ridiculous. I bet Toronto is less.

FYI - in 2002 Canada granted 202 visitor visas to Dominicans. In that year over 400,000 people from here went to the DR. Unless this person has a name brand job, cash, property etc., they wil likely charge the fee and say no in a a few weeks.

To mitigate this, you cannot post a bond, offer a guarantee or anything like that. They assume the person won't leave (or will sneak into the US, though in that case I would not really care) until proven they won't - our own application of Napoleonic Law. Unfortunately this is based on a very high probablility of overstaying. And our rather spotty history in booting people out though today after 12 years we are deporting a Rwandan war monger, which took the Supreme Court of Canada to accomplish.

Miami or JFK are impossible. Don't compound your problems looking for two visas. And frankly it won't be all that cheap anyway.

If he shows up with a one-way ticket either DR pasport control or the airline or both will say no way to letting him go on and if they do we are likely to put him back on the same flight or in jail until the next one leaves.

The charter idea to me is foolish as there is no guarantee you can find a flight and you still need to buy the equivalent of 3 one-way charter tickets. I would bet the nimrods working at charter companies counters would stand there like baboons when confronted with the situation.

No idea who your friend is but you know if he fits the general sankie description or is one, cut your losses now.

 

[PeachezNcream84]

Gracias para your feedback!

So what you are saying is I CAN buy a return ticket POP > T.O. and T.O. > POP from here? I definately agree purchasing a one way ticket would not be the way to go and I didn't think going thru Miami would be possible!! Thx for the confirmation on that.

So back to the invitation letter....We don't really want to purchase the airfare until we know if the visitor visa is approved.....so it's pretty difficult to quote a reservation # on the letter.

Has anyone seen or heard any positive experience re these visitor visas???? I'm not getting a good vibe here. I'm going to be in POP for 2 weeks as of July 1st. Any tips of anything I can do while I am there to improve our chances of getting approval?????????

I leave in 2 days....so any additional comments would be greatly appreciated ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Let me jsut say..I am Candian, my husband is Dominican.

And I used to really hate the "negative people" on here wh would tell me you will not get a visitors visa.

BUT....OMIGOD!...look at that..they are right. No matter how negative some ppl may sometimes seem here...they are often..(usually) right.

Unless you "friend" has a large bank account (for some time..not just money you deposited lately into his account), owns land, and has a letter from an employer gaurentying him a job once he returns to the DR, and you can prove you have enough fincial support (through your regular finical bank statments) you will really not get a visitors visa.

Believe me, I tried a few tiems..even WITH all this info, before I believed all the ppl on here.

If it is a boyfriend/fiance/husband..you will not get it. If it is a "friend" you have even less chance. Which all in all gives you a 0.00000001% chance. Not to be negative..jsut honest from my experience, others experiences...etc.

They will give you stories once you apply (and pay $50 US) that it was refused for some minor reason, or some paper was lost and you must apply again, sometimes they will even give you both these reasons by mistake, when they forget to mark down that they already called and refused you for no reason.

Anyways good luck..and honestly..(I hated the ppl that said this...but it's true) Don't bother unless you guys are married, or have lived together in the same country for more then a year (and can prove it), ior if he is approved as a student or a worker in this country before you even apply.

 

[ricktoronto]

They will give you stories once you apply (and pay $50 US) that it was refused for some minor reason, or some paper was lost and you must apply again, sometimes they will even give you both these reasons by mistake, when they forget to mark down that they already called and refused you for no reason..

Just keep in mind that other than each persons own "friend" (who of course will follow the rules, sure, sure) if visas were given out more freely we'd have a bunch of illegal aliens in Canada, same as the US. This is not some targeted discriminatory practice - it is common sense.

I think the Consulates should be more forthcoming and give out guidelines BEFORE the $50 fee or whatever has to be paid, that spells out the impossible odds and the fact we don't trust visitors from a lot of 3rd world countries to leave. And the other problem is our refugee policy which allows anyone to apply and stay for months or years before getting the boot, so on the last day of the visa you ask for asylum.

But one shouldn't say it is for no reason, it is for a good reason. They should be honest with the reason - Jose, we don't think you will leave once you get to Canada, so to prevent that you are not going to even get a chance to try.

 

[simpson Homer]

Hi / Hola.

I don't think that a Dominican with visitor visa to Canada can get a one way ticket to Toronto I tried to talk with several friends while having a multiple entry and still they said not. Why ? because is a policy of the Airline and Immigration due that a visa does not guarante to enter to the country because final desition will be taken at the airport. First question that I had was = Mr. Simpson where is your returning tickets?.

I did Herrera - Port ou prince *** Port ou prince - Dorval, *** Dorval - person. one week journey just for not have the transit US Visa.

Before leaving DR the immigration and airline people made sure to ask me for returning ticket, they say that any person who is NOT resident has to have round ticket or the airline could face a $10,000 fine for that.

I will recomend you get round ticket Air Canada from SDQ or POP and save stress. I have a few friends coming but they already have US Visa.

 

[ricktoronto]

To be accurate the $10,000 fine applies to airlines is for passengers who arrive without the right or real documentation, e.g. fake , missing or stolen papers. Not just for arriving without a return ticket. They can always be made to buy one on arrival or they can be refused entry on the grounds that, as you said (as did I) , the immigration officer does not feel they will leave. The visa grants them the right to arrive and try to get in.

I suspect though, an airline would be foolish to not insist on it, if the normal entry requirements for visitors is a return ticket for all passengers.

I think this thread is whipped like a dead horse at this point, to summarize:

1. Get a round trip ticket (Homer, PAP then Montreal completely escaped me though the risk of getting to PAP to use it as a port of exit might be too high now). Another point is AC will be flying non-stop from Toronto to SDQ starting in November.

2. The odds of the visa being issued are close to nil

3. Air Canada offers non stop flights from POP and PAP both to Canada and a scheduled airline is about the only way to get the round trip ticket done reasonably.