oldpanambrat

My 15-year old son is half Japanese and half Canadian but lives with his mother in Japan. His Canadian passport ran out years ago and his mother has foot-dragged on renewing it—basically she kidnapped him when he was 5 or so and I had no choice in any matters.

Luckily I maintained a wary good relationship and was able to bring my son to Montreal from Osaka on many an occasion. The last was 2011. But he is no stranger to planes and airports—he's been flying since he was an infant.

Now he is 15 and will hopefully be making his first unaccompanied trip from Osaka to Montreal via Vancouver. on Air Canada, which provides the only direct Canada East Coast to Osaka.

I would love to fly to Vancouver to ease his transition between terminals but the ticket cost is, err, excessive.

Now while he has made this trip many times, it has always been with me at the helm, and he hasn't done it since 2011. Add in the fact that his Japanse is far, far better than his English, I'm now really worried about him getting safely—alone–from the gate in the International terminal, through Canada Customs, then through to baggage claim and RE-CHECK IN for his domestic flight to Montreal etcetera etcetera.

I know it's not rocket science, but even for me, the transfer between terminals, the annoying and seemingly arbitrarily changing baggage pickup and recheck in (the whole process seems incredibly badly organized and changes every time I have to do it) all out in the hands of a jet-lagged kid who may or may not be totally confused is extremely worrisome to me.

He will definitely be travelling on a Japanese passport, since getting his Canadian one is impossible from here. Furthermore, I'm led to believe he will need an "Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA)" which I am not sure I can download and process and py for myself, then just send it to him to bring with him.

I've spoken to a friend who is a checkin agent for AC and she says they don't do Meet and Greets any more and there is no more of that $100 "Unaccompanied Minor" deal you can have wherein an AC employees escorts your kid from gate to gate and processes immigration etc.

So now I'm terrified Is there some non-AC service I can pay for that will basically pick up my son at his gate from Osaka and take him through Immigration and from the Intl. terminal to Domestic and then put him on his place to YUL?

I find it hard to believe I am the only person with this dilemma . . . and the thought of just abandoning my 15-year old to a vast airport in which he could easily end up on some outside-the-terminal area sidewalk, dazed and confused with a flight to catch is keeping me awake at night.

His flight is August 1, so it's not horrendously urgent. but I like to have all my T's dotted and I's crossed, if you know what I mean . . .

Any advice GREATLY appreciated. My AC contact has basically shrugged and told me "There's nothing I can do."

Cheers

Nick

reclusive46

Regarding the passport side of things. Canadian Citizens now require a Canadian passport to fly to Canada, he won't be able to get an ETA on his Japanese passport as it'll be denied as he is Canadian.

Finkface

I was just about to post this. It is a change as of last year. I was at an airport last week and there was a dual Canadian citizen with no Canadian passport. He was denied boarding.

OP, regardless of all the rest of it (the transit escort, etc), get him a Canadian passport.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/d...n-citizens.asp

oldpanambrat

It's impossible to get him a Canadian passport. There is no consulate in Osaka any more and he cannot fly to Tokyo to get one. It's just impossible. I thought he could fly with his Japanese name using a Japanese passport. He doesn't have to even say he is a dual citizen. Or I can provide him with a letter I can sign and his mother can sign. But a Canadian passport is completely impossible.

The plane ticket is in his Japanese name, so I don't see why he cannot just be a Japanese citizen coming to Montreal for a month to see his father, The ticket has a return destination and return date. They can call me physically and they'll have a letter from his mother.

reclusive46

Unfortunately there isn't anyway around it. He'll need a Canadian passport. He won't even be able to get on the plane to Canada without a Canadian passport, when the airline scans his passport it'll say do not board. Can't a passport be applied for by mail?

The only way a Canadian can enter Canada without a Canadian passport is by land from the US.

oldpanambrat

But he is also a Japanese citizen. He will not be claiming to try to enter Canada as a Canadian citizen. He has travelled back and forth from Canada on a Japanese passport before with no problem. Why can't a Japanese citizen get on a plane with a Japanese passport to fly to Canada?

He will have a valid, stamped Japanese passport with his Japanese name on it. How can Canada refuse entry to a Japanese citizen with a Japanese passport?

And I do not believe Canada will accept passports by mail. They were incredibly fussy the last time I was in Osaka and travelled to the last vestige of a consulate (now since closed). It was a ludicrous circumstance to demand that a Canadian citizen based in Osaka have to fly to Tokyo to get a Canadian passport but that is what the consular official in Osaka was threatening at the time (2013).

I fulfilled all my obligations at the time but his mother "neglected" to complete the process by signing and sending the material in so all my efforts were in vain. But I can't see why he cannot travel anywhere in the world on a valid Japanese passport. Why would Air Canada deny him boarding?

Finkface

Because the rules changed in Nov, 2016. He will not be able to get an ETA. I linked it for you. Did you read it? Do you really plan to chance this with your 15 year old son who is already nervous?
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/d...n-citizens.asp

"If you are a dual Canadian citizen used to travelling to or transiting through Canada by air with a non-Canadian passport, you will no longer be able to do so as of November 10, 2016. You will need a valid Canadian passport to board your flight."

oldpanambrat

Oh my god. I'm sorry, I didn't see the link. Let me get back to you.

oldpanambrat

But he will be travelling with his Japanese name, not his Canadian name. Doesn't that make any difference?

reclusive46

unfortunately not because even in the remote cirmcumstances they don't match the DOB, place of birth and japanease name it'll still ask if he's a Canadian citizen (and it would be fraudulent to lie) when applying for an ETA on a japanease passport and if he's born in Canada that's even more of a giveaway. Also when you previously applied for his Canadian passport it would have asked if he had any other names so it'll already be linked to his English style name.

I only presumed you could apply my mail as I know you can from the UK to the Canadian London High Comission.

oldpanambrat

Unfortunately I have no idea what the process is to get a Canadian passport while in Japan—all I know is that it was hellishly difficult the last time I applied. Looks like his mother will get the last laugh yet again.

i won't see him for another three years.

My wife will call Immigration tomorrow. I've half a mind to sue the .......s for keeping my son legitimately from travelling to the place whence he came. It is not Yemen, it is Japan.

reclusive46

Do you live someone near the US border? Maybe it would easier to fly him into somewhere like Buffalo, Detroit or Seattle (He can still fly the return from a Canadian airport)? Then he can cross over by land with you. (Just remember he'd need to apply for an ESTA to fly to the US with his Japanese passport). Once he's in Canada you could always apply for his Canadian passport here, you'd probably need a letter from your ex allowing it though.

It definitely sucks about your ex though. I have a close friend who has had a similar issue.

oldpanambrat

No, the ticket was bought back in February. Changing it now is impossible—I'm not even sure I can get a refund for it. And anyway, doing *anything* through the US is triply complex these days.

I should just try to cut my losses and try again for next year . . . meaning another entire year without seeing my son.

Section 107

What your friend at AC told does not completely agree with what AC says on their website. The website says you can pay for optional unaccompanied minor service for ages 12 to 16 and it includes an AC employee escort of the child to the plane and upon arrival an AC or airport agent escort through delivery to the designated pick-up person. It is not specifically clear if that applies to all the way through immigration and customs but it only makes sense that it does.

make sure to click on the "children travelling alone" tab https://www.aircanada.com/us/en/aco/...-children.html

Except in the most unusual of circumstances non-passengers and non-authorized airport employees are not allowed into the international arrivals area to meet passengers so your friend's statement about that is normal.

For the passport: perhaps flying to the US and using the land crossing into Canada is the best option if you simply cannot get him a passport.

You might consult with an immigration attorney because the law can be very complex and there may be significant "loopholes".

Also, Canada does have exceptions to the passport requirement so check this link to see if your son can qualify: https://secure.cic.gc.ca/dc-dn/dcc-e...567.1494597078

Main requirement is that you cannot apply for this until 10 days before the flight.

wrp96

The problem for the OP is that A/C's unaccompanied minor service only applies to non-stop flights, so it won't work for the OP's son who is on a connecting flight.