How picky are Tobago immigration officers?

[Jennifer C]

Hello all,
I have bought a ticket to Caracas from my home country of Canada and now I want to buy a one way ticket to TnT (because I can not decide now exactly how long I will want to stay or if I want to try to take the ferry back to Vnzla. I will probably stay in TnT for nearly the 90 day tourist visa max. My question is how sticky are the customs and immigration officers about seeing a onward ticket when one arrives in the country? I will of course have my 4 month return Caracas-Canada ticket.
Thanks for any feedback,
Jennifer

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Jennifer

Welcome aboard!

That's a difficult one. They always ask how long you intend staying. Obviously the longer you want to stay, the more likely they are to ask about onward tickets. Obviously your return will be good evidence, because I don't imagine the return fare to Caracas is much so you should be able to convince them that you have the means to return home. I doubt whether it is a question that many readers have direct experience of. If you're smart looking, polite and don't around their suspicions, you will probably get through without a raised eyebrow.

[Brian Taylor]

as far as I know you must have a return ticket. many times thay even want to see it.
some airlines even don't let you travel with a returnticket that is longer than three month (so happened with BA, had to change the ticket to three month and back when I was here and wanted to extend my visa to stay longer than three month).
the immigration officers in all are nice, they just sometimes have problems to show it....

STEPH

[Sharon E]

You have to have a return ticket to enter Tobago. Must airlines now if you book oneway will put a return date on your oneway ticket but with no corresponding ticket that you can use. Immigration at Tobago are as strict as getting into the UK so you do need to have proof that you will be leaving or have the means to leave before they will stamp your passport. Immigration are understanding I came over on Excel on a one way ticket with a return date on it a week later, I explained to Immigration why that I had a work permit issued out here and needed to pick it up and they stamped my passport for 3 months, after they saw that I did have a return date. For a stay for longer than 3 months you are asked to supply a bond and have numerous trips to immigration in Scarborough for this.

[Brian Taylor]

as a tourist you can extend your visa after three month. you just need a valid return ticket and a date at the immigration. this way you can stay another three month. it is easy. I don't know about when you are working...

[Jennifer C]

Hello all
I am really confused now. I do have a return ticket for my country but it is for 3.5 months because I want to stay in Venezuela for 2 weeks. So will this count as a return ticket. The problem is how do you buy a ticket if you do not know when you want to leave?? I have no intention of staying longer than 3 months in Tobago. And as I said before I think that I would like to try to take the ferry from Trinidad to Venezuela, it probably is cheaper and will be a better adventure. Can this be explained to Customs?
Jennifer

[Rachel Crew]

To be honest, Jennifer, I think it will very much depend on which officer you deal with when you arrive.... Even when you ask for the "official line" on things here you will often get different answers from different officers!

They may be inclined to take your ticket to Canada from Venezuela (plus evidence that you have the means to purchase a ticket from Tobago to Venezuela), but you may also get an officer that sticks to the letter and insists that you have tickets for a complete return journey to your country of origin, ie that you also have a ticket from Tobago to Venezuela.

In the worse case scenario I don't think they would deny you entry, but would probably require you to purchase a ticket from Tobago to Venezuela... if you have to do that 'on the spot' then it could work out a bit pricey. I guess it depends on whether you want to take the chance...

[Jennifer C]

Well, it seems that I will chicken out and buy the return ticket after all the great advice from all the posters on this forum. I just don't need the stress in order to ride a ferry.
Thanks all