A Lesson in Keeping Your Passport Up to Date

I am working in Canada at the moment, up at some ungodly hour in the morning. I almost didn't get here!

There was lots of swearing when I packed my passport last Friday night (ready for my plane on Saturday morning). I noticed that I only actually had about a week until my passport expiry date! After lots of stomping around I eventually calmed down and figured out this it actually expired the day ofter my return flight (the day of landing).

In the morning I called the British passport office and they told me "No way. you are not going to be able to travel today. They wont let you on the plane and wont let you into Canada." The official line is that you need at least six months on your passport to get into the country. I looked on-line and read loads of advice from people suggesting that going would be a bad idea. I swore lots more and resolved myself to not being able to go.

It would be pretty embarrassing and I am sure I would be talk of my work colleagues for a short while.

Then something snapped and I decided what the hell! Being deported from Canada would give me something to write about on the blog. And work would probably pay for the return ticket I would need anyway.

Then (after a 1.5 hour train journey) I got to the airport terminal really early and went to my airline ticket desk. "No, you wont be able to fly" said the nice lady.

"Can you just double check for me?" I asked.

Phone calls ensued ...

"... yes you should be ok!"

I sweated for much of the flight, worrying about being rejected and having to fly eight hours back in the opposite direction. Usually I get held up in Canadian immigration for quite some time asking me about work permits and what I am doing in the country - so I walked through the airport anticipating a very lengthy stay in immigration, maybe an unsuccessful one.

The guy checked my return flight and let me straight through without blinking. Sometimes I think it depends on what mood they are in.

And hey, it turns out that Ontario is quite nice when it is not -25 degrees!