Are these Airlines for real???

[WillTravel]

Here's a possible tip:

I think Canadian-Affair.com has some rules about changing your flight dates for a set fee. Many charters don't allow this, so this is lucky. You could look at these rules and see if you can come up with an arrangement that suits you, if you decide to change your return date.

[defining]

what happens if you don't know when you are going to go back. ? 10 months or 11 months etc..

So Canadian Affair.com doesn't have Open jaw tickets?

Would it be better to look for a place that lands somewhere besides England? Or will every place still hassle?

[WillTravel]

Canadian Affair has open-jaw tickets. You can decide to land in London, but return from Glasgow, or vice versa. You can price it from their search engine. Other cities are also possible, I think.

What UK Immigration/Customs is concerned about is that you won't overstay. Thus the insistence you have a return ticket. And as Kim mentioned, they may still quiz you. They are also concerned about the ability for you to support yourself without working, so you have to prove that you have funds. Best to have a plan in mind if this happens.

[WillTravel]

I doubt any country is laxer, at least not by much. They all have the same objective in mind.

[defining]

But what if I don't know exactly when I'm coming back?
It could be 11 months or 12 months...

Then don't I have to buy a one way ticket? Or is there any tickets that are usuable within a certain time period or something like that?

[WillTravel]

You have about three options that I can think of:

1) an open return ticket, like Kim had
2) a return ticket for which you have to pay a penalty to change the return date (probably $100 or $200)
3) a nonrefundable, nonchangeable return ticket with a date you think sounds reasonable. If you don't want to use that return date, buy a different one-way ticket back later in Europe.

You might do best to talk to TravelCuts or STATravel.ca in case they have some rates specifically suited to your situation.

[BigRay]

There is one more option. I have flown into London on a one-way ticket myself a few times, and they do ask you when you are leaving. In my case, I always had another ticket to another destination (either the US or to somewhere in the EU or to Prague). They have always been satisfied with this answer, and never asked me for proof.

You could tell them that you are touring the UK for a little bit then continuing on to somewhere in the EU. Do you have any proof that you will be leaving the UK? This will likely suffice. Like I said, I have never been asked to prove anything after I told them my plans to move on.

Furthermore, I don't recall ever being asked when I will be leaving anywhere else, and I certainly never had to prove anything with an actual ticket. I think once you get past the UK, you shouldn't have a problem.

Along the same lines, I knew someone here in Prague who flew to London with a one way ticket. When asked the purpose of her visit and when she was leaving, she said she was visiting her boyfriend and wasn't sure when she would be leaving. Wrong answer. They sent her back to Prague... even though she is an American. The immigration officials are just worried that you will be attempting to live and work IN THE UK. If you tell them you are continuing elsewhere, they will consider it the other country's problem if you do not have return a ticket.

If this really worries you, I would recommend just getting cheap tickets from RyanAir or EasyJet to show you have plans, even if you don't decide to use them.

Ray