'Our Chinese Nightmare'
Wed, October 15 2008
But at the Beijing Air Canada check-in counter they were shocked to learn that only Darcy would be leaving the country.
Darcy’s wife Autumn and his 19-year-old step-daughter Cerena were denied boarding passes for their flight home to Canada because their Canadian passports lacked Chinese visas.
Without the proper documentation, they were informed, they simply could not leave China.
According to Darcy, a Canadian citizen, his travel agent had repeatedly advised them that as Chinese nationals, Autumn and Cerena did not need the single-entry visas required by the communist state.
And at the airport in Vancouver, while the Air Canada attendant noted their missing visas, the family says it was waived through to the international departure lounge.
In recounting a nightmare that separated him from his family for 12 frightening days, the 47-year-old Burnaby accountant believes that if the missing visas were going to be such a problem, it was Air Canada’s duty to stop his wife and daughter from leaving Canada and warning them of the “massive problems” they would ultimately encounter at the tail end of their once-in-a-lifetime Chinese vacation to visit relatives in Wulong.
Vancouver immigration lawyer Jeffrey Lowe explains that airlines do have the responsibility of ensuring that anyone boarding a plane has the legal right to enter a destination country, or that airline could face fines and the cost of returning that person back to their home.
But holidaying travellers are ultimately responsible for checking exit visa requirements - and regional travel visa regulations - with the local consulate or embassy of the country or countries they are planning to visit on their overseas trip.
Complicating matters, Autumn and Cerena felt it would be easier to enter China on their Chinese passports, while returning home to Canada as Canadians. It was a shortcut that would ultimately lead to even greater disaster.
After the Beijing Air Canada attendant learned that the Lambert women had used their Chinese passports to enter the country, they were bluntly informed that China does not recognize dual citizenship.
Autumn and Cerena were told they would have to renounce their Chinese citizenships in order to receive exit cards to leave China – a lengthy and precarious procedure.
“I couldn’t believe it,” says Autumn, who was told by border police the process would take six months to a year and involve a journey to her hometown of Harbin to officially renounce her citizenship, and that of her daughter.
“I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t fix this problem at the airport,” the 41-year-old aesthetician recalls.
The border police also informed them that even once the paperwork to revoke their citizenships was completed, there was no guarantee of an exit visa.
Lost in a darkening limbo of Chinese bureaucracy, Darcy and Autumn reached a heart wrenching decision – he would go home and beseech the Canadian government for assistance; she would remain in China and explore every possible avenue of escape.
“It didn’t make sense for me to stay and it wasn’t going to help us in any shape or form,” says Darcy, who married Autumn eight years ago and has only a limited knowledge of the Chinese languages.
In Beijing, Autumn’s pleas for assistance from the Canadian Embassy’s 24-hours hot-line were met with the same response Darcy was getting back in Canada from his local member of parliament.
Because Autumn and Cerena entered China on Chinese passports, they were considered Chinese citizens by the Chinese authorities and would have to abide by China’s laws.
In an e-mail, Marie-Pierre Martel, the Asian Case Management officer from NDP MP Bill Siksay’s Burnaby-Douglas office explained: “Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do if the Chinese are not willing to expedite the process. We (Canada) cannot interfere with local laws.”
According to Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada spokesperson Bernard Nguyen: “Anyone travelling abroad should use their Canadian passport; without it the ability of Canadian officials to provide consular services is limited. It also proves that you have a right to return to Canada.”
Last year, 47 Canadians were detained in China. While most of those cases involved serious charges such as fraud, trafficking, murder or conspiracy, Canadians are routinely detained for improper travel documentation, says Nguyen.
A Chinese official asked Autumn for her marriage certificate as well as Darcy’s Canadian citizenship card. He requested documents and certificates of identification and residency. Ultimately, he wanted to fine them 10,000 Renmibi ($1,695) for overstaying their visit, a result of the very dilemma that had put them at his mercy in the first place.
In the end Autumn never did get the exit cards.
As a week passed, it seemed increasingly possible that Autumn and Cerena would never return to Canada.
Autumn and Darcy debated selling their home in Canada and relocating to China. But as a last resort, Autumn turned to bribery.
Her first attempts at bribery failed. Autumn backed out of the deals because she doubted the middleman’s ability to deliver on the exit cards.
According to Autumn, she finally broke through the wall of bureaucracy, allegedly bribing an official to immediately renounce their Chinese citizenships and give them a five-day exit visa for 5000 Renmibi ($847) each.
Today, Autumn knows she and her daughter were lucky that they were only detained for 12 days.
“It seemed like a year, I couldn’t sleep at all,” she says.
It cost an extra $3,000 in accommodation, airfare, food and bribes. But it was a small price to pay, she says, to ensure her family’s escape from China.
The Lamberts now wonder how many other travellers, how many well-intentioned vacationing families, have been caught up in their own private nightmares for lack of checking on visas, sorting through certificates, or reading the fine print on their travel documents.
“I wanted to share our story, so other people will be more prepared,” Darcy tells the Asian Pacific Post. “Do your own research prior to leaving.”
Travellers Advisory
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s website www.voyage.gc.ca contains essential information for Canadians abroad. It includes: planning a trip, travel updates, country profiles, tourist visa requirements, passport information, and information about dual citizenship.
The Operations Centre of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Canadian citizens outside Canada can call collect to 613.996.8885.
For calls originating in Canada, call 1.800.267.6788 or 613.944.6788, fax 613.943.1054 or e-mail sos@international.gc.ca
Canadian Consulates can arrange an evacuation due to war or natural disaster (as a last resort), provide a list of local doctors and hospitals, and arrange for a medical evacuation if needed, provide you with a list of local lawyers, see that you are treated fairly under a country’s law if you are arrested or detained, and replace a lost, stolen, or expired passport.
Travelling to China? Contact the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver
at 604.736.5188.
Travelling to China? Contact the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver
at 604.736.5188.
By Amy Chow
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