A member asked about booking a one-way ticket to Canada plus a US ticket scheduled 5 months later, purely so their mother could show 'proof' of an eventual departure while actually intending to stay long-term and cycle between the two countries.
What group members advised — this plan doesn't work as intended:- Border officers assess your real intent, not just paperwork. A one-way ticket combined with a distant onward ticket signals an intention to stay in Canada long-term rather than genuinely visit — this can trigger rejection or difficult questioning, including when trying to re-enter Canada after the US leg.
- If the actual goal is a longer stay, apply for the right program instead of engineering tickets. For parents/grandparents wanting extended time in Canada, the Super Visa is built for exactly this purpose and avoids the visa-shopping risk entirely.
- A stay can also simply be extended from within Canada. IRCC's website has an online option to apply for a stay extension (visitor record) — there's no need to fly to the US and back purely to reset a visit clock.
The bottom line from the group: don't try to engineer ticket bookings to imply a short visit when the real intent is a long stay — apply for the visa category (Super Visa) or extension process that actually matches your plan.