2 Months

I was a bit worried before the trip that I may not be able to pass the immigration. 4 trips within a year with the third stay being 2.5 months sound fishy. Although I am a darn fine visitor, the bad experience with immigration just could not go away.

So I arrived at YYC yesterday. The lady at the immigration looked nice. She asked me the purpose of this visit. I replied, my friend had open heart surgery, so I'm here to spend some time with him. She asked immediately which hospital did he go to. Well, I'm glad I know the answer and responded without any hesitation. She then stamped the report card and asked me to go to another office marked as immigration where I saw quite a few people stand in line. Calgary airport is not a large international airport, and probably does not have that many international flights, so when I went to the office and saw 4 or 5 persons in front of me and 7 or 8 when it was my turn, I thought they were being pretty cautious at the immigration.

Anyway it was my turn, and I was asked a few questions:

A: Were you here before?
Q: Yes, I was.
A: When was the last time you were here?
Q: Last December.
A: Why are you here this time?
Q: My friend had open heart surgery, so I'm here to spend some time with him.
A: Oh, how's he doing? Is he still in the hospital?
Q: He's doing fine. He was discharged 2 weeks ago.
A: Is he going to pick you up at the airport?
Q: No, he cannot drive for 2 months. I need to find my own transportation.
A: Are you going to work here?
Q: Nope.

Then he stamped on my passport and wrote something. I had not seen any writing the previous few times, so I specifically asked him what he wrote on my passport. He said you can still until early July. 2 months for you.

I said thanks, and sat on the chair nearby and find out where and what he wrote. It took a while to find it, with too many stamps here and there. The passport will expire early next year, so I'll need to get a new one once I go back.

The way immigration thinks is kind of strange. If I go shopping and spend a lot of money, I may get the VIP status, and enjoy lots of conveniences, free parking, discounts, etc. But if I go to a country too often, they keep an eye on me and give me restrictions. Is the picture a bit strange when I'd like to visit this country for 10 days and they let me stay up to 6 months, but if I come here too often, then they only let me stay 2 months.

So the original plan was to check how recuperation goes at the end of 4th or 5th week, and see what the arrangement can be done, I guess it's okay to remove this hassle.