There are tens of ways to achieve this purpose without the desperado approach which in the end lands many migrants on the Atlantic or the Sahara Desert, or becoming homeless and destitute in the receiving countries, risking everything to their destinations when they can easily get to same destinations without tears.
Before you board, ask the following information to be sure if your journey is rooted in the right intention:
Have I set the right goal for my trip overseas?
Did I get visa for my choice country abroad?
Who plays my host when I reach my destination?
What do I know about the country of my destination?
Does duration of my visa conforms to the intended period of stay?
How much money do I have for this trip?
What back up or alternative plans do I have if any immigration problem arises?
If you answer the above satisfactorily, yes your intention has been well checked unto your journey. If otherwise, then consider the following ways for setting right intention for an international travel.
First, you must know that travel intention is quite different from travel plans and this must be understood clearly. Your travel intention is basically hinged on the purpose of your travel abroad, while travel plan is simply your schedules and arrangements to get you there.
To be sure of your intention, three things are involved:
- Travel goals
- Travel achievements with timeline
- Back up option
One, you should be able to outline your goals for travellingin a way that sets you up for progress? If it is education, what school, course and years to spend abroad?; if it is holiday, what destination and length of stay?; if health, what hospital and how long?; if financially induced, what destination, what jobs are available, who hosts you and how long are you permitted to stay (visa duration).
Two, you should be able to state clearly what you intend to achieve with your trip. If your achievement plan is just to seek money, frankly, you are on a journey of no definition. Reason is you cannot live in a foreign country without ‘stay on purpose’ based on legal provisions of the host country. Unknowingly to many naïve travelers, there are more than 10 ways to carry your hustle intention to another country and still live legitimately.
Three, what is your back-up option in case something goes wrong in the process? You must have options particularly if your trip is financially induced. Many young people have gathered fortunes to embark on trips abroad only to be deported afterwards or outrightly refused at the port of entry, unable to return home due to embarrassment, guilt or inability to service back the huge loan procured for the trip. Maybe a family land was even sold for the trip! If you get first and second point right, the third point here may not be needed.
In any case, getting travel education and taking all necessary precautions before travelling abroad is the key. The trauma of the otherwise is better imagined. In 2010 on my way to Mexico, I was on transit in Frankfurt International when I met a Ghanian who was stopped by immigration service, unable to provide convincing answers; he was barred from boarding next flight to his final destination which was Sweden. His host in Sweden was called to ascertain if truly he was expecting the hustler, and sensing that the hustler already encountered issues in Frankfurt, he denied expecting him on the spot, so the hustler was barred. The trauma was so severe that he told me he could not go back home because of the financial commitments involved. His in-laws raised money for his trip; he had already moved his wife and children out to stay with his in-laws even prior to his departure – frankly everything depended on that hustle trip but the hope was dashed in German Airport. It was so pathetic; I was moved by his situation but helpless. This is one out of hundreds of cases.
Travel expectations can prime a youth to jump into murky waters of migration. So while pressing hard to activate the journey that may determine the fortune or travail of life, young people should make sure to incorporate a couple of travel aims also. What will yours be?
