Since you mentioned that he will be going to Nigeria and other parts of Africa and India-I sure hope that he has all of his vaccines,malaria pills,etc. for that part of the world.

kerouac - yes, he has a credit card all his own.

NorCalif - LOL!!! Loved your story. My son is already a very interesting person who has had some unusual experiences. Some of that was my doing/fault, but he is a person who attracts extraordinary people and events. He's hoping to keep a journal and perhaps write a book when he returns - knowing him, he will have some incredible stories to tell. He's a gifted writer, although his ADD makes it painful to get it down, and his punctuation and spelling are atrocious - but fortunately his mother can hlep him, get that rite! (sic) I expect to get newsy missives such as "Hi Mom, I'm in ______ and I'm still alive." He's just not ready for college and might never be, so I think this trip is the perfect way for him to get a great education (though his grandparents are very upset that he's spending the college money they put away for him this way). I am deeply, deeply envious. (BTW, your "sell-out" description isn't far from the truth - he is an "anti-consumerist" who has been supporting himself doing on-the-street fund-raising for social causes for the last year and a half.)

dutyfree - that's something he's starting on this week, but thanks for mentioning it!

Anyway, pale American rastas are not really what the immigration authorities are worried about. (On the subway tonight, I was tuned in to how many dreadlocks I saw at rush hour -- I don't know how common they are in the U.S. but there is certainly no lack of them in Paris!)

Anyway, another unfortunate group is more the target of interest than young American tourists: http://tinyurl.com/lg7c8n

Who the hell goes on holiday to Nigeria?

I think he should bring his mother.

C_W - Someone who has friends there to stay with! And who doesn't want the usual sort of tourist-sight travel experience.

knittingdoll - We both laugh in your face! Although we are close, he and I have very different travel and personal styles, and he is a fiercely independent fellow, for which I am profoundly grateful. He has lived away from home and supported himself with no assistance from me since he was 18! I feel fortunate that he has included me in his travel planning, although some of that is because he knows I know a lot about traveling abroad, and that I'm much better at scrounging up information on the internet and having the patience to read through it. I want him back in one piece when he's finished!

C-W was replying what I was thinking?

The airline that I fly for has two cities that we fly to in Nigeria and it is considered VERY dangerous-so much so that the crew is split up so if something happens they can still get the plane out ASAP back to the US.NOBODY wants to do the trip!
Has he ever lived or traveled overseas?

Forgot to add that he will need a tourist visa BEFORE he leaves for India.

dutyfree, I will mention this to him. I sort of worry about much of his African trip, as many countries there seem to be very unstable politically (or, if stable, have a fairly frightening regime). I didn't realize Nigeria was one of the scarier ones.

He's not entirely a babe in the woods, he's been to Japan and Italy, he's lived in major metropolitan areas his whole life, and he has dared the wilds of east Oakland, which can be pretty darn frightening too. But I doubt up for serious political unrest in a third-world country (at least I hope not).

Have you heard bad things about Ghana? He's very keen to go there. (I think I foresee a trip to the Africa forum in my very near future.)

We did know about the visa to India. Well, I did anyway, and I told him.

Nigeria? This "scruffy young man" story is getting bizarre. I was in Nigeria once, under big corporate sponsorship and escorted by a native driver and a soldier with a carbine. SYM is just out of his mind to go there.

Hey, we don't have to worry about Nigeria just yet. Right now he just needs to get into the UK. Maybe I'll be lucky and he'll run out of money and have to come home before he gets there?

<<Forgot to add that he will need a tourist visa BEFORE he leaves for India.>>

Forgot about that - visas in his passport for his travel will also show he intends to continue his travels.

janisj thanks for the advice and apologies to OP for rising tot he bait.

I hope he has a fantastic time.

"Perhaps corli33 and willit might start their own thread to debate the merits of immigration?"

Point taken and apologies.

Nigeria is about the worst place you can go to as a white westerner. Kidnapping is common. Robbery commonplace.

It's horrible by anyone's standards. Bloody dangerous too.

Tell UK immigration you want to go to Nigeria - forget it.

If you're interested read this book by a UK immigration officer - mainly about Nigerians:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Refusal-Shoe.../dp/1852428279

My brother was, for some years, editor of an African football magazine. He was a frequent visitor to Nigeria and spent a great deal of time there.

He truly hated the place and believes it to be the most corrupt, crime ridden place he has ever had to work (and that includes Johannesburg).

artsnletters, print out this thread and let him have at it. He is 21 and needs to be able to deal with the consequences of his choices. If he can't already handle it, he will by the time he returns.

I guess think of it the other way. How would you advise a visitor to USA to present himself with the chance of getting in? He may even find thta the airline will not let him board as they have to pay to take him back.

Jeez! Rasta hair and one way tickets are fine. Some of you want this guy to act 61 years old instead of 21.

Nigeria is off the itinerary. Mom heaves a sigh of relief. I have introduced him to the travel advisory page on state.gov. (We've also had a conversation about staying away from the borders of countries with which the US doesn't have diplomatic relations.)

I'm a little confused by the talk of "consequences." He doesn't want to do anything illegal, he's far from even pushing the envelope. He wants to spend about two weeks in Britain and then move on. My question is only on what he can do to ensure that his intentions are clear to the passport control officer.

At this point, I'm pushing the onward ticket since the consensus seems to be that that will be sufficient to prevent any untoward attention.

Besides the corruption and crime in Nigeria, SYM also has serious issues with disease. My county health department gave me a prescription of anti-malaria pills. My doctor gave me prescription anti-diarrhea pills and an antibiotic. He was part of a group which smuggled Christian missionaries into the country and knew the situation. My company gave me a medical kit with more stuff in it, including needles but I forget what they were for. Maybe the local medics re-used needles so it was better to bring my own in case of need.