SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - An Australian on a business trip to Yellowknife last week is wondering if he'll be allowed back home.

Peter Athey holds up a photocopy of his British passport, which is not enough to allow him to re-enter Australia, where he has lived since he was nine. - Charlotte Hilling/NNSL photo

Peter Athey arrived in Yellowknife last Friday morning from Brisbane with the intention of staying three days to check out water bottling machines at Tundra Transfer, but on entering Canada he was told getting back into Australia would be difficult.

The problem is Athey was born in the United Kingdom and immigrated with his family to Australia 40 years ago, when he was nine.

When he was organizing his trip to Canada, Athey found out his status was that of a permanent resident, not a citizen.

To save time he applied for a British passport.

"By the time I got citizenship and then got an Australian passport it would have taken three months. So it was much faster just to get the British passport," he said.

Britain and Australia have agreements with Canada allowing people from those nations to come and go from Canada without a visa for short trips.

However, Britain and Australia do not share that agreement with each other, and Britons are required to have a visa to enter Australia.

In his haste to get to Canada, Athey was unaware of the hurdle.

"I had to make the business trip anyway because it's an urgent opportunity that I couldn't miss," he said.

"Right now, I can't go back to my country."

As of Saturday afternoon Athey was unable to reach the Australian High Commission in Canada because it was the weekend.

On Sunday he left Yellowknife for further business in Toronto, and as of Monday he had 48 hours to get a visa allowing him to go home before his non-refundable plane ticket expired.

"I don't think it will happen. I think I'm going to be spending some time in the airport," he said.

He had plenty of offers of a place to crash from the Yellowknifers he met, so he may be heading back up North if he must stay in the country.

"I can get around Canada with my current status. I think I can even head over to the States. I just can't go back to where I'm from," he said.

He was told by Air Canada that they had a legal obligation to bar him from getting on his return flight, but despite this Athey intends to try his luck at the gate.

"I'll do anything," he said. "I'll sing the national anthem. I'll sing the Vegemite song. I'll say G'day mate. I'm Aussie."

Ironically, Athey and his family first moved to Australia on a AUS$10 visa, as the government at the time was trying to encourage immigration.

Now either somewhere in Southern Canada or with any luck, home in Brisbane, Athey is unable to be reached for an update on his progress.

However, when he does eventually get home he has a to-do-list.

"The first thing I'm going to be doing when I get back is organize my citizenship," he said.