one way ticket to LOS

[iendo]

Has anyone with no more than a tourist visa bought a one way ticket to Thailand recently?

In the past you could buy a cheap 15 usd ticket out of the country to show at check in. Airlines refuse you if you don't have an outbound ticket. That's how it used to be but things may have changed.

[scott456]

You can always book a refundable one way ticket out of the country.

[vinapu]

answer is yes. 

For my October trip to Cambodia I was buying legs BKK -PNH, then PNH (Phnom Penh ) to REP (Siem Reap)  and REP-DMK(Don Muang) separately , for diferent airlines and purchased on different days. Two weeks later I repeated feast with one way DMK - Luang Prabang and Vientiane- DMK, again , different airlines and purchased on different days. ( I took train from Luang to Vientiane). Nobody in neither country asked me to show onward ticket

on top of it I know somebody who recently purchased PNH-BKK one way  planning to  do overland from Vietnam do Cambodia

 

[Boy69]

In principal you need to have a return ticket for the Thai immigration but they rarely ask you to show it to them , however some airlines won't let you do check-in without it.

[scott456]

30 minutes ago, Boy69 said:

In principal you need to have a return ticket for the Thai immigration but they rarely ask you to show it to them , however some airlines won't let you do check-in without it.

Correct.  Mostly it is the airlines check-in agents who do things by the book when you check in, especially those asian country based airlines, very stubborn too.

[Jez1980]

Airlines are held to uphold immigration rules and Thailand officially requires you to have onward ticket. When you book flight to Bkk many airlines have small print or pop box that states you can be denied entry if you only hold one way ticket. Airlines work hard to avoid fines 

[tm_nyc]

I agree that it is not advisable to try to enter Thailand without an onward ticket.  I have even heard stories about people with Multiple Entry Tourist Visas having problems with various airlines because their return date was beyond 60 days. 

But, it's not just Thailand.  I stopped for a week in Vienna on my way to my current 5 month stay in Thailand & Cambodia.  Maybe because I had tickets on 2 different airlines (Austrian & EVA), it was a hassle before Austrian would give me a boarding pass for the Vienna leg on the trip.  In Austrian's computer, I was 'remaining' in Austria for 5 months, which was not legal.  Ultimately, they typed my EVA flight info into their computer & I was allowed to go on my way but it was definitely a hassle.

[t0oL1]

specifically- Qatar Airways was insistent on seeing my return trip ticket or I could not continue

 

 

 

[maump]

I did one way with Etihad, they did not ask for a return ticket, immigration did not ask.  to be safe I had already booked one way to HCMC near the end of my 45 day stay ($12 ticket was $89 after taxes and fees).  I wanted to go anyway.....

I ended up not using it (went to phillipines instead).  they refunded a 2/3  of the cost.

the Cebu pacific to Philippines did want to see my return ticket before I boarded to manila.

[iendo]

With these prices we have to shop a little smarter now a days. Not so long a go we could buy economy tickets from Europe to BKK for €400 to €500 euros, we can easily double that now.

But, you convict me enough to get a round-trip.

Come to think of it, we probably need it for a tourist visa, too. Not sure about that, but I can imagine. 

[Boy69]

3 hours ago, iendo said:

Come to think of it, we probably need it for a tourist visa, too. Not sure about that, but I can imagine. 

If you are doing tourist visa in your local Thai embassy they don't ask for air ticket information,  if you are doing visa on arrival at the immigration in BKK in principal you need to have return or onward ticket but it's rarely asked there,  the main problem is with the airlines which might refuse to check you in , so it's not a wise thing to buy one way ticket. 

[bkkmfj2648]

12 hours ago, Boy69 said:

so it's not a wise thing to buy one way ticket. 

unless of course the purpose of your flight is to retire forever in Thailand - then it is a one way ticket (with a cheap outbound throw away ticket to a nearby country to make the bureaucrats happy).

[tm_nyc]

16 hours ago, Boy69 said:

If you are doing tourist visa in your local Thai embassy they don't ask for air ticket information

Tourist visas applications are now all done online & they do require a copy of a round-trip ticket, at least for a multiple-entry visa.

[Keithambrose]

43 minutes ago, tm_nyc said:

Tourist visas applications are now all done online & they do require a copy of a round-trip ticket, at least for a multiple-entry visa.

I flew from Singapore to BKK last week, Thai, business class, and the check in guy asked me how long I was staying in BKK. I said 3 days, and he enquired no further. 

[Boy69]

3 hours ago, tm_nyc said:

Tourist visas applications are now all done online & they do require a copy of a round-trip ticket, at least for a multiple-entry visa.

It can done only at limited list of countries.

[ChristianPFC]

I have entered Thailand many times by air, with tourist visa or even without, and only once been asked (by airline) for an onward flight. That was from Taipei to Bangkok, and I bought a fully refundable flight with same airline. I got the refund, but fees (exchange rate, credit card payment fee, processing fee by airline) were higher than a cheap flight in the area would have cost.

If I get in that situation again, I would hope not to be asked for an onward ticket, or argue with check-in staff, but have everything ready on my phone to buy a cheap ticket or use an onward-ticket-service so I can do it on the spot.

[thaiophilus]

In about 25 years of trips to Thailand I've only been questioned once, for a slightly different reason: I checked in (with Emirates at LGW) with a return ticket, but the return was dated more than 30 days after the outward flight and they noticed that I had no visa. I explained that I had tickets from BKK to Delhi and back from a different airline, so I would actually have two stays of less than 30 days in LoS. They took my word for it.

[Boy69]

58 minutes ago, thaiophilus said:

In about 25 years of trips to Thailand I've only been questioned once, for a slightly different reason: I checked in (with Emirates at LGW) with a return ticket, but the return was dated more than 30 days after the outward flight and they noticed that I had no visa. I explained that I had tickets from BKK to Delhi and back from a different airline, so I would actually have two stays of less than 30 days in LoS. They took my word for it.

It happened to me only one time many years ago on flight from Sydney to Bankgok , I checked in via Thai Airway with one way ticket first they only asked if I had enough funds for staying in Thailand I showed them 2 Int'l credit cards and it did satisfy them and let me on board.

 

 

 

[iendo]

I was thinking about this:

https://www.checkmybus.com/search#departureDate=2023-04-27&origin=Bangkok%2C%20Thailand%2413.719408%2C100.585245%24undefined%24undefined%24false%24false&destination=Siem%20Reap%2C%20Cambodia%2413.362222%2C103.859722%24d2b38b1b-fcf9-46d7-8594-0aa9c43375de%2400000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000%24true%24false&sortValue=Relevance&sortOrder=ascending&radius=15&adults=1

Would that be accepted?

26 USD for a bus ticket I am never going to use. It takes the uncertainty away.

Christian's suggestion might also be a good idea:

https://onwardticket.com/

I tried to play around with the website a little, and it comes to 14 USD. Not sure how it works.

 

But as you can see, they ask for travel booking confirmation. From that perspective the bus-ticket in hand might be best.

[ChristianPFC]

I vaguely remember that the proof of leaving Thailand has to be a flight, bus or train probably not accepted. I would buy a ticket to Baan Khlong Luek (border crossing to Poipet) for 49 Baht, but only available in railway station and only (how many weeks?) in advance.

I once used onwardticket or similar service, but didn't have to provide proof of leaving Thailand. The booking can be searched and will be found in airline databases, but I didn't like that the printout did not have any airline name or logo, and can immediately be recognized as fake (in the sense that you won't be on that flight).

The screenshot is from online visa, and they are asking for proof of travel TO Thailand. Makes no sense, and I would rather get the visa first and arrange travel later, but that's how it is. As if someone pays 35 EUR (in my case) for the visa and then does not travel to Thailand without a good reason.

[iendo]

4 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

I vaguely remember that the proof of leaving Thailand has to be a flight, bus or train probably not accepted.

That makes no sense. But yeah, it is Thailand so it doesn't have to make sense I guess.

But the link that I proposed is a bus ticket that you can buy online that states that you travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap. I don't see why they will not accept it at check-in. Embassy might be a different story, indeed. I'll google it

Turkish Air used to have a good solution. I got a visa with a Turkish Air reservation once. But that is a long time ago.

[PeterRS]

I just wrote in another forum, I was stopped at Cathay Pacific check-in at HKG three days ago and asked to show either my visa or an outbound ticket. And I have flown the BKK/HKG/BKK sectors well over 200 times.

[Boy69]

54 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

I just wrote in another forum, I was stopped at Cathay Pacific check-in at HKG three days ago and asked to show either my visa or an outbound ticket. And I have flown the BKK/HKG/BKK sectors well over 200 times.

And hodid you managed to solve it ?

[iendo]

5 hours ago, PeterRS said:

I just wrote in another forum, I was stopped at Cathay Pacific check-in at HKG three days ago and asked to show either my visa or an outbound ticket. And I have flown the BKK/HKG/BKK sectors well over 200 times.

I saw someone write about that same issue with Cathay Pacific on Aseannow.com

https://aseannow.com/topic/1282508-evisa-for-tourist-visa-another-bunch-of-questions/

I've yet to find anywhere that says it can't be a bus or train ticket.

[PeterRS]

4 hours ago, Boy69 said:

And hodid you managed to solve it ?

I have a one year visa but my passport is almost full and I had to point it out to the CX employee as he could not locate it!