I plan on visiting a few asian countries for holiday in the new year. My itinerary is very loosely planned, as i don't know how long I will want to stay in each of the different countries. I understand, though,  that I must have a return ticket in order to get a visa. This might be a problem as per my loose schedule. Also, I may want to arrive in Bangkok, but after some moving about, not necessarily  departing home to Canada from Bangkok. I may want to return to Canada from Hanoi or from Cambodia. Would that complicate my plans too much?

Not all consular services insist on a return ticket. Some will accept an onward ticket to anywhere. Where are you planning to apply for the visa?

You do not need a return ticket, ever, only possibly an onward flight out of Thailand. Most consulates, if you have a ticket booked to Bangkok, and a reasonable itinerary will waive the requirement for an onward flight out of Thailand. In the worst case, you can book a cheap ticket (about US$30) out of the country to meet the requirement.

 

You can, of course, also choose to travel to Thailand without a visa, intending to enter the country visa exempt. In that case, your airline may demand to see an onward flight reservation before allowing you to check in for your flight to Thailand. The airline supervisor will often waive the requirement if convinced by you that Thai immigration will not have objections to your entry (which should be the case).

a visa exempt entry into Thailand will give you a 30 day permission to stay stamp, (only 2 of these are allowed by land border in each calendar year) be aware of post 3 re boarding airline in home country

 

a single entry tourist visa ( SETV) will give you one  60 day permission to stay stamp on arrival 

 

a multi entry tourist visa (METV) will give you a 60 day permission to stay stamp on every entry during its 6 month period of validity

 

all permission to stay stamps can be extended at local immigration offices in Thailand for a period of 30 days for 1,900 baht

 

all permission to stay stamps can be preserved by buying a single entry reentry permit at local immigration offices in Thailand for 1,000 baht

say for example you entered on 1st April on a tourist visa you would receive a 60 day stamp, requiring you to leave by 30th May, if you leave Thailand on 20th April to travel to Cambodia, returning to Thailand on 5th May, if you buy a reentry permit, on re-entering Thailand on the 5th you would be stamped back in til the 30th May, if you did not buy the re-entry then on leaving Thailand your stay would end and a fresh form of entry would be required on re entering Thailand.

Edited December 8, 20178 yr by steve187