"Throw Away" Flight Ticket For COE Completion?

[NotReallyHere]

Quick question to those of you who have already gone through this process...

 

I have completed the "preapproval" COE process for the Phuket Sandbox and am now organizing my flight, hotel and swab tests.  I am arriving on a 45 day visa exemption, hoping for the "standard" 30 day extension and then as many 60 day COVID extensions as I can manage.  I don't want to return to the West until sometime in Spring 2022, at the soonest.

 

Since my return date is dependent on my ability to get the hoped for extensions, I haven't booked a return flight.

 

Question: Will my COE be approved without uploading a return flight document (only a one way ticket into Thailand) or do I have to buy a cheap "throw away" or cancelable flight ticket out of Thailand dated sometime before my 45 day visa exemption expires.

 

Looking for answers from people who have attempted to submit one way tickets only.

 

Thanks in advance.  This forum has been the best source of information on this process that I have been able to find.

[ubonjoe]

They do not require a flight out to the country for a COE. They only want to see ticket to here to confirm your date of arrival.

The airline will want to see a ticket out of the country within 45 days.

[NotReallyHere]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They do not require a flight out to the country for a COE. They only want to see ticket to here to confirm your date of arrival.

The airline will want to see a ticket out of the country within 45 days.

The airline???  I trust your information, UbonJoe.  I'm just surprised.  I can understand the airline being particular about documentation to enter a country, because they would be responsible for repatriation if I was denied entry at the airport.

 

Or are you saying Thai Immigration will want to see the flight out and the airline is intervening before I get to Thai Immigration?

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, NotReallyHere said:

Or are you saying Thai Immigration will want to see the flight out and the airline is intervening before I get to Thai Immigration?

 

Exactly that - if entering Thailand on a Visa Exempt arrival, Immigration will want to see a return ticket - The airline is responsible for your return IF Immigration refuse entry. 

 

In this case, the airline will want to see an ‘onward’ or ‘return’ ticket...  in this case it can simply be a cheap throw away ticket, to a neighbouring country (which is accepting arrivals at this time without hoop jumping). 

 

Alternatively - buy a fully refundable ticket. 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, NotReallyHere said:

Or are you saying Thai Immigration will want to see the flight out and the airline is intervening before I get to Thai Immigration?

Immigration seldom ask to see the ticket out of the country.

The airline is enforcing the entry requirement when entering without a valid visa or re-entry permit. A visa exempt entry requires a ticket out of the country.

[NotReallyHere]

7 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Exactly that - if entering Thailand on a Visa Exempt arrival, Immigration will want to see a return ticket - The airline is responsible for your return IF Immigration refuse entry. 

 

In this case, the airline will want to see an ‘onward’ or ‘return’ ticket...  in this case it can simply be a cheap throw away ticket, to a neighbouring country (which is accepting arrivals at this time without hoop jumping). 

 

Alternatively - buy a fully refundable ticket. 

Thanks Joe and Richard for the quick replies.  I'll proceed accordingly...

[Gulfsailor]

I plan to enter the Phuket sandbox on a visa exempt entry using the return leg of a ticket from Thailand earlier. I still have a re entry permit from a non-o extension from last year which is valid until a week after my arrival in Thailand. 
Would it be possible to get onto the plane and into Thailand without a ticket leaving Thailand when I intend to enter visa exempt but present my re entry permit at the airline when they ask questions? Or would they want that matched to the COE?

 

If it’s safer to get a throwaway ticket, what destinations would be acceptable and possibly cheapest as all nearby countries are still closed more or less. 

[TXTony]

I just paid a few dollars to onwardticket.com to satisfy the requirements. 

[2 is 1]

Many airline give you chance to change your flight date for free (or whit small fee)! So why not take round trip flight and  then change a date later!? Dont throw money away.

[james1943]

You have to have a return ticket unless you have a retirement or marriage visa and have a re entry stamp in your passport which you have to show when getting your COE You can book with Qatar airline for a ticket for up to 1 year and change it at any time for free. I know this because I have done it.

[james1943]

ubon joe sorry  you are wrong. the airline will not even let you on the plane unless you have a retirement or marriage visa. Plus you have to have a return ticket to enter Thailand. This i am 100%sure of if you do not believe me call Thai immigration. 

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, james1943 said:

ubon joe sorry  you are wrong. the airline will not even let you on the plane unless you have a retirement or marriage visa. Plus you have to have a return ticket to enter Thailand. This i am 100%sure of if you do not believe me call Thai immigration. 

A return ticket is never required. The airline can ask for a onward ticket to anywhere if entering visa exempt.

There is be big difference between a return (aka roundtrip) ticket and a onward ticket.

 

[DFPhuket]

Book with Qatar Airways. Their guaranteed flexibility policy allows you to "Change your travel date or destination within the same class of travel as often as you like, with no fees." OR "Get the unused value of your ticket refunded through your original form of payment, with no penalties or refund fees."

[MajorTom]

20 minutes ago, james1943 said:

ubon joe sorry  you are wrong. the airline will not even let you on the plane unless you have a retirement or marriage visa. Plus you have to have a return ticket to enter Thailand. This i am 100%sure of if you do not believe me call Thai immigration. 

The requirement is onward ticket. But that has almost never been enforced. Would i chance it now, risk loosing pre-paid AQ, Insurance, COE application etc.? No.

 

In the past i have entered Thailand nearly 100 times (seriously) on visa exempt, traveling on one-way tickets. One time only did i have to buy a throwaway ticket at check-in. Thai immigration has never asked me for any ticket. Onward or return.

[EVENKEEL]

16 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

The requirement is onward ticket. But that has almost never been enforced. Would i chance it now, risk loosing pre-paid AQ, Insurance, COE application etc.? No.

 

In the past i have entered Thailand nearly 100 times (seriously) on visa exempt, traveling on one-way tickets. One time only did i have to buy a throwaway ticket at check-in. Thai immigration has never asked me for any ticket. Onward or return.

It's not Thai immigration who asks, it's getting the boarding passes in your home country airport.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

changeable one year return tickets are typically covid- extended and around same price as one way.

so why bother paying one way only (unless going “round the world”, or “ dogleg” trip, forms of return ticket anyway)

dont really get this onward ticket tactic & never even heard of it before…….

surely best to have a pre- paid return ticket option, without paying twice with two one way tickets, if or when you do return to home country.

 

only Immigrants (not Expats) simply plant themselves in a foreign country, with one way flight, as if Permanent Resident, with no plan or pre-paid option to fly back out………of course Imm. & Airlines are suspicious…….what am I missing here ?

 

[ubonjoe]

22 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

dont really get this onward ticket tactic & never even heard of it before…….

surely best to have a pre- paid return ticket option, without paying twice with two one way tickets, if or when you do return to home country.

How many years would a return ticket be valid for? Some people do arrive here with plans to stay long term on a extension of stay.

A return ticket is never a requirement to enter the country or do anything after you are in the country.

A onward ticket is just a one way ticket to anywhere. It does not have to be back to home country.

[thailand49]

I think if prior to buying your ticket online especially with the airline take a look at the different prices for the same flights, click on the rules and regulation and it should note what you are getting?  It should include more miles if applicable cancellation charges and length of ticket use paying more will give you some flexiability in cancellation charges and greater length of the ticket.

[IAMHERE]

No doubt Qatar will refund your non-used ticket. Took me over two hours on the phone to talk to an agent and change my itinerary. I'd use that "onwardticket" site next time. 

This time I didn't know that site and just paid $120 for Scoot air to Singapore expecting it to be money down the drain. I know, money wasted; didn't seem outrageous after spending a couple hundred for Covid insurance and near 1500 for 14 days Quarantine.  

[gt162]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They do not require a flight out to the country for a COE. They only want to see ticket to here to confirm your date of arrival.

The airline will want to see a ticket out of the country within 45 days.

From LA Thai Consulate requires round trip flight confirmation.

 

https://thaiconsulatela.org/en/visa-exemption/

 

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, gt162 said:

From LA Thai Consulate requires round trip flight confirmation.

https://thaiconsulatela.org/en/visa-exemption/

In reality that is not required. I am aware of many people that have gotten a COE without a onward ticket that were entering visa exempt.

There is certainly no requirement to have a round trip ticket for any reason.

[DBath]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

How many years would a return ticket be valid for? Some people do arrive here with plans to stay long term on a extension of stay.

A return ticket is never a requirement to enter the country or do anything after you are in the country.

A onward ticket is just a one way ticket to anywhere. It does not have to be back to home country.

What you describe is exactly the scenario my wife and I took when we flew to Thailand at the onset of covid. Our plans were to continue to China at some point once things stabilized. I never booked the onward flight and even after several months of amnesty was never asked about it.
 

We stayed in Thailand over 1.5 years. 

Edited September 8, 2021 by DBath

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

joe: so non- PR foreigners ARE “planting” themselves here, in large numbers, with no plans to ever leave, using false air tickets. This practise anywhere is clearly Illegal Immigration and Fraud.  It also reinforces the annual visa grubbing / reporting / monetized Imm. system, and law for no foreigner- owned land, which has all now become crystal clear to me.

 

Also see now why no three or five year non-reporting longstay visa available  ! 

Imm. clearly need to control these types, under present system.

These farangs are clearly not “Expats” at all. If not for the monetized Imm. system, they would be justifiably treated as “Illegal Immigrants” and in other countries , face Deportation. Apologies if Harsh. Further aggravated by these types expecting full citizen - type rights & NHS - style Healthcare ! ….”One Way Ticket “ Indeed……….

[MajorTom]

????????????

If anyones goal is to illegally "plant" themselves in Thailand to live off the government, I suspect there are more challenging obstacles ahead than obtaining an onward ticket. Even a real one ????

 

It was a joke right?

 

[ubonjoe]

37 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

joe: so non- PR foreigners ARE “planting” themselves here, in large numbers, with no plans to ever leave, using false air tickets. This practise anywhere is clearly Illegal Immigration and Fraud.  It also reinforces the annual visa grubbing / reporting / monetized Imm. system, and law for no foreigner- owned land, which has all now become crystal clear to me.

Many people entering the country do not need a return or onward ticket since they have a valid visa when entering the country. The last time I entered the country I used a non-o visa that does not require one.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Tom: didnt say “live off govt”…they cant. no non-PR “obstacles” here with money…..

[NotReallyHere]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

In reality that is not required. I am aware of many people that have gotten a COE without a onward ticket that were entering visa exempt.

There is certainly no requirement to have a round trip ticket for any reason.

Hi, I'm the original poster...

 

Unfortunately, my experience is different.  The Thai Consulate in Munich just rejected my COE for not having a return ticket booked on a visa exemption.  They specifically stated it was the lack of a return ticket and they even changed the color of the font in the email to red for emphasis.  I guess they really mean it...

 

My saga continues...  Mexico is looking better all the time, but I have too much money invested at this point to pivot...

 

 

[ubonjoe]

14 minutes ago, NotReallyHere said:

They specifically stated it was the lack of a return ticket and they even changed the color of the font in the email to red for emphasis. 

It certainly does not have to be a return ticket. A onward ticket to anywhere would be accepted.

Do a search for "onward ticket" and you can find several sites offering temporary tickets for as little as $12 US.

[NotReallyHere]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It certainly does not have to be a return ticket. A onward ticket to anywhere would be accepted.

Do a search for "onward ticket" and you can find several sites offering temporary tickets for as little as $12 US.

At this point I'm not going to risk it.  I'll shell out $100 for a real onward ticket to some other location in Asia.  Or maybe book a flight on Qatar Airways, as another poster has suggested.  Have to look into it.

 

This is all a bit of a hassle, but ultimately no big deal.  I am cheap (I prefer "thrifty") by nature, but fortunately, don't have to be.

[MajorTom]

On 9/8/2021 at 4:49 PM, NotReallyHere said:

At this point I'm not going to risk it.  I'll shell out $100 for a real onward ticket to some other location in Asia.  Or maybe book a flight on Qatar Airways, as another poster has suggested.  Have to look into it.

 

This is all a bit of a hassle, but ultimately no big deal.  I am cheap (I prefer "thrifty") by nature, but fortunately, don't have to be.

onwardticket.com is not actually "fake" tickets. You just pay them a fee to hold a reservation in your name for a certain period. I believe most travel agencies can do this. Price varying.

You can also log-on to the airline with your confirmation code and check/manage the booking.

 

This should not be necessary of course. But when certain "bureaus" insists on creating solutions to problems that does not exist; its good that there are simple ways to bypass it.