Return Flight Needed for Boarding to UK and/or Entry to UK

[hotandsticky]

A friend has been told that his GF will need to show a return flight to/from UK at airline check in and at UK Border Force.

 

 

His GF will have a 2 year visa and they had not intended to book return flights in order to maximise flexibility.

 

 

I can see nothing about that on the gov.uk or Thai Airways websites.

[DaLa]

My 'wife' has been to the Uk 15 times. Some airlines ( we use mainly Emirates ) raise this question. They are not 'experts' in every countries immigration rules. I keep a copy of the relevant details from UK immigration with me. It's not a requirement.  The fact she has a 2 year visa says a lot. She won't have received that without a good deal of vetting and assurance she will comply with the requirements (ie. to leave the UK within 6 months).

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, DaLa said:

My 'wife' has been to the Uk 15 times. Some airlines ( we use mainly Emirates ) raise this question. They are not 'experts' in every countries immigration rules. I keep a copy of the relevant details from UK immigration with me. It's not a requirement.  The fact she has a 2 year visa says a lot. She won't have received that without a good deal of vetting and assurance she will comply with the requirements (ie. to leave the UK within 6 months).

I'm not familiar with British visas ( didn't need one ), but why would anyone get a 2 year visa for a 6 month stay?

[hotandsticky]

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not familiar with British visas ( didn't need one ), but why would anyone get a 2 year visa for a 6 month stay?

Flexibility.

 

Who said "a six month stay"?

 

 

There was a good example last week where a poster made frequent business trips to the (perhaps every other month) but never stayed longer than 180 days in any one year (even though that isn't a 'rule').

 

My friend was probably looking at his GF taking a 4 month visit, with a 2 month visit later in the year.

 

 

[theoldgit]

No, a return flight isn’t required for those traveling to the UK.

 

On arrival at the the UK Border a Border Force Officer will often ask if the passenger if they have a return ticket, as it’s the easiest way of demonstrating that the person seeking admission has the means to leave the UK at the conclusion of the visit. If the passenger doesn’t have a return ticket, and the Officer has concerns, the passenger may well be asked to demonstrate that they have the means to travel home.

 

Border Force Officers will be aware that possession of a return ticket doesn’t mean they will use it.

 

The short answer to the question is that there is no requirement to have a return ticket, but being required to satisfy an officer at the border that you have the means to leave is.

[hotandsticky]

6 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

No, a return flight isn’t required for those traveling to the UK.

 

On arrival at the the UK Border a Border Force Officer will often ask if the passenger if they have a return ticket, as it’s the easiest way of demonstrating that the person seeking admission has the means to leave the UK at the conclusion of the visit. If the passenger doesn’t have a return ticket, and the Officer has concerns, the passenger may well be asked to demonstrate that they have the means to travel home.

 

Border Force Officers will be aware that possession of a return ticket doesn’t mean they will use it.

 

The short answer to the question is that there is no requirement to have a return ticket, but being required to satisfy an officer at the border that you have the means to leave is.

 

Excellent, thank you.

 

 

Any thoughts on whether an airline might insist on seeing a return ticket?

 

I understand their obligations re passengers who are refused entry......

[DaLa]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not familiar with British visas ( didn't need one ), but why would anyone get a 2 year visa for a 6 month stay?

It's useful for multiple visits. My wife and I would return to the UK for 2 to 3 months then back here for 3-4 months. You save a huge £23  (ish) on fees but it saves all the palaver of having to complete new applications. An application form of 15 pages where most of the information has already been submitted on the previous application. 

[hotandsticky]

1 minute ago, DaLa said:

It's useful for multiple visits. My wife and I would return to he UK for 2 to 3 months then back here for 3-4 months. You save a huge £23  (ish) on fees but it saves all the palaver of having to complete new applications. An application form of 15 pages where most of the information has already been submitted on the previous application. 

Whilst the application is repetitive (better than before), most people cute the saving hassle with VfS visits.

[DaLa]

44 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

Excellent, thank you.

 

 

Any thoughts on whether an airline might insist on seeing a return ticket?

 

I understand their obligations re passengers who are refused entry......

This is my personal experience. Usually it costs in the region of 70-75% of a return ticket for a one way ticket. I book the return and then pay the change fee when I have my return date planned. Emirates at one point due to C-19 restrictions on their operations waived the change fees which saved me around £600. The other alternative is to pay extra for a 'flexible' ticket. 

 

One of the problems with booking the return 'when you are ready to' is that prices can go up due to demand closer to the date you travel.

 

Final piece of advice relevant to this post is to email the airline and get them to give you a written reply to the Q 'do you insist...'

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Any thoughts on whether an airline might insist on seeing a return ticket?

I understand their obligations re passengers who are refused entry......

Some airline staff may try and enforce a non existent rule, but escalating to a manager should resolve any issue.

As you’ve suggested, carriers can be penalised if they carry a passenger who is not properly documented, not having a return ticket wouldn’t fall into that category.

[hotandsticky]

24 minutes ago, DaLa said:

This is my personal experience. Usually it costs in the region of 70-75% of a return ticket for a one way ticket. I book the return and then pay the change fee when I have my return date planned. Emirates at one point due to C-19 restrictions on their operations waived the change fees which saved me around £600. The other alternative is to pay extra for a 'flexible' ticket. 

 

One of the problems with booking the return 'when you are ready to' is that prices can go up due to demand closer to the date you travel.

 

Final piece of advice relevant to this post is to email the airline and get them to give you a written reply to the Q 'do you insist...'

Thank you.

 

This will sound a dumb question......... despite taking hundreds of flights I have never booked a 'flexible' ticket (as far as I know) - I have taken the option to change the date which normally carries a fee of circa 2,000 Baht....... what are the features of a flexible ticket and how do they work?

 

 

One advantage of leaving the return leg to later is cash flow. I invariably book a long way ahead; for May 2023 I am looking at a one-way Premium Economy with EVA to LHR and taking my chance on the price of the return leg. I am also not certain of that return date which should be sometime in July.

[Photoguy21]

With the 2 year visa you dont need to show onward ticket. My wife had that visa and was never asked for an onward ticket.

[hotandsticky]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

With the 2 year visa you dont need to show onward ticket. My wife had that visa and was never asked for an onward ticket.

 

Interesting - you would almost imagine that it would be more relevant.

 

Did she ever enter through Manchester?

[Photoguy21]

1 minute ago, hotandsticky said:

 

Interesting - you would almost imagine that it would be more relevant.

 

Did she ever enter through Manchester?

Yes we did most of the time. Other times through Heathrow

[hotandsticky]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

Yes we did most of the time. Other times through Heathrow

 

 

I only asked because a friends wife (with a 2 year visa) had an issue at Manchester.

 

 

She/he bottled it and bought a return ticket online on the spot  -  I would have taken The Old Git's approach.

[Photoguy21]

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I only asked because a friends wife (with a 2 year visa) had an issue at Manchester.

 

 

She/he bottled it and bought a return ticket online on the spot  -  I would have taken The Old Git's approach.

As I say we never had an issue but things could have changed. Why not contact the Embassy and ask them of the Home Office in the UK?

[tomazbodner]

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

Thank you.

 

This will sound a dumb question......... despite taking hundreds of flights I have never booked a 'flexible' ticket (as far as I know) - I have taken the option to change the date which normally carries a fee of circa 2,000 Baht....... what are the features of a flexible ticket and how do they work?

 

 

One advantage of leaving the return leg to later is cash flow. I invariably book a long way ahead; for May 2023 I am looking at a one-way Premium Economy with EVA to LHR and taking my chance on the price of the return leg. I am also not certain of that return date which should be sometime in July.

That ticket that allows you to change date for 2000 baht fee is a flexible ticket. There are several types of tickets, though:

- so called saver tickets, which are the cheapest, allow no changes, and are completely non-refundable

- then you have flexible tickets, which usually allow changes of dates, but not destinations, and could or could not be refunded. There's several kinds of these, from cheaper and more restrictive to more expensive and fully open (meaning changing date with no fees, sometimes even route - there could be a difference in fare to pay still).

 

Flexible tickets are valid for a year from date of issue (there is "not valid before" and "not valid after" date included on them).

 

Most flexible tickets can be expensive.