I rememer the late Darren McGarry saying on a YouTube video last year, that over 50s only need a one-way flight ticket to enter Thailand. I have a retirement visa and will be flying with Emirates from Portugal via Dubai. Is what Darren said still current, please? 

When applying for a Visa at the Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country, one of the requirements can be to show a return-ticket as part of your application. 

But if you already have a Visa or a Re-Entry Permit protected Permit to stay, there is no need for a return-ticket and you can enter Thailand on a one-way flight. 

Age is not the issue, type of visa and/or re-entry permit is. If you don't have a long stay visa and a re-entry permit, a return ticket is required.

Flew into BKK from Perth via Singapore in Feb on a one way ticket, no visa and not asked the question anywhere.

Luck of the draw I guess.

3 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Flew into BKK from Perth via Singapore in Feb on a one way ticket, no visa and not asked the question anywhere.

Luck of the draw I guess.

Yes you were lucky, but in case the airline would not let you board due to that one-way ticket without a Visa, you could have bought an online onward-flight ticket on the spot for as little as 12 to 15 US $.

Your prob is with boarding the airline. Call them and ask about one way tickets. In general, it's more liability for them to let you fly.

 

I know someone who had to buy an exit ticket in Hong Kong to get on his next flight leg; diff airline change meant diff policy.

 

Once, flying Air Garuda, I was required to buy an onward ticket (which they let me refund in the airport when I got there).

2 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Yes you were lucky, but in case the airline would not let you board due to that one-way ticket without a Visa, you could have bought an online onward-flight ticket on the spot for as little as 12 to 15 US $.

Yes I had that option sorted but not needed.

Now have a Non O visa, extension due late June.

You have retirement visa. One way ticket is fine.

As stated in thread.

Flying with valid visa or reentry permit onward flight not required.

 

If flying visa exempt the airline will/may require an onward flight.

Generally speaking immigration not interested both at departure and arrival. 

23 minutes ago, sherwood said:

Flew into BKK from Perth via Singapore in Feb on a one way ticket, no visa and not asked the question anywhere.

Luck of the draw I guess.

Out of interest which airline.

If it was Jetstar you were lucky

Just now, DrJack54 said:

Out of interest which airline.

If it was Jetstar you were lucky

No and I hope to never fly with that mob. Scoot and at least there weren't any cancellations 555

2 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

Yes you were lucky, but in case the airline would not let you board due to that one-way ticket without a Visa, you could have bought an online onward-flight ticket on the spot for as little as 12 to 15 US $.

Do you have a link for that onward-flight option? Can't go wrong at that price...

11 minutes ago, Forza2002 said:

Do you have a link for that onward-flight option? Can't go wrong at that price...

There are many companies providing such legit 'ticket reservation' service.

I used https://onwardticket.com/ 

You can buy the onward-flight reservation booking in advance and have it scheduled to be delivered immediately or on the day of your choice. And that reservation will only be cancelled 2 or 3 days before that onward-flight 'departure' date.  

Note: I seem to recall that there are some onward-flight service companies that cancel it automatically 2 or 3 days after they sent the reservation to you, and in that case you should of course order it close to your departure date. 

3 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

Age is not the issue, type of visa and/or re-entry permit is. If you don't have a long stay visa and a re-entry permit, a return ticket is required.

Almost. Type of visa is not important, it's whether you have one or not that counts.

 

If you don't have a visa, and are intending to enter Thailand visa-exempt, your airline will probably want a return ticket or proof of onward travel.

 

If have any kind of visa, this issue disappears.

Thanks to every one. I will be buying a return, but I want to come back to Portugal next April. So Lisbon to Bangkok: c mid-July 2023. Bangkok to Lisbon: mid April 2024. My retirement visa will be renewed at the end of February, 2024. I think I'm going to check with Emirates in Lisbon as the Portuguese see everything in black and white terms.

 

Regards to all,

Nick

11 minutes ago, XB12X said:

Thanks to every one. I will be buying a return, but I want to come back to Portugal next April. So Lisbon to Bangkok: c mid-July 2023. Bangkok to Lisbon: mid April 2024. My retirement visa will be renewed at the end of February, 2024. I think I'm going to check with Emirates in Lisbon as the Portuguese see everything in black and white terms.

 

Regards to all,

Nick

Didn't really understand your first post and also this post.

 Not being pedantic but there is no such thing as a "Retirement Visa".

 

You possibly have a Non O-A or extensions from that or extensions from a non O .

 

Either way as has been pointed out in the thread ....with a valid visa or reentry permit you do not require onward/return flight. 

 

 

44 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Not being pedantic but there is no such thing as a "Retirement Visa".

You are being pedantic. Why do expats care so much about it must be called an extension of stay when the Thai Embassies around the World have this link to apply for a Retirement Visa lol

 

https://canberra.thaiembassy.org/visa-categories/

1 minute ago, Pattaya57 said:

You are being pedantic. Why do expats care so much about it must be called an extension of stay when the Thai Embassies around the World have this link to apply for a Retirement Visa lol

 

https://canberra.thaiembassy.org/visa-categories/

Nonsense.

To give accurate advice you need to know exact status of permission of stay in Thailand. 

Clearly you don't understand. 

A troll post and a bickering post have been removed.

I flew back into Thailand this month with a one way ticket. Check in staff (Emirates) queried it but I showed them my permission to stay and re-entry permit and nothing else was said. 

9 minutes ago, asf6 said:

I flew back into Thailand this month with a one way ticket. Check in staff (Emirates) queried it but I showed them my permission to stay and re-entry permit and nothing else was said. 

Did you read threads...

My post couple above ....

 

Either way as has been pointed out in the thread ....with a valid visa or reentry permit you do not require onward/return flight. 

46 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

You are being pedantic. Why do expats care so much about it must be called an extension of stay when the Thai Embassies around the World have this link to apply for a Retirement Visa lol

 

https://canberra.thaiembassy.org/visa-categories/

They dumb it down for the hoi polloi and for themselves probably. Easier to outsource the technicalities to volunteers on websites like this.

1 minute ago, Lemsta69 said:

They dumb it down for the hoi polloi and for themselves probably. Easier to outsource the technicalities to volunteers on websites like this.

Either way, the Thai Embassy actually links a "Retirement Visa" to a non-immigration O, O-A and O-X, which makes sense to me as they are actually a visa granted for retirement

10 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

Either way, the Thai Embassy actually links a "Retirement Visa" to a non-immigration O, O-A and O-X, which makes sense to me as they are actually a visa granted for retirement

Except it's not as simple as that, as @DrJack54has explained above. If someone says "my retirement visa is expiring on 3rd June what do I do" then you need to know the exact details of their situation in order to give the correct advice. Make the wrong assumptions and you could end up hurting rather than helping.

 

It takes a while to learn this stuff and you have to put in a fair degree of effort, not just snipe from the sidelines.

5 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

Except it's not as simple as that, as @DrJack54has explained above. If someone says "my retirement visa is expiring on 3rd June what do I do" then you need to know the exact details of their situation in order to give the correct advice. 

 

It takes a while to learn this stuff and you have to put in a fair degree of effort, not just snipe from the sidelines.

A Newby to the forum doesn't make me a Newby to Thailand, I've owned a Condo here for 15 years.

 

I guess I need to get used to when a Member says a Retirement Visa doesn't exist on this forum I should just forget my knowledge and say okay lol 

 

6 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I guess I need to get used to when a Member says a Retirement Visa doesn't exist on this forum I should just forget my knowledge and say okay lol 

Correct, because there is no such thing as a Retirement Visa.

1 minute ago, Lemsta69 said:

Correct, because there is no such thing as a Retirement Visa.

Thai embassy says otherwise whereby I posted the link above

2 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

Thai embassy says otherwise whereby I posted the link above

we've already done that dance. they dumb it down because it's easier to explain. what they put on their website, assuming it's not ten years out of if date, is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the whole visa/extension knowledge base.

1 minute ago, Pattaya57 said:

Thai embassy says otherwise whereby I posted the link above

Please.

We are all aware that the signs at Thai immigration state "visa extension" 

 

The fact that visas cannot be extended we just accept as "lost in translation" 

Permission of stay can be extended. 

 

Thermology important in some situations.

You are now on ignore. 

 

 

 

We flew into Thailand in mid January on a 30/45 day tourist visa with our return booked for early April with no questions asked at immigration,we flew to Oz mid February on a single ticket(AirAsia-never again) with a visa for Oz,we then  booked one way tickets to fly back into Thailand from Sydney in March with Thai Airways,there were no questions asked at the airports.