Arriving On A One-way Ticket

[Ted]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

[Crossy]

You MUST have a visa of some kind or you may not even get ON the aircraft, the requirement for onward travel if wanting a 30 day visa exemption is well documented and the airlines don't want to be penalised for carrying you if you are not permitted entry.

That said, immigration rarely (never) check for onward tickets, they rely on the airlines to do that for them.

Got a visa? No issues

Edited March 12, 2009 by Crossy

[Lite Beer]

As Crossy said. No problem if you have a Visa.

[scudman]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

I arrived this morning on a one-way ticket from the US. No one asked to see any ticket.

I have a single entry, 90 day, non-immigrant O visa.

[Jingthing]

The issue is boarding the plane, not arriving at BKK.

If you do not have a visa, you MAY still be allowed to board the plane if you can show a one way air ticket out of Thailand to any country that leaves within 30 days of arrival in Thailand. I suggest you call the specific airline you are flying to ask if they will allow that. There have also been reports of boarding denials where when it is elevated they will still allow boarding if you agree to sign a form absolving the airline of all financial responsibility. Another point which some may not agree with, but here it is. Airlines do not like to see one way tickets. They raise security flags. Even if you DO have a visa, expect them to possibly give your passport a hard look when boarding. By one way ticket, I don't mean expats returning to Thailand on the return leg of a round trip ticket (of course they need a visa or reentry permit).

Edited March 12, 2009 by Jingthing

[Mario2008]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

I arrived this morning on a one-way ticket from the US. No one asked to see any ticket.

I have a single entry, 90 day, non-immigrant O visa.

You have a visa, then a one way ticket is allowed.

[InterestedObserver]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

The quick, short answer is that if you don't have a visa when you get to the Bangkok airport you will receive a 30 day Visa Exempt admission stamp. Immigration almost never check for onward tickets. Boarding the airplane on your way here is another matter.

Edited March 12, 2009 by InterestedObserver

[charms]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

[Lite Beer]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

If you have a Tourist Visa which you say you have , you will have no problem.

If you do not have a Visa , your flight on Air Asia must be within 30 days of your arrival. Or you may not be allowed on the flight to Bangkok.

[charms]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

If you have a Tourist Visa which you say you have , you will have no problem.

If you do not have a Visa , your flight on Air Asia must be within 30 days of your arrival. Or you may not be allowed on the flight to Bangkok.

No I don't have a Visa. I fly on the 25th of March. I wanted to book a school for learning Thai for 3 to 6 month. But I want to have a look at the school first before I decide. This makes things more complicated ;-)

[InterestedObserver]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

If you have a Tourist Visa which you say you have , you will have no problem.

If you do not have a Visa , your flight on Air Asia must be within 30 days of your arrival. Or you may not be allowed on the flight to Bangkok.

No I don't have a Visa. I fly on the 25th of March. I wanted to book a school for learning Thai for 3 to 6 month. But I want to have a look at the school first before I decide. This makes things more complicated ;-)

You will have no problem getting into Thailand for 30 days upon arrival. Your problem is with the airline bringing you to Thailand, they may not allow you to board their flight to Bangkok.

[Jingthing]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

I suggest you call your airline and ask them if what you are doing is going to be OK. It would be better for you to apply for a tourist visa (allowing a 60 day stay) If you go ahead with the one way and ticket out and you are challenged at boarding, I suggest you stand calm and firm and demand to speak to a supervisor. Explain that you are knowledgeable enough to know that Thai immigration if they ask will be satisfied with your air ticket out within 30 days. If that doesn't work, ask them if you can sign a form releasing them of any financial responsibility if you are denied entry into Thailand. All that still may not work but worth a try.

Edited March 12, 2009 by Jingthing

[IMA_FARANG]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

1. If you arrive on a visa at the airport...tourist visa or other visa in your passport you will not need a return ticket.

2. If you recieve a stamp in your passport on entry...as some countries are allowed...you are required to have a ticket to leave Thailand in your possesion. Again, if you get a visa in your passport before you depart from your country, you will not need this ticket.

3. If you do not have a visa, the problem may be that the airline will not allow you to leave your country without a return ticket, or at least a ticket out of Thailand.

4. The reason is that if you arrive in Thailand, and do not have a visa, and are not admitted to Thailand, the airline that brought you will be responsible for either returning you to your original point of boarding or at least to remove you from Thailand. That is why the airline will want to see either a visa or a onward ticket from Thailand.

5. If the airline lets you board, and you are not allowed to enter Thailand for some reason, the airline is liable for your transportation.

6. This situation has happened to me once...departing without a visa on SAS from Copenhagen....and i was required to purchase a ticket out of Thailand before SAS allowed me to board.

7. For all practical purposes, Thai immigration usually does not ask for a onward ticket. However, I have had them ask me once (in about 30 entries). The law, however, states that a person arriving without a visa, and wanting a entry stamp on arrival, requires an onward ticket.

So take your chances...it's up to you.

[Ted]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

1. If you arrive on a visa at the airport...tourist visa or other visa in your passport you will not need a return ticket.

2. If you recieve a stamp in your passport on entry...as some countries are allowed...you are required to have a ticket to leave Thailand in your possesion. Again, if you get a visa in your passport before you depart from your country, you will not need this ticket.

3. If you do not have a visa, the problem may be that the airline will not allow you to leave your country without a return ticket, or at least a ticket out of Thailand.

4. The reason is that if you arrive in Thailand, and do not have a visa, and are not admitted to Thailand, the airline that brought you will be responsible for either returning you to your original point of boarding or at least to remove you from Thailand. That is why the airline will want to see either a visa or a onward ticket from Thailand.

5. If the airline lets you board, and you are not allowed to enter Thailand for some reason, the airline is liable for your transportation.

6. This situation has happened to me once...departing without a visa on SAS from Copenhagen....and i was required to purchase a ticket out of Thailand before SAS allowed me to board.

7. For all practical purposes, Thai immigration usually does not ask for a onward ticket. However, I have had them ask me once (in about 30 entries). The law, however, states that a person arriving without a visa, and wanting a entry stamp on arrival, requires an onward ticket.

So take your chances...it's up to you.

Appreciate all the advice; thank you to all and IMA FARANG in particular for a very informative post.

As I am not intending to get a visa before my arrival perhaps its probably wise to book the on-going ticket to my next destination prior to my arrival.

[Lite Beer]

Appreciate all the advice; thank you to all and IMA FARANG in particular for a very informative post.

As I am not intending to get a visa before my arrival perhaps its probably wise to book the on-going ticket to my next destination prior to my arrival.

Yes. If you have an ongoing ticket within 30 days of arrival you should be ok.

[Estrada]

I will be arriving on an overseas flights on a One-way ticket to Bangkok.

The rules seem to have been changing a lot recently; can I check that you don't need to show an onward ticket at arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport?

Thanks to all in advance.

I come here every 10 to 12 weeks for 2 -3 weeks with a side trip each time to Malaysia. I have a British Passport, and I arrive on a one way ticket every time from Libya via Doha to Bangkok on Qatar Airways. They never ask about visas, I only need a 30 day entry stamp. They never ask me for return/onward ticket. Each year I enter Thailand 8 times.

However, what you should realise is that the Airlines and Immigration now have a sophisticated on line computer history of all your travel history. I even saw that they had all my previous history under old passports going back years. I have a Thai Wife and Family and I have lived here for 15 years, however for tax reasons I gave up my Married Visa 5 years ago. All the history is there and they can see that I come and go without any problem so I am "profiled" as "No risk". An illustration of just how much information they have on us is when Malaysian immigration told me that I used to work for Sabah Dairies in Kota Kinabalu, which was 7 years ago. "Big Brother is watching you!."

I always arrive without a return onward ticket, and buy my return ticket here cheaper BKK-DOH-TIP-DOH-BKK.

Estrada

[mrgolf]

You MUST have a visa of some kind or you may not even get ON the aircraft, the requirement for onward travel if wanting a 30 day visa exemption is well documented and the airlines don't want to be penalised for carrying you if you are not permitted entry.

That said, immigration rarely (never) check for onward tickets, they rely on the airlines to do that for them.

Got a visa? No issues

Good to know. Thanks

[AndersJensenThailand]

In denmark, you need to show the Thai embasy the you have a ticket out of Thailand, if not they will not give you a visa.

I always just buy a cheap ticket to Cambodia but i never take the flight i just cross the border, it is cheaper and faster, and then i dont have any problems with my 2 times 60 days turist visa. because if i come back by plain, then i need to show them that i have another plai ticket to go out again.

After the first 60 days i goo to immigrations to get extension for 30 days and pay 1900 bath, so i get all 60+30+60+30 days. And now the turist visa are free in laos.

[RJJ]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

If you have a Tourist Visa which you say you have , you will have no problem.

If you do not have a Visa , your flight on Air Asia must be within 30 days of your arrival. Or you may not be allowed on the flight to Bangkok.

I have two points to make here:

Firstly, Tourist Visa's are on special at the moment; go grab one, they are FREE!!!

Secondly, how many people have book online travel? Jetstar and AirAsia just email you a pdf file to print.

Use that as a template and enter the dates within the time frame that will avoid all hassles when boarding.

Either way will get you to Thailand without any issues.

[johnefallis]

Hey there

I will come to Thailand as normal Tourist (Tourist Visa) with a one way ticket and have bought a ticket over Airasia to leave to Singapore after a month. Will this be valid to get in to Thailand? I booked everything online with electronic tickets.

Thanks

Chris

If you have a Tourist Visa which you say you have , you will have no problem.

If you do not have a Visa , your flight on Air Asia must be within 30 days of your arrival. Or you may not be allowed on the flight to Bangkok.

No I don't have a Visa. I fly on the 25th of March. I wanted to book a school for learning Thai for 3 to 6 month. But I want to have a look at the school first before I decide. This makes things more complicated ;-)

As long as you have money and are able to get on the plane coming to Bangkok, you should be fine. I would say that I agree with the first 10 or so posts that came before this one. What that means is you have less than a 10 percent chance of having a problem, and any problem has a 99% chance of being resolved with a little money. So don't get your undies in a bunch over it. If you need help or direction let me know when you get to Bkk, I can help you out with info, housing, beer, girls... whatever.

Good luck.

John

P.S. I came here without a visa, on an eticket, that had a return 60 days out. When questioned by the airline I told then I would be leaving Thailand by land while there. I also had email between myself and Thai Embassy Washington D.C., who answer promptly, in which I asked them my questions in the form to get the answers I wanted. They said as long as I left Thailand while there to get a new visa stamp, then I could arrive without the required onward travel and then get another visa when coming by land back into Thailand. I have been living in Thailand ever since, leaving only when necessary to get a new visa. To sum it up, as long as you are not a pain in their ass, they let you do whatever seems resonable. Just have a reason. Oh, and just a friendly suggestion, never raise your voice or get pissy with them, it doesn't work here, has the opposite effect you desire. A few hundred baht (less than $10) usually solves most issues in your favor.

Anybody disagree?

Edited March 15, 2009 by johnefallis

[pecker]

Great advice John. It wouldn't hurt either when you are travelling to Thailand to have a neat asian style haircut, dress conservatively with long pants and wear a nice looking watch.

I understand after the debacle at the airport last year and with the GFC, tourism has dropped right off in Thailand so authorities are not as focused on potential overstayers anymore, hence the free 2 month visas (that I missed out on).

[steve187]

As you are thinking of staying for 3-6 months. would it not be easier to just get a multi entry tourist visa, (2 or 3 entries) thus avoiding any problems that may arise. This would also cover you for the whole stay if required, (3x 60day stamps), Hull will issue and then return by special delivery post.

[jonw8uk]

I arrived yesterday on the 30 day exemption, with a one way ticket. No problem, wasn't even questioned at immigration.

[Maestro]

jonw8uk, arriving in Thailand on a one-way ticket has never been reported to be a problem, but there have been many reports about a problem with checking in at the airport of departure without a visa and without an onward flight out of Thailand.

1. What airline did you use?

2. At what airport did you board the plane?

3. Did you have a reservation for an onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days from scheduled arrival?

--

Maestro

[IMA_FARANG]

jonw8uk, arriving in Thailand on a one-way ticket has never been reported to be a problem, but there have been many reports about a problem with checking in at the airport of departure without a visa and without an onward flight out of Thailand.

1. What airline did you use?

2. At what airport did you board the plane?

3. Did you have a reservation for an onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days from scheduled arrival?

--

Maestro

Not sure who were asking but here is my info:

1. The airline was SAS. (the then Scandinavian Airlines System)

2. I was leaving for BKK from Copenhagen, Denmark

3. I did not have a return reservation. I had expected to purchase a return ticket in BKK. I had a Thai friend who was a travel agent in BKK.

4. I was told at the check-in counter that I would not be allowed to board the flight until I purchased a outward ticket from Thailand.

5. I questioned it, and was refered to a supervisor. He showed me the table from the IATA airline guide, with entry requirements for about 120 countries around the world, which had a footnote that said Thailand required those arriving without a visa to have an onward ticket out of the country in order to enter.

6. I bought myself a ticket from BKK to Singapore (I had intended to do some shopping in Singapore anyhow), and was allowed to board the flight. No probllem then.

7. This happened back in 1980 or 1981. Don't remember the exact date.

[C4Chilli]

I once had a one way ticket and was challenged at check in.

After inspecting my ticket and passport I was asked if I had an onward ticket which I didn't, I was going to purchase my return in Thailand.

Then I was asked to show that I had funds to support myself while I was in Thailand, I couldn't provide this either as I had transfered money into my Thai bank account.

I was told that I couldn't board the flight and it wasn't until after a very long conversation that he mentioned they were not able to transport people to Thailand on a one way ticket if they did not have a visa prior to travelling.

When I pointed out to him that I had 60 day multiple entry tourist visa in my passport he checked again, said thank you for flying with us sir and gave me my boarding pass.

[Spee]

I once had a one way ticket and was challenged at check in.

At what airport did this event occur?

I recently flew into Thailand on a one-way, and purchased another one-way for my outbound while in country. I experienced no immigration hassles during my journey.

[Jingthing]

OMG, this isn't rocket science.

One way tickets:

-- Thai immigration in general does not check for onward travel so that is not the problem

-- Arrive at check in with a one way ticket and a visa and a ticket out somewhere, you will be boarded

-- Arrive at check in with a one way ticket and a visa with no ticket out, you will most probably be boarded

-- Arrive at check in with a one way ticket and a ticket out within the time period of your 30 day stamp and no visa, and you will probably be boarded but not always

-- Arrive at check in with a one way ticket with no visa and no ticket out, you will most probably face a serious challenge and face a very good chance of being denied boarding

Mileage may vary with city and country you are leaving, airline you are using, and competency of the check in agent. If denied, always stay calm and ask to speak to a supervisor, and have a good story. There are reports here of people being allowed to sign away the airline's financial responsibility if denied entry into Thailand and then allowed to board.

Edited March 15, 2009 by Jingthing

[Maestro]

I once had a one way ticket and was challenged at check in.

At what airport did this event occur?... I experienced no immigration hassles...

Digbert is not talking about “immigration hassles” but about the refusal of an airline allowing travellers without a visa and without onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days to board the plane.

--

Maestro

[JimGant]

I arrived yesterday on the 30 day exemption, with a one way ticket. No problem, wasn't even questioned at immigration.

I think this may be becoming the norm.... maybe for economic reasons (see below).

I flew from the States to Thailand 3 weeks ago on United. For the first time, I ckecked in on-line and got my boarding pass. I had to type in my passport and reservation data, of course -- but no where was there anything asked about visa information. But the boarding pass came back with "documents checked" on it. So, United's check-in software only cared that "valid passport" and "going to Thailand" closed the loop.

Out of curiosity, when I went to the airport the next day, I asked an agent what would have happened if the country I was flying to required a visa? Oh, my boarding pass (and computerized passenger record) would be flagged with a "see agent," where they would then check for a visa.

Ok, so Thailand doesn't require a visa for US passport holders; requiring an onward ticket is kind of a nebulous requirement, probably one that wouldn't get an airline in trouble if ignored, which Immigration apparently does routinely; and airlines save money the fewer times a customer service rep has to interact with passengers. So, scotch the human interface requirement to check for either a visa, or an onward ticket -- it will make no difference, and the check-in procedure will be streamlined and cost effective. At least with United Airlines.....

Ironically, it is now the Thai consulates that want to see an onward ticket -- and proof of money in the bank --before they'll issue a Tourist Visa (even the Houston honorary consulate now posts this requirement). So, things may have reversed about the ease of getting a Non Imm O visa in Thailand: it may now be more of a hassle to get a Tourist Visa, and converting to a Non Imm O with a Form TM86 -- than just entering on a visa exempt stamp -- and getting your Non Imm O with a Form TM87.