Proof Of Onward Journey Visa Requirements

[sunbound]

Hello everyone!

I am planning a trip to Thailand at the beginning of March, and I've been trying to get a better understanding of onward journey requirements for a tourist visa. I hold a U.S. passport and intend on trying to get a 60-day, double- or triple-entry tourist visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate. I currently have a one-way, Air Asia ticket booked from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand for the beginning of March. My questions are as follows:

1.) I've been reading some of the Thai Embassies' respective websites, and some of them state that they require proof of an onward journey (via air, I believe) out of Thailand just to get a 60-day tourist visa. However, many people on various forums and such seem to think that getting the 60-day tourist visa is what exempts a person from needing proof of an onward journey. As I am currently teaching in Seoul, South Korea, I naturally looked at the Seoul Thai Embassy's website (http://www.thaiembas.../visa/type2.htm) first, but I also looked at Los Angeles's site and a few others. So does the chicken or the egg come first? Or does it just matter what embassy you speak with?

2.) If I want to apply for the 30-day extension to a 60-day tourist visa, do I need to show proof of onward journey within that 30-day extension? If so--and assuming I needed to show proof of onward journey within the first 60 days of my visa--then I would need to either a.) reschedule my original proof-of-onward-departure" flight from my first 60 days, or b.) schedule another means of leaving the country. Can the proof of departure for a 30-day extension (assuming one is needed) be either via land or air--or only via air?

And then if I obtained a 60-day, multiple-entry tourist visa, I would need to repeat the process somewhat as needed.

I know many, many people have made it into Thailand on one-way tickets and been just fine, and I know the problems seem to usually arise with the airlines instead of Thai immigration, but I just thought I'd see if I'm missing something here. I guess I would prefer to "waste" as few Air Asia, proof-of-departure flights as possible, even if they are cheap--and keep my itinerary as flexible as it can be.

Thanks so much, everyone!

[Lite Beer]

If you have a Visa you do not need an onward ticket.

[sunbound]

If you have a Visa you do not need an onward ticket.

But the issue, as stated in #1, is that Thai Embassies appear to be asking for proof of an onward ticket just to GET the tourist visa...

[Crossy]

As LB notes there is no GOVERNMENT requirement for an onward ticket to obtain or use a TV.

That said, many embassies / consulates have their own rules, India for example require a fully paid up itinerary for even a tourist visa. I ran into this issue as I had only a one-way (return half of a ticket), a quick call from the VFS office to the consul in Chennai clarified that, as a British passport holder, he would be happy to issue said visa.

It can do no harm to ask for an exemption, the worst that can happen is a no.

[lopburi3]

Embassy can require proof of a ticket but normally this will only be for third country nationals in practice if applicant appears to have finances. Once a visa is obtained airlines will/should not require onward tickets.

[spacebass]

If you have a Visa you do not need an onward ticket.

The Royal Thai Consulate in Brisbane Australia in November 2010 refused to issue a double entry tourist visa to a Born and bred Australian Citizen because they could not show and air ticket or 'itinary' taking them out of Thailand at the end of the first 60 day entry, they did have a return ticket at the end of the second 60 day period.

[lopburi3]

And that was because it was a two entry visa not because of the need for air ticket. For such a visa issue you are normally required to provide justification of issue and an itinerary/ticket is often a part of that process. Tourist visas are issued for travel - not for long term stay in Thailand.

[sunbound]

Thanks for the input, everyone. As it turns out, the embassy here in Seoul doesn't require proof of an onward ticket--even though the embassy's website states otherwise. Things should work out fine for my particular scenario this time around.