Howdy, I (Americian) will be flying from Vietnam to Bangkok (DMK) with the plan of traveling out of Thailand later via train. Will I need to show proof of this when I pass through immigration? I wont be buying my ticket until after being in Thailand. Will I need to buy a round trip plane ticket?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks.

Immigration normally will not ask for proof of onward travel but the airline may ask for it prior to boarding the flight.

You probably won't be asked by Thai Immigration, but if you're travelling visa free to Thailand you could well be asked for sight of a return ticket or a flight out of Thailand before the airline allows you to board in Vietnam.

If you do not have a proper Visa (such as business), you will need to have a proof of onward travel before you can enter Thailand.

That being said, it is the job of the airline that flies you to Thailand to verify, because the airline is responsible of flying you back to your origin if you cannot enter the country. I have been flying in and out of Thailand many times and most of the times the airline actually check this, sometimes they do not. Usually the longer the trip, the more often they will check. That is, when flying from Europe to Thailand, they usually check it, if you fly from Hanoi to DMK, they might not check it. The immigration at Thailand will probably not check it, unless they suspect something.

The Visa class and proof of onward travel can be checked by the airline either at the check-in counter or when boarding the plane, or both. If this happens to you when boarding the plane, do notice that you will not have a lot of time to buy onward travel tickets before the gate closes and the plane leaves without you.

There also might be some wiggle room if and when this check occurs. Many times that I have been checked, I have just said that I have a business visa and I do not need proof of onward travel, the lady doing the check has given me the "<deleted>" look, quickly browsed through my passport and just let me go.

Ok, thanks a bunch for the replies.

I suppose I will book train before I leave Vietnam... if I can online.

Thanks again.

If you do not have a proper Visa (such as business), you will need to have a proof of onward travel before you can enter Thailand.

That being said, it is the job of the airline that flies you to Thailand to verify, because the airline is responsible of flying you back to your origin if you cannot enter the country. I have been flying in and out of Thailand many times and most of the times the airline actually check this, sometimes they do not. Usually the longer the trip, the more often they will check. That is, when flying from Europe to Thailand, they usually check it, if you fly from Hanoi to DMK, they might not check it. The immigration at Thailand will probably not check it, unless they suspect something.

The Visa class and proof of onward travel can be checked by the airline either at the check-in counter or when boarding the plane, or both. If this happens to you when boarding the plane, do notice that you will not have a lot of time to buy onward travel tickets before the gate closes and the plane leaves without you.

There also might be some wiggle room if and when this check occurs. Many times that I have been checked, I have just said that I have a business visa and I do not need proof of onward travel, the lady doing the check has given me the "<deleted>" look, quickly browsed through my passport and just let me go.

I have never heard of anyone checking onward travel documents at the gate and I have flown on many airlines to many destinations to/from many different countries. This simply does not happen, because it would be a failure of the duties of the check-in staff (and it would hold up the whole boarding process). Whenever onward tickets are verified before departure, this is only done at the check-in counter. Once a traveller is able to have their boarding pass issued, then it is assumed they have met the entry requirements for their destination unless it's one of these cases where traveler's are starting their journeys from a neighboring or nearby country and these documents are not checked. However, it's a known fact that when departing from regional countries it depends on the airline and traveler type if they will check onward tickets or not. My experience has been (departing from Vietnam where the OP is currently located):

THAI Airways generally does not ask for onward tickets from nationals of rich countries. In just one instance (out of the 15-20 times I have traveled by air to Vietnam - I have also traveled to VN by land but that's different) I was questioned, but was able to verbally verify that I had an onward ticket (I did) but I didn't have a print-out with me and this was OK.

Lufthansa now no longer flies to Vietnam. But when it used to, they generally didn't ask nationals of rich countries for onward tickets in most cases, but Vietnamese nationals were always asked and if they didn't have such evidence, they would be required to sign a letter of indemnity, thus removing any responsibility on the part of the carrier in case entry was refused and they had to be removed back to the country where they came from.

Air Asia: No idea, never flown with them. According to reports from other travelers, they usually don't ask either but better have some proof with you just in case.

Edited May 21, 201412 yr by Tomtomtom69

Ok, thanks a bunch for the replies.

I suppose I will book train before I leave Vietnam... if I can online.

Thanks again.

Another option is booking a flight on THAI Airways for some future date and you select the "pay later" option. Simply book any flight to any destination, you don't have to pay (your booking is held for at least 72 hours) and all you have to do is print out the confirmation. Voila! You're booked onto a flight you haven't paid for and it can be used to satisfy onward travel requirements. Note it has to be THAI Airways because many other airlines are greedy and require you to pay at least a deposit when making a booking (there is no hold your booking for so and so long option). If someone knows any other airlines that have this option you could use them, but THAI is the main carrier operating out of Thailand and it flies to all major continents thus allowing you to book flights to wherever you want to go.

However, do indeed book the train out before you depart Vietnam, if you can.

Thai Airways, I will check it out. Thanks

Ok, thanks a bunch for the replies.

I suppose I will book train before I leave Vietnam... if I can online.

Thanks again.

Thai Railways have closed down the online booking, I went to Malaysia a couple of weeks ago by train. You can book by email but you may have a problem with payment. Best to email and check.

The other option is to go to a travel agent but that may take a few days to sort out.

I have never heard of anyone checking onward travel documents at the gate and I have flown on many airlines to many destinations to/from many different countries. This simply does not happen, because it would be a failure of the duties of the check-in staff (and it would hold up the whole boarding process). Whenever onward tickets are verified before departure, this is only done at the check-in counter.

I have been checked for both visa class (i.e. do I have a valid visa to enter a country), and asked for proof of onward travel, both at the checkin counter and at the boarding gate. Last time I was checked at the boarding gate was when I was flying from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai about two months ago. It was an Air Asia flight, if I remember correctly.

Ok, thanks a bunch for the replies.

I suppose I will book train before I leave Vietnam... if I can online.

Thanks again.

Got cut off during last post. You can book via the following online agents if you can make the payment ok.

Tickets would be delivered to your hotel in Bangkok and the acknowledgment should be ok for proof of onward travel.

http://www.asia-discovery.com/booking/train/book-train.htm

http://www.thailandtrainticket.com/

Good site for train info http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#.U3xduPmSzIc

Qatar airways checked for my visa both at the check-in and the gate when traveling from Bangkok to Hanoi. Sweden is one of only 15 countries that don't need visa to travel to Vietnam so I had to explain that fact both times.
When going going back to Bangkok they did NOT check for my visa,return- or onward ticket at Noibai Airport.

I have never heard of anyone checking onward travel documents at the gate and I have flown on many airlines to many destinations to/from many different countries. This simply does not happen, because it would be a failure of the duties of the check-in staff (and it would hold up the whole boarding process). Whenever onward tickets are verified before departure, this is only done at the check-in counter.

I have been checked for both visa class (i.e. do I have a valid visa to enter a country), and asked for proof of onward travel, both at the checkin counter and at the boarding gate. Last time I was checked at the boarding gate was when I was flying from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai about two months ago. It was an Air Asia flight, if I remember correctly.

48 countries visited some many times. the ONLY one I have ever been asked for onward tickets is Russia. For the record I am Australian. NEVER EVER been asked for anything from either Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos or in Thailand.

I hope this helps. I think it really, as other people stated, depends on YOUR country of origin - passport.

48 countries visited some many times. the ONLY one I have ever been asked for onward tickets is Russia. For the record I am Australian. NEVER EVER been asked for anything from either Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos or in Thailand.

I hope this helps. I think it really, as other people stated, depends on YOUR country of origin - passport.

Not really. It depends by the place and airline. For example in my experience Australia and Asia don't ask, while Europe and the US do, although not all the time.

Wow, thanks for all the responces, some really good info and links.

Very helpful.

I have never heard of anyone checking onward travel documents at the gate and I have flown on many airlines to many destinations to/from many different countries. This simply does not happen, because it would be a failure of the duties of the check-in staff (and it would hold up the whole boarding process). Whenever onward tickets are verified before departure, this is only done at the check-in counter.

I have been checked for both visa class (i.e. do I have a valid visa to enter a country), and asked for proof of onward travel, both at the checkin counter and at the boarding gate. Last time I was checked at the boarding gate was when I was flying from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai about two months ago. It was an Air Asia flight, if I remember correctly.

Interesting and very strange - did they just pick out all passengers and do that? As I said, I've never even heard of such a bizarre practice before you mentioned yours - particularly in relation to flying to Thailand. As I said I would have thought that to avoid wasting time and possibly having to offload passengers luggage, that the check-in agents should ensure everything is OK and once that is done, there shouldn't be any further reason to check you.

48 countries visited some many times. the ONLY one I have ever been asked for onward tickets is Russia. For the record I am Australian. NEVER EVER been asked for anything from either Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos or in Thailand.

I hope this helps. I think it really, as other people stated, depends on YOUR country of origin - passport.

Not really. It depends by the place and airline. For example in my experience Australia and Asia don't ask, while Europe and the US do, although not all the time.

My experience is similar.

Generally Asian carriers departing from Asian airports don't ask (except Hong Kong) but a verbal confirmation or in the case of Hong Kong a credit card, proof of funds etc. will usually suffice in lieu of an onward ticket. Exceptions are if you hold a passport from a "weird" or poor country like most places in Africa, South Asia and a few others. Then they may still ask - but not for most westerners or citizens of other rich countries.

Australia doesn't ask much anymore unlike a few years ago. However, if they do ask, a credit card or other proof of funds may be deemed sufficient, sometimes even a verbal confirmation is OK.

Europe - my experience flying from Zurich to Bangkok on a Swiss passport and one way ticket (or no proof of outbound travel) was that they didn't ask either. I've only ever flown in/out of Zurich airport in Europe, never flown to or from any other European airport so can't say what other airports are like. Hearing from other people's experiences though, including a German traveler who flew to Bangkok on a one way ticket he was OK because he checked in online and used the self-check in and bag drop to drop off his bags hence no human ever saw his documents (being a German passport holder it's 30 days visa free entry anyway).

USA - With the exception of one flight to Canada, I've only ever flown to/from countries that I am allowed to enter and remain indefinitely when traveling to the USA hence an onward ticket requirement didn't apply. However, I have heard from both US citizens and non-citizens that flying out the of the USA the check-in agents can be particularly fickle about these requirements.

Again all of this is based on my own observations. In nearly all cases, I've had an onward or return ticket or a visa, however, I generally don't bring such proof with me except for a visa of course (unlike some years back when I was less well traveled and I always brought my flight itineraries with me).

If you do not have a proper Visa (such as business), you will need to have a proof of onward travel before you can enter Thailand.

That being said, it is the job of the airline that flies you to Thailand to verify, because the airline is responsible of flying you back to your origin if you cannot enter the country. I have been flying in and out of Thailand many times and most of the times the airline actually check this, sometimes they do not. Usually the longer the trip, the more often they will check. That is, when flying from Europe to Thailand, they usually check it, if you fly from Hanoi to DMK, they might not check it. The immigration at Thailand will probably not check it, unless they suspect something.

The Visa class and proof of onward travel can be checked by the airline either at the check-in counter or when boarding the plane, or both. If this happens to you when boarding the plane, do notice that you will not have a lot of time to buy onward travel tickets before the gate closes and the plane leaves without you.

There also might be some wiggle room if and when this check occurs. Many times that I have been checked, I have just said that I have a business visa and I do not need proof of onward travel, the lady doing the check has given me the "<deleted>" look, quickly browsed through my passport and just let me go.

I have never heard of anyone checking onward travel documents at the gate and I have flown on many airlines to many destinations to/from many different countries. This simply does not happen, because it would be a failure of the duties of the check-in staff (and it would hold up the whole boarding process). Whenever onward tickets are verified before departure, this is only done at the check-in counter. Once a traveller is able to have their boarding pass issued, then it is assumed they have met the entry requirements for their destination unless it's one of these cases where traveler's are starting their journeys from a neighboring or nearby country and these documents are not checked. However, it's a known fact that when departing from regional countries it depends on the airline and traveler type if they will check onward tickets or not. My experience has been (departing from Vietnam where the OP is currently located):

THAI Airways generally does not ask for onward tickets from nationals of rich countries. In just one instance (out of the 15-20 times I have traveled by air to Vietnam - I have also traveled to VN by land but that's different) I was questioned, but was able to verbally verify that I had an onward ticket (I did) but I didn't have a print-out with me and this was OK.

Lufthansa now no longer flies to Vietnam. But when it used to, they generally didn't ask nationals of rich countries for onward tickets in most cases, but Vietnamese nationals were always asked and if they didn't have such evidence, they would be required to sign a letter of indemnity, thus removing any responsibility on the part of the carrier in case entry was refused and they had to be removed back to the country where they came from.

Air Asia: No idea, never flown with them. According to reports from other travelers, they usually don't ask either but better have some proof with you just in case.

Oh it happens.. I have been refused boarding and had to quickly book an online outbound e-ticket to show them.. My brother also has been refused boarding.

Only applies to people without some form of visa I believe.

I have been checked for both visa class (i.e. do I have a valid visa to enter a country), and asked for proof of onward travel, both at the checkin counter and at the boarding gate. Last time I was checked at the boarding gate was when I was flying from Hong Kong to Chiang Mai about two months ago. It was an Air Asia flight, if I remember correctly.

Maybe a case of misinformed or tick employee or even local manager on duty. With a valid visa no proof of onward ticket is needed, that is a Thai immigration regulation, does not vary by airline.