Do I need a return ticket when entering France?

[aura0000]

Hi guys,

I just got my visa a few days ago.

I got a type C schengen visa, multiple entry valid for 3 years. (Family visit)

However, they stapled a paper in my passport, please see attached photo.

Do i need a return ticket when entering France? Or a reservation is okay? Im going back to Thailand with my sister in law and we would like to get the same flight of course but her leave isnt approved yet so I have to wait before booking a return ticket. Im afraid the french immigration wont let me in or in some cases the airline wont allow me to check in without a return ticket.

Im planning to just have a reservation ticket. Has anyone here entered france without a return ticket?

TIA

[aura0000]

warning

in addition to valid passport with a visa ( except for exempted nationals) every foreigner, when entering France, should be in a position to produce to the Immigration Officer the following documents:

1/ Motive of stay in France (for tourism: hotel reservation ( in case of absence of hotel booking the traveller must justify its means of living in the amount of 120 euros per day - see point 2/), documents from a travel agency; for a professional visit, letter from the employer, invitation from a French firm or organization; for a private visit: attestation dacceuil signed by the host.

2/ Means of living: Cash, travellers check, international valid credit cards

3/ Guarantess of Return: return ticket,

A shengen Visa does not allow entrance into a french overseas territory.

[Donutz]

Congratulations on getting the visa!

They may ask for a return ticket or ticket to an onward destination. They may accept accept a reservation if you can show that you have the financial means for both the duration of stay and for your return. The airliner may also ask for a return flight as they may fear getting fined if you are refuses entry.

It would be best to get a return ticket or a ticket leaving the Schengen area to a country that you are certain to be granted entry to. More expensive tickets are usually more easily to change (dates etc at less or no cost). I do not know if the French are easy going at the border with accepting a reservation and sufficient financial means. So unless experiences travelers to France say otherwise I would say that lacking a return ticket is far too risky!

-------

For the sake of being complete, this is what the Schengen Border Code says (it obiously is very much like the Schengen Visa Code), which details regulations for the borderguards:

Article 5

Entry conditions for third-country nationals

1. For stays not exceeding three months per six-month period, the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:

(a)

they are in possession of a valid travel document or documents authorising them to cross the border;

(

they are in possession of a valid visa, if required pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 of 15 March 2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (17), except where they hold a valid residence permit;

©

they justify the purpose and conditions of the intended stay, and they have sufficient means of subsistence, both for the duration of the intended stay and for the return to their country of origin or transit to a third country into which they are certain to be admitted, or are in a position to acquire such means lawfully;

(d)

they are not persons for whom an alert has been issued in the SIS for the purposes of refusing entry;

(e)

they are not considered to be a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States, in particular where no alert has been issued in Member States' national data bases for the purposes of refusing entry on the same grounds.

2. A non-exhaustive list of supporting documents which the border guard may request from the third-country national in order to verify the fulfilment of the conditions set out in paragraph 1, point c, is included in Annex I.

(...)

ANNEX I

Supporting documents to verify the fulfilment of entry conditions

The documentary evidence referred to in Article 5(2) may include the following:

(...)

for journeys undertaken for the purposes of tourism or for private reasons:

(i)

supporting documents as regards lodging:

an invitation from the host if staying with one,

a supporting document from the establishment providing lodging or any other appropriate document indicating the accommodation envisaged;

(ii)

supporting documents as regards the itinerary:

confirmation of the booking of an organised trip or any other appropriate document indicating the envisaged travel plans;

(iii)

supporting documents as regards return:

a return or round-trip ticket.

Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32006R0562 Edited July 27, 2016 by Donutz