Do I need a return ticket for my 60-day tourist visa in Thailand if I'm planning to extend my stay?

@Jan *****************

well I can only really confirm about London Embassy and the evisa. But agree, each Embassy does seem to have different requirements

@Kevin *****

Thanks Kevin… Great info. - I’m just going to wait here in the States until the new 60 tourist “visa” is implemented and then book my flights… Going to do one way from LAX to BKK but will have an “onward” ticket booked and paid for on Air Asia to KL 59 days after I arrive BKK, in case the airline (American) or immigration ask for it… I’ll check out KL for a few days and then fly back into BKK and hopefully receive another 60 day tourist “visa”… Do you think thats possible? The ticket from BKK to KL is less than $100 so doesn’t matter if I actually use it or not, can change the date etc…

I want to do it this way as I plan to fly to Paris for a couple of months after my time in Thailand and its just almost impossible or too expensive to try and book a ticket like that, ie multi-city months apart… Thanks again… 🙏🏻

@Joe ********

sounds like a great plan!

@Jan *****************

ok, thanks

@Christopher *******

the airline are more likely to ask, not immigration. I've never once been asked by immigration in over 30 arrivals. But the airline often ask. The local embassy know nothing about immigration entry criteria.

@Lisa *******************

The main thing is that an onward ticket is formally required for both visa exemptions and tourist visa. Non immigrant visa doesn’t require onward ticket. Several embassies require it for issuing tourist visa, your airline can ask for it, and your right rarely asked for at the immigration unless they are questioning you for some other reason regarding your travel pattern.

@Jan *****************

onward ticket is NOT required for visa exemption. Or tourist visa from London Embassy. But the airline may ask for return/ onward ticket. And then can deny boarding if they want.

@Lisa *******************

is this something you just know yourself without even bother checking the requirements from the Thai embassy of London?

@Jan *****************

yes I've done it several times. They ask for departure date but not proof of return flight.

@Lisa *******************

They can deny you boarding because formal requirements for entering Thailand are not fulfilled and they can be fined and responsible for your return. Do you think they’ll deny you just for their own sake?

@Jan *****************

you are posting the exact same screenshot which again confirms my point. It's required for the application.

The reason visa exempt entries require proof of onward travel is that there is no previous stage at which it could be required. Before people could travel visa exempt, everyone had to go to an embassy to get entry permission. That's where requirements were checked. Immigrations then only had to check whether you had a visa, as this implied the traveler satisfies anything that you show in that screenshot. Only when travelers received the opportunity to travel visa exempt, some additional requirements had to be formulated for entering. The embassy by the way has discretionary rights to grant or not grant visas, which is another reason it's not additionally required for entry as well: an embassy may be ok with particular travelers going without onward travel pre-arranged.

I don't understand why this is all so hard to understand for everyone here. Although not universal, it's fairly common also for other countries that visas are considered sufficient evidence to be eligible for entry. Sometimes additional evidence is tied to entering, for instance Myanmar requires proof of onward travel for entry if you have a tourist visa. But then they'll write this on your visa so you know it's not (yet) granting entry permission, it's only part of that. There are probably more examples where countries do this but we can't say it's common. The standard is that visas allow entry and requirements are checked by an embassy or similar body. (Myanmar's approach is of course much more sensible than what basically all other countries do: first decide if someone is welcome to enter and then allow him to book flights next, not before. But it's (unfortunately) not at all common.)

@Bart *************

The reason I’ve posted it again because you obviously didn’t read it. A tourist visa itself self is formally not sufficient for travelling without an onward ticket. You will be fine until the day your embassy, airport or the immigration ask for it as they are totally legitimate to do. And then you’ll need to prove that the ministry of foreign affairs general requirements for tourist visa’s is wrong or false.

@Jan *****************

I did read it, and in the top there's a word "issued". Hence it confirms my point..

@Bart *************

2. TOURIST VISA

“This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for tourism purposes”.

2. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

- Evidence of travel from Thailand (air ticket paid in full)

0a316

@Jan *****************

"issued". The rest I explained.

@Bart *************

I don’t understand why you still try to pass on not accurate information. Onward tickets is formally required even if you’re issued a valid tourist visa without an onward ticket from your embassy. It’s just the Non O immigrant visa that doesn’t require onward ticket AND people are de facto denied travelling without an onward ticket on a tourist visa IF the airline or the immigration requires it. For entering on a tourist visa you’ll need to be prepared to prove 3 things; 1) Funds 20K baht 2) Proof of accommodation and 3) Onward ticket within the visa the period (even though the immigration will accept that you’re entitled to do an extension).

@Jan *****************

sources I've posted say otherwise: the funds requirement is listed but the other two are not. Sources you've posted are still only confirming my point. It should be easy to understand why I'm still repeating the point, which by the way is not inaccurate.

@Bart *************

Ok I personally would advise people to trust the general requirements from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding short stay visa and not a third part website, especially when it’s known that people de facto are denied travelling to Thailand regarding this. Short stay visa and visa exemption requires onward ticket. Long term visa don’t.🤷🏼

@Brandon ***********

the embassy can answer that: the airline will not ask for it. What matters is if the embassy themselves ask for it.

@Bart *************

both EVA Air and Philippine Airlines require it. Not sure about others.

@Luke *********

mistakes happen. Next time they won't.

@Bart *************

it's still on the airline to enforce the onward travel requirement for tourists. A visa exempt is a tourist. A tourist visa is a tourist. People can and are asked for both.

@Brandon ***********

it's not required, therefore the airline cannot ask for it. You may be right that they might still do it, but then I don't understand how a phone call upfront could help out. It's then a mistake by the check-in crew, which very likely isn't also made by operators in the backoffice. In the same way, if operators in the backoffice mix up exemption and tourist visas, I would not necessarily expect check-in crew to also get it wrong. If you want to anticipate a mistake, which I don't think is necessary because you can always explain the mistake to the employee making it, but if you want that, just get the onward ticket. You can't really predict the mistake.

@Bart *************

A phone call to the airline is no help if you are then challenged at check in, it needs to be email or text which can be printed and shown when necessary

@Graham *****

agreed.

@Bart *************

Proof of onward ticket is most definitely required, although not always requested. My own experience is it happens more often since covid. Qatar Airlines and Philippine Airlines have asked several times

@Jim *******

IATA Travel Centre, results after requesting entry requirements fictitious UK national going to Thailand for 51 days.

@Bart *************

IATA is a non-regulatory body. The airlines make their own policies under their T&C. But hey! You believe what you want. This forum is about people's experiences and many have stated that they're asked for it

@Jim *******

they're an informative body listing the entry (=flight eligibility) requirements as each respective country has them.

@Bart *************

All the formal and general requirements for the different visa types is stated in this document. 0a316

@Bart *************

Yes and like all "informative" bodies they make mistakes! And they cannot overrule terms and conditions of airlines!

@Bart *************

You’re right about the embassy/consulate in the first place, but as I said in a previous discussion an onward ticket is according to formal requirements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs required for both a visa exemption and a tourist visa and therefore the embassy/consulate, airline and the immigration can ask for it. It’s just the Non immigrant visa that formally doesn’t require an onward ticket.

0a316

@Jan *****************

that source only confirms the point I'm making: that it's the embassy requiring an onward ticket. If you look up the entry requirements, you'll find it's either a visa OR the three things are are needed to be granted visa exemption. It's not both.

@Bart *************

This is the formal requirement from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even if not all embassies implement the formal requirements on their site as an example the Norwegian here, it’s still a formal requirement for a tourist visa and based on feedbacks people also are denied regarding this.