How should I manage my return or onward flight bookings when applying for a visa to Thailand?

book your flight with a ticket you can change

I book an onward ticket to a place i want to go nearby and pay so it can be date changed for free. Then move it as appropriate. Siem Reap is nice. Luang Prabang. Many great places close to thailand

Just by a flexible return ticket so you can change it

Check onwardticket or onewayfly. Either works and gives you a flight reservation you could use for the next 48hrs for a minimal fee. More convenient than buying a ticket and canceling later

If you are flying to Thailand on a one-way ticket, or without a visa, you can expect that the airline will ask you to provide proof of onward travel from the destination country within the expected length of stay stamped upon entry. In your case it’s a 60-days visa exempt entry.

It does not necessarily have to be the "return flight". It CAN be a return flight. But it can also be a one-way flight "out of Thailand" within the permitted period.

For example, a cheap one-way ticket with Air Asia from Hat Yai to Kuala Lumpur for $35.00, is a 100% secure onward travel proof

Even if you have a visa, the airline can ask for proof of onward travel if you are leaving Thailand outside the length of stay stamped upon entry, or if you want to fly with a one-way ticket.

They "can", they don't necessarily do so. But if the check-in crew implements the rules consistently, they will definitely ask for it.

Because this IATA rule does in fact EXIST, even if many people don't believe it or want to accept it, just because they have never been asked for proof of onward travel.

The penalty for the airline that does not follow the rule is 10,000 U.S. Dollars if the passenger is rejected at the border of the destination country.

And if a flight is overbooked, the airline uses the onward travel proof as a proven means of thinning down the number of passengers. And that's what they will surely do in such a situation!

Thai immigration normally is not interested in proof of onward travel or the return flight. They only ask for it randomly - this usually happens to those entering the country who got an extensive stamp history in their passport, or passengers who turn up in ragged clothing or drunk.

The airline is only enforcing a guideline from Thai immigration. The IATA, as the highest aviation authority, has committed to applying these guidelines. And because Thai immigration has passed the check-duty to the airlines, it does not check again when you enter the country. They tacitly trust the airlines did check already

It is also important to know that many airlines do NOT accept a train or bus ticket to a neighboring country as proof of onward travel, but insist that it must be a FLIGHT ticket.

** You also often read that you can provide proof by booking a hotel in a neighboring country.

** or by presenting a visa for the neighboring country.

** or by signing a form in which you accept responsibility in the event of entry being refused.

** or by taking a speedboat ride from Koh Lipe to Langkawi.

** or a bus ticket to Cambodia

** or a train ride to Singapore

** or a cheap "onward ticket" (but at your own risk)

All of these are just half-hearted suggestions. There is NO guarantee that it will work. The airline decides whether to accept it or not

Of course there are people in every group who claim the opposite, but they can NEVER GUARANTEE their statements

Where as a “real” one-way flight ticket out of Thailand is always a 100% guarantee

Then there are people who firmly claim that the proof of onward travel does not exist, just because they have never been asked

These people can never guarantee that you will not be asked. Such a behavior is irresponsible towards those asking in FB groups

There is NO guarantee that you will not be asked at check-in. It could just as easily be the other way around and proof of onward travel will be asked.

Then you are left standing at the check-in counter and are refused boarding.

That is why I don't think it is a good idea to present your own experience as irrefutable. Thousands of travelers have been turned away in the past, and HUNDREDS face this problem EVERY day at airports around the world

What kind of proof of onward travel will be accepted, you should ask the airline, but it is best to do so in writing (email) In this case if you receive a positive reply, you can print it and take it to the check-in counter. Over the phone, airline employees sometimes tell you anything whatever comes to their mind, much of it might not be true.

Book a cheap flight to a close Country if dont use it no problem

Most people on a visa exempt buy a bus ticket or train ticket out of thailand within the 60 days, if plan for a 30 day extension, that is also what the embassy recommend you to do. I not had a visa last 16 years, only yearly temporary extension of stay so i never need any tickets out, come and go as i want.

If you are coming visa exempt or on a tourist visa you should have a ticket out of Thailand within the 60 days you get stamped in for, it can just be a cheap flight to a nearby country or whatever.

If your coming on a 90 day Non-O visa you shouldn't need this

A Non O visa is generally exempt from onward ticket requirements. For tourist entries, you are formally required to show proof of onward travel within the initial period you will be stamped in for. This can simply be a cheap onward ticket to a nearby destination.