My final destination is Laos where I will be staying for a couple of months, but right now I have only a roundtrip ticket, arriving and departing from Bangkok. I will be staying in Bangkok a few days and then going to Laos, but I wanted to wait until I was there to purchase my plane ticket to Laos because I was told I could get a much lower price that way.

However, after I purchased my Thailand ticket, the agent informed me some of his clients had been denied entry into Thailand if their departure date was over a month from arrival and they had no ticket to prove they were traveling on elsewhere.

I had no idea this was how things worked. Since I read visitors flying into Thailand from the US can stay for thirty days without a visa, I assumed the question of a visa wouldn't even come up in Thailand unless I had been there close to a month.

My departure date is not far away so I would probably end up having to pay extra to get an expedited Thai visa and end up spending a lot of money for something I don't actually need.

Does anyone who has faced a similar situation before have any advice on the best course of action?

I'm wondering if there is anything I can do so that I don't risk being denied entry into Thailand, but without spending more money unnecessarily. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

That's not actually that uncommon.


Your visa/admission eligibility is not based on the origin of your arriving flight, it's based on your citizenship/passport issuing country.


If you hold a U.S. passport and you're staying 30 days or fewer, you don't typically need an advance visa. Typically, you will be admitted for 30 days on arrival. If you're in that category, don't go to the Visa on Arrival booth. Just go to Immigration. Thai visas are available from Thai consulates in the U.S. while you wait. I walked in with my application already filled out. I think that I needed photos, too, can't recall specifically; but I had everything I needed with me. They processed the application and stamped the visa into my passport while I waited. You may need an appointment, but they're not that difficult to get. I went to the Consulate in Boston, and an appointment was, indeed, needed.

Highly doubtful. In fact, waiting will likely make the fare higher, in many cases, and dependent upon the (tourist) season, possibly much higher. Just buy your ticket BKK-VTE/LPQ and cease worrying about this.

That is indeed the best solution.
I will just add that it will be the airline you fly with that will want to have proof of onward travel given your criteria.
P.S A small gesture by the way of 'thank you, would not go amiss when people take time out to help you.

Thanks to all who replied.

Dsquared, I will be there in the offseason, when it starts getting quite hot.

However, if there is no significant savings to be expected from purchasing the plane ticket in Thailand, then I will get it before going, since that is the only reason I was putting off buying it in the first place, and that now appears to be the best solution to the visa issue.

I am comparing prices for fares now and it seems the best deals are to be found on the Lao Airlines site itself. So my plan is to order a ticket directly from them sometime in the near future, unless, of course, someone here thinks he knows a source of even cheaper fares and wants to point me in that direction.

Can you share any more details? What country is your passport issued by? What airline are you flying? What is the length of time between your arrival and departure for Thailand?

There is a greater chance that you may be denied boarding if leaving from the U.S. on DL or UA, rather than getting to Bangkok and then being denied entry.

In situations like this it is best to have a real Tourist Visa issued by the Thai Embassy or Consulate, even a single entry/30 day is OK even if your stay is longer than 30 days. These visa can be extended.

If you can't get a visa then I would recommend having proof on an onward booking within 30 days of your arrival in Bangkok. This will remove all obstacles, and you can enter Thailand on a 30 day exemption(waiver), assuming you have a passport form an eligible country like the U.S.

There's some good info from the FTrs above. If you are in the US and still need help, there's a great visa service, http://www.visahq.com that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Received my wife's passport with a Thai visa on it with no surprises, no phone calls, no hick ups, no extra charges just six emails informing me of every step of the progress.^

I have no interest or gain by recommending that site, just elated by their service.