ft101

UA seems to be word for word the same as EK and references Timatic.

https://www.united.com/en/us/timatic

BinSabai

thanks!
so it does not get any clearer on the subject...
Your understanding/interpretation might be widely shared, but there are some visa service(legal sites that state, a return/onward ticket is also needed for tourist visas as their extension is somehow limited to one time 30/45 days

ft101

My experience of some of the visa service/legal sites is that they are not entirely accurate, whether due to ignorance or just being out of date I don't know. I certainly wouln't trust many of them.

The Timatic wording seems pretty clear to me and that's what we need to go by to get past check in. The only grey area is check in staff accepting the extension sentence in the same way the one I talked to did and that would be enough (for me) not to risk it.

I can't recall hearing of anyone with a tourist visa being refused travel due to lack of an onward flight.

SKT-DK

I also can only share my personal experience, but I have never had to show any onward / return ticket upon flying to Thailand either. Thinking about it, the only times I have come close (and I think the question is related) were in Japan (JAL check-in) and ARN (on QR) where I was asked if I have a visa/residency permit/etc.

This leads me to think that if you have a LT visa (non-tourist, as requirement for tourist visas for those who need includes submitting a return flight with your application), that requirement goes away. I remember back in the days that when I got my ST business visa, I did have to submit return flights, but that went away upon conversion to LT Non-B.

I am travelling TH-xxx-TH, so like BinSabai, I would not necessarily have an outbound flight booked. This is on a LT Non-B visa on a visa exempt passport (for tourist purposes that is)

Ghoulish

Sure you were, because the only way to depart Thailand, a country bordered by multiple tourist destination countries, is via air 🙄

ft101

Surface travel is not acceptable when arriving by air and trying to satisfy the onward travel requirement.

Ghoulish

This is what the Thai embassy sent in response to my inquiry. TLDR they can request to see some sort of ticket booked prior to arrival proving departure, but it doesn't need to be by air. Whether an airline superimposes or misinterprets the requirements is possible I suppose. One could also obtain a tourist visa prior to arrival without proof of onward travel. All that said, several dozen trips on one way tickets, JAL and ANA have never asked for proof of return.

Passport holders of the countries listed below are not required to obtain a visa when entering Thailand for TOURISM and will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period not exceeding 30 days each visit.

If entering Thailand at immigration checkpoints which border neighbouring countries (overland crossing), the permitted period of stay will be 15 days each visit. The exemption to this is Malaysian nationals crossing overland from Malaysia who are granted a period of stay not exceeding 30 days each visit. If planning to stay in Thailand for longer than the permitted period, a tourist visa must be obtained before entering Thailand.

Aliens who enter Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption scheme and would like to leave and re-enter the Kingdom will be able to stay for a cumulative duration not exceeding 90 days and the duration shall be within a 6 months from the date of first entry. Passports or travel documents must be valid for at least 6 months upon the date of first entry.

Aliens entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption scheme must provide proof of adequate finances for the duration of stay in Thailand at the port of entry (i.e., traveller’s cheque or cash equivalent to 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family).

Aliens entering Thailand by any means under the Tourist Visa Exemption scheme are required at the port of entry to have proof of onward travel (confirmed air, train, bus or boat tickets) to leave Thailand within 30 days after the date of arrival, otherwise a tourist visa must be obtained beforing entering Thailand.

The Tourist Visa Exemption scheme only applies to aliens holding passports issued by the countries listed below. Travel documents for aliens issued by these countries are not acceptable.

1. Andorra (effective as of 14 April 2019)
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Belgium
6. Brazil*
7. Brunei Darussalam
8. Canada
9. Czech Republic
10. Denmark
11. Estonia
12. Finland
13. France
14. Germany
15. Greece
16. Hong Kong**
17. Hungary
18. Iceland
19. Indonesia
20. Ireland
21. Israel
22. Italy
23. Japan
24. Korea (ROK)*
25. Kuwait
26. Latvia (effective as of 14 April 2019)
27. Leichtenstein
28. Lithuania (effective as of 14 April 2019)
29. Luxembourg
30. Malaysia
31. Maldives (effective as of 14 April 2019)
32. Mauritius (effective as of 14 April 2019)
33. Monaco
34. The Netherlands
35. New Zealand
36. Norway
37. Oman
38. Peru*
39. Philippines
40. Poland
41. Portugal
42. Qatar
43. San Marino (effective as of 14 April 2019)
44. Singapore
45. Slovak
46. Slovenia
47. Spain
48. South Africa
49. Sweden
50. Switzerland
51. Turkey
52. Ukraine (effective as of 14 April 2019)
53. United Arab Emirates
54. United Kingdom
55. United States of America
56. Vietnam**

Remarks:

* Nationals of Brazil, Republic of Korea and Peru are entitled for tourist visa exemption scheme. Meanwhile, Thailand also holds bilateral agreements on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official and ordinary passports for a visit of not exceeding 90 days with Brazil, Republic of Korea and Peru.

** Nationals of Vietnam and Hong Kong SAR are entitled for tourist visa exemption scheme. Meanwhile, Thailand also holds bilateral agreements on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official and ordinary passports for a visit of not exceeding 30 days with Vietnam and Hong Kong SAR.



Countries which have Concluded Agreements on the Exemption of Visa Requirements with Thailand

I. DIPLOMATIC/OFFICIAL or SERVICE/SPECIAL PASSPORTS The following countries have concluded agreements with Thailand on the exemption of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic/official or service/special passports. Such passport holders are permitted to stay for a period of not exceeding 30 or 90 days as follow (as of 18 September 2017):

30 DAYS

1. Cambodia
2. Brunei Darussalam
3. China
4. Ecuador
5. Hong Kong SAR
6. Indonesia
7. Kazakhstan
8. Laos
9. Macau SAR
10. Mongolia
11. Myanmar
12. Oman
13. Pakistan (Diplomatic Passports Only)
14. Singapore
15. Vietnam

90 DAYS

1. Albania
2. Argentina
3. Austria
4. Belarus
5. Belgium
6. Bhutan
7. Brazil
8. Chile
9. Colombia
10. Costa Rica
11. Croatia
12. Czech Republic
13. Estonia (Diplomatic Passports Only)
14. France (Diplomatic Passports Only)
15. Germany
16. Hungary
17. India
18. Israel
19. Italy
20. Japan
21. Republic of Korea
22. Liechtenstein
23. Luxembourg
24. Malaysia
25. Mexico
26. Montenegro
27. Morocco
28. The Netherlands
29. Nepal
30. Panama
31. Peru
32. The Philippines
33. Poland
34. Romania
35. Russia Federation
36. Serbia
37. Slovak Republic
38. South Africa
39. Spain (Diplomatic Passports Only)
40. Sri Lanka
41. Switzerland
42. Tajikistan
43. Tunisia
44. Turkey
45. Ukraine
46. Uruguay

II. ORDINARY PASSPORTS The following countries have concluded agreements with Thailand on the exemption of visa requirements for holders of ordinary passports. Such passport holders are permitted to stay for a period of not exceeding the following periods:

14 Days

30 Days

90 Days

Cambodia

Hong Kong SAR ***

Argentina

Myanmar
(only at international airports)

Lao PDR

Brazil



Macao SAR ***

Chile



Mongolia

Republic of Korea



Russian Federation

Peru



Vietnam





Remarks:

*** According to the Agreements on Exemption of Visa Requirements between Thailand and Hong Kong SAR, and between Thailand and Macau SAR, all types of Thai passports including diplomatic and official passports shall be exempted from visa requirements for a visit not exceeding 30 days to Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR.

เอกสารประกอบ

ft101

Good luck trying that in practice. Don't trust the MFA to tell you the RTP rules.

GWagonFlyer

In all my years of BKK entry with one way tickets, I've never been asked for an onward ticket. But you never know... It's Thailand...

bwiadca

I've never been asked in Thailand, but on two occasions at the transfer point I was asked to show prof of onward travel.
First time I was flying on United IAD to LHR (not asked to show return flights), but at the LHR Thai Airways gate (when boarding started and they've scanned my ticket) I was pulled aside and asked to show prof. That time I was flying on two one way tickets. IAD-LHR-BKK paid ticket and on the return flight I had UA reward ticket in business on Thai and Lufthansa. I've showed it to them and was let on the flight.
Second time it was also two one way tickets. IAD-FRA-BKK and return on separate ticket via NRT. At FRA airport they were doing "document" checks before the flight and the agent asked to show them prof of return. That was 2017/2018 timeframe.
Besides those two times I don't think I ever went to Thailand on OW tickets.

Doppy

Not required but YMMV as usual.

eqeqeqx

Just to add another data point: when I entered Thailand two months ago my return was after 30 days. Somehow I'd half-forgotten about this since it's been a long time since I've entered without some sort of visa, and I planned to do a 30 day extension before my 30 days were over. I was stopped at the gate and politely explained I planned to extend my permission to stay while in Thailand. The GA consulted her computer, then said she would consult her supervisor. GA supervisor listened to my story, but told me they had no information about that and I would need to show an outbound ticket. It could be any kind of ticket. Bus, train, air, etc.,all would be fine for her.

When I say I'd half-forgotten about this requirement I mean that my TK ticket was changeable for free in the TK app, so at some point I thought that if I get a problem at the gate, I'd just temporarily change my return to some random day within 30 days of arrival. I was therefor a bit miffed to find out when trying to change my return at the gate, the TK app said changes were not allowed within 24 hours of departure, meaning I could not change my return either, which was about 45 days away at that time. Since I'd spent the previous few hours working/relaxing in the lounge, at that time it was approaching closing time for the gate, and I instead had to somewhat panically purchase the cheapest ticket I could find via AirAsia's not very good mobile app a few minutes before the gate closed.

In retrospect I should instead have booked a fully-refundable premium ticket on Thai airways or similar of course, rather than a never used ticket to Cambodia, but I didn't think of that till safely seated on the airplane a few minutes later. This also brings to mind whether there's any purpose in paying for fake "onward" tickets from those websites I've seen mentioned here, as unless you're in a position where you cannot afford waiting some weeks for a regular airline to refund you for the cheapest fully refundable ticket out of Thailand, it seems better to purchase a regular ticket and cancel it than to pay $10 (or whatever it is they charge) for a fake ticket, even if nobody notices the ticket is fake.

Ghoulish

I suspect it was the explicit presence of a ticket beyond 30 days that caught their attention, and a lack of one altogether would have escaped scrutiny.

Good point on the fully refundable Thai Smile, Vietjet, or AirAsia tickets, given they can be had for $100 or less. I'm always a bit astonished when I buy tickets on those carriers for $25--$30 one way, including a hot meal.

FWIW AMEX Travel sells Thai Airways (Smile) tickets at a discount, which can be refunded within 24 hours of purchase, regardless of fare type.

Also, 30 day visa on arrival eligible countries are going to start getting 45 day visas beginning October 1st.

kevino

Or if you have status with an airline, you could have booked a last minute departure ticket with miles that you could cancel once you arrived safely.

stargold

How anyone can ever think that using a fake ticket for immigration purposes is a good idea is completely beyond me. Yes, the probability of being discovered is relatively low, but the consequences are potentially brutal.

DL and AA (not sure about UA) have stopped charging redeposit fees on awards, so it's really just a matter of admin these days to issue an award ticket that you intend to cancel after getting into the country.