Hi - I'm quite new to travelling and so need some basic advice.
I'm going backpacking in December, for 6-7 months, around Southeast Asia. As I don't know how long I will be there for, I bought a single ticket to Singapore, so I could travel north and buy a ticket home when I run out of money/time.
Unfortunately, it seems I might have trouble getting into countries without a confirmed onward or return ticket? Is this the case?
> Can I generally get a visa without a confirmed onward/return ticket if I go to the embassies?
> Is this all best solved by me booking a ticket home from, say, HK or Bangkok?
Any and all advice is welcomed. I'm going to start contacting the embassies direct to ask questions, I jsut thought I'd ask here first.
Reply to this Usually it's not a problem. However if someone might cause you a problem it is the airlines companies. Some have a policy that you must have a return ticket because else you might get kicked out of the country (and they will have to pay the fees, for having taking a travellers without the necessary documents to enter the country). In practice immigration officials in SE Asia never apply this rule, but the airline companies might so ask your airline. Once you're in Asia you won't have any problem about entering countries without any outward ticket.
If it worries you out too much you can buy some refundable ticket back home just so you can show the airline companie before your flight take off. Then you cancel your flight back home and get refunded. But it is mostly unnecessary.
V
Reply to this Thanks very much for your advice, Victor. I think it might just be easier to get a cheap ticket home in advance
Reply to this Victor's post is very much how it stands. It's the airlines that will give you your biggest problem. In this day of e-tickets immigration officials nearly never ask to see them. I'm bound to get asked next time 😉
If you do get a return ticket - Bangkok is probably a good bet, you can get a cheap flight to Bangkok from Airasia.com from nearly everywhere in the region. Try to get a one with good alteration policies.
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