When you are heading to a new country, the boarding airline usually asks for proof of onward travel. At the arriving airport, the immigration officers also ask for a return or onward ticket.
If you are unsure of where you will be heading next, booking a return or onward ticket can be difficult. Especially if you are a digital nomad or traveling long term, it’s difficult to know your next destination several weeks in advance.
The airline’s staff at the check-in insist on showing a return or onward flight ticket. You will be denied boarding if you are not in possession of an onward or return flight ticket. But, how can you get a return or onward ticket if you are not sure where you will be heading next?
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Reasons why you need proof of onward travel
Let’s understand why you would need a return or onward ticket. You would need a return or onward ticket for 2 reasons –
Reason 1: Airlines, especially, budget airlines have to make sure that you will not overstay in the destination country. If you overstay, you will, of course, be fined. But the airline that allowed you to enter will also be fined. These fines on the airlines are hefty and can sometimes cause airline employees to lose their jobs. Therefore, airlines make sure that you have proper proof that you will leave the country at the end of your stay.
Reason 2: Immigration officers at the border control have to make sure that you would leave the country at the end of your stay. Therefore, they ask you to show a return or onward ticket. They usually do not accept a bus, train or boat ticket as proof of onward travel. They only accept a flight ticket as proof of onward travel as flight tickets are verifiable.
Let’s look at various ways to get proof of onward travel for your next trip.
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01. Book a flight ticket with 24-hour FREE cancellation from online booking websites
A few online booking websites offer FREE cancellation on flight tickets within 24 hours of booking. Book a flight ticket from any of these booking websites right before heading to the airport. Take a print of the booking or simply show it on your phone. After you arrive in your destination country and pass through immigration, you can simply cancel the booking to get a full refund. This is the best and foolproof way to get proof of your onward travel.
Below are some of the booking websites that offer FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking.
- Expedia | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Orbitz | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Travelocity | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Priceline | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
RELATED: How to book flight tickets with 24-hour FREE cancellation on Expedia – A step-by-step guide
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02. Book a flight ticket with 24-hour FREE cancellation from airline websites
A few airlines also offer FREE cancellation on flight tickets within 24 hours of booking. You can book a flight ticket on these airline websites just before heading to the airport. If asked to show a return ticket by the airline or immigration, just show your booking on your phone. Cancel the booking once you arrive and complete the immigration.
Below are some of the airline websites that offer FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking.
- United Airlines | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Delta Airways | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- KLM | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Alaska Airlines | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- British Airways | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Ana Airlines Japan | FREE cancellation applicable on the US site only
- WestJet | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- AeroMexico | FREE cancellation within 24 hours of booking
- Alitalia | FREE cancellation applicable on the US site only, 1 week prior to departure
- KoreanAir | FREE cancellation applicable only at least 1 week prior to departure
- Hawaiian Airlines | FREE cancellation applicable only at least 1 week prior to departure
- Finnair | FREE cancellation applicable on the US site only, 1 week prior to departure
- Caribbean Airlines | FREE cancellation applicable only at least 1 week prior to departure
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03. Rent an onward flight ticket from online travel agents
The above two options require you to pay for the flight ticket upfront. Though you will get a full refund, you have to pay for the ticket first from your own pocket.
If you are strapped for cash or you don’t want to pay the full price of the ticket upfront, you can use an online travel agent. These online travel agents will pay for the ticket on your behalf and get you a flight ticket. They will cancel the ticket within 24/48 hours on your behalf. But, they will charge a fee for this service.
Below are some of the online travel agents and their fees.
Recommended agent
- OnwardTicket | Price $14 USD | Ticket valid for 48 hours | Instant booking
Other available agents
- OnewayFly | Price $18.90 USD | Ticket valid for 48 hours
- BestOnwardticket | Price $12 USD | Ticket valid for 48 hours
- AirOnwardTicket | Price $7.99 USD | Ticket valid for 36 hours
- RentOnwardTicket | Price $9 USD | Ticket valid for 72 hours
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04. Book a cheap throwaway flight ticket from budget airlines
If there are any budget airlines that fly out of the country, you may be able to get a throwaway ticket at an extremely cheap price. A ticket for about $15-$30 is not a big deal. You would spend that much even if you use an online travel agent.
A few budget airlines offer extremely cheap tickets.
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05. Get a fake airline ticket
This is an extremely risky option. So, use this option only at your own risk.
There are a few online fake airline ticket generators. These tools generate a fake flight ticket that looks like an actual booking. These bookings are not real and cannot be verified.
Below are some of the fake airline ticket generators
- FakeFlightTickets | Price $5 USD | Downloadable fake airline ticket *
- KeyFlight | Free service | Downloadable fake airline ticket *
* IMPORTANT
The use of fake airline tickets is illegal and against the law. If caught, you may be fined, prosecuted or jailed. So please use fake tickets at your own risk.
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There you have it. 5 ways to get proof of onward travel for your next trip. If you are not sure how long you will stay in a country or where you will be heading next, these 5 options will help you get a return or onward ticket without much hassle.
Have you ever been asked to show proof of onward travel? Let me know your experience in the comments below.
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Gervais Bilodeau says
I have entered the Philippines multiple times over the last 3 decades. I always had an onward ticket but only one time in Siem Reap I was asked to show it. And never at immigration when entering the Philippines.
Thirumal Motati says
Hi Gervais! The immigration or airline staff do not usually ask for proof of onward ticket. But if they ask, it’s good to have one handy, otherwise, it’s quite difficult to convince them. I always carry an onward ticket with me when I travel. But in my experience, only one out of ten times, I was asked to show my onward ticket.
Adithya Phanish says
Hi Thirumal. Regarding option 04 “Book a cheap throwaway flight ticket”. In Reason 1 you wrote: “… airlines make sure that you have proper proof that you will leave the country at the end of your stay”. So, if I travel from destination A to destination B, when trying to buy a cheap throwaway ticket from destination B to destination C, the airline will ask me to also buy a ticket out of destination C. Am I right?
Thirumal Motati says
Hi Adithya! No. Not required. The airline will not ask you to show a ticket out of destination C. If you are flying from country A to country B, the airline staff in country A will ask you to show an onward ticket out of country B. If you have an onward ticket out of country B, you are fine.
George says
Hi Thirumal, maybe you can help me with this. I am planning on traveling soon and have bought a cheap onward ticket from my original destination which I will not use since I’m not sure yet of where I’ll go after. Do you have any knowledge of immigration at my first destination or the airlines will ask to see a visa for the country that’s listed on my onwards travel ticket? I will be applying for a visa to my first destination.
Thirumal Motati says
Hi George! I worry about this a lot too. But in my 7 years of travel, no one asked me to show the visa to the destination country on my onward flight ticket. So, you will be fine.
Mimi says
Please I want to apply for a visa at the Italian embassy. I want to pay for a dummy ticket but I’m scared as I don’t know if my visa will be rejected because of the ticket. Also, I will like to know the package that was used to build the comment section of this blog. I’m a web developer.
Thirumal says
Hi Mimi! These dummy tickets come with a valid PNR number and are valid for up to 2 weeks. It’s absolutely fine to submit a dummy ticket for your Schengen visa. Consulates themselves suggest not purchasing flight tickets prior to visa approval. So, if your dummy ticket becomes invalid during the visa process, the consulate will ask for a new one. They will not simply reject your visa based on the flight ticket. The comment section is just the WordPress default comments. I haven’t used any special package for that.
Ali says
I am a frequent flyer to the Philippines. I always booked a return ticket and most of the time they don’t ask me to show, so this time I am thinking about what should I do should I book or not because mostly my return ticket got waste as I don’t know when my work will get completed. So I waste lots of money because of this. So kindly suggest me what should I do as a frequent flyer they will ask me the return ticket or not?
Thirumal says
Hi Ali! Proof of onward ticket is not mandatory for every country. Some countries ask for it and some countries don’t. But most of the time, it’s airline staff that asks for it during check-in.
Eli says
Hi there, I’m flying to Thailand on the 1st November. I wish to extend my visa on arrival and I have booked an onward flight dated at the end of my Visa extension on the 27th December. Will this be valid when asked for proof of onward travel or will I have to buy another ticket which is dated before the first 30 day period(VOA) is up?
Thirumal says
Hi Eli! Thailand Visa on Arrival is only for 15 days and not eligible for visa extension. I am assuming you hold a passport that’s visa-exempt. Visa-exempt passport holders can enter Thailand for 30 days and are eligible for visa extension.
Either way, your proof of onward ticket must be within 30 days (if visa exempt) or 15 days (if VOA). Airline staff and immigration officers may not be familiar with visa extension rules and they may not let you board the flight or enter the country if your proof of onward travel is not within 30/15 days.
Oliver Paul says
How long does it take for a ticket to be issued after I apply for it at a fly onward agency?
Thirumal says
Hi Oliver! I don’t know how soon they will issue you the ticket since I haven’t used their service myself. I suggest checking out on their website or contacting them directly.
Shaz says
Hi, great info! Thanks!
I am flying one way into Rome and have an onward flight booked the next day to Prague. Is this sufficient evidence of on-ward travel when entering Italy, given both are in the Schengen zone?
Can’t seem to find an answer for this anywhere.
Thanks, Shaz.
Thirumal says
Hi Shaz! In my opinion, your onward travel must be out of the Schengen zone. Rome to Prague is still within the Schengen zone and won’t be considered as onward travel.
X says
Are you sure that every website that you have mentioned in the rent an onward ticket is not a scam? I think onwardflights.com is a scam according to some users. Some of them have bad reviews on their FB pages. Have you used these websites personally?
Thirumal says
Hi X! Some of these companies can be scams and they go out of business overnight (ex: Flyonward). My job is only to provide you with all the options available out there. You are free to choose whichever option that works for you. I haven’t used these websites myself and I’m not endorsing any companies in this article.
Paul says
Would you say the airline check-in staff can or do check the legitimacy of your onward ticket? I get the impression they just have a look at the date and name on the e-ticket/ticket and then maybe just note that down in the airline’s system. I used to doctor my own old flights with pdf editor when travelling to the Philippines without any problems.
Thirumal says
Hi Paul! The airline staff and immigration officers CAN check the legitimacy of the onward ticket, but they usually don’t. Only if they get an impression that the ticket is fake, then they may verify.
Lisa says
If I purchase a real ticket & refunded it within the next 24 hours, wouldn’t they (passport officers) check later on and realize the ticket is no longer valid?
I’m currently re-applying for my passport and I was asked to provide proof of travel along with my documents so I’m not sure if that’d make any difference.
Thirumal says
Hi Lisa! Yes, they may check and it can be a problem. Therefore, it all depends on your purpose. If it’s for an onward journey, an Expedia ticket would suffice. If it’s for a visa application, you would need a ticket that’s valid for 7-10 days.
Proof of travel is only needed for visas and immigration. I don’t think you would need one for passport re-application or renewal. Which country passport do you hold? Where are you applying for a new passport? Is your current passport stolen or expired?
Jane Maske says
Similar service: https://rentonwardticket.com with 72hours valid
Thirumal says
Hi Jane! Thanks! I’ll add it to the list.
Sandrine says
Good to know
If you don’t take a plane, you can get your airport taxes back. On a 25€ flight I received 4.62€ airport taxes back from AirAsia. After the date of the flight you miss, fill the form on the website and wait (it took 3 to 4 weeks to have it back).
It is true for every flight you miss, whatever airplane company.
Thirumal says
Hi Sandrine! Thanks for the info! Very useful especially for throwaway tickets.
Rebecca Lacroix says
If I book with one of the onward flight agencies, are the tickets checkable? I mean if some overzealous immigration officer checks it would they find your name on the flight?
Thirumal says
Hi Rebecca! Yes, those onward flight agencies provide confirmed and verifiable tickets. If the immigration officer looks up online, they can find your name and flight details.
The being said, make the payment to these agencies only through PayPal. In the event of discrepancy (wrong names/dates, unverifiable details, etc), you can claim your money back from PayPal.
MD JAMIL AZAM says
Can you please tell me if this website providing verifiable flight booking itinerary??
http://www.visareservation.com
Thirumal says
They do. They seem to be better than the other ones. A reader of the blog recently used them and was quite satisfied with their service.