Hi
We're a couple planning a several months long trip to South America. We're starting of i Ecuador. We've been searching for one-way tickets into Ecuador, then by land leaving for Peru and so on. We're not 100% sure when we're going to finish our trip and from where - so we haven't booked a flight home yet, and aren't planning to yet anyway. Our travelagent says however that we have to show an onward ticket from Ecuador at the border control... - does anybody know if this is true? do they really check? can we just reserve some form of ticket and show them that?
Thanx for replying
yarblek
1
esterosdelibera
The following are previous posts on this issue:
Though the law states that onward tickets are required, no immigration officials will ever check when you enter. However airlines may refuse to allow check-in to destination without an onward ticket, because THEY are responsible by law to check this detail, and must foot the bill for your return if entry denied. It is totally up to them.
It is a very bad idea to buy only a one-way ticket to South America because you will find that the one-way fare back to the U.S.A., Europe, Canada and the like will be very expensive sometimes equal to what you would have paid for a roundtrip to get there. Try to book a round-trip ticket to South America if you can.
It is the airline, not the immigration authorities, that may require a round-trip ticket. If you are deported from the country, the airline must return you to your original point of departure; if you have no return ticket, it has to do this at its own expense.
Just a word of warning to anyone thinking of entering any countries in South America without an onward ticket, always check with with your airline from your city of departure before you buy your ticket, it will save a lot of stress and worry just before you fly!.
* The problem is not Immigration, but the airlines. You will not even make it to Immigration with some airlines as they will refuse to let you board. I got a one way ticket for a real good price with Avianca to Rio de Janeiro. I called them and they were rather blunt on the phone letting me know that they will not let me board their plane without a return ticket. So I got myself another one-way ticket from Cancun to Florida for less than US$ 200 for 6 months later and went to the airport real nervous and crossing my fingers as I was not sure if Cancun back to US would be good enough for them. Seeing I was flying into Rio de Janeiro. Well, I had a young lady who's first or second day on the checkin job it must have been. Her English was very bad and I made my Spanish even worse. She was confused about a few things, one of them the return ticket issue. So she called her chief which was real busy. I understood they were talking about the return ticket issue so I said in real broken Spanish that I have a reservation for a return ticket. I took my folded e-ticket confirmation out of my pocket. At that point the superior said ah, he has an e-ticket... the young woman was a bit embarassed and just moved on. Never looked at the confirmation AT ALL. Could have been a picture of a freshly shaven sheep for all she saw. In the end it was no problem at all. But who knows if I had had a different clerk who is having a shitty day.....
Jorge Daniel Barchi.
Buenos Aires.
2
martravel
I am flying to ecuador from canada with air canada via bogota and return from lima (open jaw) and will be there an unspecified time but around 6 months. i bought an airline ticket that is good for a year and that is fully refundable with no penalty for changes provided there is availabilty but that is not a problem if you are flexible. i paid a little more for the ticket but it is worth it for peace of mind. a one way ticket would have cost me 2/3 the price.
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