Is visa needed when not buying round trip airfare?

[FriscoFlyer]

Wife and I are planning on doing the Camino this year in May, but we are not planning on buying round trip plane tickets. We are wondering if we need to get a Visa?

 

[Kanga]

@FriscoFlyer can we assume from your username that you are from the US? And welcome to the forum!

 

[FriscoFlyer]

@FriscoFlyer can we assume from your username that you are from the US? And welcome to the forum!

Yes, we are coming from the US. We are flying into Paris.

 

[trecile]

US citizens don't need a visa, providing you are staying 90 days or less in the Schengen area.

 

[Kanga]

The US State Dept does say you need a return ticket - see this from the website:
"Spain is a party to the Schengen Agreement. Entry into any of the 26 European countries in the Schengen area for short-term tourism, a business trip, or in transit to a non-Schengen destination requires that your passport be valid for at least three months beyond your intended date of departure. You need sufficient funds and a return airline ticket. For additional details about travel into and within Schengen countries, please see our Schengen fact sheet. Visit the Embassy of Spain website for the most current visa and entry requirement information."

 

[FriscoFlyer]

US citizens don't need a visa, providing you are staying 90 days or less in the Schengen area.

Thanks for the info. Is this the region of Spain that we will be in?

 

[Kanga]

@FriscoFlyer you do need a return ticket. See my post and read the US State Department website here (expand the "entry, exit and visa requirements" heading if it is not already open). https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/spain.html

 

[Bradypus]

@FriscoFlyer you do need a return ticket. See my post and read the US State Department website here (expand the "entry, exit and visa requirements" heading if it is not already open). https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/spain.html

Apologies - you are quite correct. I was mistaken and have deleted my post.

 

[FLEUR]

Thanks for the info. Is this the region of Spain that we will be in?

Shengen refers to countries in the European Union who have an agreement that once in the country one can travel across their frontiers without any passport controls. i.e France to Spain no control when you walk / drive across the borders in fact sometimes you hardly notice you are crossing into another country.

 

[Kitsambler]

The Schengen area covers all of western Europe (including Scandinavia) less the UK. See specific countries here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area For US citizens, travel is permitted in the Schengen area for 90 days out of every 180. Since overstaying your visa may result in being permanently barred from entry, it is advisable to play by the rules.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Since overstaying your visa may result in being permanently barred from entry, it is advisable to play by the rules.

Anecdotes from the past about evading Schengen rules are now anachronisms. The electronic scanning of passports means that you will get caught at the airport. Since border crossings are not monitored, it can lead to a false sense of security. Last year on a cruise, I had one passport agent who asked why I did not have a passport stamp showing I had left! It was there, but had been casually stamped after several blank pages by an agent who did not think it was important to have the stamps close together. It is no longer the old Europe!

 

[FLEUR]

Indeed ! @falcon269

 

[Trude]

Hi......all I can say is that I am Australian and I only ever travel on one way tickets. I have never had a problem or even been questioned. I travel over Via Hong Kong and back via USA. I enter usually through Madrid. A few occasions Paris. I never know my leaving dates or where I am leaving from so it is not easy to buy a return ticket. With the electronic system it is easier as you talk to no one.

 

[OTH86]

Hi......all I can say is that I am Australian and I only ever travel on one way tickets. I have never had a problem or even been questioned.

On entering a Schengen country have you ever been asked about a return ticket or sufficient funds to return home? I haven't on my six entries to a Schengen country over the past 3 years. Just curious... Aah - no, you haven't been asked - you say that - sorry...

Also - a question for everyone - the embassy, consulate, travel.state.gov sites don't give detail about when the 6-month period begins (maybe it's spelled out in the actual treaty ) -- maybe as of the date one arrives and receives the Schengen stamp in one's passport? - But if one then leaves after, say, 50 days (and receives the EXIT stamp) and then returns for another 60 days BUT OVERLAPPING the initial 6-month period -- how is that computed?? It seems I have heard that one must be out of the Schengen area for 180 days/6-months before re-entry, but I don't see that wording.
Might a 72 year-old, white-haired woman with multiple credenciales be given allowance to overstay by 2 to 4 weeks?? Also, I only have a one way ticket... OK, I know - don't count on it! Just curious...

 

[C clearly]

how is that computed??

My understanding is that it is a rolling number, and I've seen a calculator somewhere on the internet. If you count the days in the last 180 days you have been in the Schengen area, it must never exceed 90. So, for every day you are out of the country, you get another day to include in the 90 you are allowed in the next 180. If you leave for 2 weeks, you can come back for 2 weeks. It isn't the case that you must be away for 180 consecutive days before any re-entry.

Might a 72 year-old, white-haired woman with multiple credenciales be given allowance to overstay by 2 to 4 weeks??

Doubt that the hair colour is taken into account. They likely won't throw you in jail, in any case, but you will be in violation of the law, which is very clear, and you might get hassled on future trips. You can never assume that the immigration officers in any country will be lenient.

The one-way ticket question may be more flexible, as long as you can demonstrate the ability to buy a ticket (i.e. credit card, bank resource). I have never been asked to show my return ticket upon entry to a country. (I suppose that you could stand at the immigration counter and book a flight out, on your phone, if required!)

 

[VNwalking]

I've seen a calculator somewhere on the internet

It's here.
I've traveled from Asia with a one-way ticket and have never been queried about it. But things being as they are, this year I am not going to chance it. Better safe than sorry. I was stopped at check-in once (under different circumstances--not having the credit card on me that I had used to purchase the ticket), and though in the end I made the flight it's an experience that I would definitely not recommend.

 

[dougfitz]

@FriscoFlyer you do need a return ticket. See my post and read the US State Department website here (expand the "entry, exit and visa requirements" heading if it is not already open). https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/spain.html

I must admit that I understood the requirement to have a return ticket to only apply if you needed to have a visa approved before travel, ie for someone from a country that didn't qualify for visa-free entry on arrival.
ps the irony of this is that you need to commit for the return ticket before you are able to apply for the visa and confirm that you are able to undertake the trip

 

[OTH86]

Thank you, @C clearly and @Viranani , for directing me to the Schengen Calculator! It's amazing! Seeing the details on the spreadsheet it produced made it easier to understand the "rolling number" concept that C mentions. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when this was discussed and agreed upon ...
The white-hair question was asked with tongue firmly in cheek! "Joking" with immigration folks is not something one should ever do - imho.

Mods, should this be moved to it's own thread so others can find it easier?

 

[NolaVulling]

I have visited the UK with a one way ticket only just last year (2016) but that was due to an emergency situation. When I walked from the Netherlands to Santiago (2014) I got a long term stay visa for France which gave me close to 5 months in the Schengen zone. For that trip I bought a return flight and simply changed the departure date when I knew it would be possible to fly home. I also flew into Paris as the long term stay visa needed to be validated by French Immigration within 7 days of arriving. Personally I would prefer to always be legal as I do not want to be barred from entry to Europe as that has the potential to have your name put on an International Alert list. However, when I last left the Netherlands (after another visit in 2015) Immigration jumped on the 2014 visa that was in my passport and with a total change of voice asked me had I entered Europe on that visa this time. Happily I could show the stamp of where I had left in 2014 and arrived again in 2015. So it just goes to show that although everything may appear quite casual it is not. For the small cost of changing a flight it would seem that having a return ticket is the safest option.

 

[dougfitz]

I have visited the UK with a one way ticket only just last year (2016) but that was due to an emergency situation.

The UK is not a Schengen country and does not have the same entry rules as the Schengen zone. As I said earlier, I suspect @Kanga's advice only applies to people who have to apply for a visa before arrival in the Schengen zone, and NOT to those who are entitled to visa free entry on arrival.

 

[Older Guy]

Wife and I are planning on doing the Camino this year in May, but we are not planning on buying round trip plane tickets. We are wondering if we need to get a Visa?

I don't claim to be an authority. Last May I flew from SEA to Madrid via Frankfurt. I did the Camino. Then I traveled to Bologna Italy after my Camino to meet my wife. Within Spain (Madrid to Pamplona) and parts of Italy, I walked into Train stations and just bought tickets. Wife & I traveled around Italy then we got on a cruise ship in Venice that dropped us off eventually in Athens. Then we went to Istanbul, Turkey. We flew home from Istanbul to SEA via Frankfurt. It took multiple months. The only visa I had was a Turkish Visa that I acquired over the internet a couple days prior to entering Turkey.

I have been told that TSA does more intense security screening on one-way tickets and payments in cash for air fare. So if you have a one way ticket expect at least some extra time at security.

You might want to contact the airline to see what they have to say about a return flight. In the past I have heard that you can get an "open ticket" on one leg of a flight if you are unsure about the date. When I got my tickets they were SEA to Frankfurt to Madrid, and return Istanbul to SEA. That is all that was reported. No one seemed to raise an eyebrow or ask what I was doing or how I could get from point A to point B.

If you do need a return flight and you are unsure of how much time you will need to do the Camino and an open ticket doesn't work, then I would suggest you figure out a range of time it will take to do the Camino, add a week and figure you will go some sightseeing after you finish. There is good bus service from Santiago to Porto Portugal and that can make a fine after Camino trip of various lengths, before you fly home.

Good luck and enjoy.