One way ticket

kinnear said:

Just a thought. I have booked a one way ticket to Paris from New Zealand and hope to leave buying the return flight until I'm near the end of my walk to Santiago de Compostela. I want to rest in Finis Terre and also have some days in Paris before leaving. Obviously, there's no guarantee I finish any of it! Is there requirements from immigration etc to have a booked return ticket.

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I would suggest contacting the French embassy to New Zealand. They will be able to give you more reliable information than anyone here.

This from the French Embassy in Wellington:

"As of the 21 December 2007, New Zealand passport holders and citizens of the following countries do NOT require a visa for a stay of up to 90 days in countries that are part of the Schengen Agreement:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Bermudas, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominica, East Timor, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China), Israel, Japan, Macao (Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China), Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela.

Provided that travellers:

• do not intend to work in the countries listed below;
• have a passport that is valid for at least three months after their return date;
• have a return ticket,

they can travel to the following countries for up to 90 days without a visa:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden."

My guess is that if you get a return ticket now (with an estimated date of departure) that allows you to change the date, it may well cost you less than buying the second one-way ticket just a couple of weeks in advance.

We are up in Mangonui, Far North NZ, and will be walking in May & June. Isn't the anticipation and the getting ready SO much fun?

Ask the embassy if you need a round-trip ticket or just one leaving the Schengen area. Then maybe you can get away with buying a cheap ticket from France to the UK or Ireland and then canceling that once you have bought your ticket back home.

@FionaMcG, thank you for that. It is interesting that there is a formal requirement that it be a return ticket, rather than another form of ticket to leave the Schengen Zone.

As a practical thing, I have travelled to the Schengen Zone departing from Australia, Britain and Morocco, and have never had to produce evidence of having a return ticket or any other way of departing outside the zone on arrival. I don't know how common it is to ask for such evidence, but over the years I have only ever been asked once, and that was arriving in South Africa from Kenya, now over ten years ago.

I am fairly sure that in practical terms, you need to be able to prove (if requested!) that you intend to leave the Schengen zone within 90 days so either a true "return" ticket or an onward & outward ticket would do the trick. To be 100% positive, give the French Embassy a call.

Most countries require a return ticket for a visa.
I always buy a ticket that allows me to change return date which is usually done for a small fee. But beware ........ increasingly the airlines also have taken to charging the price difference between departure dates as well - which can be enormous if you bought a saver ticket rather then standard fare.
Research your carrier carefully.