one way ticket to india: any problems?

Hi, We intend to travel to goa in oct and stay there for the allowed six months and then travel on, not sure where yet and want to leave that bit open. We thought we would buy a one way ticket to Mumbai and then sort out the rest later, but the travel agent thought that we would have trouble getting in with a one way ticket. Has anyone else done this and what were your experiences? Thanks

In theory you are supposed to have a ticket out but I have never heard of anyone having problem with immigration about it. Some consulates require you to have one before issuing a visa but I don't think thats a problem in England. The airline you are flying with could be the biggest problem, they often want you to have a ticket out before they allow you to board the plane.

In my experience, a return ticket doesn't normally cost much more than a one-way anyway. I think you'll find the security of having a return portion reassuring when you're there.

in my experience and from what I have seen in India...better have a return ticket when you get to India. especially if you are planning to stay 6 months in Goa..
if you have never been to Goa, then you better have a ticket out of India.. even if you don't want to leave Goa after 6 months, you will be forced to leave it and you will be happy when you will...
I had a one way ticket to India too. but I made sure I bought my return ticket in Mumbay before I went to Goa. and I was happy I did so...

I have never been asked to show my airline tickets when applying for a visa or when going through passport control into India.

It occurred to me to get a single ticket from the UK to India on my next trip, and buy a return ticket India-UK-India and use the return part for my next visit.

I was told that you can buy a return fare from Mumbai to London for around £250 (Rs 20,610 or US $472) - about half the price I pay in London - in which case it would be worth buying the tickets in India!

Single tickets are often about the same price as a return ticket, so it may be worth buying a return ticket and throwing the return part away.

I have only been back from India for three weeks, and I am flying to Cochin in 10 days, so I didn't have time for this experiment - maybe next time...

If I have time I will ask a travel agent in India for his best prices and post them here.

Thanks for the info so far, I've been to india twice so far and can't remeber being asked to show them either, The return tickes from mumbai sound cheap, but are those prices available for non indians as there is always two prices it seems.

I arrived in India with a one way ticket and had absolutely no problem. Nobody asked to see my ticket - either in the US or in India.

I've flown to India on one-way tickets before without problems. Usually, the whole "return ticket" business is dealt with at the time you apply for a visa--and India does not require it.

So you get a visa (formal, legal authorization to enter the country for a certain purpose for a certain time), fly to Mumbai, and the immigration officer says you have to have proof of an outbound flight? No way. All you need is a visa. You don't have to have proof of sufficient funds to maintain yourself; nor do you have to have in-country sponsors.

Such restrictions are immigration controls--and India does not have a problem with Europeans and Americans flooding into the country, stealing jobs, bankrupting social services, committing heinous acts of violence, lowering the standards of decency, and other such crimes as immigrants are alleged to commit.

Thanks for your help, sounds ok to give it a go.

Can anybody add personal experience to this thread?

I'm tempted to use a package holiday as a cheap outward flight and initial accomodation (from UK to Goa) and then buy a return from India to UK -- cheaper and more flexible.

But being a newby it might be worth paying a bit more to avoid potential hassle.

Mmm ...

That's what I did: I now always book the other way around. When I return to India December 20th, I use my return ticket. So the next time I come back, I book a new ticket in India. I figured out you can fly DIRECTLY from Bangalore to Amsterdam on KLM/NORTHWEST for like 22,000 in off-season (410 euro, 490 dollar). A ticket the other way, with BA (AMS-LON-MUM-BLR OR AMS-LON-CHENNAI) costs $730 euro. It makes way more sense to book in India...besides it will give me the freedom to come back when I want. For visa-purposes I could always go to Nepal or Sri lanka.

But it's all about season! If you fly at the right time, you can find amazing fares. Plus a direct flight Bangalore - Amsterdam is a huge luxury for me.

Thanks Priyamav

Have bitten the bullet and booked a charter "holiday" to use as one way flight.

Intending to update this thread ...

Px

Of course there was no problem getting in on a charter flight intending not to use the return! Duh!

Interesting part will be getting out when the outward part of the immigration form will have to be changed from the original return charter flight to whatever I do end up using -- if I have managed to keep the form until then.

That's the route I'm travelling on, come Tuesday a.m....travelling from Cork with Aer Lingus (crap airline now) and then direct AMS to BLR! Wonderful!

Priyamav, how have you found NorthWest on that route? would appreciate it if you could PM me with any info, as it's my 2nd time only with NorthWest and it wasn't such a long haul flight the first time I flew with them! Thanks!

Regulations state that you're suposed to have a return or onward bound ticket on arrival in India. I've travelled in and out of India about 7 or 8 times and never been asked to show a return or onward bound. It certainly does sound much better value to get your return ticket in India though by what's been said here. Twice I went in on a one way ticket and simply bought my ticket to Colombo after a few months for getting another visa to stay on in India. I guess it's up to you in the end whether you get a one way or return - though I do tend ot agree with others here that the security of having a ticket out, should I require it, would be a great comfort if perhaps things didn't work out as good as you'd hoped they would. You can of course, always go to one of the larger Cities in India and "cash-in" your return/onward bound at your particular Airline's HQ if you don't want to use it, or sell it to someone else and have them pay the fee for changing the name. I've done that twice, and had no probs.