Job Discussion Forums

[matttheboy]

I posted the following on the Chilean and Argentine boards but i guess as all South American countries have the same (unenforced) official policy on return tickets it may help anyone thinking of coming to South America on a one way ticket or who're flying into one country and out of another.........

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Just thought i'd let you know what happened to me recently when i went to the states for a few days...this post applies to Argentina too as they have the same rules.

I flew from Santiago via Buenos Aires to Miami with Aerolineas Argentinas and had no problems getting into the country. Getting out (and bloody hell i was desperate to leave) was the problem.

At check-in, the woman refused to let me board the plane because i didn't have a return ticket OUT of Chile. According to Chilean law one must have a ticket out of the country to be allowed in. This law, of course is NEVER enforced by Chilean immigration. An hour of arguing ensued with me pointing out that i had flown with Aerolineas Argentinas from BsAs to Santiago 5 times without ever having been asked to show a return ticket or a ticket out of Chile and have crossed the border by bus at least 10 times in the past 9 months without the slightest problem. Pointing out that thousands of people fly into one country and out of another in South America to go travelling didn't cut the mustard with the woman either.

I then realised that my flight back to England in December was with Aerolineas Argentinas from BsAs, which she checked on the AA system. I explained to the woman that Chilean immigration give a 3 month tourist visa on entry to the country and that my flight from BsAs was in 2 months. Apparently this was unacceptable as well even though to take this flight i would obviously have to leave Chile. The intransigence of the woman was unbelievable. After an hour and a half of argument i politely explained that i never wanted to visit her god-forsaken country again and to please just let me leave. Still nothing. My final resort was to ask her to phone Chilean immigration in Santiago and explain the situation (this took another 20 minutes of 'discussion' before she at last agreed to do so). 2 minutes later she came back and, looking suitably ashen-faced, checked me in without further ado.

I should add that the check-in girl next to this woman let on 3 people who had flights into Santiago and out of other countries without causing the slightest problem.

So basically, if you're travelling on a one way ticket or you're flying into one country and out of another you may, if you're unlucky, encounter a similar situation as i did, especially if flying from America. It's best to check in very very early.

Hope this never happens to anyone else out there but just thought i'd let you know the score.

[Carina_Cisneros]

I am no expert on Chile or Argentina, but elsewhere in South America, and almost everywhere in Central America, you run a very good chance of not boarding if you do this. In the last 15 years I have seen so many people turned away, I couldnt even guess the total. I should say that if something similar happened in many places, they would never actually make the telephone call you requested, and even if they did, an answer in your favor would not in itself suffice for boarding. While it is true the onward ticket requirement in almost never enforced on land borders (especially if you have a passport from a wealthier country), it is common for it to be enforced by air. In Central America, most outfits will not even sell a OW ticket to a non-national. As an example, my co-worker is Honduran and is married to a man from the U.S., and they reside in Honduras, where he has a residencia, apartment, car, business license, real estate, etc. However, her husband cannot buy a one-way ticket from Miami to Honduras, on any airline, even the Honduran airline! He spends months there every year, but the onward ticket requirement is apparently tied to the passport you hold, not to any other criteria; since he uses his u.s. passport for various reasons, he must have a RT ticket.

[matttheboy]

I get the impression that things are much stricter in Central America. In South America i've flown on one way tickets without the merest hint of a problem between:

Ecuador-Argentina
Argentina-Chile x 3
Chile-Peru
Chile-Argentina x 2
Peru-Bolivia

And have crossed all of these countries' land borders many more times.

The fact is that most people coming to South America fly into, say, Ecuador and out of, say, Buenos Aires. This officially means that they have no outbound ticket from, in this case, Ecuador (which requires tourists to have one). I had a ticket out of Buenos Aires but was flying into Santiago but this wasn't enough for the check-in idiot. Of course most check-in staff understand this and don't cause problems, but unfortunately some do.

I'm not sure if the problem is only when you fly from the States but i have met a few people who flew from Europe on one way tickets without it being an issue. Maybe it's another case of Latin American revenge for the strict immigration laws imposed upon Latinos wanting to visit the US (i should point out that i'm not passing judgement here and i'm not trying to start any anti-Americanism! You do what you feel is necessary to protect yourselves i guess, although it has put me off ever going back).