Does anyone know what is required to get a one way ticket to another country? I'll have a student visa for at least a year, and I've looked up fares for my trip, and it seems to be cheaper for me to get a one way ticket there, a two way home for Christmas, etc. ( i don't plan on ever being home for long again). I've heard that it's really hard to get a one way ticket. Is this true?

I bought a one-way ticket to spain with a tourist visa. Just tell them that you don´t know when you will return and you prefer to buy it there. All that happens is that you are likely to get searched, and that is it- at least for me.

eli ... I don´t know how hard it is to get a one way ticket, but they are generally very expensive. You might want to consider an open ended ticket. These are round trip tix but the return date is left open for you to book when you know when you are returning. Generally on open ended tickets you can´t get the cheapest rates or APEX fares. So, you end up paying a little more for the convenience.

When I flew here after our wedding last spring, I looked into a one way ticket and was quoted in the ball park of $700 dollars (on Air France). However, the round trip ticket on Air France was $450 (they were having a spring fare sale). So, I took the round trip ticket and never used the return trip.

Thanks for the info! I was wondering if I could get a round trip and not use the other part, since it is definately cheaper to get a round trip ticket. Do you know what would happen if I bought another ticket from the same airline? Would I get in trouble or anything?

Funny you should ask as I continue to sit here and wonder the same. However, I have since flown on Air France, and am flying with them again next week and have not had any problems (knock on wood). Sooo, unofficially I think you will be fine.

Have fun!

I'll second Chica's unofficial "it's okay" line- I've done it too (one time Lufthansa even credited the miles for the unused portion)! I know you can't skip a leg and expect to get the return back (like flying from Chicago to Madrid with a stop in London and not using the London-Madrid portion and trying to use the Madrid-London-Chicago return). Does that make sense? I know that's not your case but just thought I'd mention it.

Try Council Travel. www.counciltravel.com. They specialize in student travel, and they sell one-way tickets for a reasonable price. They also sell roundtrip tickets with stays up to a year, and you can change your return for a not very big fee. Call 1 800 2COUNCIL , and they should be able to answer your questions. Lucky you, studying in Spain for a year. Not doing that is the biggest regret I have. I'm sending my kids for sure!