Hi all,

I have a very important question. Has anyone traveled to Madrid on a one-way airline ticket? If so, did you have any problems with immigration once you got to Madrid?
I plan to travel throughout spain for 3 to 6 months. I know you can only stay for 3 months for I will deal with that later. It's a lot cheaper for me to buy a one-way ticket to get there and then when I'm ready to return buy the return ticket.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jaime

The one-way ticket will arouse suspicions not of "visa overstay" but of "what are you planning to do in Spain?".

Part of the profiling process involves when you bought your plane ticket, whether it's open-ended, one-way, etc. Government agencies don't just look at country of origin and skin color, and never have. I work with them, I know...

If your intention is to not arouse suspicion (one who is traveling to another nation with the expressed purpose of violating visa regulations would probably choose to stay as low-key as possible), I suggest you purchase a RT ticket well in advance. It will most likely spare you undue headaches further down the line, in say, six months .

Contact the airlines, as unused portions of RT tickets are usually redeemable for standby flying, although the charges for standby on US carriers have recently been increased (I believe they're at about $100).

The answer to this question also interests me....hopefully I will be headed to Granada for next semester. I would much rather buy a one way ticket, since I am unsure of the exact date I will return (I will probably hang around in Bilbao for a little bit after my classes end). Is this more expensive to do? Will I have a hard time finding another one way ticket home at the end of the semester?
~Kelly

I am here right now, and I came on a one-way ticket. It was more expensive than a round trip for me, but as I am not affiliated with a University, I did all the planning myself. I will be here for a year. While I had no problem whatsoever entering the country (and I have dark hair and dark skin), I know that I would have been better off getting an open-ended ticket. If your school can help you with that, i would go for it. The people I've talked to have told me how much they paid and it was about half what I paid, and it is for both ways. If you have a student visa you should have no problem though to get a one way if you really want one.

Hey you guys, do a search on this message board as this question has come up in other threads.

I knew that when I came here, I would be here more permanently, but the cost of a one-way versus round trip was ridiculous. I bought my round trip for $450 whereas the one-way was in the ballpark of $700. I simply did not use the return trip on my ticket. Whether or not this has me in the "system" somewhere as a red flag, I don´t know. I am here legally and am now a resident, so that probably changes things. I have flown in and out of Spain since I arrived here April 2001 four times without any incident or problem.

Good luck with your plans.