I’m flying to Italy on a tourist visa and didn’t buy a return ticket — I don’t know which European country I’ll be returning from or when. Could this cause problems at the border?
With a tourist visa and a transfer there’s a real risk — the transit country may refuse entry. Take a direct flight to Italy. At the Finnish border they were letting people through on a tourist visa without problems; on the return they didn’t always check — but it still depends on the individual officer.
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Thanks — I hadn’t thought about transit, I’ll look for a direct flight then. And is it really possible not to buy a return ticket at all if the consulate doesn’t require one?
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A consulate and the border officer at entry are different things. If you then fly within the EU, nobody cares — those are internal flights without Schengen checks. On entry, the officer can technically ask for something proving you’ll leave — a hotel booking in the last country, a ticket to a third country, anything. At the Finnish border they didn’t ask me, but it depends on the officer.
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