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My 20-year-old daughter is travelling for the first time to the UK to visit friends. However due to $$ constraints I can only get her a one-way ticket. But I'm looking to getting her a ticket back next month (travelling around 24 Nov 2023 & returning mid-Jan 2024). I know that as an Australian passport holder she doesn't need a return ticket - but then I saw she could get grilled at immigration on arrival.

Thanks EVERYONE for their insights etc - I haven't travelled to UK / europe since the late 1990's... so lots have changed since then... ALL good - ended up getting her a reasonable flight return (with Qantas / Emirates) - being able to book online with so many choices by using various search engines (skyscanner, momonmo & jetcost) makes it so much easier and able to really look at what you can get bang for your buck! Cheers Maddie

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    It's generally much cheaper.to get a return ticket than to buy two one-ways. Also, does your daughter have the funds to live in the UK for 7 weeks, and can she show them to immigration if asked? It's not a cheap place.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 4:23
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    It is a standard requirement that you must be able to prove that “you’re able to pay for your return or onward journey (or have funding from someone else)”. Having a return ticket is the easiest evidence. Otherwise you have to prove that you can afford to buy that ticket (in additional to being able to prove you have enough money for your stay).
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 12:20
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    Not to put a damper on this plan, but your daughter will be a very long way away from home. If $$ constraints are an issue buying her flight, she should be sure to have backup if something goes wrong while she’s in the UK. Worth checking the Australian government advice here if she’s not done so already.
    – Traveller
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 17:15
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    @lambshaanxy for a random date in January I'm seeing a $558 one-way on Etihad vs $1,113 for a roundtrip for flights from Sydney to London. These are the cheapest 1-stop flights available. Some city pairs do still have a round trip discount but many don't.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented Nov 2, 2023 at 0:49
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    I'm an Aussie and wasn't allowed to enter the UK when I tried a few months before the pandemic, but I brought attention to myself by hitchhiking with a truck driver to the Channel Tunnel. They were most concerned with how much money I had and were not interested in contacting any of my friends who were going to host me. You don't need a return ticket but you need an onward ticket, so it can be to anywhere else. You can buy proof of booked flights through an increasing number of online services. When flying this is usually checked by the airline at check-in time.
    – hippietrail
    Commented Nov 2, 2023 at 5:37

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Australian citizens visiting the UK as tourists are eligible to use the eGates, so your daughter may breeze through Immigration with no questions asked. However, if for any reason there’s a problem (her passport is rejected, random selection, an out-of-order eGate, big queues to use them, etc etc), then she will have a face-to-face landing interview, which may or may not prove problematic.

From Gov.uk

You must provide a valid passport or travel document. Your passport should be valid for the whole of your stay in the UK.

You may also be asked to prove that:

  • you’re visiting for tourism
  • you’re able to support yourself and your dependents during your trip (or have funding from someone else to support you)
  • you’ve arranged accommodation for your stay
  • you’re able to pay for your return or onward journey (or have funding from someone else)
  • you’ll leave the UK at the end of your visit

The standard advice for non-visa nationals to avoid a potentially unpleasant situation (including the possibility of being denied entry), is to carry some evidence that proves all of the above in case it’s needed. The easiest evidence proving intention to leave is a return ticket, but it could include, for example, a credit / bank card with sufficient available funds to buy one.

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    It's also quite possible that based on the information provided by the airline (and the lack of a return flight) the eGate will automatically redirect the passenger to an officer for a face-to-face interview. I have absolutely no idea if this actually happens or not, but as you wrote, the requirement still exists so one should be prepared to prove one has the means to pay for that ticket.
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 15:17
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    +1. If OP's daughter in such a conversation claims that (1) her parent did not have the funds to buy a return ticket, but (2) the daughter does have the funds to support herself for seven weeks in the UK, and (3) the parent is "looking to getting her a ticket back", that might set alarm bells off in the UKVI officer's head. I would not like to have this conversation...
    – Stephan Kolassa
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 20:38

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