At Delta gate told I needed a French visa

My thoughts: Expect more of this in the coming years, and don't be shocked as restrictions on international travel, minor hoops to jump through and more formal requirements increase. I'll leave it to others to speculate on why.

Go soon while we can. You never know when places will become less welcoming and travel becomes more challenging than when things were back in the golden age of international travel.

They wouldn't take the rental of your AirBnB in England as proof ?

Oh well I am glad that the Eurostar ticket solved it. But that had to be anxiety-inducing!!

Most countries require proof of onward travel within the time period of your "visa". In your case, Delta was following rules for a Schengen "visa" which limits you to 90 days. If Delta allowed you to travel without proper documentation and you were refused entry at the French border, Delta would be on the hook to return you to the US.

Proof of insurance and sufficient funds are usually required, also. But most travelers are not asked for these.

I'm glad you were able to purchase a train ticket to fulfill the requirement. Enjoy your trip!

I have not seen this happen, nor has it happened to me. However, I believe this has always been noted in their contract of carriage but hasn't been really enforced. I'm guessing with the implementation of the EES system and the forthcoming (who knows when...) ETIAS, the airlines are needing to ensure the rules are followed. Your post is a personal reminder for me as I'm heading out for 5 months this spring and, while I do not need any sort of visa, I do typically use my US passport for my airline ticket(s) not my EU passport. I wonder how this will work for me....

I have had this happen with the airline when I have booked one-way tickets on different airlines (United) as well as on BA when I had a one-way ticket between London and Austria. The one-way ticket to Austria was during the migrant crisis when there were temporary land border checks also. All I had to do was show my ticket back to the U.S.

Your ticket from the UK back to the U.S. should have been sufficient. You said that you couldn’t find your email. Did you tell the agent that you had a separate ticket on Delta? You should have been able to login to Delta and looked up the ticket to show them.

p.s. I just noticed that you are staying 4 months and that explains why your ticket back to the U.S. wouldn’t work. It makes sense that they would ask for proof that you were leaving the Schengen area within 90 Days.

Yes, I had my return ticket on my phone and told them. They never looked at it. I thought my awareness of the law and proof of my intentions were clear. I would never go through the process of getting a visa when I had no plans to stay....

One more thing just in case it helps someone else …

The airlines bear the cost of transporting you home if your entry is rejected. Usually the immigration officers don’t check but I did have one occasion (in my 20s) where the immigration officer asked for proof of onward travel as well as how I was funding my trip so it does happen.

If you know that you will be staying in Schengen less than 90 days but don’t want to commit to the exact departure date, you can always buy a refundable ticket showing your departure from the Schengen area.

I’m glad you were able to solve the problem by buying a Eurostar ticket.

Ah, yes! I will do that next time, because there will be one:) Thank you.

Interesting. And quick thinking/quick action! I know this is a requirement and have faced it before when I was traveling on a series of one way tickets last spring - but wasn’t in Europe that trip. But only twice out of 7 or 8 one ways.

I AM headed to Europe in June on a one way (works well for miles tickets), so I will be prepared. Did you offer the air bnb booking? Or that wasn’t sufficient?

Thanks so much for posting. I am so sorry you had a problem but happy you got it fixed.

I worry about staff at my end of the line airport not having "all" the information available as I had a problem during Covid with the desk agent insisting I needed a negative covid test for entry to France. I did not, knew I did not and had the information up on my phone but one of her co-workers corrected her so that solved itself.

I agree about the refundable ticket purchase of either Eurostar or airline ticket to an out of Schengen location....of course on the spot and possibly rattled (I would have been majorly rattled!) you might not have thought of that.

AND yea that you are in France!

Thank you. I had been putting off the Eurostar purchase because I was juggling dates on either end. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of every scenario, my usual m.o.:) Thrilled to be back in France!

Yes, I offered the Airbnb reservation and they weren't interested.

I had it happen several years ago going to the Caribbean. I had booked Southwest one way and Delta the other way and Southwest wouldn’t let me on the plane unless I had a return ticket. I showed them the Delta ticket and they were fine.

I am surprised by this too, I am flying several one-way flights, first from the US to the UK, then taking a train on Eurostar to Rotterdam from London, then I fly between Amsterdam and Oslo, 2 one-way tickets, then finally another one-way back home to the US from Amsterdam. I think I will have all my documents printed out and be ready just in case...One never knows who will question your travel these days and the why of it...

That all sounds good. I've wondered if when they initially asked the date I was returning I'd said just one month later, not 3+, if I would've breezed through. Of course, the thing is, that would not have been honest and I truly thought my return flight, etc. would suffice. Black and white, proof of entry and exit, chronologically organized is my plan going forward. Even though as of Oct 12, 2025 passports stopped being stamped in Europe I plan to ask if mine please could be to and from the UK. Old school, however no system will be "down" with a stamp. (Anyone asked for this lately?)

Even though as of Oct 12, 2025 passports stopped being stamped in Europe

Mine was stamped on the following dates leaving and returning to Europe (CDG) since October 12, so i would take this with a grain of sale.

• Nov 22
• Dec 1
• Dec 21
• Jan 3

(These happen to coincide with 100% of my entries and exits since Oct 12, 2025.)

Thank you! Mine was stamped also @CDG:)

Thank you for posting this. As a relatively inexperienced traveller, but nearing retirement and hopefully more travel, I had not thought of this scenario. Great tip to have a refundable return ticket already on hand.

Kevin

One thing you might mess around with at home is getting REALLY comfortable with your various travel apps. It really helped me with having the confidence, on the spot, to book a train reservation. I also have a very small book or card with reservation info WRITTEN down ( old school) and that’s come in handy. Keep reading the forum for tips:)

"One thing you might mess around with at home is getting REALLY comfortable with your various travel apps."

I think this is a key, Judith. Having them organized in folders on your phone AND making sure you are always signed in or have passwords written down with you will help as well. I move my apps around so that when I am traveling to, say, France, I have all the apps for trains, Metro, Museums, etc in one place on the front page of my phone.

I just added to my front page, it removes a step, Thanks