Onward tickets: the airline desk asks, Vietnam doesn't

A same-day exit flight bought in panic at the check-in counter runs roughly $65–120 (July 2026 fares). The twist: Vietnamese immigration almost never asks for onward proof — Vietnam's own entry rules (FCDO, Canada, vietnam.travel) list no such condition. The desk that asks is airline check-in, where budget carriers and Thai/Malaysian desks ask roughly half the time per 2026 reports (AirAsia at Da Nang, May 2026); US and EU legacy carriers rarely do.