Hey all,
I have been reading other postings for the past couple weeks, trying to figure out the visa issue for Thailand. After speaking with the Thai consulate, I am now truly confused because what they said contradicts what is being said on here.
My husband and I are Americans living in Seattle, WA. We fly out Friday September 28th to spend 5-6 months in Thailand. After reading the forum, it sounded best to get a visa before we left the US, but after speaking with someone at the Thai consulate, they said we can get visas when we arrive in Bangkok. Please help us figure this out. We can drive down to Portland (there is a Thai consulate there) next week to get our visas before we fly out if that's the best option.
Thanks in advance for your help!
oi...unless something has drastically changed, you should get the cisa, because as far as I know (others will confirm as well, I am 99% sure) you will get a 30 day entry, which is not a visa. It allows you to stay one month in Thailand. Think of it as a visa-waiver. Then you will have at least 3 months, unless you ca get a longer one. So, in that case you would have a visa that would cover your entire trip, or you would have half the trip covered and could go to Lais or cambodia and come back for the rest. But going there on the 1 month entry for a 5-6 months is not the best idea. The trip to Portland will be worth it.
Check that this hasn't changed in the last few months, but pretty sure it hasn't.
I am going to copy from what I wrote so it is ok! I would have just given you a link, but the site is still being developed. This should apply to you as an American.
The Visa Exemption
This is technically not a visa. It is often mistakenly called a visa when it is something different. If you hold a passport from a large number of countries, you will be entitled to a 30 day visa exemption on arrival in Thailand. There is no charge for the visa exemption.
The rules regarding visa exemptions are slightly more complicated because of new regulations. The rules state that you can only stay in Thailand for a maximum of 90 days in a given 180 day period using this method. In the past, this rule did not exist. This left quite a bit of room for exploitation. In effect, travelers in Thailand could do a perpetual number of visa runs. That is to say, they could cross the border to a nearby country for a matter of minutes and return to Thailand with a fresh 30 days to stay in the country. Because this loophole had been exploited, the new rules aim to discourage this kind of behavior. Although, many people have figured out new ways to have a prolonged stay in Thailand which will be explained later.
Tourist Visa
For those wishing to stay longer than 30 days in Thailand and not deal with visa runs, this visa should meet your requirements. The tourist visa will entitle you to 60 days in Thailand. You will need to apply for this embassy outside of Thailand at an Embassy or Consulate. The application is very simple.
Multiple Entry Tourist Visas
You can indicate how many entries you would like to have when applying for a tourist visa. For example, you could apply for a double entry tourist visa if you wanted to stay for 120 days in Thailand. The first time you enter Thailand, the visa will be marked. You will be given 60 days in the same way you would if you were entering on a single entry tourist visa. The difference is that when your 60 days are over, you are free to do a visa run to a nearby border. When you decide to re-enter Thailand, you will be granted another 60 days. The concept is the same as having two tourist visas in one. The same logic can be applied to triple entry tourist visas which would give 180 days.
Different places will yield different results in obtaining these longer term visas. Quite simply, some places tend to act more favorably than other places. Generally, countries in the west are quite friendly. I can attest to the fact that Washington DC has always handled my requests promptly in a hassle-free manner. However, there are many reports claiming that certain places are terrible for applying for visas. The most notable that comes to mind is Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Manilla also frequently gets criticism. These things change from time to time. As of now, there are some favorable places to go which are quite close for those already in Thailand. Penang, Malaysia and Vientiane, Cambodia are often used by many. Companies specializing in making visa runs easy and effortless have introduced services that take travelers to Vientiane and back in order for them to obtain a new tourist visa. This provides a loophole to the new restrictions placed on the visa exemption scheme.
I didn't mention anything there about the good point #2 makes. You may have some problems with your airline when you check in. The airline is responsible for ensuring that you are in compliance with the rules. If Thai Immigration decides to deny you entry on the grounds that you are not in compliance, the airline faces a significant fine. The airline attendant is likely to ask to see a visa or proof of onward travel out of Thailand to let you on. It all depends on who you get!
Thanks everyone! I feel much better now, and will most definitely be making a trip down to Portland.
Get a double entry tourist visa. It will cost you $60. This gives you 60 days on the first visa, then a 30 day extention for bt1900. Then you leave the country, come back in on the second visa, and do the same thing again.
The Thai consulate was feeding you BS. You can't get a tourist visa in country, only from an embassy, or consulate outside the country. You can not stay that long in country on 30 day visa exemption stamps. At some point you would have to leave the country, and get a tourist visa.
Just get a double entry tourist visa before you leave. You have 6 months to use it.
koolbreez
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yes, #6: yet another example of misinformation from a Thai immigration/consular official. OP, go for the multiple entry visa if you can.
Are you planning on staying the whole 6 monhts in Thailand ? Then a double entry tourist visa is all you need, it's valid for 6 monhts from date of isse, which means that you must make your last entry within the validity of the visa. Each entry is good for 2 monhts, which can be extended (at the nearest immigration office in Thailand) for anohter 30 days, at 1900 baht. So with a double entry, you stay 3 monhts (including extension) then have to leave the country, but you can come right back, to activate your second entry. Depending on where you plan on staying in Thailand, Cambodia has visa on arrival for 20 USD, Laos will set you back 35 USD and Malaysia will be free entry. Myanmar I believe is 10 USD for a short term visa.
I live in Thailand.
The 30 day visa upon arrival has been changed recently with the
new government. At present you can only get 3 X 30 days and then
you have to stay out of Thailand for 90 days before you can return
on the 30 day visa upon arrival.
If you get your visas BEFORE you get here then these rules do not
apply and you can stay longer between visa runs - going to a Thai
embassy to get another visa... or getting an extension while here.
If you plan to stay for 6 months it would probably (my opinion) be
best to go to Portland and get a multiple entry visa there.
I got my retirement visa there in Portland and it was extremely
easy and quick. Took 30 minutes - and I spent 20 of those minutes
talking with the clerk or it would have been much faster.
The Portland place is NOT an embassy or a consulate, per se. It
is a complimentary service offered by a private company and they
make no money from it. Just a nice thing for them to do.
Parking on the street is easily available there, so no need to find
a parking garage. Just feed the meter.
Do call ahead and talk with the lady... she is very, very nice and
more than helpful. She will tell you what to bring with you and
what time they are open for services. You should be able to get
the visa in a few minutes.
You can ask her what your options are and she will tell you...
She is not a Thai, but an American, and you will have not problems
being understood or understanding her...
Good luck and enjoy your visit here.
Bruce
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