travlr1

I am a US citizen, and I will be traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma in November. From what I read, I will need a Visa for all of the countries except Thailand. Most of the online Visa service centers have a $40-50 service charge per Visa which is pretty expensive, so I would like to avoid paying it.

1) How easy is it for me to obtain the Visa at the airports in every country? I will be flying into each country.
2) Do I need to bring passport photos for every Visas?
3) Do I pay in local currency or US dollars for the Visas?

offwego

You'll be able to get your visas on arrival at the airport in Cambodia and Lao. I'm not sure about Burma.

Yes you need passport photos and yes you can pay in US dollars.

Kathie

You'll need a visa in advance for Burma. You'll need a bunch of passport photos - 3 just for the Burma visa.

thursdaysd

You can get visas after you arrive in SEA provided you are staying long enough in a city with the right embassy - for example, I got my Myanmar visa in Bangkok, and my Cambodian visa in Saigon.

MichaelBKK

As other posters have noted, it may be easier to get your visa for Myanmar in SE Asia. You can get next-day service at the embassy in Bangkok, and there are some agents around town that will handle it all for you, almost certainly for a lot less that in the US.

khunwilko

How long do you intend to stay in Thailand?

If you are going in and out of the country you might need to consider the regulations concerning "visa Exempt" entry.

On arriving by air you will receive a 30 days visa exemption stamp. Not a visa.

If you "re-enter" by land you will only get 15 days. (your first stamp expires when you quit the country)

khunwilko

PS - most tourist visas for Thailand are only available outside the country.

Kathie

KW, s/he's already figured out that s/he doesn't need a visa for Thailand. And since s/he is flying in and out of countries, s/he'll get a 30 day stamp each time.

Thursdays and Michael are quite right that you can obtain a visa for Burma in Bangkok, for instance. It just depends on whether you want to spend your vacation time getting a visa.

khunwilko

Bear in mind the stamp you get on entering Thailand is NOT a visa. Visas have to be obtained before arrival.

Check what you are being charged for too......There has recently been a "free tourist visa" offer by the Thai govt, but there is usually an admin fee instead.

travlr1

I plan on staying in every country for 1 week.

travlr1

So I do need a Thai Visa if I am only going to stay a week? It sounds like Burma does not give out Visas at the airport. I'll have to think if I want to do that in Thailand or pay the extra fees to get it here in US.

MichaelBKK

You do not need a Thai visa if you are staying less than two weeks. US citizens are granted a visa-free entry on arrival. All other countries on your list require a visa, but only Burma has to be arranged in advance. As I mentioned, there are agencies in Bangkok that will do it for you, and they don't usually charge for it if you also book the air tickets with them.

thursdaysd

I got my Myanmar visa in Bangkok myself, but there were a lot of travel agents in line holding multiple passports. If there isn't one near your hotel, just make a trip to Khao San road and pick one - you can consider the road a sight in itself ( a non-Thai one).

Nywoman

Where do you live in the USA? You can download the visa application for Myanmar online. I only used 2 photos for my application and took it directly to the Myanmar mission in NYC. Don't know if they accept mail in applications.

Call the embassy in Washington and ask if you can mail it in directly to them. Some embassies permit that for visa applications. Then all you pay is $20.

thursdaysd

"Then all you pay is $20." - plus the surprisingly high cost of Fed Ex or Express Mail, unless you want to trust your passport to the regular mail. (And the Syrian embassy I just dealt with insisted on either Fed Ex of Express Mail.)

Kathie

I am getting ready to mail in my Burma visa application to the Embassy in Washington DC as per the instructions.

http://www.mewashingtondc.com/Requir...ist%20Visa.pdf

travlr1

I live in San Francisco. It seems like San Francisco has a lot of embassies except for the countries I am visiting. Is it safe to send my Visa to a foreign embassy? I might just do it in Thailand if the lines aren't too long. Since I already have my air tickets (booked online directly with local airlines), how much surcharge would the Thai agencies charge for the Burma Visa?

Kathie

In order to get a visa to a country that does not have visa on arrival, you have to send your passport to them. That's routine. I've had to do it for a number of countries and have never had a problem, nor do I know anyone who has. I've always sent it via Fed Ex or priority mail or UPS second day, something that allows tracking.

Mandilulur

If I need a visa, I send my passport to an expediter. A little more expensive, yes, but that agency hand-walks my passport through the process and then sends it back to me. I've had good luck with A Briggs, they personally answer their phones!

Kathie

An expediter is an option. Someone recently posted here that the one their travel agency wanted them to use cost US$50 per visa plus the visa fees... for places like Cambodia and Laos where you can easily get a visa on arrival. What a scam!