Visa question
Oct 26th, 2009, 05:54 PM
#1
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Visa question
I am from the US and I am going to Thailand in about a week. Can I apply for an extension on the 30 "free visa"? If so what are the chances of getting it extended to 90 days?
Oct 26th, 2009, 06:44 PM
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If you want to stay 90 days in Thailand, you should get a visa in the US before you go. When you enter Thailand by air, you get visa-free entry (not a visa) for 30 days, and by land, you get visa-free entry for 15 days.
Oct 26th, 2009, 07:37 PM
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You have several options. You can apply for a tourist visa now before your trip which would be good for 60 days. I don’t know that it is possible to get a 90-day tourist visa, the website only indicates that 60-day visas are available. It costs about US$20. You have to supply some information, including a bank statement showing at least US$250 in funds, and/or confirmation that your air tickets or hotel, etc have been prepaid. See http://www.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Tourist.aspx
Otherwise, I believe it a relatively simple matter to get a tourist visa extended once you are in Thailand by going to the Immigration Office in Bangkok or wherever there is an immigration office (i.e. Phuket) and applying for an extension. I believe you can extend for something between 30-60 days, the website is not completely clear on that. I believe the cost is 1900 Baht. See the visa page of the Thai Embassy at http://www.thaiembdc.org/, which says “ Those who wish to stay longer or may wish to change their type of visa must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau located on Soi Suan Plu, off South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, Tel (662) 287-3101 to 10 or at http://www.immigration.go.th. The extension of stay as well as the change of certain type of visa is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.” Note that the US State Department warns against using any commercial service to get a visa extension. You should apply in person at the Immigration Department.
Finally, you could also just leave Thailand after your 30 days, and come back and get another 30-days and then leave again after 30 days and return. Note that you can’t spend more than 90-days in total in Thailand in any 6-month period, but it seems you only want to spend 90 days in any event. As mentioned above if you re-enter Thailand by land, you will only be granted a 15-days visa, so flying in by air is a better option. (You can always depart by land, i.e. train to Malaysia and fly back.)
Otherwise, I believe it a relatively simple matter to get a tourist visa extended once you are in Thailand by going to the Immigration Office in Bangkok or wherever there is an immigration office (i.e. Phuket) and applying for an extension. I believe you can extend for something between 30-60 days, the website is not completely clear on that. I believe the cost is 1900 Baht. See the visa page of the Thai Embassy at http://www.thaiembdc.org/, which says “ Those who wish to stay longer or may wish to change their type of visa must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau located on Soi Suan Plu, off South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, Tel (662) 287-3101 to 10 or at http://www.immigration.go.th. The extension of stay as well as the change of certain type of visa is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.” Note that the US State Department warns against using any commercial service to get a visa extension. You should apply in person at the Immigration Department.
Finally, you could also just leave Thailand after your 30 days, and come back and get another 30-days and then leave again after 30 days and return. Note that you can’t spend more than 90-days in total in Thailand in any 6-month period, but it seems you only want to spend 90 days in any event. As mentioned above if you re-enter Thailand by land, you will only be granted a 15-days visa, so flying in by air is a better option. (You can always depart by land, i.e. train to Malaysia and fly back.)
Oct 27th, 2009, 05:00 AM
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One particular note to the above is that immigration is no longer in Suan Plu, it's now waaaay out on Chaeng Wattana road (not far from the OLD airport).
Also, to clarify, you absolutely cannot extend your visa-free stay to 90 days in one go. I think the maximum extension is 15 days for this type of entry. The extension is intended for people who need to change their plans, not for people trying to stay for a longer period in Thailand.
There have been attempts of late to prevent people from staying indefinitely in Thailand on tourist entries. That's one reason you get only 15 days on land crossings, as well as why you can't stay more than 90 days in any six month period.
Also, to clarify, you absolutely cannot extend your visa-free stay to 90 days in one go. I think the maximum extension is 15 days for this type of entry. The extension is intended for people who need to change their plans, not for people trying to stay for a longer period in Thailand.
There have been attempts of late to prevent people from staying indefinitely in Thailand on tourist entries. That's one reason you get only 15 days on land crossings, as well as why you can't stay more than 90 days in any six month period.
Oct 29th, 2009, 06:42 PM
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As said by Kathy If you leave and return BY LAND - you will only get 15 days visa waiver. so you will have to repeat that operation - which means you might get refused re-entry if they suspect your motives (???).
you haven't got much time so you will have to apply for tourist visa in person somewhere out side Thailand - this doesn't have to be your home country though.
you can "stack" tourist visas - i.e. buy 2 and activate them sequentially
It is also worth bearing inmind that if you leave the kingdom, your tourist visa will expire - as far as I'm aware, there is no re-entry with a tourist visa
If you want 90 days you could consider a non-immigrant "O" visa - these usually require some form of proof of financial status - this varies from place to place.
With a Non Immigrant visa you ca then purchase a RE_ENTRY PERMIT either single or multiple so you ca come and go as you wish.
Non- immigrant "O" visas can be 90 day or valid up to a year with multiple entry as an extra.
non-immigrant visas are only available outside Thailand and only in certain consulates or embassies.
you haven't got much time so you will have to apply for tourist visa in person somewhere out side Thailand - this doesn't have to be your home country though.
you can "stack" tourist visas - i.e. buy 2 and activate them sequentially
It is also worth bearing inmind that if you leave the kingdom, your tourist visa will expire - as far as I'm aware, there is no re-entry with a tourist visa
If you want 90 days you could consider a non-immigrant "O" visa - these usually require some form of proof of financial status - this varies from place to place.
With a Non Immigrant visa you ca then purchase a RE_ENTRY PERMIT either single or multiple so you ca come and go as you wish.
Non- immigrant "O" visas can be 90 day or valid up to a year with multiple entry as an extra.
non-immigrant visas are only available outside Thailand and only in certain consulates or embassies.
