AlexRich

Just to confirm that the Thai Consulate in Bali is open for business. I arrived this morning (Monday), passed them my details (as detailed in original op post) and was told to collect the passport with visa on Wednesday afternoon. To confirm, a three day process.

I used to speak regularly to a lovely girl who worked in Starbucks. One day I noticed her name on the badge was "Prik" ... I didn't have the heart!

But I quite like chuu len ... nicknames, as the tend to be easy to remember.

The date the visa starts and the date of entry to Thailand are different things.

All Thai visas are valid from the date you receive the visa from the consulate.

They may have an "must enter before date" which is when they expire.

When you enter Thailand the visa is considered "used" an d you will get a "permitted to stay" stamp in your passport from the day you enter Thailand.

So if you get a visa from the consulate it may have a "must enter before" date which is the date before you must "use" it by entering Thailand with that visa.

If you enter one day before that date....and your visa is good for a 60 day....you will get a "permitted to stay stamp" in your passport for 60 days from the day you enter Thailand.

The "must enter before" date and your "permitted to stay" stamp are different things.

The OP and I will be in Bali at some point in the near future. We want to get a tourist visa for Thailand in Bali. The question is what steps do we have to take, how much will it cost, and what documentation do we need? Additional information, like, for example, checking that the Consulate is open, is relevant and useful.

The technical details of how a visa works, and the legal definition of terms used in the visa together with the powers of immigration officers, may be interesting for some, but not really relevant to the information required by us. But thanks anyway.

The consulates twitter page is still available. No new tweets since one in December announcing holiday closure. If it was closed I think they would put up an announcement. See: https://twitter.com/RTCatDPS

Thanks Joe, hope you're right.

Read that Bali consulate was closed.

Someone went and was told they no longer in business.

They have not answered mails or calls for months and Khun Vong Bali has not been seen on this forum for ages.

I would call Jakarta to ask them, first if I were you

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Thai-Consulate-Home/174898072557489

Thank you Ken. i have emailed Jakarta. I'll update the thread when I get a response.

Recently ie since METV Indonesia has been much less service friendly than in the past.

I personally emailed Jakarta in Dec 2015 twice and am still waiting for an answer.

I strongly suggest calling.

I think what I'll do is figure it out when I arrive. If I have to take a detour to Jakarta that's okay, I've never been there. Given the sheer volume of travellers going to Bali, then moving on, I'd be surprised if the Consulate was closed. I'm there for 3 weeks, but I will go straight away to check. Thanks for the update.

If the Embassy respond I will update.

Read that Bali consulate was closed.

Someone went and was told they no longer in business.

They have not answered mails or calls for months and Khun Vong Bali has not been seen on this forum for ages.

I would call Jakarta to ask them, first if I were you

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Royal-Thai-Consulate-Home/174898072557489

Thank you Ken. i have emailed Jakarta. I'll update the thread when I get a response.

AlexRich

A visa only gives you a "Right" to request permission to enter a country.

It is an Immigration Officer who determines if any one individual will be admitted. Immigration Officers can and do refuse entry at a border even if a valid visa is held.

Check that fact with your own countries border control agency.

Thank you Jim, you've just confirmed my suspicions about your contribution. A pointless piece of pedantry.

I have never been refused entry to any country in my life. For the simple reason that I obtain the appropriate visa before travelling. You might be correct of course, (I detect that being correct is very important to you?) but I suspect that with the right visa in my passport I won't have any problems this time either. So whilst it is an outside possibility, it's not something that immediately concerns me. So, if you don't mind, I won't bother e-mailing the UK border authorities to ask about something that is blindingly obvious. But thank you for sharing.

Also, I believe that the Thai visa (60 days) starts when you arrive in Thailand. You just have to make sure that you arrive within the dates specified on the Visa ... if my memory serves me right it's around three months after receiving the visa in the foreign consulate, in your case, Bali.

Thai visas are valid from the moment of issue not from the time of use.

I don't think so. I'm looking at the one in my passport now:

It was issued on 22 Dec 2015

I had to enter before 21 March 2016 (meaning that I had 3 months from the issue date to use it)

It is a 60 day tourist visa (extendable to 90 days should I choose to apply for one)

The 60 days begin the day you set foot in Thailand

Learn the difference been visa validity and permission to stay.

Your visa was decaying, one day at a time, from the moment it was issued.

Once used a valid single entry Visa is of no further use and is invalid. The visa allows entry to the country and determines how long you can be given. Once inside the country you no longer have a visa !

What exactly is the point of your contribution?

The OP and I will soon apply for a tourist visa (hopefully in Bali ... given the latest update above, I will have to check?). I don't care whether it's technically invalid once I arrive in Thailand; that does not invalidate my right to stay in Thailand, and extend for 30 days should I wish to. That's all I care about. It's valid from the date of issue ... who cares? All I need to know is that I have three months to get to Thailand before it lapses. I won't wait that long.

In other words, I know what I need to know to enable me to enter the country and stay 60 days. Apologies, but i'm struggling to figure out what you've added that was useful?

Thanks for that. I'm in Kuta so I'll bear that in mind. I'm going to get all the information ready before I leave Thailand. The surprising one was the proof of payment of your flight tickets ... their requirements are more onerous than anywhere else that I've been.

Also, I believe that the Thai visa (60 days) starts when you arrive in Thailand. You just have to make sure that you arrive within the dates specified on the Visa ... if my memory serves me right it's around three months after receiving the visa in the foreign consulate, in your case, Bali.

Thai visas are valid from the moment of issue not from the time of use.

I don't think so. I'm looking at the one in my passport now:

It was issued on 22 Dec 2015

I had to enter before 21 March 2016 (meaning that I had 3 months from the issue date to use it)

It is a 60 day tourist visa (extendable to 90 days should I choose to apply for one)

The 60 days begin the day you set foot in Thailand

Also, I believe that the Thai visa (60 days) starts when you arrive in Thailand. You just have to make sure that you arrive within the dates specified on the Visa ... if my memory serves me right it's around three months after receiving the visa in the foreign consulate, in your case, Bali.

I found this on travelfish.org. They said that the process was simple but you need to make sure you dot the 'i's' and cross the 't's'. I'm going to Bali next week and will have to go through this process before I return to Thailand.

"Although the process is fast and painless, they are sticklers for the correct documentation in Bali. You’ll need a passport with at least six months’ validity, a photocopy of the passport, one four by six centimetre head shot photos, 560,000 rupiah, proof of travel both in and out of Thailand -- including proof of payment and (these are new as of 2015, thanks Maureen for the update!) proof of a reserved hotel in Thailand for seven days and a bank statement showing a balance of $700. The paperwork is important; a clearly marked sign outside the consulate says in bold letters that “it is not possible to grant visas if no proofs of travel are submitted”. You need all the paperwork for EACH applicant."

Small man syndrome. Yeah. You Dutch are the tallest people on earth, right?

Wish we were tall like you. Then we could have fended off the Nazis like you did.

Good job on that, by the way.

Even better job on those tiny Vietnamese, by the way.

+1 for the jab

But now seriously... did the Vietnamese ever use guns?

And is it okay with you Euros that they did?

Maybe everyone should get a "moral license" from an EU citizen before buying one?

Or would that be "licence"?

I just want to say that there is a minority europeans, like me, who actually think anyone should be able to defend themself with any means necessary and also be able to concealed carry. But most of the europeans have brain cancer or something that prevents them from thinking rationally and only feel, could be the socialist brainwashing going on in schools and society.

I'm not sure about brain cancer, i hope not. As for socialism, I wouldn't subscribe to that either. My thoughts on this topic would be to try to stay in a place where these risks (burglary, and being slaughtered by a mad Thai) are minimal. I like the comments about dogs, that makes sense to me. Also, alarms, CCTV, safe room and other deterrents. My main concern was the crossbow, guns, etc argument. I wonder how sympathetic a Thai court would be if you used them? I think you'd be on pretty safe grounds in the US, but I'm not sure you would be here. You might be sent to jail and never get out. A grim prospect.

But if you insist on having deadly weapons then it would make sense to have a "clean up and burial contingency plan", so as to dispose of the evidence and clean up the scene of the incident. Together with a "permanent holiday in my country of birth plan", whereby you exit the country within 6 hours. Fail to plan, plan to fail. Good luck chaps.