Thai 60 day tourist visa from Malaysia. - current situation

[Airbagwill]

Can anyone tell what is required for a 60 day tourist visa obtained in Malaysia. (UK passport)

travelling fromThailand overland.

 

I need CURRENT info.....

 

• how much did it cost - 
• what currency did you pay?

 

• What docs are required?
• What about finance - bank statements?

 

• Where is you obtain your visa?
• Penang?
• Where is nearest to the Thai border?

 

• Did you go by car?

 

• Additional advice?

Edited March 16, 2018 by Airbagwill

[BritTim]

In general, the situation in Malaysia (especially Penang) is in a state of flux. Here are some things that can be stated for sure:

• It costs 150 MYR (and payment must be made in Malaysian currency)
• Both Penang and Kota Bharu are within reasonably easy reach of the Thai border
• In Penang, if you have previous tourist visas issued within the region, you are likely to receive a red stamp, limiting your ability to get further tourist visas until you get a replacement passport.
• Penang is now limiting the number of visa applications they receive per day. If you are applying yourself without using an agent, get to the consulate early.
• If planning to apply in Penang, even if planning to apply in person, talk to one of the agents to get an understanding of the current status which can suddenly change with little notice.
• The checklist provided by the Kuala Lumpur embassy (see http://www.thaiembassy.org/kualalumpur/contents/files/services-20170329-105808-985625.pdf) gives a good guide to what is likely to be requested, but should not be relied upon 100%.

[mo3s]

I just went and  Ithink most of your questions have been answered.

• What about finance - bank statements?

I made some copies of my bank account. Was okay

• Penang?

yes

• Where is nearest to the Thai border?
• Did you go by car?
• Additional advice?

I went from Hua Hin. There is one daily overnight sleeper train from Hua Hin to Butterworth Penang and also one daily departure in the other direction.

Hua Hin train to Butterworth ( Penang ) Malaysia - 2nd class air-con sleeper lower berth THB 1,135 ( approx AUD 40, USD 38, Euro 27, GBP 24, RM 113 )

You can change money to Malaysian ringgit on the train platform at the Thai/Malay border
Best to reserve the lower berth for slight extra cost.
100 baht = 12,67 ringgit.

When you arrive to Georg town, you can walk everywhere. Best is to fly back with airasia to Dong mueng Bangkok. About the same price as going there by train.

 

Hope this helps.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, mo3s said:

There is one daily overnight sleeper train from Hua Hin to Butterworth Penang and also one daily departure in the other direction.

Note, if interested in taking the train, that there is no longer a through train from Thailand to Butterworth. The daily special express now terminates at Padang Besar. After clearing immigration, you must buy another ticket for the (fairly frequent) train from Pedang Besar to Butterworth.

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, mo3s said:

Best is to fly back with airasia to Dong mu(ang)

If you have a longer-stay history, I would recommend going the other way - fly to Penang, train back, because the airports can be nasty.  As long as you have 20K Baht worth of cash, you will have no problem entering with a tourist visa through any land-border other than Poipet/Aranyaprathet (most don't demand to see the cash, but Malaysian ones may).

Edited March 16, 2018 by JackThompson

[mo3s]

>The daily special express now terminates at Padang Besar.

Yep. Night sleeper train, little train goes on, then walk little and ferry to Penang. Great trip, adventure! :-)

 

Amazing...

 

First time I went to Penang and took the train back, also. Indeed a man at border to Thailand, wanted me to show I had 10k (or so). The man was of route. 15 min taxi. It was late, i did not have it on me, no ATM close. My thai lady came, she talked, and voila, it was okay.

Amazing because Thai Ambassey already checked my finance, and thus give me a visa. Amazing because two people going form Hua Hin to Penang, get a visa, go back, must have that money. My thai lady saved the day. She convinced him that I took (financially) good care of her. I flew back this time, to avoid this man. No problem at all...

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, mo3s said:

First time I went to Penang and took the train back, also. Indeed a man at border to Thailand, wanted me to show I had 10k (or so). The man was of route. 15 min taxi. It was late, i did not have it on me, no ATM close. My thai lady came, she talked, and voila, it was okay.

Amazing because Thai Ambassey already checked my finance, and thus give me a visa. Amazing because two people going form Hua Hin to Penang, get a visa, go back, must have that money. My thai lady saved the day. She convinced him that I took (financially) good care of her. I flew back this time, to avoid this man.

 

You need 20K Baht worth with a Visa, or 10K if entering Visa-Exempt.  The Embassy may ask to see 20K in the bank to give you a Tourist Visa, but the IO at the checkpoint wants to see cash only. 

 

But it is not that man who wanted to see the money (but listened to your Thai lady and let you in without it) whom you need to worry about .  That man has a simple, known-in-advance demand, which you can meet easily, every time.

 

It is the man or lady at the airport who can put you through the wringer, if they decide you have "been in Thailand too much" - and there is no lawful / known definition of what "too much" is.  When entering by air, even if you do have the cash - they may put you in lock-up like a criminal until a last-minute, overpriced, flight back where you just flew from from leaves with you on it. 

[Get Real]

On 2018-03-16 at 7:32 AM, BritTim said:

In general, the situation in Malaysia (especially Penang) is in a state of flux. Here are some things that can be stated for sure:

• It costs 150 MYR (and payment must be made in Malaysian currency)
• Both Penang and Kota Bharu are within reasonably easy reach of the Thai border
• In Penang, if you have previous tourist visas issued within the region, you are likely to receive a red stamp, limiting your ability to get further tourist visas until you get a replacement passport.
• Penang is now limiting the number of visa applications they receive per day. If you are applying yourself without using an agent, get to the consulate early.
• If planning to apply in Penang, even if planning to apply in person, talk to one of the agents to get an understanding of the current status which can suddenly change with little notice.
• The checklist provided by the Kuala Lumpur embassy (see http://www.thaiembassy.org/kualalumpur/contents/files/services-20170329-105808-985625.pdf) gives a good guide to what is likely to be requested, but should not be relied upon 100%.

So ,it´s just as always and take a little bit more paper than you need with you. Such a terrible problem.

[BritTim]

9 minutes ago, Get Real said:

So ,it´s just as always and take a little bit more paper than you need with you. Such a terrible problem.

This is reasonable advice. However, if the consulate demands to see a paid ticket to your home country dated within 60 days, I am guessing that many of us will not have one. If we knew one was required, we might even choose a different consulate.

[Get Real]

17 minutes ago, BritTim said:

This is reasonable advice. However, if the consulate demands to see a paid ticket to your home country dated within 60 days, I am guessing that many of us will not have one. If we knew one was required, we might even choose a different consulate.

But you do know one is required, right? I guess requirements is something that is valuable to check up.right?

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Get Real

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, Get Real said:

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

This is reasonable advice. However, if the consulate demands to see a paid ticket to your home country dated within 60 days, I am guessing that many of us will not have one. If we knew one was required, we might even choose a different consulate.

But you do know one is required, right? I guess requirements is something that is valuable to check up.right?

At this time, it is unclear when Penang (and possibly other consulates in Malaysia) might request such a thing. That is why I warned in my post that requirements in Malaysia seemed to be in a state of flux, and to be careful.

[Airbagwill]

Thanks for the replies....

I'm changing jobs and location, but there is gap between finishing one and starting the other.

I've not had a tourist vis a for about 2 years

I current visa is a B visa. 

It seems I need 20k in hand and 20k in a bank?

How about a balance in a British account? Is that acceptable?

I was thinking of taking my car.....I've driven to Penang before, but I wasn't on a visa run.

I've done a couple of visa runs to Laos both tourist and B visa.......however I'm moving to Suratthani, so it looks like Kota Bharu would be nearest?

I'm very familiar with Laos, but I've heard over the years of the changeable nature of Penang.....I didn't know about Kota Bharu.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Airbagwill

[torrow]

1 hour ago, Airbagwill said:

Thanks for the replies....

I'm changing jobs and location, but there is gap between finishing one and starting the other.

I've not had a tourist vis a for about 2 years

I current visa is a B visa. 

It seems I need 20k in hand and 20k in a bank?

How about a balance in a British account? Is that acceptable?

I was thinking of taking my car.....I've driven to Penang before, but I wasn't on a visa run.

I've done a couple of visa runs to Laos both tourist and B visa.......however I'm moving to Suratthani, so it looks like Kota Bharu would be nearest?

I'm very familiar with Laos, but I've heard over the years of the changeable nature of Penang.....I didn't know about Kota Bharu.

Kota Bharu is ok. You will need a bank statement, plane ticket out of Thailand and hotel booking. The consulate is very quiet and you should dress properly. There are no bars in Kota Bharu but you can buy beer at some restos in China town. It's not far from the border, there are plenty of taxis that will take you directly to the consulate or there is a regular bus into town. The consulate is within easy walking distance of the bus station. From Surat Thani you could take a train almost to the border.

[Airbagwill]

7 hours ago, torrow said:

Kota Bharu is ok. You will need a bank statement, plane ticket out of Thailand and hotel booking. The consulate is very quiet and you should dress properly. There are no bars in Kota Bharu but you can buy beer at some restos in China town. It's not far from the border, there are plenty of taxis that will take you directly to the consulate or there is a regular bus into town. The consulate is within easy walking distance of the bus station. From Surat Thani you could take a train almost to the border.

There is no chance I will have a plane ticket.

Bank statement from where, home country or Thailand.

I was going to take my car.

I'm not interested in drinking

[BritTim]

22 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

There is no chance I will have a plane ticket.

Bank statement from where, home country or Thailand.

I was going to take my car.

I'm not interested in drinking

The bank statement can be from your home country (indeed, this may be considered better than a Thai account). Going by car is fine. Kota Bharu and the consulate are easy to find. The plane ticket may be non negotiable. You can try giving them an itinerary, and (given that you have had no tourist visas in two years) maybe that will be accepted. If not, ask if a booking for a bus from Hat Yai to Penang (available cheaply online) is acceptable.

 

Be aware that the Kota Bharu consulate is closed on Fridays and open on Sundays.

[Airbagwill]

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

The bank statement can be from your home country (indeed, this may be considered better than a Thai account). Going by car is fine. Kota Bharu and the consulate are easy to find. The plane ticket may be non negotiable. You can try giving them an itinerary, and (given that you have had no tourist visas in two years) maybe that will be accepted. If not, ask if a booking for a bus from Hat Yai to Penang (available cheaply online) is acceptable.

 

Be aware that the Kota Bharu consulate is closed on Fridays and open on Sundays.

Thanks for that.

I'll have to find out for sure about the air ticket - I don't want to end up with a Thai car stuckin Malaysia.

 

Last time I got a tourist visa was before the new regs in Laos, I'm wondering if they want an air ticket too. I need to eliminate all the "maybes" as far as possible.

 

failing that I'll have to see what my new company says.

 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

Thanks for that.

I'll have to find out for sure about the air ticket - I don't want to end up with a Thai car stuckin Malaysia.

 

Last time I got a tourist visa was before the new regs in Laos, I'm wondering if they want an air ticket too. I need to eliminate all the "maybes" as far as possible.

 

failing that I'll have to see what my new company says.

Frankly, although I hate doing it myself, I would be prepared to buy a cheap disposable air ticket if, on arrival, I discovered there was no alternative.

 

If you still feel you could not stomach that, depending on your nationality, remember that a border bounce for a visa exempt entry is allowed twice by land per calendar year. That would allow a 30-day stay which can be extended for 30 further days at an immigration office on payment of 1,900 baht.

 

A reasonable plan might be to go to Kota Bharu intending to apply for a tourist visa, falling back on a visa exempt entry (assuming you qualify for one) if you are unwilling to satisfy the requirements Kota Bharu sets for a tourist visa.

[Airbagwill]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Frankly, although I hate doing it myself, I would be prepared to buy a cheap disposable air ticket if, on arrival, I discovered there was no alternative.

 

If you still feel you could not stomach that, depending on your nationality, remember that a border bounce for a visa exempt entry is allowed twice by land per calendar year. That would allow a 30-day stay which can be extended for 30 further days at an immigration office on payment of 1,900 baht.

 

A reasonable plan might be to go to Kota Bharu intending to apply for a tourist visa, falling back on a visa exempt entry (assuming you qualify for one) if you are unwilling to satisfy the requirements Kota Bharu sets for a tourist visa.

I think the idea of doing a 30 day if things don't go to plan, might be an option.

 

I've never heard of an airline ticket requirement before for an SETV.

[torrow]

The plane ticket is non negotiable according to friends who've recently been. The border at Sungai Kolok seems strict but fair, the last time I went through they were picky about my entry card. Usual rules - be ready to show B20k.

 

You will have to buy an air ticket out and book some hotel accommodation.... why not just fly to Udon Thani and cross to Vientiane? From your place via DMK you can be there leisurely by late afternoon. There you will only need to show a passport.

[oMega69]

So how is the latest reports from KL . .or MY in general. 
Im going to TH embassy in KL soon.... i will have the documents ready from the checklist listed at there embassy homepage.

 

Will it be ok to have a home ticket from Thai after 78days when i apply for a SETV , ? . do i need to show bankbook statement that shop atlest 20k? . .

Will have 20k in hands when entry don maung airport later.

 

Also i will do a online appoitment registration before visit.

[WaveHunter]

FYI, Kuala Lumpur consulate now requires that you make an online appointment (as of Feb 1, 2019) to apply for visas AND after you submit application, you also have to make an online appointment to pick up your passport/visa.  Here are the details from the Embassy's website:

 

Visa application 

Starting on 6 February 2019, all visa applicants are required to make online appointments before visiting the Embassy. This is to minimise waiting time and long queue. Go to LNY.IO/RTEKL_B to make an appointment.

https://linistry.com/Customer/ServiceMenu?b=127&parentId=1383

 

After making the online appointment, you will receive an SMS with a web link to your online ticket. The online ticket shows the date of your choice and the expected time that you will be called to the counter.

Arrive at the Embassy 20 minutes prior to your expected call time and show your online ticket to check in. No need to arrive earlier than that.

 

Visa collection

After you submitted your visa application, an SMS on your application progress will be sent to the mobile phone number that you gave within the next day morning. The SMS will contain a web link to make appointment to retrieve your passport.

 

In most cases, after you submitted your visa application, your passport can be retrieved on the next working day from 14.30 to 16.30 hrs.

 

You need to make an online appointment again to retrieve your passport. If you don’t receive an SMS within the next day morning after the submission of your visa application, go to LNY.IO/RTEKL to make an appointment to retrieve your passport.  https://linistry.com/Customer/ServiceMenu?b=127

http://www.thaiembassy.org/kualalumpur/th/services/99061-Visa-Requirements-II.html