How Many Tourist Visas In A Row?

[bendejo]

I paid attention to all the visa hoopla last September/October, and thought I understood it as far as it pertains to my situation.

Then a few days ago some fellow who teaches English was telling me that after six months in the country on tourists visas you must get your next visa in a non-neighboring country, eg Singapore (do the Thais still have a consulate there? just joking).

I had not heard of this before, and I haven't been able to verify it. I know it can't be from experience as it is not October 1 2006 +6 months yet.

Anyone else have knowledge of this?

[jeebusjones]

I paid attention to all the visa hoopla last September/October, and thought I understood it as far as it pertains to my situation.

Then a few days ago some fellow who teaches English was telling me that after six months in the country on tourists visas you must get your next visa in a non-neighboring country, eg Singapore (do the Thais still have a consulate there? just joking).

I had not heard of this before, and I haven't been able to verify it. I know it can't be from experience as it is not October 1 2006 +6 months yet.

Anyone else have knowledge of this?

Sounds like <deleted> to me. But every embassy/consulate will have its own interpretation of the rules...

Edited February 14, 2007 by jeebusjones

[lopburi3]

I had not heard of this before, and I haven't been able to verify it. I know it can't be from experience as it is not October 1 2006 +6 months yet.

I would say that about sums it up.

[visarunner]

I paid attention to all the visa hoopla last September/October, and thought I understood it as far as it pertains to my situation.

Then a few days ago some fellow who teaches English was telling me that after six months in the country on tourists visas you must get your next visa in a non-neighboring country, eg Singapore (do the Thais still have a consulate there? just joking).

I had not heard of this before, and I haven't been able to verify it. I know it can't be from experience as it is not October 1 2006 +6 months yet.

Anyone else have knowledge of this?

Sounds like <deleted> to me. But every embassy/consulate will have its own interpretation of the rules...

But every embassy/consulate will have its own interpretation of the rules...

Some places might give back to back Tourist Visa like Penang, some places like PP only one time.

You might switch between consulates , but a rule to visit NON neighboring country does not exist.

[astral]

But every embassy/consulate will have its own interpretation of the rules...

This is crux of the matter and only time will tell.

[Maestro]

Perhaps one could define it this way:

“You can get a tourist visa from any Thai consulate as long as the consulate where you apply believes that you are a tourist”

2. tourist visa

1. REQUIREMENT

This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for tourism purposes .

2. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

- Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months

- visa application form completely filled out

- Recent( 4 x 6 cm.) photograph of the applicant

- Evidence of travel from Thailand (air ticket paid in full)

- Evidence of adequate finance (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)

- Consular officers reserve the rights to request additional documents as deemed necessary

Source: website of Ministry of Foreign affairs (MFA)

How this guideline is applied is up to each individual consulate and consular official, at least unless and until more specific guidelines are issued to the consulates and their enforcement by the consulates is strictly supervised by the MFA.

--

Maestro

[rav]

Perhaps one could define it this way:

“You can get a tourist visa from any Thai consulate as long as the consulate where you apply believes that you are a tourist”

2. tourist visa

1. REQUIREMENT

This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for tourism purposes .

2. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

- Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months

- visa application form completely filled out

- Recent( 4 x 6 cm.) photograph of the applicant

- Evidence of travel from Thailand (air ticket paid in full)

- Evidence of adequate finance (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)

- Consular officers reserve the rights to request additional documents as deemed necessary

Source: website of Ministry of Foreign affairs (MFA)

How this guideline is applied is up to each individual consulate and consular official, at least unless and until more specific guidelines are issued to the consulates and their enforcement by the consulates is strictly supervised by the MFA.

--

Maestro

Maestro im sorry to say but you are incorrect as to what you say regarding a tourist visa renewal.I went to singapore (tiger airways 2600b rtn)and got issued with a new 60 day tourist visa.However written at the bottom of my passport was a note saying that i would not be issued with another TV at this paticular embassy/consulate.When i questioned this with the officer i was told that this applied to everybody,IE they will only issue one person once.Then you have to go somewhere else.So its nothing to do with whether they believe you to be a tourist or not. rav

[Sophon]

Perhaps one could define it this way:

“You can get a tourist visa from any Thai consulate as long as the consulate where you apply believes that you are a tourist”

2. tourist visa

1. REQUIREMENT

This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for tourism purposes .

2. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

- Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months

- visa application form completely filled out

- Recent( 4 x 6 cm.) photograph of the applicant

- Evidence of travel from Thailand (air ticket paid in full)

- Evidence of adequate finance (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family)

- Consular officers reserve the rights to request additional documents as deemed necessary

Source: website of Ministry of Foreign affairs (MFA)

How this guideline is applied is up to each individual consulate and consular official, at least unless and until more specific guidelines are issued to the consulates and their enforcement by the consulates is strictly supervised by the MFA.

--

Maestro

Maestro im sorry to say but you are incorrect as to what you say regarding a tourist visa renewal.I went to singapore (tiger airways 2600b rtn)and got issued with a new 60 day tourist visa.However written at the bottom of my passport was a note saying that i would not be issued with another TV at this paticular embassy/consulate.When i questioned this with the officer i was told that this applied to everybody,IE they will only issue one person once.Then you have to go somewhere else.So its nothing to do with whether they believe you to be a tourist or not. rav

I don't see your experience as being inconsistent with what Maestro said. I just see it as the embassy in Singapore not believing a "true tourist" would need more than one trourist visa from them, as presumably (in their opinion) a "true tourist" would go back home after his vacation, and could apply for a future visa in his home country.

Sophon

[Maestro]

...the embassy...not believing a "true tourist"...

...and then there was the post about the Thai embassy in Tokyo refusing a tourist visa.

Maestro im sorry to say but you are incorrect...

Rav, I wish I were.

So, following the advice of the embassy in Singapore “to go somewhere else” next time and because you happen to be in Tokyo you decide to apply there, and your application gets refused. And then you remember what somebody wrote on ThaiVisa: “How this guideline is applied is up to each individual consulate and consular official”

--

Maestro

[bendejo]

I've yet to visit Singapore, but it sounds like the place is so uptight it even influences the foreign embassies: this is not the first time I've heard about undo strictness in providing visas to their home countries that you don't get at other embassy locations. Eg, it is near impossible to get a 60 visa from the Indonesian embassy there, whereas at other Indon consulates in the region just fill in the form and pay your $ and come back the next day.

Hey, with the cheap flights from Singapore to Oz maybe the Australian visa run will become popular.

[tropo]

I've yet to visit Singapore, but it sounds like the place is so uptight it even influences the foreign embassies: this is not the first time I've heard about undo strictness in providing visas to their home countries that you don't get at other embassy locations. Eg, it is near impossible to get a 60 visa from the Indonesian embassy there, whereas at other Indon consulates in the region just fill in the form and pay your $ and come back the next day.

Yes, there are definitely "uptight" embassies worth staying clear of.

For example, it's mostly a waste of time to apply for a tourist visa from the Manila Thai Embassy. They want up-to-date full financial details along with employment details as well and air tickets showing exit from Thailand. Even this will not guarantee a visa, especially for a Filipino national.

I wonder why the even have an embassy in Manila as they probably refuse more visas than the grant.

[JonnieB]

Yes, there are definitely "uptight" embassies worth staying clear of.

For example, it's mostly a waste of time to apply for a tourist visa from the Manila Thai Embassy. They want up-to-date full financial details along with employment details as well and air tickets showing exit from Thailand. Even this will not guarantee a visa, especially for a Filipino national.

I wonder why the even have an embassy in Manila as they probably refuse more visas than the grant.

I can certainly second the above. I am in the Philippines now on a holiday/visa run. I do "live" in Thailand on tourist visas (so technically one could argue I don't qualify for continually getting new ones in order to stay) but I do not work, own a house, 2 cars, several pets, employ a driver and a maid, buy groceries, pay VAT taxes on everything I buy, pay annual motor vehicle registration taxes/fees for 2 cars, etc., etc., etc.. The only thing I have refused to purchase is a Thai wife or GF. (I actually should buy the wife because my life would be easier if I did in regards to visas.) Therefore, I can argue that me ,and all others similarly situated, are very much net pluses for the Thai economy. I would argue that basically I am a "tourist" who never leaves the country. A tourist does everything I do, only they leave after a period of time, to return later or be replaced by another tourist. The eat, drink, shop, and make merry while on holiday. So what really is the difference. I do all the same, leave every 60-90 days, and return...so why the hassle in obtaining a another visa???

In any case, I planned to do some travel in the Philippines and at the same time, get another T-visa from the Manila embassy. I did my research and knew they are considered a "hard-ass" embassy but figured I'm traveling on a Western passport, pretty clean-cut looking, middle-aged respectable looking...what the heck, I'm going anyway so give it a try. To show my Thai residency and bonefides, I even took the official (not copy) of my Pattaya immigration office "residence certificate" I recently obtained when renewing my driver's licenses. Well, what a silly person I was for thinking that one of the purposes of an embassy is to facilitate travels to their home country. It seems the counter staff had a million reasons why I could not get one.

In the first place, they strictly enforce the "paid ticket home" requirement. "No, we wouldn't want you to spend any money supporting a Thai travel agent in Bangkok by buying your return ticket from them. Please either have one from an agent in your home country when you initially arrive in Thailand, or, you can support the Philippine travel industry by purchasing said ticket in Manila."

Next, they certainly want to see concrete proof of financial viability. This means copies of your foreign or Thai bank statements or the account passbook. These, of course, I left in my safe at home...silly me...thinking I would have to prove my net worth for a tourist visa. In the alternative, I could again, in this case, support the Philippine banking industry by going out and purchasing $500 dollars in travelers and bring those back to show with my tourist visa application. The fact I had 2 Bangkok Bank ATM cards, a Citibank Gold mastercard, and a Citibank Citigold (high-net worth account) ATM card was of no consequence.

The fella had various other requirements that needed to be met to obtain a T-visa and I just told him to forget it. I'll just return and get my 30-day stamp and go out to Penang in 30-35 days.

[tjd46]

I paid attention to all the visa hoopla last September/October, and thought I understood it as far as it pertains to my situation.

Then a few days ago some fellow who teaches English was telling me that after six months in the country on tourists visas you must get your next visa in a non-neighboring country, eg Singapore (do the Thais still have a consulate there? just joking).

I had not heard of this before, and I haven't been able to verify it. I know it can't be from experience as it is not October 1 2006 +6 months yet.

Anyone else have knowledge of this?

This was the reality for me...I came in under a 60 day tourist visa, extended by immigration in Maptaphut for 30 days. Then I did the Cambodia run for 3 months. Then this month I went to Penang to get another 60 day tourist visa to start the whole process over again. The Thai Embassy in Penang is good: submit application and passport in the morning on one day and collect your passport [with new visa] the following day in the afternoon. It costs 100 ringgits [about 1,000 baht]. You HAVE to pay in ringgits.

[Hobox]

Just got back from Manila without a TV in my passport.

They demanded that I showed receipts for hotel bookings for the entire 60 day period and an income statement. I have applied for TV in almost all SE-Asian countries and never come across this before. They also wanted a whole bunch of photos...

The visa I just had where issued in my home country (Sweden) and before that i had spent more then 3 months back home, but they never even looked at my passport so it can't be that. They just wouldn't give me the application form...

Had some difficulties years ago with the embassy in KL which refused to issue more then 3 TV in a row, but that was ages ago and i changed passport at least twice since then.

[JonnieB]

They demanded that I showed receipts for hotel bookings for the entire 60 day period and an income statement. I have applied for TV in almost all SE-Asian countries and never come across this before. They also wanted a whole bunch of photos...

Yes, I forgot to mention that this was another one of their petty requirements. They want to see the hotel voucher for your entire stay in Thailand...the actual voucher issued after you pay/deposit money, not some confirmation message. Of course, when I explained I rented a house, he wanted to see the lease agreement. I am sure that if I had a copy of the lease, he would have said it needed to be the ORIGINAL. If I had the original, hw probably have wanted to see the monthly rental payment receipts...starting to get the picture.

I tried to explain that the official Residence Certificate from Pattaya immigration confirmed my rental house as my residence but as it is in Thai, he couldn't understand it. I wanted to tell him to pass it along with the application to one of the Thai staff higher-up the food chain but by that time, I had pretty much decided I was wasting my time so didn't bother.

I told the fella that this was all a joke and I had never experienced such hassle at any other Thai embassy in SE Asia. His reply, "we just follow strictly the rules and regs as set forth and communicated to them for all visa classes by the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok." I said "whatever jerk-off" in slightly less polished French, and that I would just head on back down to Penang in a month

Edited February 18, 2007 by JonnieB

[tropo]

and that I would just head on back down to Penang in a month

I'm in the same boat but I have a Filipino GF who also requires a visa. If you think it's difficult for you to get one, try getting one for a Filipino National.

I'll do the same when I return from the Philippines in March. I'll go for a 30 day visa exempt entry and head to Penang when that expires.

[lopburi3]

There is no restriction on tourist visa entry - the 90 day rule is for visa exempt stamp entry.

A tourist visa for countries not allowed visa free entry permits only a 30 day stay on arrival - not the 60 days that were allowed previously. What is the passport country?

Below is list of the only countries allowed 60 day entry on tourist visa:

[DrFisher]

Seriously, stop finding new and better ways to cheat, just get legal!!! You and the others like you make it hard on those of us who live here legally.

Edited February 19, 2007 by lopburi3
return font to normal - pls don't shout

[fishhooks]

This maybe slightly off-topic for this forum, but obtained a double entry Tourist Visa in Australia in December, used the first entry late in December, later went to Cambodia for a week and re-entered BKK Airport just a few days ago using the second entry.

NO notations or day totals were marked in my passport which I figure proves that an actual Tourist Visa does not come into play for the newly enforced "total day" issue.

This may have already been proved recently on other forums, but I remember it was a hot issue for discussion in December and January with no real conclusions being noted.

[seagull]

Seriously, stop finding new and better ways to cheat, just get legal!!! You and the others like you make it hard on those of us who live here legally.

I beg your pardon, sir. Who is attempting to "cheat". This people are confused with the new rules and finding out more so that they could enter and remain in Thailand, without running foul of the law. That means "legally" in your own words. Just because their way is not your way, so their's is illegal and yours is legal? And may I also ask, how did they make it hard on you?

[Hobox]

Seriously, stop finding new and better ways to cheat, just get legal!!! You and the others like you make it hard on those of us who live here legally.

Stupid argument.

I trade with stocks back home and make a good living off it. I don't work in Thailand and don't plan to do it, but I love to stay here like 9 months every year. So why isn't the tourist visa legal for me?

[LivinLOS]

Seriously, stop finding new and better ways to cheat, just get legal!!! You and the others like you make it hard on those of us who live here legally.

For the love of god !! When will these morons stop posting this.. You have to wonder at what point it is trolling !!

Please explain what visa an under 50, not married to a Thai, and financially independent (read not willing to work for joke money available here) person gets ??

I am 34 years old, my Thai wife died, but my home is now here, I have more USD assets than most Thais have baht.

How is any of this cheating.

[Maestro]

Another thing is TR-30 stamps. A friend of mine arrived to Thailand on a double entry tourist (TR) visa, and got only 30 days on each entry.

It seems that your friend did not enter on a tourist visa. The stamp you copied from his arrival/departure card is a visa-exempt entry stamp and such entry gives permission to stay for only 30 days.

If your friend had a tourist visa he would have a visa stamp obtained form a Thai consulate in his passport.

--

Maestro

[lopburi3]

Another thing is TR-30 stamps. A friend of mine arrived to Thailand on a double entry tourist (TR) visa, and got only 30 days on each entry.

It seems that your friend did not enter on a tourist visa. The stamp you copied from his arrival/departure card is a visa-exempt entry stamp and such entry gives permission to stay for only 30 days.

If your friend had a tourist visa he would have a visa stamp obtained form a Thai consulate in his passport.

--

Maestro

It is a 30 day tourist visa entry. Only 36 countries now obtain 60 day entry on a tourist visa and his was not one of them.

[Geppis72]

Seriously, stop finding new and better ways to cheat, just get legal!!! You and the others like you make it hard on those of us who live here legally.

For the love of god !! When will these morons stop posting this.. You have to wonder at what point it is trolling !!

Please explain what visa an under 50, not married to a Thai, and financially independent (read not willing to work for joke money available here) person gets ??

I am 34 years old, my Thai wife died, but my home is now here, I have more USD assets than most Thais have baht.

How is any of this cheating.

For me it's the same as "LivinLOS", plus I'm married with Non Thai wife.

We could think to open a small biz...> work for joke money and WP.... = Visa...

but now a biz it's too risky as well with new FBA.

Plus rules does not allow you to extend your visa if your company is newly formed... etc etc

Find an employment is not so easy today because lot of people is just on sit and wait attitude.

For us no options as well !

Can "DrFisher" advise a legal way for us ?

Elite Card ? I Do not think so.

Investment ? No, it has been removed

What else left ?

Tks for your input "DrFisher" if you find one I will follow it !

Cheers

[JonnieB]

For me it's the same as "LivinLOS", plus I'm married with Non Thai wife.

We could think to open a small biz...> work for joke money and WP.... = Visa...

but now a biz it's too risky as well with new FBA.

Plus rules does not allow you to extend your visa if your company is newly formed... etc etc

Find an employment is not so easy today because lot of people is just on sit and wait attitude.

For us no options as well !

Can "DrFisher" advise a legal way for us ?

Elite Card ? I Do not think so.

Investment ? No, it has been removed

What else left ?

Tks for your input "DrFisher" if you find one I will follow it !

I think his reply would probably run along the lines that if the Thai authorities haven't provided an appropriate visa classification for your situation, it means that they don't want people in that situation to reside in Thailand on that (those conditions) basis. For example, if you are not working in a needed area via a work permit, a genuine student or monk, or operating a substantial business, or at least 50 years old, then you are not welcome to reside long-term.

Personally, I think it's just that they have sort of let some categories slip through the cracks. Therefore, some people use other semi-relevant visa categories to fill these gaps. I would hope that at some point, they would realize this and update the visa/residency categories and criteria accordingly. TIT

[DrFisher]

I don't know why some people have a hard time getting legal but there must be a reason. I personally had a 1 year non-immigrant B visa when I cam here simply because I told the Thai embassy I wanted to live here and find a job, I had my visa in 3 days. My friend recently went back to the states and requested a non-immigrant B visa and received it with no problem. So, my point is what is the problem with getting legal? I'm not trying to pee in anyones soup it's just beyond me why people just don't do the right thing and I suppose illegal immigrants are a peeve of mine because I watched all the illegals move into the city where I lived in my country and destroy our way of life and economy. I'm not trying to hurt anyones feelings but there is a reason for the law and if your breaking it I wouldn't solicit advice in a public form how to further improve your scam. I can't tell you how many people I know that have legal papers but it's a lot and it was no problem to get them so, rethink why you can't get them.