Does a Thai citizen need some kind of visa for layover flights?

[Boy Wonder]

If a Thai citizen is traveling to a country that does not require a visa for said Thai citizen (e.g. Hong Kong, Cambodia, etc.), but their flight itinerary includes stops at a country that that does require a visa to enter and live in (e.g. USA), does the Thai citizen need some kind of visa to use this itinerary, or will they be fine assuming they are strictly only there for flight layover purposes?

 

Any necessary steps the Thai citizen must take to ensure there will be no problems with their flight itinerary?

[beachproperty]

Not sure what you're really asking.......but if the Thai citizen is ONLY laying over (not entering and connecting on a later flight) then no visa is necessary

[Boy Wonder]

Just now, beachproperty said:

Not sure what you're really asking.......but if the Thai citizen is ONLY laying over (not entering and connecting on a later flight) then no visa is necessary

Yes, ONLY laying over. Just wanting to be 100% sure that this is the case because sometimes these situations can be tricky.

[KhunBENQ]

3 minutes ago, Boy Wonder said:

Yes, ONLY laying over

It all depends on the question: will the person stay in transit (international to international) without the need to pass immigration checkpoint?

I would better check exactly with the airline(s).

 

[impulse]

Not so true, specifically in post 9/11 USA.  The theory being that someone can blow up an airplane before they land.  They need a visa (or an ESTA if they're from a visa waiver country- which doesn't include Thailand).

 

https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k10297825-Do_I_Need_A_Visa_For_A_Connecting_Flight_Through_The_US-Air_Travel.html

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/other-visa-categories/transit.html

Edited November 4, 2019 by impulse

[baansgr]

Just wonder why, a Thai would fly to Cambodia or HK via the US....strange

[Boy Wonder]

21 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

It all depends on the question: will the person stay in transit (international to international) without the need to pass immigration checkpoint?

I would better check exactly with the airline(s).

 

 

21 minutes ago, impulse said:

Not so true, specifically in post 9/11 USA.  The theory being that someone can blow up an airplane before they land.  They need a visa (or an ESTA if they're from a visa waiver country- which doesn't include Thailand).

 

https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k10297825-Do_I_Need_A_Visa_For_A_Connecting_Flight_Through_The_US-Air_Travel.html

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/other-visa-categories/transit.html

 

14 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Just wonder why, a Thai would fly to Cambodia or HK via the US....strange

To be clear, the final destination is not HK/Cambodia (I was just using those as examples).

 

They will go to South America to visit a few visa-free countries and then go back to Thailand. There is a layover flight in the US; they will not leave the airport, and hopefully aren't required to pass any immigration checkpoints.

 

The airlines are AirAsia to Hong Kong, and American Airlines to the USA, then American Airlines again from layover destination in the US to the final destination in South America.

 

Would they require any sort of visa/documentation for this flight setup upon arrival in the USA?

 

Edit: Thanks, impulse, looks like they may need a Transit visa as stated on the travel.state.gov link you provided.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Boy Wonder

[blackcab]

26 minutes ago, Boy Wonder said:

There is a layover flight in the US; they will not leave the airport, and hopefully aren't required to pass any immigration checkpoints.

 

You need to check this and be absolutely certain that their flights leave from the same terminal and that there is an airside connection available. You also have to consider through ticketing for baggage.

 

Any changing of terminal or if they need to collect their baggage and re-check it then they will need a transit visa.

[theoldgit]

There are so many combinations, some countries require visas to transit and some don't, it can depend on the length of transit, the nationality, final destination etc etc.

 

The OP should check the IATA database for a definative answer.

 

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

[taxout]

There is really no doubt here. If a Thai citizen flies to S America with a transit or any other form of stop in the US, a US visa is required, no matter how short the period in the US. That is, if a Thai is on a plane that lands in the US, a visa is needed.

 

Note that if there's also a stop/transit in the US on the return a second visa or a double/multiple entry visa will be needed.

[La Migra]

3 hours ago, taxout said:

There is really no doubt here. If a Thai citizen flies ... with any ... form of stop in the US, a US visa is required, no matter how short the period in the US.

Yes - they will require a Transit Visa. "C"   Apply at embassy. 

"A foreign citizen traveling to another country who will have a brief layover in the United States when the only reason for entering the United States is to transit."

Unless they have been rejected for B visas (visitor) to the US, generally not an issue.

[rasg]

This one came up recently. If I buy a flight ticket for my wife from London to Bangkok with a stopover in Dubai no visa is needed but your wife couldn’t leave the airport and her luggage would next be seen in Bangkok. If the ultimate destination is Dubai and your wife would pick up her luggage in Dubai and a visa would be needed. The trick, I think, is to buy a ticket from the starting point to a destination. 

 

11 hours ago, Boy Wonder said:

The airlines are AirAsia to Hong Kong, and American Airlines to the USA, then American Airlines again from layover destination in the US to the final destination in South America.

She doesn’t need a visa for Hong Kong. If she can book a flight from Hong Kong to her destination in South America, where she doesn't need a visa, when she checks in her luggage, it will next be seen at the destination in South America. She can stopover in the US without need of a visa for the US because she stays airside. Make sure you take documentation with you showing that the destination doesn’t require a visa for a Thai. In your shoes, I would still check with the airline that it is right.

 

Slightly off topic, but relevant. My wife recently travelled to Chiang Mai from London via Dubai and Bangkok. Her first week was in Chiang Mai and she then flew to her home village in Mukdahan with Nok Air, if I remember. When she came back to the UK I thought that she could simply fly direct from Mukdahan direct to Bangkok and use the return part of her ticket from Bangkok to Dubai to London. NOT TRUE! It turned out that by trying to board the flight in Bangkok the airline would have cancelled the whole of her ticket. The airline quoted over £1000 for a new ticket! She ended up having to fly from Mukdahan to Bangkok, to Chiang Mai and then back to Bangkok before heading back to the UK. Be careful if your plans change!

[taxout]

"She can stopover in the US without need of a visa for the US because she stays airside."

 

This is dead wrong. Don't waste everyone's time posting here when you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

[wimpy]

We are going to do this, and avoid the US by flying Ethiopian Air via Addis Ababa.

[theoldgit]

There are no transit facilities in the USA, passengers must comply with all entry requirements for the USA by applying for for a transit or visit visa.

[theoldgit]

9 hours ago, rasg said:

She can stopover in the US without need of a visa for the US because she stays airside.

There are no airside transit facilities in the USA, passengers must comply with all entry requirements for the USA by applying for for a transit or visit visa.

 

That said many years ago, before 9/11, I transited Bangor in Maine on a charter flight from London to Acapulco, all of the passengers were herded, by armed guards, into a holding pen with very few seats and no facilities whilst the aircraft was being refueled.

[Sydebolle]

Dont get me wrong but this Thai person would either stay within the transit area of the airport where the lay-over takes place OR get a "TRANSIT" visa for exactly that purpose. 

The airline might answer the OP's question as the carrier does not let people board which cannot get off at the destination; latter would result in the carrier bringing back the passenger on the next flight (not next available but next flight) on the costs of the airline. 

[taxout]

"Dont get me wrong but this Thai person would either stay within the transit area of the airport where the lay-over takes place OR get a 'TRANSIT' visa for exactly that purpose."

 

If you'd actually do some research before posting you'd know this is not the case for Thai citizens transiting the US and hasn't been since 9/11.

 

Can we put a stop to the know-nothing postings about this? There are plenty of other threads on this forum where that kind of knowledge is welcome.

[Trek800]

5 hours ago, taxout said:

"She can stopover in the US without need of a visa for the US because she stays airside."

 

This is dead wrong. Don't waste everyone's time posting here when you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

There is no International to International airside connection in any US or Canada airports, only option to connect throw those airports is to have a Visa.

[KamnanT]

30 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

Dont get me wrong but this Thai person would either stay within the transit area of the airport where the lay-over takes place OR get a "TRANSIT" visa for exactly that purpose. 

The airline might answer the OP's question as the carrier does not let people board which cannot get off at the destination; latter would result in the carrier bringing back the passenger on the next flight (not next available but next flight) on the costs of the airline. 

The USA is one of a handful of countries that require a valid visa for all non-visa exempt/non-visa waiver nationals who transit by air even if they are just changing flights at a US airport.  A Thai citizen traveling to another country via the USA requires at a minimum a valid transit visa or they will be denied boarding for their flight to the US.

[Tony M]

On of of the reasons for a visa or transit visa requirement is because, in days of old, many passengers booked a ticket to a destination that does not require an entry visa (not only Thais).  But when they reached the transit airport (in USA or in Europe, etc) they claimed asylum there. It was a fairly large loophole.  So now, some nationalities require transit visas, some countries require onward bookings, etc, etc. Your travel agent, or the internet, should tell you what is required, if anything.

[taxout]

The practical reason for this is that US airports aren't physically designed to support international stay-airside transits. That's because there's no passport control exiting the US, so only passengers entering the US, not leaving, are in immigration quarantine. Before 9/11, transit without visa was possible, but as mentioned above, it often involved physically segregating and guarding transit passengers in a makeshift arrangement.

[wotsdermatter]

Instead of asking this question to this Forum, why not just contact the airline concerned because they should be able to provide the correct information.  Alternatively, contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate who can also give you the information you seek.

'nuf sed.

[AAArdvark]

What prevents someone with a US Transit Visa from just leaving the airport and staying?  Assuming the obtaining a Transit Visa is fairly easy, it would seem this leaves a hole in border security.

[samran]

22 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

What prevents someone with a US Transit Visa from just leaving the airport and staying?  Assuming the obtaining a Transit Visa is fairly easy, it would seem this leaves a hole in border security.

You still have to go through immigration before entering the country.

 

Having a transit visa merely allows you to change planes at the same airport without actually leaving it. 

[samran]

The answer to this question is: it depends.

 

A thai national who requires a visa to travel to country may or may not need a transit visa to merely pass through an airport on the way through to a third country. 

[reallybigken]

I had to deal with this same situation. I was flying my Thai Girlfriend from Thailand to Peru South America. The shortest and cheapest route was through Los Angeles International airport (USA). It REQUIRES a Transit VISA!!!!!

 

I ended up flying her through Geneva and skipping the USA completely.

 

It can take months to get a Transit VISA and it is almost as hard as getting a full tourist VISA.

 

I would look for an alternate route and avoid USA airports.

 

By the way I'm a USA citizen.  

Edited November 5, 2019 by reallybigken

[taxout]

Travelling to the US, a Thai national with a transit visa will pass through immigration with everyone else. Once through immigration, the Thai national will be in the US. If he or she wants to walk out of the airport, there's no physical or other barrier to that, though it probably violates the visa terms. This is why getting a US transit visa involves much the same time and hassle as getting a full tourist visa, since practically speaking, the holder of a transit visa can just walk out of the airport and become an illegal alien.

 

Remember, we're talking only about the US here.

[rasg]

16 hours ago, theoldgit said:

There are no airside transit facilities in the USA, passengers must comply with all entry requirements for the USA by applying for for a transit or visit visa.

 

That said many years ago, before 9/11, I transited Bangor in Maine on a charter flight from London to Acapulco, all of the passengers were herded, by armed guards, into a holding pen with very few seats and no facilities whilst the aircraft was being refueled.

Things have changed then but it was a long time ago and definitely pre 9/11. My final remark still holds good though. Check with the airline.

Edited November 5, 2019 by rasg

[theoldgit]

7 hours ago, rasg said:

Things have changed then but it was a long time ago and definitely pre 9/11. My final remark still holds good though. Check with the airline.

Yes, 9/11 was 18 years ago that's why it's imperative that we try to give up to date advice, as you say things do change over the years.

As well as checking with airlines, as I've posted before, I'd advise people to check the IATA (International Air Transport Association) Database, which is what airlines refer to.

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/