VISA ON ARRIVAL / GENERAL CONFUSION

[LP80]

HI, am posting in the hopes I might get some help from the many seasoned Thaivisa people in making sense of a couple of things. 

 

I will be travelling to Bangkok mid November, planning to stay for 6 months initially. 

 

One plan would be to use visa on arrival and then go through the extension process once there. The visa on arrival from the UK still seems to be in effect, but then in other bullet points on the Thai Embassy site seems to have been suspended. Unsure how to proceed. 

 

Another issue is whether I hold out to book into ASQ, as the seeming reopening / sandboxing of Bangkok seems imminent. If I hold off until mid October to wait and see whether I need to quarantine, will that leave me enough time to process the various parts of my application / COE etc. 

 

Finally, if I don't go ahead with the Visa on arrival, what would be the best Visa. Is there a 6 month Visa anyone is aware of that I can apply for? 

 

So, what I'm asking is:

 

- Is the Visa on arrival still in effect from the UK? 

- Is 30 days long enough to process all my paperwork? 

 

Many thanks in advance, and appreciate any suggestions you might have. 

 

LP

[Upnotover]

It's a visa exempt entry, not visa on arrival.  Yes, it is currently available.

It's currently 45 days to compensate for the 15 night ASQ.

There is no 6 month visa.

What kind of extension do you intend to get?

[ubonjoe]

If you are from the UK you do not qualify for a 15 day visa on arrival that at this time has been canceled.

You can get a 45 day visa exempt entry at this time (if extended beyond the 30th you would get 45 days and if not 30 days). A visa exempt entry can be extended for 30 days.

If you wait until after October 1st you would have enough time to apply for a COE. About 15 days is enough to apply for a COE.

I assume you are full vaccinated. That is required to enter without the 14 day quarantine.

There is no visa that allows a 6 month stay. If available a multiple entry tourist visa can allow a total stay by getting new 60 day entries (but it is not practical now due to the borders being closed) and 30 day extensions.

The is the special tourist visa (STV) that is scheduled to end on the 30th of this month. If available it allowed one 90 day entry and two 90 day extensions.

Edit: Info can be found here on the London embassy website.

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/requirements-for-foreigners-travelling-to-thailand-during-covid-19-tra?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562