e visa might take more than 45 days !!!

[geisha]

Hi all, living in France.,just started to get my flight options together and SHA PLUS + hotel ready, and I find out that the Evisa might take 45 days and even then is not guaranteed !!! Seeing as I had a flight for the 20 th with Emirates  , and thought I’d have a tourist visa 60 days plus 30 extension,  I’m a bit lost what to do. I’ve figured out the test and go hotel in BKK, but then I was going to book a condo and a Phuket trip.  Now I don’t know what to do as I might be limited to 60 days. Anyone heard anything about this , e visas aren’t particularly committed to a country ( I’m a French resident)  or are they ?Is it just Paris or everywhere ? Thanks for any ideas. 

[bear9]

Hi Geisha,

 

I have been waiting for my visa for 3 weeks now and this is with the thai embassy in the Uk.  As you seem to be having the same issue then i suspect its not because of the embassies in each country but down to some central processing office in Thailand having to approve them all. I had to change my flights from December until January because of the delay.

[Captain Monday]

The solution for a non existent problem.

 

Once all my documents were settled last year I mailed off my passport to the Consul it was handled and 

sent back to me in two days. 

 

An utter shambles

[geisha]

11 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

The solution for a non existent problem.

 

Once all my documents were settled last year I mailed off my passport to the Consul it was handled and 

sent back to me in two days. 

 

An utter shambles

What does your post mean, sorry didn’t understand? I have all my documents etc, but the French consul say there are huge delays in processing, and I should change my bookings and go on visa exempt 30 days !!! Who waits 45 days, Non Guaranteed!!!, for an E Visa  ??? 
yes,  I could change all my plans and come visa exempt, but that it not what I need. Obviously huge problems here with e visas too, not only the Thai Pass which seems to be now ok. 
Can the Thai government not even handle the small amount of demand ????

[Tim16]

13 hours ago, bear9 said:

Hi Geisha,

 

I have been waiting for my visa for 3 weeks now and this is with the thai embassy in the Uk.  As you seem to be having the same issue then i suspect its not because of the embassies in each country but down to some central processing office in Thailand having to approve them all. I had to change my flights from December until January because of the delay.

I applied for my evisa to thai embassy in the Uk on 12th Nov

16th Nov had email requesting more documents

24th Nov had my evisa approved.

9 working days,I thought this was excellent service

Edited November 25, 2021 by Tim16

[Captain Monday]

20 minutes ago, geisha said:

What does your post mean, sorry didn’t understand? I have all my documents etc, but the French consul say there are huge delays in processing, and I should change my bookings and go on visa exempt 30 days !!! Who waits 45 days, Non Guaranteed!!!, for an E Visa  ??? 
yes,  I could change all my plans and come visa exempt, but that it not what I need. Obviously huge problems here with e visas too, not only the Thai Pass which seems to be now ok. 
Can the Thai government not even handle the small amount of demand ????

What my comments mean is I applied for a visa by mail to the Royal Thai Consulate last year. I mailed in my passport with everything they needed, they sent it back to me in 2 working days. No problem at all

 

I applied today online for a new visa, this time on the e visa sticklers platform. Hope it does not take so long also hearing about delays.

Edited November 25, 2021 by Captain Monday

[Pmbkk]

So your paying for flight tickets - then applying for visas and then awaiting to apply for the Thai pass ( 1 day hotel ) etc before you know if you can even go? 

[treetops]

11 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

What my comments mean is I applied for a visa by mail to the Royal Thai Consulate last year. I mailed in my passport with everything they needed, they sent it back to me in 2 working days. No problem at all

 

I applied today online for a new visa, this time on the e visa sticklers platform. Hope it does not take so long also hearing about delays.

To which consulate did you apply?  Maybe it's just the French one having issues.

[geisha]

9 minutes ago, Pmbkk said:

So your paying for flight tickets - then applying for visas and then awaiting to apply for the Thai pass ( 1 day hotel ) etc before you know if you can even go? 

No, I have everything ready , on hand, ready to apply. I just did not expect to have to wait 45 days !!! Non guaranteed!!! Of getting my evisa .  So obviously that takes me into middle January , ridiculous !!

[geisha]

Paris . One of my friends has had to leave without his visa , that’s what started me worrying. I didn’t expect such a long wait, non guaranteed!

[geisha]

If there is a way to do a border hop end of January, anywhere, I could still keep my dates, come in visa exempt, extension 30 days, then a weekend away nearby and back into Thailand. But nobody knows if this will be possible, and would I get back into Thailand easily .,

 

Other  option, go elsewhere. Apparently Cambodia is easy, friends left 2 weeks ago, no fuss. Even Bali with a special visa. 

[BritTim]

54 minutes ago, geisha said:

What does your post mean, sorry didn’t understand? I have all my documents etc, but the French consul say there are huge delays in processing, and I should change my bookings and go on visa exempt 30 days !!! Who waits 45 days, Non Guaranteed!!!, for an E Visa  ??? 
yes,  I could change all my plans and come visa exempt, but that it not what I need. Obviously huge problems here with e visas too, not only the Thai Pass which seems to be now ok. 
Can the Thai government not even handle the small amount of demand ????

While the e-visa system has some problems, the huge delay to receive an e-visa in France is a result of the Thai embassy in Paris. They have been reluctant to issue visas for years, and seem to be in a position now where they cannot exhaustively check each application for excuses to deny your application with the staff available.

[alex8912]

39 minutes ago, Tim16 said:

I applied for my evisa to thai embassy in the Uk on 12th Nov

16th Nov had email requesting more documents

24th Nov had my evisa approved.

9 working days,I thought this was excellent service

If it was so easy what exactly were the " more documents " you needed? Seems like the guy yesterday who waited 25 days and reported on here needed " another document " as well. Everytime someone posts how easy it was it seems they actually had other steps that may be helpful to others if you share that info. Thanks 

[alex8912]

38 minutes ago, Pmbkk said:

So your paying for flight tickets - then applying for visas and then awaiting to apply for the Thai pass ( 1 day hotel ) etc before you know if you can even go? 

You need the copy of your ticket to get a visa!!! He isn't even talking about the Thailand Pass ( yet ). 

[sametdo]

We applied for e-visa via Thai embassy in London. Came back in a week with no questions or additional documents  required.

[sametdo]

22 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

If it was so easy what exactly were the " more documents " you needed? Seems like the guy yesterday who waited 25 days and reported on here needed " another document " as well. Everytime someone posts how easy it was it seems they actually had other steps that may be helpful to others if you share that info. Thanks 

Make sure you include all the docs (especially the insurance and first night hotel/covid test package).

[geisha]

13 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

You need the copy of your ticket to get a visa!!! He isn't even talking about the Thailand Pass ( yet ). 

As I said above, I have everything on hand ready to send. I’m not going to if I can’t get a visa in time !! My friend had already left without the visa .He waited 3 weeks ! Called them daily. I spoke to a reputable visa agency in Paris and they have confirmed a possible 45 day wait for the e visa, and even then that time is not guaranteed.  Paris is an awful place to get Thai visas, always has been.   They are apparently closing down the evisa system here around the 10 th of Dec for upgrades.  Again !!

 

[alex8912]

7 minutes ago, sametdo said:

Make sure you include all the docs (especially the insurance and first night hotel/covid test package).

But they ask you to individually upload them don't they? 

[Martin71]

Hello Chaps,

  I want to go back to Thailand early 2022,

I want to go back on a single entry 90 day non o visa and the in the last 30 days extend by marriage.. (been married to thai lady for 10 years)

 I want to apply early next week, as I am off to work again outside UK (I am a uk citizen), and the duration of the job is unknown and when I return (or possibly before) apply for my Thailand Pass and then go to Thailand.

 I have no flight booked to but have just entered a flight number (EK 384 DXB -BKK ,and on the application it just asks intended date of travel and also there is nowhere to upload flight details /tickets ) and approximate travel dates into the application, I have all the other relevant docs, cash in bank etc, I am just worried about not having a confirmed flight for visa application ( I know I need one for the Thailand Pass), will I still get the non o 90 day issued with no confirmed flight.

 

Sorry for hijacking this thread a bit.

 

Many Thanks in advance,

[alex8912]

10 minutes ago, geisha said:

As I said above, I have everything on hand ready to send. I’m not going to if I can’t get a visa in time !! My friend had already left without the visa .He waited 3 weeks ! Called them daily. I spoke to a reputable visa agency in Paris and they have confirmed a possible 45 day wait for the e visa, and even then that time is not guaranteed.  Paris is an awful place to get Thai visas, always has been.   They are apparently closing down the evisa system here around the 10 th of Dec for upgrades.  Again !!

 

The upgrade will be happening perhaps everywhere. Dec 10 to 12. Well at least many places. 

[Usual Suspect]

I waited patiently for 3 weeks for a Non O to come thru.. Finally I sent a polite e-mail to the Thai Embassy in London expressing my concern & worry... My visa was in my inbox the next day!

 My advice is to e-mail the authorities concerned, but be humble, and be polite, and grateful for what they are doing for you.. And you may (like myself) be lucky.

[Usual Suspect]

Martin71... Yes they need to see proof of flight booking for your 90 day visa (I too are booked on an EK384 flight).. But they do not need proof of flight booking for the Thailand Pass.. BUT your AQ hotel booking site will ask you for your flight confirmation.

 Dunno if Emirates are still doing it, but my ticket included free insurance... Which was good enuf to get me my Thailand Pass... Keep your eyes on the prize fella.

[MrJ2U]

18 hours ago, geisha said:

Evisa might take 45 days

Thats insane.

 

I remember getting a Cambodia Evisa within hours.

 

I feel for you. 

It seems at every corner Thailand steps on its own feet at allowing vaccinated tourist into the country.

[Pepper9187]

It normally takes 24/48 hrs to get a e-visa from the Thai embassy in Paris.

 

However they have been struggling with the e-visa system since the beginning of November now, mine took 2 weeks to get approved, friends that had applied before November all had their visa approved within 48hrs.

 

I guess they now have hundreds / thousands of old requests to process which makes things even worst.

 

You can contact them @ [email protected] ‎to check your status / try to push the request, they kind of answer.

Forget the phone it's a lost cause.

 

Who told you it would take 45 days + ? was it the embassy itself ?

 

I guess how long it takes is a matter of how many pending requests they have vs how many people actually work in the embassy, the E-visa issues was kinda global (from my understanding).

 

[michaelgoulden]

I applied for a 60day visa in the UK.I was thinking to extend it for a further 30 days once in Thailand.

I applied and received it in two days. I was shocked to receive it so quick. I applied for the Thailand pass it took 5 days.

I travel on the 9th Dec,I thought wrongly they would put me to the back of the que to sort more urgent clients,but no very efficient.

I hope this gives some confidence for others to give it a try.

I did spend alot of time getting my paperwork in the best order following advice on here.

 

[Hmunker]

15 hours ago, geisha said:

 They are apparently closing down the evisa system here around the 10 th of Dec for upgrades.  Again !!

 

I don’t think that is just in France.I have that message too in the Uk.

 

[geisha]

15 hours ago, Pepper9187 said:

It normally takes 24/48 hrs to get a e-visa from the Thai embassy in Paris.

 

However they have been struggling with the e-visa system since the beginning of November now, mine took 2 weeks to get approved, friends that had applied before November all had their visa approved within 48hrs.

 

I guess they now have hundreds / thousands of old requests to process which makes things even worst.

 

You can contact them @ [email protected] ‎to check your status / try to push the request, they kind of answer.

Forget the phone it's a lost cause.

 

Who told you it would take 45 days + ? was it the embassy itself ?

 

I guess how long it takes is a matter of how many pending requests they have vs how many people actually work in the embassy, the E-visa issues was kinda global (from my understanding).

 

I called them before booking my flight the same day. Why, because a few days before my friend had to leave without his visa ! He waited 3 weeks then left without it ! I was told there was a long wait and my 20/12 flight was not guaranteed a visa in time. I checked with rapid visa Paris who confirmed a long wait.  Paris has always had a bad reputation for visas. For years I went to Monaco and everything was perfect , then they closed, as did Marseille etc. I saw todays news of changes ahead beginning Dec. For fully vaccinated , no more PCR on arrival , a quick arrival test instead. No more SHA test and do hotel needed. And for those arriving after the 15 th Dec no more Thai Pass. !!!  I think these combined upgrades to system may be the cause of delays.  I’m going to delay my flight , miss Christmas with family and friends there, and book for January instead to be sure. 

[geisha]

13 hours ago, Hmunker said:

I don’t think that is just in France.I have that message too in the Uk.

 

Hi, todays Thai news, they’re changing the entry rules , relaxing a few things. From Dec 1 st.