Los Angeles Thai Consulate E-Visa Experience 2022

[sqwakvfr]

The overall experience was good.  I applied for a Non Imm OA Visa through the E-Visa system.  

 

1.  The financial requirements with the LA Consulate was: 100,000 per month, 1.2 Million Baht in the bank or a combination of income and money in the bank at 1.2 Million. 

2.  Getting all the documents and then uploading them was time consuming and not exactly easy.  For the E-Visa system documents can be in PDF or Jpg.  

3.  Paying for the Visa on the website was not possible with my US Bank issued Visa card.  I called my bank numerous times and a sharp representative suggested using my Debit Card which had a Visa logo.  After three attempts the payment with the Debit Card was successful.  Apparently a Visa Credit has a security system called 3D and all the information on the account must match(card#, full name, exp date, security code and most importantly billing address).  The E-Visa system uses Kasikorn Bank as the merchant bank and typing in a billing address was not possible on this transaction.  This is what caused my Visa Credit Card to be rejected numerous times. 

 

My E-Visa was approved in 4 days.  I received an email with a document that I will have to present to immigration when I arrive in BKK

 

The easiest part was obtaining the Thailand Pass.  I used my US CDC Vaccine card which does not have a QR Code.  The Thailand Pass with the QR Code was emailed in 90 minutes.  The Thailand Pass system does not accept PDF documents.  TP only accepts Jpg. or Jpeg documents.  

 

I thought the E-Visa and Thailand Pass would take almost 30 days.  i had everything wrapped in 5 days.  

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Did they tell you that you needed the 100k baht income or the 1.2 millions baht in the bank or did you just go by the info the have on one page of their website. There is a another page that still shows 65k baht or 800k baht in the bank.

[FalangTingTong]

Did this require the police background report or whatever it’s called?  If so, how did you get that in the US?  I know it’s possible but when I looked into it, it seemed like a huge hassle.

[sghanchey]

50 minutes ago, FalangTingTong said:

Did this require the police background report or whatever it’s called?  If so, how did you get that in the US?  I know it’s possible but when I looked into it, it seemed like a huge hassle.

There is a website that provides the FBI check required. You have to go to a Mailbox office that is affiliated (they are everywhere- half a dozen in my area in the U.S.) and get fingerprinted- that's all. The FBI no criminal record report comes back in 24 hours by email. 

[brucegoniners]

So you’re saying a Thai government website didn’t work properly? Here’s my surprised face ????

[sqwakvfr]

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Did they tell you that you needed the 100k baht income or the 1.2 millions baht in the bank or did you just go by the info the have on one page of their website. There is a another page that still shows 65k baht or 800k baht in the bank.

Yes.  Once you get into the E-Visa application system it is clearly stated as such.  Also, confirmed it.  This only applies to this consulate. 

[sqwakvfr]

14 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

So you’re saying a Thai government website didn’t work properly? Here’s my surprised face ????

Never said it did not work properly.  It works properly but it is more difficult.  In the end I got the visa and the Thai Pass.

[sqwakvfr]

2 hours ago, sghanchey said:

There is a website that provides the FBI check required. You have to go to a Mailbox office that is affiliated (they are everywhere- half a dozen in my area in the U.S.) and get fingerprinted- that's all. The FBI no criminal record report comes back in 24 hours by email. 

I did this and got the FBI report emailed in 2 hours.  Cost was $47.

[biervoormij]

16 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Yes.  Once you get into the E-Visa application system it is clearly stated as such.  Also, confirmed it.  This only applies to this consulate. 

I wonder if in a year when you are up for an extension if you will have to have 1.2 M/100K per month or 800K/65K per month in a Thailand bank account? I hope 1.2M is not the new standard.

[SteveAZ]

I looked at the Visa Application and was confused by two things 

-must have no criminal record in Thailand and the country of the applicant’s nationality or residence; 
- must NOT have prohibitive diseases (Leprosy, Tuberculosis, drug addiction, Elephantiasis, 
     third phase of Syphilis) as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No. 14 B.E. 2535; 

 

what type of criminal record documentation are they needing?  Thai or USA? How or where do you obtain that? What exactly do they need?

 

medical. You’re  US doctor wrote a letter or did they complete a form? 
 

thanks in advance for your response 

[Fore Man]

Hello, Sqwakvfr,

 

i am preparing to do likewise but intend to enter as a returning expat after several years in the USA, initially as a tourist and then visit Nan Immigration to apply and change my status to marriage-based, non-imm type O. We already own land and homes in that province. By doing so, I believe I can avoid the costly medical insurance requirement since I am fully covered by US Defense Tricare anyway, with reasonable annual deductibles and once our family out of pocket costs exceed $3,000, there’s no catastrophic annual cap.  And we already know that Nan will not expect me to lock up such a much higher amount in the bank, only requiring me to maintain THB 400,000.  At my age of 76, obtaining Thai insurance coverage will be either unlikely or unreasonably expensive. Did you consider this alternative method to enter Thailand?  Can you share your motivations why you chose to go the more costly O-A route?  For me, it’s not just a matter of economy, but I do not want to unnecessarily waste or see our funds held interminably in a Thai bank when my wife and I can make better use of them.  Thank you.

[SteveAZ]

What website or service was used for criminal record check. The name please.

[sqwakvfr]

16 minutes ago, Fore Man said:

Hello, Sqwakvfr,

 

i am preparing to do likewise but intend to enter as a returning expat after several years in the USA, initially as a tourist and then visit Nan Immigration to apply and change my status to marriage-based, non-imm type O. We already own land and homes in that province. By doing so, I believe I can avoid the costly medical insurance requirement since I am fully covered by US Defense Tricare anyway, with reasonable annual deductibles and once our family out of pocket costs exceed $3,000, there’s no catastrophic annual cap.  And we already know that Nan will not expect me to lock up such a much higher amount in the bank, only requiring me to maintain THB 400,000.  At my age of 76, obtaining Thai insurance coverage will be either unlikely or unreasonably expensive. Did you consider this alternative method to enter Thailand?  Can you share your motivations why you chose to go the more costly O-A route?  For me, it’s not just a matter of economy, but I do not want to unnecessarily waste or see our funds held interminably in a Thai bank when my wife and I can make better use of them.  Thank you.

At this time the OA is the only Visa option that gets me at least one year in Thailand with my Pension Income from the State of California.  Also, I don’t have to keep a lot of money in my Thai Bank account.  So far so good but never know what the future holds.

[sqwakvfr]

8 minutes ago, SteveAZ said:

What website or service was used for criminal record check. The name please.

Don’t think I can mention the specific company so I will send you a message.