Applying for E-Visa while in Thailand

[FriendlyFarang]

I noticed that when applying for an E-Visa they want us to upload the last 12 months of travel history in our passport, so if applying for an E-Visa while in Thailand, they would notice it.

But would this be any problem? I didn't see anything on the E-Visa website which says we aren't allowed to apply for a new visa while we are in Thailand.

Did somebody here successfully get an E-Visa while in Thailand? Did you upload the pictures of your passport which show that you were in Thailand at the time of application?

[ubonjoe]

You could start the application for it while here but you would not be able to use stickerless visa until you leave and re-enter the country.

I have read of people not uploading the entire 12 months of travel and go their visa approve.

[howlee101]

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You could start the application for it while here but you would not be able to use stickerless visa until you leave and re-enter the country.

I have read of people not uploading the entire 12 months of travel and go their visa approve.

ubonjoe, not meaning to go off topic but when I recently (this week) applied for my first one year extension (Non-O, Thai wife), the Chiang Mai immigration office saw "evisa" written below my entry stamp and asked for a copy of my eVisa letter.  Luckily I had one in my stack of documents.  Another document they needed but not on their checklist ????

[FriendlyFarang]

12 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You could start the application for it while here but you would not be able to use stickerless visa until you leave and re-enter the country.

Sure, a visa run would be necessary to activate it.

But it would allow us to fly to Cambodia/Vietnam/Singapore in the morning and back to Thailand in the evening, while arriving with a TV instead of visa exempt, so giving an extra 30 days and a better feeling at immigration.

 

Just now, howlee101 said:

ubonjoe, not meaning to go off topic but when I recently (this week) applied for my first one year extension (Non-O, Thai wife), the Chiang Mai immigration office saw "evisa" written below my entry stamp and asked for a copy of my eVisa letter.  Luckily I had one in my stack of documents.  Another document they needed but not on their checklist ????

Good to know, so in case I follow this route I will keep the E-Visa paper in my passport.

Edited March 5, 2022 by FriendlyFarang

[ubonjoe]

18 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

ubonjoe, not meaning to go off topic but when I recently (this week) applied for my first one year extension (Non-O, Thai wife), the Chiang Mai immigration office saw "evisa" written below my entry stamp and asked for a copy of my eVisa letter.  Luckily I had one in my stack of documents.  Another document they needed but not on their checklist ????

A copy of your passport page  with the visa is one of the things they want for extensions. Not a surprise they want a copy of your stickerless e visa. Best to keep a copy for future use.

[ubonjoe]

22 minutes ago, FriendlyFarang said:

Sure, a visa run would be necessary to activate it.

But it would allow us to fly to Cambodia/Vietnam/Singapore in the morning and back to Thailand in the evening, while arriving with a TV instead of visa exempt, so giving an extra 30 days and a better feeling at immigration.

I suspect their could be problem with applying for a e visa and not traveling from the country where it was issued.

At this time it would be almost impossible to doing a one day visa run. You would need a RT-PCR  covid 19 test done before you could board you flight back to here and the Thailand Pass.

[MajorTom]

1 hour ago, FriendlyFarang said:

Did somebody here successfully get an E-Visa while in Thailand? Did you upload the pictures of your passport which show that you were in Thailand at the time of application?

Yes. I got mine a few weeks ago. Approved before i left Thailand. Whether that's ok or not i have not found any answer to.

Its not possible to upload 12 months of travel history currently since the website only accepts one single picture file like jpeg or bmp.

 

I don't see why it would be a problem. The visa is worthless until you have left and returned anyway. Where you are in the processing time should not make any difference?

 

 

[Almudena]

So if one left Thailand and went on a break to Vietnam for a month, could one apply for a e-visa instead of visiting the embassy in Saigon?  That would save a bit of hassle.  Looking what Vietnam has to offer does look temping to go there anyway rather than just a border bounce.

[FriendlyFarang]

23 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

Its not possible to upload 12 months of travel history currently since the website only accepts one single picture file like jpeg or bmp.

What did you upload?

 

33 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I suspect their could be problem with applying for a e visa and not traveling from the country where it was issued.

I don't think this should be a problem, considering it has always been quite common that people travel to multiple SEA countries, for example Cambodia first, and then from there to Thailand. In this case we would also upload the Cambodia - Thailand flight when applying for the visa, so they would approve the visa being aware of it.

Edited March 5, 2022 by FriendlyFarang

[MajorTom]

17 minutes ago, FriendlyFarang said:

What did you upload?

Passport front page only.

[at15]

11 hours ago, Almudena said:

So if one left Thailand and went on a break to Vietnam for a month, could one apply for a e-visa instead of visiting the embassy in Saigon?  That would save a bit of hassle.  Looking what Vietnam has to offer does look temping to go there anyway rather than just a border bounce.

I guess it would work but no one really knows since this was implemented during covid I dont think many people have been doing visa runs to neighboring countries. Also depends on nationality, some are not eligible for the evisa system.

Edited March 5, 2022 by at15

[DrJack54]

11 hours ago, Almudena said:

So if one left Thailand and went on a break to Vietnam for a month, could one apply for a e-visa instead of visiting the embassy in Saigon?  That would save a bit of hassle.  Looking what Vietnam has to offer does look temping to go there anyway rather than just a border bounce.

The consulate in Saigon is a small efficient office. 

It does require am application and PM pick up next day. Very easy access to Bui Vien district 1. 

100% recommend Saigon as a destination for a stay outside of Thailand.

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by DrJack54

[Kalasin Jo]

On 3/5/2022 at 10:19 AM, howlee101 said:

ubonjoe, not meaning to go off topic but when I recently (this week) applied for my first one year extension (Non-O, Thai wife), the Chiang Mai immigration office saw "evisa" written below my entry stamp and asked for a copy of my eVisa letter.  Luckily I had one in my stack of documents.  Another document they needed but not on their checklist ????

Glad you mention this. Hope I can find mine. Should be in my emails.

[AgentSmith]

It's been over a year now. Does anyone have more recent experience with this? I'm in Thailand now on visa exempt and if I can get a METV before leaving the country that would be very convenient.

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, AgentSmith said:

It's been over a year now. Does anyone have more recent experience with this? I'm in Thailand now on visa exempt and if I can get a METV before leaving the country that would be very convenient.

It would be convenient, but is definitely not allowed. Some have tried and succeeded, but your application will be denied (with loss of application fee) if they detect that you are not in your home country when you make the application.

[DrJack54]

7 hours ago, AgentSmith said:

It's been over a year now. Does anyone have more recent experience with this? I'm in Thailand now on visa exempt and if I can get a METV before leaving the country that would be very convenient.

Not possible. 

 

[AgentSmith]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:56 PM, BritTim said:

It would be convenient, but is definitely not allowed. Some have tried and succeeded, but your application will be denied (with loss of application fee) if they detect that you are not in your home country when you make the application.

You need to be in your home country to apply for a visa? I certainly hope not.

 

This seems very unlikely. In theory they can see I am in Thailand during the application but how would they know where I am after leaving the country?

 

The evisa website also doesn't mention anything about your current whereabouts in the requirements so I doubt it even matters. That said, I'd really like to hear about actual experience.

Edited July 1, 2023 by AgentSmith

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, AgentSmith said:

You need to be in your home country to apply for a visa? I certainly hope not.

It is a longstanding rule that you can only apply for visas such as METV and Non O-A through the embassy in your home country (or country of residence) and needed to be physically present in the country when making the application. Prior to the introduction of the e-visa system, this was easier to enforce as you needed to apply in person, or via post from a local country address. Since introduction of the e-visa system, enforcement of the rule has become more difficult. However, the Royal Thai Embassy in London (for one) has made an official statement confirming the rule, and has been known to deny applications that they believe were made from outside the UK or Ireland.

 

I hope this rule will be relaxed at some point in the future. If neighbouring countries to Thailand are brought into the e-visa system, some relaxation will certainly be necessary.

[0james0]

2 hours ago, AgentSmith said:

This seems very unlikely. In theory they can see I am in Thailand during the application but how would they know where I am after leaving the country

The system will identify the IP address being outside of the country even if using a vpn the system could most likely identify that a vpn is being used. If someone wanted to investigate they could locate the city and general area (neighborhood) of the IP address. Don’t chance it.

Edited July 2, 2023 by 0james0

[AgentSmith]

5 hours ago, 0james0 said:

The system will identify the IP address being outside of the country even if using a vpn the system could most likely identify that a vpn is being used. If someone wanted to investigate they could locate the city and general area (neighborhood) of the IP address. Don’t chance it.

If that is all they check it is actually rather easy. I have access to some sort of VPN that is not commercially available and only for private use. So it's not on the lists with public VPN providers and there's 0 chance they can see I'm not in my home country during the application. Then what I have to do is not be in Thailand and use my private connection during the application to make them think I'm in my home country. In the end all they can really check is whether I'm in Thailand or not by checking my entries and exits in their own systems.

 

Still waiting/hoping for actual experience though.

Edited July 2, 2023 by AgentSmith

[Caldera]

20 minutes ago, AgentSmith said:

In the end all they can really check is whether I'm in Thailand or not by checking my entries and exits in their own systems.

The embassy doesn't have access to immigration's system.

 

You're supposed to upload scans of all those passport visa pages having stamps from the last 12 months. If you do that truthfully, they can see that you're in Thailand. If you "forget" the page with the current entry stamp, your application is fraudulent and you could be in trouble if that comes to light later.

Edited July 2, 2023 by Caldera

[AgentSmith]

16 minutes ago, Caldera said:

The embassy doesn't have access to immigration's system.

 

You're supposed to upload scans of all those passport visa pages having stamps from the last 12 months. If you do that truthfully, they can see that you're in Thailand. If you "forget" the page with the current entry stamp, your application is fraudulent and you could be in trouble if that comes to light later.

I've decided to apply after leaving the country. I just won't go to my home country as that is simply too far away and too expensive for a simple visa run.

[AgentSmith]

Hong Kong doesn't stamp passports so I might be going there. Of course Thai immigration can see I'm coming from HK upon entry but there would be a gap in the trips in my passport so nothing that shows I didn't visit my home country (which by the way has never stamped me in or out) somewhere along the way. So no way for them to check afterwards I wasn't in my home country during the application.

 

To summarize: I'll leave Thailand, travel to HK, apply for a METV via a non-commercial non-public VPN and IP address in my home country, and return to Thailand upon receiving the visa.

Edited July 2, 2023 by AgentSmith