New requirements for applying for tourist E-visa??

[bigqueso26]

Hi all

I'm currently in the process of applying for a multi-entry tourist visa for Thailand via the Thai e-visa official website. I'm from the UK so it will be sent to the Thai embassy in London.

I've applied for a few tourist visas before in previous years (admittedly never a METV just single), and noticed on the final page in the supporting documents section there has been some changes made. 

They only require 1-7 documents. Listed as follows:

1. Biodata page of passport or travel document 2. Photo taken within the last 6 months 3. Proof of accommodation in Thailand e.g accommodation bookings, invitation letter (of the first visit) 4. Travel booking confirmation (of the first visit) 5. A confirmation letter from employer, school, self assessment, pension statement 6. Financial evidence: amount of no less than 60,000 THB e.g bank statement, sponsorship letter 7. Document indicating current residency 

Is this normal for the METV? When previously applying for single entry tourist visas I had to sign a declaration and upload it,  take a scan of my passport for travel history of the past year, upload a picture with me holding my passport and a few other things. I find it shocking that they've reduced the requirements as its very un-Thai (due to their love of paperwork).

Let me know if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

[Tod Daniels]

I found this https://www.pattayamail.com/chiangmaimail/thai-e-visa-service-to-streamline-application-process-433796

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, bigqueso26 said:

6. Financial evidence: amount of no less than 60,000 THB e.g bank statement, sponsorship letter

Well that's changed at some point during the last 2 or 3 years if it's accurate.

 

Previously you had to prove you had 5000 pounds in the bank for at least 6 months without going below that balance.

 

It was essentially a bank account audit of your wealth - for a holiday visa - something that's so pathetic I hope it cost them millions of tourist months every year it was in operation.

 

[JayClay]

31 minutes ago, ukrules said:

Previously you had to prove you had 5000 pounds in the bank for at least 6 months without going below that balance

I think the wording states something like "bank statements for the last 6 months showing a balance of 5000 pounds". It doesn't specify if the balance needs to be the closing balance or the balance for the whole 6 months.

 

When I applied I had only had the 5000 in the account for just over a month. The rest of the time the balance had been averaging 1000 pounds, but sometimes fown to a few hundred. My application was still accepted.

Edited August 17, 2023 by JayClay

[Toby1947]

8 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

I found this https://www.pattayamail.com/chiangmaimail/thai-e-visa-service-to-streamline-application-process-433796

Original poster is not Chinese, so of no use whatsoever 

[bigqueso26]

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

Well that's changed at some point during the last 2 or 3 years if it's accurate.

 

Previously you had to prove you had 5000 pounds in the bank for at least 6 months without going below that balance.

 

It was essentially a bank account audit of your wealth - for a holiday visa - something that's so pathetic I hope it cost them millions of tourist months every year it was in operation.

 

Yes this is what people told me. I'd have to provide 6 months proof of 5k or more in my bank. Like I said I find it strange they now only require proof of 60,000 thb and it doesn't specify for how many months, but maybe it genuinely is a push to attract more tourists?

[bigqueso26]

16 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

I found this https://www.pattayamail.com/chiangmaimail/thai-e-visa-service-to-streamline-application-process-433796

This is very interesting. Good to see they are finally doing some much needed streamlining 

[bigqueso26]

7 hours ago, Toby1947 said:

Original poster is not Chinese, so of no use whatsoever 

It doesn't say it's just for the Chinese, it's changes to the thai e-visa website which anyone can use. Presumably they're aiming it at the Chinese to secure more tourism though

[shdmn]

I am also in the process of applying for the METV.  A lot of the irrelevant questions are gone so it's much better now. 

 

I already submitted it but then they emailed me saying they need a confirmation letter from my hotel as well as their "Thai ID" whatever that means.  I think they maybe mean't "Tax ID".  The hotel won't give me any of that and the confirmation email I submitted wasn't good enough.  What should I do?

 

The last time I applied for a 60 day SETV I submitted an Agoda reservation letter for my first two nights at some hotel and that was apparently good enough.  Will that be good enough for an METV?

Edited August 18, 2023 by shdmn

[shdmn]

18 hours ago, ukrules said:

Well that's changed at some point during the last 2 or 3 years if it's accurate.

 

Previously you had to prove you had 5000 pounds in the bank for at least 6 months without going below that balance.

 

It was essentially a bank account audit of your wealth - for a holiday visa - something that's so pathetic I hope it cost them millions of tourist months every year it was in operation.

 

It's still around that much for METV (6 month multi-entry).  I believe it said 200,000b on the form which is around 4400 pounds or 5600 USD at todays exchange.  I think 60,000b is for SETV (60 day single entry).

Edited August 18, 2023 by shdmn

[ukrules]

8 minutes ago, shdmn said:

I think 60,000b is for SETV (60 day single entry)

Wow, so if you apply for a single entry tourist visa they now want to see your bank statement?

 

[shdmn]

58 minutes ago, ukrules said:

Wow, so if you apply for a single entry tourist visa they now want to see your bank statement?

 

That is nothing new.  It was like that when I applied last year as well.

[ukrules]

8 minutes ago, shdmn said:

That is nothing new.  It was like that when I applied last year as well.

I'm comparing it to more than 10 years ago.

 

[pomchop]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

I am also in the process of applying for the METV.  A lot of the irrelevant questions are gone so it's much better now. 

 

I already submitted it but then they emailed me saying they need a confirmation letter from my hotel as well as their "Thai ID" whatever that means.  I think they maybe mean't "Tax ID".  The hotel won't give me any of that and the confirmation email I submitted wasn't good enough.  What should I do?

 

The last time I applied for a 60 day SETV I submitted an Agoda reservation letter for my first two nights at some hotel and that was apparently good enough.  Will that be good enough for an METV?

go to agoda and book a hotel for full stay...60 days or whatever...make sure u book one that you pay on arrival and pay $0 today....then send them a copy of the confirmation...then when u get visa approved cxl the res...that is what i did from LA embassy and no problems at all...i think your problem was submitting only first two nights...i actually booked one for 91 days as i plan to extend my 60 days tourist visa another 30 days so wanted to cover it all..

[shdmn]

15 minutes ago, ukrules said:

I'm comparing it to more than 10 years ago.

 

I don't know about 10 years ago but I think it has been a requirement for a few years at least

[pomchop]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

Wow, so if you apply for a single entry tourist visa they now want to see your bank statement?

 

i sent them a copy of a one year CD that i have a substantial $$ in....they approved with no questions...

[shdmn]

13 minutes ago, pomchop said:

go to agoda and book a hotel for full stay...60 days or whatever...make sure u book one that you pay on arrival and pay $0 today....then send them a copy of the confirmation...then when u get visa approved cxl the res...that is what i did from LA embassy and no problems at all...i think your problem was submitting only first two nights...i actually booked one for 91 days as i plan to extend my 60 days tourist visa another 30 days so wanted to cover it all..

Thank you for letting me know what you did.  My email confirmation was for two months so that was not the problem. 

 

When I asked my local Thai consulate last year they said that I only needed to book for the first two nights for the SETV, so that is what I did on Agoda.  I think I will try that again for the METV.  If they reject that then I will do like you said.  Make it for a month or two on either Agoda or AirBnB and then cancel afterwards.

Edited August 18, 2023 by shdmn

[pomchop]

1 hour ago, shdmn said:

Thank you for letting me know what you did.  My email confirmation was for two months so that was not the problem. 

 

When I asked my local Thai consulate last year they said that I only needed to book for the first two nights for the SETV, so that is what I did on Agoda.  I think I will try that again for the METV.  If they reject that then I will do like you said.  Make it for a month or two on either Agoda or AirBnB and then cancel afterwards.

ok good lluck...at first they wanted to hassle me to provide them with hotels for two months and of course i have no idea of all the hotels i may end up in...so i just did a 90 day res at vogue hotel pattaya and that made them happy then cxl...they do like to ask for absurd stuff in seems but in the end they have some box they have to check so best to make them happy

[Dumb]

I’m also about to apply for METV. 
 

is there still a requirement to justify why it is you need the visa.

in my case I require to enable travel to neighbouring countries and Philippines. Does anyone know what if any details of travel is required itineraries etc.

 

 

[shdmn]

15 hours ago, Dumb said:

I’m also about to apply for METV. 
 

is there still a requirement to justify why it is you need the visa.

in my case I require to enable travel to neighbouring countries and Philippines. Does anyone know what if any details of travel is required itineraries etc.

 

 

That annoying itinerary thing is gone.  The only itinerary related thing you need to provide is your plane ticket showing entry and exit dates.  Mine is six months between those dates and they appear to be ok with that. 

 

I will use one of 48 hour onward ticket websites to satisfy the airline agent that they did their job checking that I am only staying for the max 60 days the visa allows.  Some airlines/agents check that and some don't.  If they didn't in the past there is no guarantee they will not in the future.

 

The only two annoying things remaining is the requirement to show a bank statement for at least 200,000b and the confirmation letter for accomodation with no explanation what exactly that needs to be.  Email confirmation did not suffice for me.  I am still not sure how long that reservation needs to be for.   I phoned my local Thai consulate beforehand and asked if a confirmation for 2 nights was ok.  My reason was that I planned to find another place while I was there and they sounded ok with that.

Edited August 19, 2023 by shdmn

[bigqueso26]

On 8/18/2023 at 8:21 PM, shdmn said:

Thank you for letting me know what you did.  My email confirmation was for two months so that was not the problem. 

 

When I asked my local Thai consulate last year they said that I only needed to book for the first two nights for the SETV, so that is what I did on Agoda.  I think I will try that again for the METV.  If they reject that then I will do like you said.  Make it for a month or two on either Agoda or AirBnB and then cancel afterwards.

Let us know how the application goes and if its accepted!! Good luck

[bigqueso26]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:44 PM, shdmn said:

It's still around that much for METV (6 month multi-entry).  I believe it said 200,000b on the form which is around 4400 pounds or 5600 USD at todays exchange.  I think 60,000b is for SETV (60 day single entry).

Do you know if they accept savings accounts for the statement? Or does it have to be your current account? I have enough in savings accounts but no where near in my current account

[shdmn]

On 8/24/2023 at 6:55 AM, bigqueso26 said:

Let us know how the application goes and if its accepted!! Good luck

I finally got my METV.  Took about 15 days including the back and forth with the hotel booking that was initially rejected. An email confirmation was not good enough for them so I ended up getting a cancellable Agoda reservation for 30 days.  Not sure how people do that when they are staying at a condo they own/rent. 

 

They are talking about extending the visa waiver on arrival to 90 days.  That will make having to get this METV unnecessary so hopefully I won't have to do that next time. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by shdmn

[JayClay]

5 hours ago, shdmn said:

I ended up getting a cancellable Agoda reservation for 30 days.  Not sure how people do that when they are staying at a condo they own/rent. 

There's nothing about owning/renting a condo which precludes somebody from also getting a cancellable Agoda reservation...

 

5 hours ago, shdmn said:

They are talking about extending the visa waiver on arrival to 90 days.  That will make having to get this METV unnecessary so hopefully I won't have to do that next time. 

I wouldn't count those particular chickens.... Every time the government issue an announcement that seems to be beneficial to long-term stayers, people get excited. Then a bit later the full details emerge and disappointment creeps in.

 

The METV visa itself was a case in point. People were extremely happy that a long-term, multiple entry visa was becoming available again after ghe cancelled of the double and triple entry visas.

 

A few weeks later the details were announced and it came with both the financial requirements, and the requirement to apply from your country of residence, making it far less useful than it originally seemed.

 

90 day visa exempt stamps sound nice, but who knows what additional "tweaks" may be applied at the same time? Maybe they'll also decide that 1 visa exempt entry per year is enough for any holiday maker so bring in that restriction at the same time...

[BritTim]

12 hours ago, shdmn said:

They are talking about extending the visa waiver on arrival to 90 days.  That will make having to get this METV unnecessary so hopefully I won't have to do that next time. 

If the tourist visa exemption scheme is changed to give you 90 days on entry, I strongly suspect this would come with other changes. Likely, you would not be able to extend, and back to back visa exemptions (if you fully used the first) would be denied. In recent years, proposed immigration changes that seem good become disappointing when finally announced with all the small print. (A fairly recent exception is the LTR visa scheme where the implementation has been generally excellent).

[shdmn]

8 hours ago, BritTim said:

If the tourist visa exemption scheme is changed to give you 90 days on entry, I strongly suspect this would come with other changes. Likely, you would not be able to extend, and back to back visa exemptions (if you fully used the first) would be denied. In recent years, proposed immigration changes that seem good become disappointing when finally announced with all the small print. (A fairly recent exception is the LTR visa scheme where the implementation has been generally excellent).

They have already done a test run of this when they temporarily extended the visa waiver to 45 days.  It sounds like that went smoothly, so it's not all just pie in the sky talk with zero chance of happening.

 

They are probably considering this partly in response to the move by Vietnam to issue 90 day visas.  That is another thing that makes this sound like more of a real possibility rather than just idle talk. 

 

As far as strings attached.  They are already talking about adding strings to the 30 day with that new 300b tourist tax.  It keeps getting postponed but sounds like it's definitely still happening.  It would make that a little easier to swallow if we got 90 days for that fee instead of 30.  That will also help recoup the lost revenue from issuing tourist visas. I could see them extending the visas waiver to 90 days at the same time they implement that tax.

Edited August 31, 2023 by shdmn

[shdmn]

15 hours ago, JayClay said:

There's nothing about owning/renting a condo which precludes somebody from also getting a cancellable Agoda reservation...

 

I wouldn't count those particular chickens.... Every time the government issue an announcement that seems to be beneficial to long-term stayers, people get excited. Then a bit later the full details emerge and disappointment creeps in.

 

The METV visa itself was a case in point. People were extremely happy that a long-term, multiple entry visa was becoming available again after ghe cancelled of the double and triple entry visas.

 

A few weeks later the details were announced and it came with both the financial requirements, and the requirement to apply from your country of residence, making it far less useful than it originally seemed.

 

90 day visa exempt stamps sound nice, but who knows what additional "tweaks" may be applied at the same time? Maybe they'll also decide that 1 visa exempt entry per year is enough for any holiday maker so bring in that restriction at the same time...

Of course not.  My point is that you should not have to resort to bureaucratic hacks to get a visa when having a condo you own/rent is also completely legitimate accomodation.

Edited August 31, 2023 by shdmn

[FridgeMagnet1]

On 8/18/2023 at 6:24 PM, shdmn said:

 

 

I already submitted it but then they emailed me saying they need a confirmation letter from my hotel as well as their "Thai ID" whatever that means.  I think they maybe mean't "Tax ID".  The hotel won't give me any of that and the confirmation email I submitted wasn't good enough.  What should I do?

 

 

It means exactly what they said it means. Thai ID is a scan of someone’s ID card 

[shdmn]

23 hours ago, FridgeMagnet1 said:

It means exactly what they said it means. Thai ID is a scan of someone’s ID card 

Perhaps, but I don't remember seeing that documented anywhere.  It would be nice if they would explain what they want somewhere.

Edited September 1, 2023 by shdmn

[edwardandtubs]

One odd new requirement for an SETV is on the official website:

 

8. A confirmation letter from employer, School, Self-assessment, Pension statement.

 

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/tourist-single-entry-visa

 

I'm sure certain unscrupulous individuals would just write the letter themselves but is it really necessary just for an SETV?