PM to look into extending tourist visas to 90 days

[PingRoundTheWorld]

About time Thailand has a government that actually cares about tourism - unlike the previous government who only pretended to care while tightening immigration rules and making changes designed to limit rather than encourage. Now hopefully they also extend nightlife operating hours to something more reasonable than 2am, or better yet - let the venues and patrons decide how late they want to go.

 

On 8/28/2023 at 12:58 AM, chrischronic said:

it's a significant amount of money for the government to lose in terms of visa extension fees.

Which will be more than made up for by collecting additional taxes. Tourists pay hotel taxes, alcohol taxes, VAT, etc - so they longer they stay, the more the government makes - far more than the extension fee.

[Hanuman2547]

If Thailand were to issue a 90 day visa on arrival to countries that already receive a 30 day visa on arrival, that would be a huge positive to those that want to spend 90 days in Thailand over the northern hemisphere winter.  If you could then get a 30 day extension without leaving the country that would be even better for those that want to stay 120 days in Thailand before returning to their home country.  

[Parker2100]

On 8/28/2023 at 1:59 PM, transam said:

Tel me/us more, go for it.....????

Ummm...retired people who don't want to live in Thailand take long vacations.  And they generally have sufficient income.

 

I am one of those.

 

Why do I want to put all that money in a Thai Bank if I can spend 90 days in Thailand, 90 days in Malaysia, and wherever the Hell else I want?

 

Buying into a long-term scheme in Thailand means I intend to stay in Thailand.  I don't!

 

 

[transam]

1 hour ago, Parker2100 said:

Ummm...retired people who don't want to live in Thailand take long vacations.  And they generally have sufficient income.

 

I am one of those.

 

Why do I want to put all that money in a Thai Bank if I can spend 90 days in Thailand, 90 days in Malaysia, and wherever the Hell else I want?

 

Buying into a long-term scheme in Thailand means I intend to stay in Thailand.  I don't!

 

 

Then, folk like you could show your abundance of cash to get said 90 days tourist visa, that sounds good to me and may stop the naughty folk....

[Parker2100]

29 minutes ago, transam said:

Then, folk like you could show your abundance of cash to get said 90 days tourist visa, that sounds good to me and may stop the naughty folk....

Sounds fine to me.  When they have a 90 day tourist Visa I may do that.

 

It was you that said people don't need more than 3 or 4 weeks vacation.

 

That is wrong.  You are thinking of only one category of people.  What about people who work remotely or people whose income comes from Investment or pention?

 

They have to pay-up to "Live" in Thailand or spend their cash elsewhere (which I do).  There is no in-between in Thailand, currently.

 

 

 

 

[transam]

47 minutes ago, Parker2100 said:

Sounds fine to me.  When they have a 90 day tourist Visa I may do that.

 

It was you that said people don't need more than 3 or 4 weeks vacation.

 

That is wrong.  You are thinking of only one category of people.  What about people who work remotely or people whose income comes from Investment or pention?

 

They have to pay-up to "Live" in Thailand or spend their cash elsewhere (which I do).  There is no in-between in Thailand, currently.

 

 

 

 

I was thinking of the MAJORITY of people having 2/3 week holiday's, the current 30 days is 4+ weeks, which can be extended to make 9 weeks.........

[Parker2100]

10 minutes ago, transam said:

I was thinking of the MAJORITY of people having 2/3 week holiday's, the current 30 days is 4+ weeks, which can be extended to make 9 weeks.........

It may well be a slimer "Majority" than you think.  Working class people, who currently have a job, usually don't have time to fly halfway across the planet to spend 3 or 4 week in Thailand.

 

That is 5 days of travel to & from the United States alone.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Parker2100

[Adumbration]

On 8/28/2023 at 6:57 AM, Skeptic7 said:

Land of lotsa talk and little action here, especially when it's positive talk. Talk is cheap and nothing is done until it actually is...and even then things are often not as they stated or started out. 

This is the only post of any utility whatsoever in this entire thread.

[Robin]

Ow many genuine Tourists want to stay longer than 60 days, or can stay that long?

I suspect very few, if any.

To be able to afford to stay 60days or longer, they are going to need money.  That is to have a job.  if you have a job, you are not likely to get 60 days leave or longer.

  Long stayers are normally back-backers, or gap year students, or bums looking for a cheap place to live, not the Big spending, Quality Tourists that Thailand sys it wants.

[Spilornis]

90 days makes sense and brings Thailand into line with Malaysia, India and Vietnam among others.

Indonesia are allowing 60 day visas (the standard VoA is still 30 days).

Visa exempt or as others call it visa waiver is the way to go. Just reduce the paperwork and make it easy.

Then for the e gates

[VBF]

1 hour ago, Robin said:

Ow many genuine Tourists want to stay longer than 60 days, or can stay that long?

I suspect very few, if any.

To be able to afford to stay 60days or longer, they are going to need money.  That is to have a job.  if you have a job, you are not likely to get 60 days leave or longer.

  Long stayers are normally back-backers, or gap year students, or bums looking for a cheap place to live, not the Big spending, Quality Tourists that Thailand sys it wants.

As has been said before, there are more than you might think.

When i was working, I always worked contract so could take as long a holiday as I wished between contracts. Hence 2-3 months in the UK winter.

Now i'm retired, the same thing applies - 2-3 months in UK winter. 

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Parker2100 said:

It may well be a slimer "Majority" than you think.  Working class people, who currently have a job, usually don't have time to fly halfway across the planet to spend 3 or 4 week in Thailand.

 

That is 5 days of travel to & from the United States alone.

 

 

    Flights to Thailand from the east coast of the US take around 23 hours each way, with one stop.  Washington Dulles to Bangkok on Qatar is 21 hours 10 minutes, for example.  So, that's around 2 days of flying, round-trip, not 5.

[No Forwarding Address]

Not really off-topic, but Vietnam just approved the 90 day tourist eVisa on 15 August 2023.......was 30 days .then you had to do a visa run......totally on line, application fee is $25 USD, then you pay ?? at the airport for the actual visa.   Certain categories of marriage visa's are 3,5, or 10 years in length.  Took them a whole two weeks to approve this change to their Visa Laws, wonder why it takes Thailand months, years or not at all.  Cheers

[geisha]

On 8/28/2023 at 1:42 PM, Bangkok Barry said:

The visa system here is complicated enough to confuse many. Most, for example, call marriage extensions a visa. It isn't. As for snowbirds, I've learned from this thread that there are many. Interesting. My eyes have been opened.

Snowbirds are the thousands of tourists that flee their own freezing winters for sunny shores. I was once part of a click of people that met up nearly every year on Kata beach Phuket for sunset and beers , at the time when phuket was idyllic. Myself 1984 to 2004 . We were Germans, Brit’s , Italians , Austrians all spending around 5 months in Thailand. This was the time of double entry visas , so easy for us, with a quick trip to Ranong for a border hop ( driven by our Thai friends) . We stayed in bungalows and small hotels as no condos , I think even Patong only had 2. Made lifelong friends , and even now, I try to go there every year to see the few that stayed on, and my Thai friends who were, and are still, wonderful people . We’ve grown old together. 

[Bangkok Barry]

28 minutes ago, geisha said:

Snowbirds are the thousands of tourists that flee their own freezing winters for sunny shores. I was once part of a click of people that met up nearly every year on Kata beach Phuket for sunset and beers , at the time when phuket was idyllic. Myself 1984 to 2004 . We were Germans, Brit’s , Italians , Austrians all spending around 5 months in Thailand. This was the time of double entry visas , so easy for us, with a quick trip to Ranong for a border hop ( driven by our Thai friends) . We stayed in bungalows and small hotels as no condos , I think even Patong only had 2. Made lifelong friends , and even now, I try to go there every year to see the few that stayed on, and my Thai friends who were, and are still, wonderful people . We’ve grown old together. 

Wonderful. I envy you.

[Hunz Kittisak]

I didn’t know citizens of Argentina, Brazil and South Korea among others already enjoy 90 days visa free entry now 

[Hanuman2547]

9 hours ago, Robin said:

Ow many genuine Tourists want to stay longer than 60 days, or can stay that long?

I suspect very few, if any.

To be able to afford to stay 60days or longer, they are going to need money.  That is to have a job.  if you have a job, you are not likely to get 60 days leave or longer.

  Long stayers are normally back-backers, or gap year students, or bums looking for a cheap place to live, not the Big spending, Quality Tourists that Thailand sys it wants.

Retired "snowbirds" escaping the northern hemisphere winter would be another group of people to add to the list.  

Perhaps digital nomads would be another.  

[JemJem]

I am really HOPING the 90-day visa exempt thing becomes a reality, and hopefully by the start of the upcoming high season. But, sadly, I am GUESSING it won't happen, at least not this year. 

 

Anyway, I think we will find out by October for sure, if it will happen or not.

 

My guess is they are likely to make it 45 days (or maybe even 60 days) this high season, just like the last high season.

 

Anyway, time will tell. Hoping for the best.

[hioctane]

On 8/28/2023 at 10:01 PM, stratocaster said:

I have a different slant on this. Firstly they have already tried increasing the VE from 30 days to 45 days and decided to revert back to 30 days. Maybe they discovered that there was no significant increase in VE arrivals so why did they not leave it at 45 days?. There could have been a situation that 50 % of 30 day VE entries extend their stay by 30 days at a cost of 1900 baht but 45 day entries only 10% extended. Secondly who will make up for the loss of revenue that will occur from less visas been issued. I am sure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not be happy. Just take one consulate as an example, 200 visa applications day three days a week at average 2000 baht a pop is 1,200,000 baht/week. Also, can't see immigration sitting back while their income is slashed.

The 45 day change was a temporary change. They just let it expire (or need to keep renewing). Changing it permanently adds a lot more bureaucracy.

 

The amount that tourists spend will far surpass the tiny amount they collect from visas.

[steve187]

On 8/28/2023 at 2:04 PM, Marco51 said:

mate, the maoists are already exempt from the plan.....and a plan only it is too. I agree to the bloke above: very few tourists need 90 days and those who do will get a visa at the embassy. I was talking however about those of us who are here long term but still have to report on bail every 90 days and cannot drive to neighbouring provinces overnight for a round of golf without reporting back to wherever we came from (TM30). Otherwise 800 Baht for AWAL. Pure anachronism but.....jurassic park.

which office make you do a fresh tm30 after one night in another province

[steve187]

13 hours ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

I didn’t know citizens of Argentina, Brazil and South Korea among others already enjoy 90 days visa free entry now 

is Russia not given the same 90 days

[JayClay]

17 hours ago, newnative said:

    Flights to Thailand from the east coast of the US take around 23 hours each way, with one stop.  Washington Dulles to Bangkok on Qatar is 21 hours 10 minutes, for example.  So, that's around 2 days of flying, round-trip, not 5.

You need to arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure in each direction. Plus you need to travel to the airport in the USA, from the airport in Thailand to your destination, back from your destination in Thailand to the airport, and back from the airport in the USA to your home.

 

Depending on how far you live from the airport in the US, and where you are staying in Thailand, all that added together could easily add up to another day or two, especially if you're not able to fly direct.

[newnative]

22 minutes ago, JayClay said:

You need to arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure in each direction. Plus you need to travel to the airport in the USA, from the airport in Thailand to your destination, back from your destination in Thailand to the airport, and back from the airport in the USA to your home.

 

Depending on how far you live from the airport in the US, and where you are staying in Thailand, all that added together could easily add up to another day or two, especially if you're not able to fly direct.

    You forgot to add the time spent packing and then unpacking your suitcase.  555  Google tells us that half the people in the US live within 17 miles of a decent size airport.  90% live no more than an hour away.  For the vast majority, you're, at the very worst, an hour drive to the smaller airport to take a 2 to 3 hour flight to one of the dozen big city airports that flies to Thailand.   So, that leaves us, worst case:

Pack suitcase  (I decided

to leave out showering,

dressing, and

brushing teeth)                     1 hour

Drive to small airport           1 hour

Wait time at small airport    2 hours

Flight to large airport           3 hours

Wait time at large airport    3 hours

Flight USA/Thailand             22 hours

Total 1 way                            32 hours   Less than a day and a half, one way, worst case, equals less than 3 days total, not your '5 days of travel to & from the United States alone'.  (Note you weren't figuring in after arrival travel in the 5 days.)  In any case, what one does after one arrives at a destination is up to the individual and not really relevant in regard to travel times to and from a destination.

[kinyara]

23 hours ago, No Forwarding Address said:

Not really off-topic, but Vietnam just approved the 90 day tourist eVisa on 15 August 2023.......was 30 days .then you had to do a visa run......totally on line, application fee is $25 USD, then you pay ?? at the airport for the actual visa.   Certain categories of marriage visa's are 3,5, or 10 years in length.  Took them a whole two weeks to approve this change to their Visa Laws, wonder why it takes Thailand months, years or not at all.  Cheers

Absolute nonsense, Vietnam's visa situation has been a disaster for their tourism industry since the end of Covid. While Thailand sensibly increased visa free entry from 30 to 45 days ahead of the last high season to kickstart tourism the Vietnamese pen pushers were still shuffling paper from department to department. It may have taken them 2 weeks to sign it off but it's actually taken them almost 2 years to get there.

 

The tourist numbers before and after Covid speak for themselves. In 2019 Vietnam attracted 45% of Thailand's total, in 2022 that number had reduced to 33%, so far to July 2023 it has still not recovered to 2019 levels. at 43%. Hence why they have finally decided to awaken from their coma and do something.

 

To tout the Vietnamese government as a model of fast responsive law making is laughable, it remains the epitome of a slow moving Communist style committee bureaucracy. 

 

 

 

 

[hioctane]

17 hours ago, kinyara said:

Absolute nonsense, Vietnam's visa situation has been a disaster for their tourism industry since the end of Covid. While Thailand sensibly increased visa free entry from 30 to 45 days ahead of the last high season to kickstart tourism the Vietnamese pen pushers were still shuffling paper from department to department. It may have taken them 2 weeks to sign it off but it's actually taken them almost 2 years to get there.

 

The tourist numbers before and after Covid speak for themselves. In 2019 Vietnam attracted 45% of Thailand's total, in 2022 that number had reduced to 33%, so far to July 2023 it has still not recovered to 2019 levels. at 43%. Hence why they have finally decided to awaken from their coma and do something.

 

To tout the Vietnamese government as a model of fast responsive law making is laughable, it remains the epitome of a slow moving Communist style committee bureaucracy. 

 

 

 

 

Changing laws is a bureaucratic nightmare in any country. That is why the Thais did a smart thing and made a temporary “emergency” 44 day  measure that they could quickly push through.

 

Changing the laws from 30 to 90 days, I suspect, will take just as long as in Vietnam. Who knows when it will actually be implemented.

[Captain Monday]

On 8/30/2023 at 4:54 AM, Robin said:

Ow many genuine Tourists want to stay longer than 60 days, or can stay that long?

I suspect very few, if any.

To be able to afford to stay 60days or longer, they are going to need money.  That is to have a job.  if you have a job, you are not likely to get 60 days leave or longer.

  Long stayers are normally back-backers, or gap year students, or bums looking for a cheap place to live, not the Big spending, Quality Tourists that Thailand sys it wants.

 Remote workers “Wealthy global citizens “,   the idle rich. Retired people with assets. Full time travelers. Snowbirds. FIFO overseas workers on rotations. And they don’t have to stay 90 days better to have the option with less hassle.  
 

Probably never happen though as different organs of the Thai govt work at cross purposes. One side extending a welcoming hand, another denying entry for “staying too long and coming too many times”

 

[No Forwarding Address]

23 hours ago, kinyara said:

Absolute nonsense, Vietnam's visa situation has been a disaster for their tourism industry since the end of Covid. While Thailand sensibly increased visa free entry from 30 to 45 days ahead of the last high season to kickstart tourism the Vietnamese pen pushers were still shuffling paper from department to department. It may have taken them 2 weeks to sign it off but it's actually taken them almost 2 years to get there.

 

The tourist numbers before and after Covid speak for themselves. In 2019 Vietnam attracted 45% of Thailand's total, in 2022 that number had reduced to 33%, so far to July 2023 it has still not recovered to 2019 levels. at 43%. Hence why they have finally decided to awaken from their coma and do something.

 

To tout the Vietnamese government as a model of fast responsive law making is laughable, it remains the epitome of a slow moving Communist style committee bureaucracy. 

 

 

 

 

It may have taken them two years to formulate their tourist visa plans, but only two weeks to approve and sign into law.........not hemming and hawing or protesting from every tom, dick, or harry MP like Thailand, that is all I was trying to convey.  Subject of this post is "PM looking into extending tourist visa's to 90 days". and Vietnam has done it already, only after two weeks from proposal.   As for the other parts of your post I have no argument, it wasn't part of my post, go cast your fishing line in another klong.        Cheers

[kinyara]

14 minutes ago, No Forwarding Address said:

It may have taken them two years to formulate their tourist visa plans, but only two weeks to approve and sign into law.........not hemming and hawing or protesting from every tom, dick, or harry MP like Thailand, that is all I was trying to convey.  Subject of this post is "PM looking into extending tourist visa's to 90 days". and Vietnam has done it already, only after two weeks from proposal.   As for the other parts of your post I have no argument, it wasn't part of my post, go cast your fishing line in another klong.        Cheers

I'm not sure a PM who is less than 1 week in the job and whose Cabinet has yet to be formally sworn is in a position at this stage to enact any policy change, that is unrealistic and legislatively impossible. However it appears to be a priority in his to do list and I expect we'll see action somewhat quicker than the 2 years and 2 weeks of hemming and hawing and protesting from every tom, dick and harry led Committee it took Vietnam to finally enact a change. I wonder if Thailand will insist on compulsory insurance like Vietnam.

[JayClay]

On 8/31/2023 at 9:39 AM, newnative said:

not your '5 days of travel to & from the United States alone'. 

I never said that it would take 5 days. But I believe the poster who did say that was making a reasonable estimate. Perhaps it was a little exaggerated, but their guestimate is far more useful than quoting the amount of hours from take off to landing.

 

Whenever I talk about travel times I generally talk in terms oftdoor-to-door.... Otherwise I'd just be talking about flight times.

[Parker2100]

On 8/30/2023 at 2:07 PM, newnative said:

    Flights to Thailand from the east coast of the US take around 23 hours each way, with one stop.  Washington Dulles to Bangkok on Qatar is 21 hours 10 minutes, for example.  So, that's around 2 days of flying, round-trip, not 5.

Depends on the scheduling og the connecting flights.

 

If you pay top dollar, sure.  But my flights usually have two connecting flights.  And I prefer sufficient time in-between connections in case one is late or cancelled.

 

Still, if you are lucky enough to have 3 week to a month of vacation time.  Is paying a couple grand to fly halfway around the world going to be the first choice of most tourists?