Anyone ever tried applying for an e-visa while still in Thailand?

[csaba81]

I know on the website it says that you can't be in Thailand when you apply but.. Just thought I'd ask in case someone got lucky??

[Tod Daniels]

Says on the Thai consulate in London you have to be in the UK to apply.

 

Most all consulates you show a flight from your country to Thailand as well

Edited July 8 by Tod Daniels

[richard_smith237]

I've never tried this...  But.. for example..... 

 

IF you are in Thailand and wanted to apply for a Non-Immgrant O Visa (assuming you have to be out of the country)...

... Could you apply online at the Penang Consulate / or Vientaine Embassy (do they have online applications there).

- Along with the paper-work, submitting a flight ticket to Thailand.

 

Then, once approved and ready to affix the visa, fly to that destination.. (Penang or Vientiane) and have the Visa affixed in your passport and then take the return flight (as already booked).

 

 

Possible ?

[Pattaya57]

25 minutes ago, csaba81 said:

I know on the website it says that you can't be in Thailand when you apply but.. Just thought I'd ask in case someone got lucky??

To do this you have to falsely accept the initial acknowledgement you cannot apply if in Thailand and then lie in the very first question of what country are you applying to and what is your current location.

 

So basically you are asking if I do something illegal by making false declarations to a Thai Embassy, what's the chance I'm caught?

 

Edited July 8 by Pattaya57

[DrJack54]

41 minutes ago, csaba81 said:

Just thought I'd ask in case someone got lucky??

Not a case of someone got lucky.

You would be doing the wrong thing.

There are nearby consulates to obtain various visas for Thailand eg Savannakhet, Vientiane etc.

In addition some visas can only be obtained in own country or where you have permanent residence status

[Tod Daniels]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

I've never tried this...  But.. for example..... 

 

IF you are in Thailand and wanted to apply for a Non-Immgrant O Visa (assuming you have to be out of the country)...

... Could you apply online at the Penang Consulate / or Vientaine Embassy (do they have online applications there).

- Along with the paper-work, submitting a flight ticket to Thailand.

 

Then, once approved and ready to affix the visa, fly to that destination.. (Penang or Vientiane) and have the Visa affixed in your passport and then take the return flight (as already booked).

 

 

Possible ?

Ummm, none of those consulates you mentioned has online application service. the ONLY nearby consulates that do online applications are Hong Kong, and Singapore (which uses it own system NOT the eVisa system) <- singapore will let you apply for the visa online thru them while you're not there in that country, then email you when it's approved and you set up a date/time to go there, turn in the documentation and get the visa
Here's the breakdown of nearby consulates;

Vientiane & Savannakhet; mandatory appt booked consulates to get IN the gate to apply in person
HCMC and Hanoi; mandatory appt booked consulates to get in the gate to apply in person
Penang & Kota Bharu; walk up consulates (no appt online) just show up and apply
Kuala Lumpur; mandatory appt booked consulate to get in the gate to apply
Phnom Penh; walk up consulate (no appt online) just show up and apply

Edited July 8 by Tod Daniels

[csaba81]

7 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

To do this you have to falsely accept the initial acknowledgement you cannot apply if in Thailand and then lie in the very first question of what country are you applying to and what is your current location.

 

So basically you are asking if I do something illegal by making false declarations to a Thai Embassy, what's the chance I'm caught?

 

No that wasn't what I was asking at all. I guess you didn't read my question. My question was had anyone actually tried and succeeded. I wasn't suggesting anyone else do it, nor did I say intended to do it myself. So learn to answer questions instead of rewriting someone else's question for your own gratification so that you can virtue signal.

[csaba81]

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Not a case of someone got lucky.

You would be doing the wrong thing.

There are nearby consulates to obtain various visas for Thailand eg Savannakhet, Vientiane etc.

In addition some visas can only be obtained in own country or where you have permanent residence status

Well as you will know, Thai bureaucracy acts in mysterious ways. It may well be that they don't give a damn. We don't know until someone tries and shares that information. For example you're SUPPOSED to show proof of having a certain amount of money on bank deposit if you do a border run but in 20 years I've never been asked once nor has anyone else I know. Go figure.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, csaba81 said:

Well as you will know, Thai bureaucracy acts in mysterious ways. It may well be that they don't give a damn. We don't know until someone tries and shares that information

This question has come up previously.

Not quite the same but not long ago a chap applied for SETV eVisa in UK.

Approved on day he was leaving UK.

Wanted to know if he could enter visa exempt and "save the eVisa" for a border bounce later. 

 

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

Ummm, none of those consulates you mentioned has online application service. the ONLY nearby consulates that do online applications are Hong Kong, and Singapore (which uses it own system NOT the eVisa system) <- singapore will let you apply for the visa online thru them while you're not there in that country, then email you when it's approved and you set up a date/time to go there, turn in the documentation and get the visa
Here's the breakdown of nearby consulates;

Vientiane & Savannakhet; mandatory appt booked consulates to get IN the gate to apply in person
HCMC and Hanoi; mandatory appt booked consulates to get in the gate to apply in person
Penang & Kota Bharu; walk up consulates (no appt online) just show up and apply
Kuala Lumpur; mandatory appt booked consulate to get in the gate to apply
Phnom Penh; walk up consulate (no appt online) just show up and apply

 

Outstanding summary of information - thanks.

[DrJack54]

Some baiting posts removed

[novacova]

8 hours ago, csaba81 said:

Anyone ever tried applying for an e-visa while still in Thailand?

I highly doubt anyone here would admit to such a thing if they did. Given that it’s destined for failure due to the paper trail/record of passport stamps raising red flags upon arrival. They’d be posting about their experience of getting busted and subsequently ridiculed here.

[Pattaya57]

If someone did it, several ways to get busted when presenting it to IO:

 

(1) incoming boarding passes need to be presented to IO with the e-visa. No boarding passes from e-visa issue country, an easy flag for deeper questioning

 

(2) e-visa issue date would be during a time your passport says you were stamped into Thailand, so there's the proof

 

I'm wondering what the penalty would be as an appllicant obviously made a false declaration to get the e-visa and proof is right there in the Passport.

[DrJack54]

19 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I'm wondering what the penalty would be as an appllicant obviously made a false declaration to get the e-visa and proof is right there in the Passport

Just a guess....on arrival and presenting eVisa with inappropriate boarding pass the stamp would be 30 day visa exempt and eVisa ignored. 

 

[Pattaya57]

14 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Just a guess....on arrival and presenting eVisa with inappropriate boarding pass the stamp would be 30 day visa exempt and eVisa ignored. 

I would think as a minimum they would deny entry, not give them visa exempt. They just found proof  someone applied for an e-visa while in Thailand, therefore trying to gain entry by committing fraud against Thailand officials

 

Edited July 8 by Pattaya57

[Tod Daniels]

9 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

(1) incoming boarding passes need to be presented to IO with the e-visa. No boarding passes from e-visa issue country, an easy flag for deeper questioning

 

(2) e-visa issue date would be during a time your passport says you were stamped into Thailand, so there's the proof

you got your wires crossed by more than a bit

Since the advent of the eVisa system I would wager many hundreds of people using it applied for a visa while in their country, BUT because they didn't apply early enough it wasn't approved before they were booked to fly here 😕 

They flew in FREE stamp entry. THEN after they were here the visa was approved and they got the PDF eVisa emailed to them. (often within days after arriving) 

They were able to print the PDF bounce out and back by land or air to activate that visa entry without any issue at all

The eVisa PDF does not show ANY of the information (flight/date of travel, etc) you used when you applied for the visa at the consulate

Single entry visas are valid for 3 months from the date of issue and as long as the person exits/re-enters thailand before that date there's no issue getting stamped in on it

NOTE I am not saying these people did anything wrong (other than apply too close to their flight time to thailand) as they were in their country when they applied, and they did show proof of flight from their country TO thailand when they applied. It just was bad timing BUT it's happened to a LOT of people

In other only mildly related news
I just had a person apply for an eVisa online at the thai consulate Paris (hands down the WORST thai consulate in the EU to apply at with a 6 WEEK processing time) and they had submitted a flight from Germany to thailand as proof they're coming here. They were rejected because the flight did not originate in France. <- I posted this to point out that you need a flight originating from the country you're applying in 

Edited July 9 by Tod Daniels

[Pattaya57]

35 minutes ago, Tod Daniels said:

you got your wires crossed by more than a bit

Since the advent of the eVisa system I would wager many hundreds of people using it applied for a visa while in their country, BUT because they didn't apply early enough it wasn't approved before they were booked to fly here 😕 

 

They flew in FREE stamp entry. THEN after they were here the visa was approved and they got the PDF eVisa emailed to them. (often within days after arriving) 

They were able to print the PDF bounce out and back by land or air to activate that visa entry without any issue at all

 

I see your point and agree, but that is a completely different situation to what the OP is saying. He clearly asks has anyone applied for an e-visa while located in Thailand, not has anyone received an e-visa while in Thailand after correctly applying in their home country

 

Btw, my non-imm O e-visa took less than 72 hours to recieve, so not sure why so many people wouldn't apply for e-visa early enough

 

Edited July 9 by Pattaya57

[JoseThailand]

19 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

Says on the Thai consulate in London you have to be in the UK to apply.

 

Most all consulates you show a flight from your country to Thailand as well

 

This is so Thai! To apply for an ELECTRONIC visa you must be PHISICALLY LOCATED in a certain place. Amazing Thailand!

 

 

Edited July 9 by JoseThailand

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, Tod Daniels said:

In other only mildly related news
I just had a person apply for an eVisa online at the thai consulate Paris (hands down the WORST thai consulate in the EU to apply at with a 6 WEEK processing time) and they had submitted a flight from Germany to thailand as proof they're coming here. They were rejected because the flight did not originate in France. <- I posted this to point out that you need a flight originating from the country you're applying in 

There was a chap on the forum a couple of months ago asking a related question.

 

UK citizen, temporarily working in the US for a few weeks.
He applied via the London Embassy, but flight details from the UK.

The Embassy requested flight details from the UK.

He was advised he should have applied through a US Consulate, stating his US address, but also advised to contact the London Embassy explaining his position and reason for uploading flights from the US. E-visa approved.

 

Make of that what you will.

 

 

[Tod Daniels]

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

There was a chap on the forum a couple of months ago asking a related question.

 

UK citizen, temporarily working in the US for a few weeks.
He applied via the London Embassy, but flight details from the UK.

The Embassy requested flight details from the UK.

He was advised he should have applied through a US Consulate, stating his US address, but also advised to contact the London Embassy explaining his position and reason for uploading flights from the US. E-visa approved.

 

Make of that what you will.

 

 

I would class him as "lucky", and the consulate was right 😮 he should have applied thru the US,
 

there's no issue being a brit IN the US and applying for a visa using the eVisa system there

[FritsSikkink]

14 hours ago, csaba81 said:

No that wasn't what I was asking at all. I guess you didn't read my question. My question was had anyone actually tried and succeeded. I wasn't suggesting anyone else do it, nor did I say intended to do it myself. So learn to answer questions instead of rewriting someone else's question for your own gratification so that you can virtue signal.

"I know on the website it says that you can't be in Thailand when you apply but."

 

You acknowledge that it is illegal but still you want to know if it is possible.

Then saying that you don't want to do it, is not very believable.

[VBF]

18 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

This question has come up previously.

Not quite the same but not long ago a chap applied for SETV eVisa in UK.

Approved on day he was leaving UK.

Wanted to know if he could enter visa exempt and "save the eVisa" for a border bounce later. 

 

One would think that as the visa is not stamped in the passport any more, that would work.

 

Possible (hypothetical) timeline for a UK traveller: Apply for eVisa 1st Jan. Receive visa (valid for 3 months) 5th Jan

Travel to Thailand 10th Jan - stamped in for 30 days - leave Thailand, say 25th Jan

Travel to Thailand 10th Feb - present eVisa - stamped in for 60 days - all good.

 

On one's second arrival, one would have to show a boarding card from a country where one could have connected from a UK flight so not sure if it's practical but should be possible.

What do you think  @DrJack54 ?

 

[sandyf]

17 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

If someone did it, several ways to get busted when presenting it to IO:

 

(1) incoming boarding passes need to be presented to IO with the e-visa. No boarding passes from e-visa issue country, an easy flag for deeper questioning

 

(2) e-visa issue date would be during a time your passport says you were stamped into Thailand, so there's the proof

 

I'm wondering what the penalty would be as an appllicant obviously made a false declaration to get the e-visa and proof is right there in the Passport.

Very unlikely on point one, many would be on indirect flights and only the boarding pass for arrival in Thailand is required.

You are quite right on point 2, a dilligent IO could spot that the visa was issued before leaving Thailand.

[freedomnow]

17 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

If someone did it, several ways to get busted when presenting it to IO:

 

(1) incoming boarding passes need to be presented to IO with the e-visa. No boarding passes from e-visa issue country, an easy flag for deeper questioning

 

(2) e-visa issue date would be during a time your passport says you were stamped into Thailand, so there's the proof

 

I'm wondering what the penalty would be as an appllicant obviously made a false declaration to get the e-visa and proof is right there in the Passport.

On number 1 no problem with my entry.

You may be coming via a side trip you wanted to take and then into LoS after that as I was. No issue whatsover on arrival on inbound flight counyry not being home country.

 

On 2 you could be outside LoS in Malaysia etc.

 

[Tod Daniels]

7 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

that is a completely different situation to what the OP is saying. He clearly asks has anyone applied for an e-visa while located in Thailand,

totally agree with you 100% on that point

I was only mentioning that many people did apply in their country and then used the visa by bouncing out and back once it was approved after they didn't get it in time for their flight here. 

 

[DrJack54]

35 minutes ago, VBF said:

On one's second arrival, one would have to show a boarding card from a country where one could have connected from a UK flight so not sure if it's practical but should be possible.

Personally I don't think the boarding pass would come into it.

I was thinking about my own travel habits when I return to Thailand from Oz.

I always fly to Saigon and spend week there and subsequently onto Bangkok. 

I have ongoing extensions with reentry permit to Thailand however if I did not.....I would obtain an eVisa in Oz for Thailand and use it after my trip to Vietnam.

 

[Letseng]

11 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

you got your wires crossed by more than a bit

Since the advent of the eVisa system I would wager many hundreds of people using it applied for a visa while in their country, BUT because they didn't apply early enough it wasn't approved before they were booked to fly here 😕 

They flew in FREE stamp entry. THEN after they were here the visa was approved and they got the PDF eVisa emailed to them. (often within days after arriving) 

They were able to print the PDF bounce out and back by land or air to activate that visa entry without any issue at all

The eVisa PDF does not show ANY of the information (flight/date of travel, etc) you used when you applied for the visa at the consulate

Single entry visas are valid for 3 months from the date of issue and as long as the person exits/re-enters thailand before that date there's no issue getting stamped in on it

NOTE I am not saying these people did anything wrong (other than apply too close to their flight time to thailand) as they were in their country when they applied, and they did show proof of flight from their country TO thailand when they applied. It just was bad timing BUT it's happened to a LOT of people

In other only mildly related news
I just had a person apply for an eVisa online at the thai consulate Paris (hands down the WORST thai consulate in the EU to apply at with a 6 WEEK processing time) and they had submitted a flight from Germany to thailand as proof they're coming here. They were rejected because the flight did not originate in France. <- I posted this to point out that you need a flight originating from the country you're applying in 

I once applied from Austria but took a flight from a German airport. No problem.

They could have insisted to fly from Austria (Vienna).

The rule had been for many years that you had to apply from your country of residence. May be this was the problem with Paris?

[frankstraube]

I plan to spend 2 months in Thailand without prior visa, then come back to Europe for 2 weeks, then go again in Thailand for three months with a visa non immigrant O. 
As the embassy here in Europe takes at least 4 weeks to process a visa, can i apply while still in Thailand ? It is done online, so i don't see how they would know in which country i am.

Not trying to go against the rule, but to save me some time.

Thanks

Edited July 9 by frankstraube

[Pattaya57]

Just read on the London Thai Embassy site what happens if you submit false info

 

"The applicants must provide genuine documents and information. If the applicants are found to provide false documents or give false information, their applications will be rejected and be reported for further determination of appropriate action and future prohibition to enter the Kingdom of Thailand."

 

Why would anyone risk a ban from Thailand by saying you're in home/resident country for e-visa when you're not?

[Max_Headroom]

Would be easy to tell.

 

Check your date of entry against the date the visa was made.

 

Check your flight #

 

Cancel visa

Edited July 14 by Max_Headroom