ALL consulates in S/E Asia switch to online eVisa system effective Jan 1st 2025

[Tod Daniels]

Probably old news (as I've been off this forum for a bit)
BUT
I wanted to put all the notices in one place so everyone knows, effective Jan 1st 2025 there are no longer any "walk in" (apply in person consulates)

This also means that effective that date the year-long, multi-entry Non-O visas based on marriage that people were getting from "user friendly" consulates in the area will no longer be available.  

Note that you apply online in Yangon, Vientiane and Savannakhet but then have th GO in person to pay for the visa (wonder if people could ask at that time if they could get a year/multi Non-O)?

These are the last consulates to switch to eVisa ; Taipei, Yangon, Singapore, Manila, Vientiane & Savannakhet

[DrJack54]

40 minutes ago, Tod Daniels said:

Note that you apply online in Yangon, Vientiane and Savannakhet but then have th GO in person to pay for the visa

This is the weird bit.

Fancy having an eVisa setup that does not include payment options with the application. 

[Caldera]

22 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

This is the weird bit.

Fancy having an eVisa setup that does not include payment options with the application. 

 

It's mind-boggling, almost as if they tried very hard to create an opportunity to discreetly ask applicants for some extra tea money. If their only concern had been that many applicants in Laos and Myanmar are unable to pay online, they could have made it an option to pay in person, not a requirement. 

[DrJack54]

35 minutes ago, Caldera said:

If their only concern had been that many applicants in Laos and Myanmar are unable to pay online, they could have made it an option to pay in person, not a requirement. 

Exactly.

Personally never applied for eVisa for Thailand but have few times for eVisa to Vietnam (Oz pp).

After the application is filled in online, you review, check all fields then hit payment.

I opt for debit/credit card. 

Done on the spot and visa takes ~4 days to process and the eVisa is emailed to you

[Briggsy]

Perhaps they have no other way of ensuring at the moment the applicant is not in Thailand at the point of application.

 

Note the lead time of 10-15 working days. Applicants may not want to spend 10-15 working days hanging around in Savannakhet but may apply from Thailand and then nip out and back when the visa is approved.

 

Having said that, it is not clear at what point in the process payment is made. Surely it must be at the point of application.

[Denim]

Thailand switching to all online visa applications. What could possibly go wrong ?  Glad I won't be one of the guinea pigs helping them to sort out the gremlins and get their ducks in a row.

 

Be a lot of people bypassing this and going for VOA then sorting things out in country.

[DrJack54]

What will be required in terms of entry via air/land borders.

For example when applying for eVisa for Thailand in say UK you include entry.flight details. Proof of flight.

 

Many years ago applying for tourist visas for Thailand from Saigon you had to provide hard copy of flight into Thailand.

What will you need to show if obtaining eVisa in Laos.

 

As pointed out in a post above....

Lot of folk will just border bounce enter visa exempt and apply for eg Non O marriage/retirement at local immigration office.

Even moreso if Multiple Entry Visa becomes unavailable.

 

 

[Tod Daniels]

We are seeing more and more consulates that are on the eVisa system sending a "request for extra documentation" after the eVisa is applied for and asking for EVERY page of your passport including blank pages <- That could be a way to make sure you're actually STILL in the country where you applied.

Interesting that it says on some of those notices that someone else can show up and pay for you, so it would appear it's not to check if the applicant is in the country or not.  

Dunno, really. 

Hanoi, HCMC, and Jakarta all switched over to eVisa pretty seamlessly and after the first week they got their processing time down to not that long.

People are still avoiding using the 3 consulates in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Bharu and Penang) because they have extended processing (or that is what has been reported)    

[Pattaya57]

35 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What will be required in terms of entry via air/land borders.

For example when applying for eVisa for Thailand in say UK you include entry.flight details. Proof of flight.

Seems UK is different to Australia as I applied for 2 e-visa (Tourist and non-imm O) this year and neither required proof of flights. I had to enter date of expected arrival and flight number but I just made those up from the Singapore Airlines website (only bought ticket once e-visa approved)

 

Pretty sure Laos/Cambodia e-visa will be same as Australia approach of not requiring proof of flight due so many land border crossings?

 

[Tod Daniels]

Right now the TTEO (Thailand Trade and Economic Office) in Taipei is the GO TO place for visas..
 

They are a walk up consulate, and you get your passport sometimes the same day (or the next day at the latest)

People have been flocking there for DTV's because they're easy going and a "user friendly" consulate

My advice would be IF you're thinking of getting a visa before they switch over to eVisa get to Taipei NOW (before the 27th) and apply in person

 

[Denim]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

Thailand switching to all online visa applications. What could possibly go wrong ?  Glad I won't be one of the guinea pigs helping them to sort out the gremlins and get their ducks in a row.

 

Be a lot of people bypassing this and going for VOA then sorting things out in country.

 

Actually , I just googled this. Apparently Visa On Arrival ( VOA ) is only for 15 days and applies to 31 countries :

 

https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/visa-on-arrival

 

What you should be getting / asking for is Visa Exemption , 60 days with possible 30 day extension

 

https://washingtondc.thaiembassy.org/en/page/visaexempt-voajul2024

 

I guess the immigration officers at the airport know this and will not accidently ive you only 15 days.

 

 

[Tod Daniels]

12 minutes ago, Denim said:

 

Actually , I just googled this. Apparently Visa On Arrival ( VOA ) is only for 15 days and applies to 31 countries :

 

What you should be getting / asking for is Visa Exemption , 60 days with possible 30 day extension

 

I guess the immigration officers at the airport know this and will not accidently ive you only 15 days.

 

 

Yep you were referring to a Visa Exempt entry (60 day free stamp for 90+ countries since July 15th) <- which is not a visa at all just a free entry stamp
and
you were not referring to a real VOA (Visa On Arrival) which is SOLD to people from 31 countries now when they land here for 2000baht, and as you pointed out is only valid 15 days <- which means it can't be used to switch to any visa inside the country.. (not 31)

Here's the list of Visa Exempt countries AND the list of Visa On Arrival countries

AND
Before someone mentions it, YES it is totally possible for a country to appear on BOTH lists 😮

[bigt3116]

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

This is the weird bit.

Fancy having an eVisa setup that does not include payment options with the application. 

 

Both Laos and Myanmar have closed currencies, they both desperately like foreign cash. That is the only reason I can think of.

 

[Caldera]

5 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

Both Laos and Myanmar have closed currencies, they both desperately like foreign cash. That is the only reason I can think of.

 

But the money doesn't go to those countries, it goes to Thai embassies and consulates. They've never accepted 

local currencies in those two countries, so Myanmar and Laos cannot even benefit from any money exchange.

[Tod Daniels]

1 hour ago, bigt3116 said:

 

Both Laos and Myanmar have closed currencies, they both desperately like foreign cash. That is the only reason I can think of.

 

The thai consulates in Cambodia & Vietnam only take USD and you can pay online thru the eVisa system