Visa-free stay in Thailand to be cut to 30 days

[Maestro]

On 3/22/2025 at 4:55 PM, Jack1988 said:

I paid 1200 baht fee last time. Very cheap

 

Does the Thai embassy in New Zealand really take Baht for the payment of a visa fee?

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

 

Does the Thai embassy in New Zealand really take Baht for the payment of a visa fee?

No. Also it couldn't be NZ.

Here is fees for Visa in NZ.

Mind boggling expensive. 

One example is Non O (single entry) = $800 

Tourist Visa (single entry) = $300

[Saigon]

I really wonder if Thailand would decide to reduce the period of visa-free stays in the kingdom

from 60 days to 30 days after this news from Vietnam! I do doubt that. 555

 

https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/1693484/viet-nam-to-waive-visas-for-citizens-from-12-countries-until-2028.html#:~:text=These countries include Germany%2C France,Sweden%2C Norway%2C and Finland.&text=HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Government,expire on March 15%2C 2025.

[Sigmund]

On 3/18/2025 at 3:23 PM, DrJack54 said:

Please explain long stay options for example Vietnam in comparison to Thailand.

As just one example. 

 

Or still better live in India or China ongoing vs Thailand.

Seriously. 

 

This for instance could explain the long stay visas much better then me.

 

https://m.iglu.net/best-visas-for-vietnam/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=best_visa_for_VN&gad_source=1

 

India in the areas like Goa does have some very nice beaches with reasonable cost of living and very simple to get a visa valid for 1 year online.  Check out the sites of Kerala or Tamil Nadu tourism. It's like Phuket without all the posing and inflated rates.

 

 

[DrJack54]

26 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

India in the areas like Goa does have some very nice beaches..

You lost me at first word...

 

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, Saigon said:

I really wonder if Thailand would decide to reduce the period of visa-free stays in the kingdom

from 60 days to 30 days after this news from Vietnam! I do doubt that. 555

 

https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/1693484/viet-nam-to-waive-visas-for-citizens-from-12-countries-until-2028.html#:~:text=These countries include Germany%2C France,Sweden%2C Norway%2C and Finland.&text=HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Government,expire on March 15%2C 2025.

 

Yes, while it's disappointing that Vietnam didn't extend their visa exempt program to more countries, that they give 45 days to many Europeans wouldn't make Thailand look good in comparison if they revert to 30 days.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

Yes, while it's disappointing that Vietnam didn't extend their visa exempt program to more countries, that they give 45 days to many Europeans wouldn't make Thailand look good in comparison if they revert to 30 days.

Spare a thought for USA and AU citizens that need a tourist visa to enter Vietnam 

[Caldera]

Just now, DrJack54 said:

Spare a thought for USA and AU citizens that need a tourist visa to enter Vietnam 

 

I do, and I really don't get it. They should have extended the list of countries to include those and a few more.

 

Back to Thailand though, at an event like the ITB fair in Berlin, Thailand would raise a few eyebrows if they reduce visa exempt stays for Germans back to 30 days while Vietnam continues to offer 45.

 

What's also nice about Vietnam is that the policy has an end date clearly spelled out, so people planning a trip aren't left wondering which rules will apply once they'll travel there. Thailand's insane flip-flopping really is quite something. 

[Saigon]

As for staying in VN for a long time, there would be 2 options, I'd say.

 

1. Get a 90-day e-Visa.

 

2. Get a 45-day visa-exempt entry and do a border run to get

    another 45 days on visa-exemption (if you're allowed this

    kind of visa-exempt entry).

 

I flew to Sai Gon from Bangkok last week to get another 45 days.

I didn't even get asked any STUPID questions by the officer like

'Do you have a ticket to fly back to your home country?' or 'Do you

have a booking comfirmation of your hotel room?' as in Thailand!

 

The Thai Immigration will always change their mind and can't even

stick at one thing! That's exactly what T.I.T. is all about! 567

 

Nationals who are allowed a visa-exempt entry to China do include

OZ passport holders but don't include US or UK passport ones, for

example. History does matter, I'd say, though.

[BrandonJT]

25 minutes ago, Saigon said:

Nationals who are allowed a visa-exempt entry to China do include

OZ passport holders but don't include US or UK passport ones, for

example. History does matter, I'd say, though.

Actually, those countries can get 10 days now visa-free.

 

https://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lsfw/zj/qz2021/202412/t20241217_11495647.htm#:~:text=The National Immigration Administration (NIA,no more than 240 hours.

 

"Individuals from 54 eligible countries, including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Canada, traveling from China to a third country (region), can enter visa-free through any of the 60 open ports in 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), and stay within the allowed areas for visa-free transit travelers for no more than 240 hours."

[Jack1988]

20 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

Does the Thai embassy in New Zealand really take Baht for the payment of a visa fee?

I meant, I paid around 28 GBP for the tourist visa at the thai embassy in UK, which is around 1200 THB

[zzzzz]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Spare a thought for USA and AU citizens that need a tourist visa to enter Vietnam 

 

[Saigon]

10 hours ago, BrandonJT said:

Actually, those countries can get 10 days now visa-free.

 

https://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/lsfw/zj/qz2021/202412/t20241217_11495647.htm#:~:text=The National Immigration Administration (NIA,no more than 240 hours.

 

"Individuals from 54 eligible countries, including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Canada, traveling from China to a third country (region), can enter visa-free through any of the 60 open ports in 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), and stay within the allowed areas for visa-free transit travelers for no more than 240 hours."

Oh, that's a Visa-Free TRANSIT, isn't it?

 

I meant that the OZ passport holders were allowed a 30-day visa-exempt entry to

China, NOT a 240-hour visa-free transit.

 

https://www.visaforchina.cn/DEL3_EN/tongzhigonggao/327343163872251904.html

[BrandonJT]

9 hours ago, Saigon said:

Oh, that's a Visa-Free TRANSIT, isn't it?

 

I meant that the OZ passport holders were allowed a 30-day visa-exempt entry to

China, NOT a 240-hour visa-free transit.

 

https://www.visaforchina.cn/DEL3_EN/tongzhigonggao/327343163872251904.html

It's not transit.  Everything is transit if you consider having a ticket out to mean you are just stopping by.  10 days is not a transit.