30 Day Or 6 Months?

[cjeffe]

Hi all

First time poster - I've had a look round and I haven't found the answer to my question in lonely planet, rough guide or the Thai Embassy website, so I thought I'd come here!

I'm British, aged 32.

I arrive in Bangkok on 6th November then sail down to Langkawi and back again, arriving in Phuket on 26th November, at which point I'm told I'll get a new 30 day visa (my second). I then plan to stay in Thailand until 3rd Jan, but sometime in December I'm likely to do a trip to Singapore for a weekend.

After leaving Thailand on 3rd Jan, I'll then travel round Cambodia, Vietnam & Laos, arriving back in Thailand on about the 10th Feb flying out again on 20th Feb.

so, is it possible to do:

30 day exemption - 6th November - 25th November (20 days)

30 day exemption - 26th November - (say) 14th December (fly to Singapore) (18 days)

30 day exemption - 17th December - 3rd January (17 days)

30 day exemption - 10th February - 20th February (10 days)

Or do I need a 6 month multiple entry visa?

Appreciate any guidance you can give me,

Claire

[digitalchromakey]

so, is it possible to do:

30 day exemption - 6th November - 25th November (20 days)

30 day exemption - 26th November - (say) 14th December (fly to Singapore) (18 days)

30 day exemption - 17th December - 3rd January (17 days)

30 day exemption - 10th February - 20th February (10 days)

Or do I need a 6 month multiple entry visa?

If you want to visit Malyasia and Singapore like you posted; then you can do it all on Tourist Visa Exempt 30 day entries (< 90 days in a six month period from your first entry - no single entry for > 30 days).

[sjaak327]

Yes you can do this trip on visa exemption stamps, however a requirement for obtaining this stamp is that you have a ticket out within those 30 days, a requirement that is never checked by Thai immigration, but is sometimes requested by the airline, they might refuse to board you in this case.

To get around this issue, either contact the airline, the one you will use to arrive in Bangkok, and get them to confirm in writing that they will let you board the plane. Otherwise, you could get a tourist visa to get around this issue. The issue might (very unlikely) also arise on your second flight(assuming you fly from Singapore to Thailand).

[ubonjoe]

I doubt airline will give you anything in writing other than the rule that says you have to have a ticket out of Thailand.

If you don't have a return ticket home from Thailand you can always get one to any of the nearby countrys.

IE: KL I checked a while back and one way on AirAsia was around 2500 baht.

Your schedule for you trip is well within the rules for exempt entries. And is a good example of how the rules can be followed.

[cjeffe]

That's fantastic, thank you so much for your help - that's saved me a queue at the embassy

[sjaak327]

Well, most embassies will let you apply using registered mail, and it is surely cheaper then buying a ticket you are not intending to use, Air Asia doens't do refunds.

Of course if you plan on going to a neighboring country by air anyway, that is surely the way to go.

[cjeffe]

Hello again

You were really helpful last time I asked, and now i'm here, I just wanted to clarify a couple of things:

Are there any limits to the number of 30 day exemptions I can get? I read in my Lonely Planet that it's a maximum of 3, after which you have to leave the country for 90 days. Is this correct, or is it as many as you want, as long as you spend less than 90 days in the country?

I'm on my 2nd exemption already and i've only been in Thailand 7 days cos of my Malaysia visit!!\

Thanks,

Claire

[Lite Beer]

Hello again

You were really helpful last time I asked, and now i'm here, I just wanted to clarify a couple of things:

Are there any limits to the number of 30 day exemptions I can get? I read in my Lonely Planet that it's a maximum of 3, after which you have to leave the country for 90 days. Is this correct, or is it as many as you want, as long as you spend less than 90 days in the country?

I'm on my 2nd exemption already and i've only been in Thailand 7 days cos of my Malaysia visit!!\

Thanks,

Claire

There is no limit as to how many you can do.

The limit is a total of 90 days in a six month period.