ubonjoe Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Can anyone please clarify the situation for me..I am UK citizen and arrived here on a visa on arrival...I am aware of the rules for applying for a retirement visa but I am not sure about the "border run" visa. Will I get a 30 day or 15 day visa.. Or can i go to the Thai Embassy or immigration in BKK and obtain the free visa that it is being referred to in this forum.Many thanks You got a 30 day visa exempt entry when you arrived. It is not a visa on arrival. You will only get 15 days visa exempt entry if you do a border run. You will have to leave the country and go to a Thai embassy or consulate to get a visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fobuff Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wow...... I am impressed.... This will affect 0.000001% of visitors ( 1 month is free) Most tourists come for 2-3 weeks at most... And if you can come for 2-3 months... you definitely can afford the Visa fee unless your a scumbag who only comes because it is cheap... and you want to live cheap and live of everybody else.. GIVE ME A BREAK.... Fobuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wow! You detractors are really in such a rush to criticize that you totally missed the point of a program like this. This is done like almost any promotion in order to issue a press release. Said release will go out on travel agent mailing lists, boards just like this one and to travel magazines. The value of the program is not measured in how many people that were already going to come here rush the gates to save 1.500 baht but in all the new people who are casually thinking about where to go on vacatation with nothing set in stone and now reading about this program think "Oh yea Thailand we should find out more about Thailand" only a fraction of them will finally decide to come here but the value of the program is in the press release it allows you to issue not in the program itself.The notion that property ownership would increase tourism is what is trully silly Glad to see someone's one the ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 And some people just cannot be happy. They are trying to stimulate tourism. A single entry visa will cover most of the short term tourists that come here. Come on that is joke. Just look at the statistics. Most tourists stay less than 10 days and will qualify for Visa Exemption, which is free anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Where is the source of this info pls? It is a complicated process and an explanation would depend on how much experience you have with the use of a computer and the Internet. In my case, using a PC running on Windows XP, I go to the first post in this topic, giving the text of the announcement made by the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT). The last line in that post is a line of underlined text starting with http... I hover the mouse pointer over that line and the arrow pointer changes to the symbol of a hand. Now I press the left mouse button and a new page opens on my computer screen. This is the source for the information being discussed in this topic, but I see that since the original post was made the text on the linked TAT web page appears to have changed somewhat, without the date of the news release being changed. I am not an experienced computer user, which is why I have explained the procedure in so much deatail -- Maestro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanForbes Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 This will have zero effect on the number of visitors to Thailand. Bingo! Give that man a kewpie doll! I'm not sure who is running the ship, but it's certainly not a captain with a ticket. I come to Thailand each year for 5 months of the winter. I get a triple entry tourist visa (180 days) and it fits my life style perfectly... except for one thing; twice each trip I have to make a border run to get a stamp that said I went out of the country. And, I have to time my border run near the end of each 60 day period or I lose what ever portion of the 60 days is left. It's mostly a farce because all I do is step out of Thailand for an hour's shopping in Mae Sai, pay Myanmar 500 baht and re-enter Thailand for the next 60 days; at which time I have to make ANOTHER border run. The border runs take up a full day and are pretty tiring. I'd much rather go to the Thai embassy in Chiang Mai and pay 1000 baht for the stamp. Of course that would be too sensible and would cut down on the number of people using the busses. I guess it's a make work project for the bus companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 IanForbes, you could manage that with a double-entry tourist visa and only one border run, because for each entry, for which you get permission to stay for 60 days, your can get a 30-day extension at the local immigration office. -- Maestro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaical Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 RE: Cancelling Single Entry Tourist Visas for 3 months - yes, this will be extremely hard on all Honourary Consulaates and Consulates-General - we depend on these fees to keep operating. This will mean a lot of Honourary C-G's will have to either close down or shortne their hours (which are short enough already, 3 of the 4 Honourary C-G's in Canada only operate 4 hours a week now! Also, as the Calgary C-G is extremely busy (and therefore is open from 8:30 am - 11:30 am Monday through Friday) and we have had to hire 2 part-time assistants. This will mean that 2 people will not not have even a part-time position, as we depend on visa fees to pay our expenses! Also, this will NOT assist tourism. By the way, the 30-day "Visa upon arrival" rule (with no prepaid flight out of Thailand within the next 30 days, which is the requirement for farangs who enter for less than a 3-day visit) doesn't really make it clear that, after 3 up-to 30 day visits (when you get a highlighter drawn through the stamp) one will not be allowed into Thailand for 6 months - visa or not! The only comment we have ever had about our visa fees is how cheap they are compared to other countries. It's a real shame that these rules (not only in Thailand, but in many other countries as well) are made up by people who have seldom, if ever, had to obtain a visa to visit a country! Hopefully, somebody in the Thai Government body who has a say in this matter will "see the light" and realize that offering free Single Entry Tourist visas for Thailand will NOT encourage tourism. In answer to Ian Forbes - all you really need is a Double Entry Tourist visa - you may apply to purchase a 30-day extension at the end of each visa, so you only have to do 1 visa run because each 60 days is now stretched to 90. Sincerely, Thaical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phrikpon Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wow! You detractors are really in such a rush to criticize that you totally missed the point of a program like this. This is done like almost any promotion in order to issue a press release. Said release will go out on travel agent mailing lists, boards just like this one and to travel magazines. The value of the program is not measured in how many people that were already going to come here rush the gates to save 1.500 baht but in all the new people who are casually thinking about where to go on vacatation with nothing set in stone and now reading about this program think "Oh yea Thailand we should find out more about Thailand" only a fraction of them will finally decide to come here but the value of the program is in the press release it allows you to issue not in the program itself.The notion that property ownership would increase tourism is what is trully silly Glad to see someone's one the ball Me too ! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan7385 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 IanForbes, you could manage that with a double-entry tourist visa and only one border run, because for each entry, for which you get permission to stay for 60 days, your can get a 30-day extension at the local immigration office. -- Maestro Thanks everyone. But now I am really lost....If I go by air I get 30 days ...if IO go by land I get 15 days...Now I read that I can go to the immigration department and get an extension..How can I get an extension to a visa on arrival if it is not really a visa in the true senxse of the word.. Sorry everyone.......but it just gets more confusing every time...Thank you anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovenman Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) By the way, the 30-day "Visa upon arrival" rule (with no prepaid flight out of Thailand within the next 30 days, which is the requirement for farangs who enter for less than a 3-day visit) doesn't really make it clear that, after 3 up-to 30 day visits (when you get a highlighter drawn through the stamp) one will not be allowed into Thailand for 6 months - visa or not! Thanks for weighing in with input from the consular side of things! Just to clarify, what you said above was never actually the rule. It was 90 days of no-visa entry within a 180 day block of time (or was it six months)? Moot point anyway because this rule was rescinded with the last set of changes (when they made entry at land borders for 15 days rather than for 30 days). Edited February 27, 2009 by ovenman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekkamai Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Free tourist visas between March 5 and June 4, 2009BANGKOK: -- Continuing its efforts to expedite the revival of the Thai travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai government has agreed to exempt the fee for tourist visa applications for a three month period, effective 5 March, 2009 to 4 June, 2009. All foreigners who apply for Tourist Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies and the Royal Thai Consulates-General worldwide, including eligible foreigners who apply for Visa on Arrival at designed checkpoints, will be exempted from tourist visa fee from 5 March to 4 June B.E.2552 (2009). Such arrangement is for Tourist Visa single entry only. -- Tourism Authority of Thailand 2009-02-27 http://www.tatnews.org/latest_update/detail.asp?id=4235 Exempted from the FEE. Fine. But you still have to go to the Embassy or Consulate. Not so FINE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alter Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 All foreigners who apply for Tourist Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies and the Royal Thai Consulates-General worldwide, including eligible foreigners who apply for Visa on Arrival at designed checkpoints, will be exempted from tourist visa fee from 5 March to 4 June B.E.2552 (2009). An air ticket from Europe cost some 50.000 THB and a visa cost some 1.200 THB??? Who are they trying to fool. Not the incoming tourists for sure. It's nothing else than an attempt to show they are doing something. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I know, I put on my dark sunglasses and no one can see how embarresed i am. Dear Zappo..... I am not sure where you live in Europe but I am sure that if you pay 50.000,- THB for your travel to Thailand you are being ripped off all the time. Come on....50.000,- THB is about 1200,- Euro. I have been flying to Bangkok for the past 5 years and I have never ever paid more than 750,- Euro. My average ticket price is 620,- Euro all included. If you want to get suggestions as to where to book your flight tickets, please contact me:By PM Good luck. Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthepink Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The Thai Government are like Thai girls they don't want long stayers with no money they want short stayers with lots of moneyNo need to ask about the class of girls you have been hanging around with is there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthepink Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Sounds good. And not a meaningless announcement, but a definite change of policy, for the slow season. What they should do is kill this 15 day stupidity at land borders, kill all visas and visa costs except perhaps business visas, give everyone from proper countries 90 days on arrival (which can be extended for another 90 days again and again at immigration if you can prove cash of say Bt150,000 or so in the bank or at hand). Then make it easy and cheap to do business legally and not use the blunt force of an immigration tool against non tax paying business owners. Yes, I think they should make all their laws just for the benefit of long term stayers who can't come up with a valid reason for being here. I wonder why they don't, how inconsiderate of them.What the he_l is a "proper country" anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) I do not know how many years I visited Thailand with a EU passport which upon arrival got automatically a stamp in the passport authorising a stay of 3 months : this was the rule at least from the early 1980ies until mid 1990 ies. To re-instate this would be more simple because in large countries potential tourists sometimes live many hundred kilometers from the closest Thai Embassy or Consulate. Germany and Thailand used to have a reciprocal agreement allowing each other 3 months on arrival without visa but this was stopped by the other EU countries that didn't want Thais coming into their countries visa free when border checks were going to be stopped in Europe. Maybe other European countries had the same arrangement. It seemed to work well for Thais and Germans and at least kept the German puff-puffs well supplied which no one there seemed to be very bothered about. Seriously though this seems a well intended nice gesture to tourists but it is just a waste of money. The vast majority don't need a visa and those who want to stay longer than a month would probably be happier if they could pay the fee on arrival rather than go to a consulate or put their passport in the post. So, yes, offering a free three month stamp on arrival to every one for a promotional period would create much more goodwill and they should certainly use this as an excuse to scrap the ridiculous 15 day land crossing visas and use other ways to weed out serial visa runners, if they have to. Then they should get down to the serious business of persuading airlines to provide promotional fares and hotels to offer some special deals, backed up by a creative advertising campaign from TAT (don't laugh). Other things suggested like liberalizing longer term visa rules and land ownership etc are all good ideas but should be done along with foreign invesment incentives rather than tourism measures. The Dems seem to be quietly pushing the Business Development Department to take categories of businesses off the protected list of the Foreign Business Act. This is a good move because it can be done without amending the law and risking being attacked by nationalists for giving away the country. They should try to amend longer term visa rules in the same way by changing ministerial or department regulations without amending laws and becoming targets for the opposition in the process, seeing as they have a shaky coalition and don't want to get bogged down. Unfortunately not much can be done for land ownership in this way, except that they could finally issue the ministerial regulations required to allow foreigners to buy 1 rai of land for residential use, if they invest at least 40 million baht. I don't how many takers there would be but it would be a start and it is galling that the the 1999 Land Code specifically allows foreigners to buy land in this way but the Interior Ministry refused to issue the ministerial regulations needed to support the law. Edited February 27, 2009 by Arkady Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthrosciguy Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 What I'd like to see -- what I think would be sensible for the Thais and easy to do -- would be the option of a "snowbird" visa on arrival. So you arrive and have the option of either the free 30-day VOA or a 3 or 4 month snowbird visa for a hundred or couple hundred dollars. Then do a little advertising in Canada and the northern USA about getting away from winter to Thailand. I think it'd attract new visitors, and visitors who'd spend money for a longer time. Pretty much exactly who they want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks everyone. But now I am really lost....If I go by air I get 30 days ...if IO go by land I get 15 days... dan7385, IanForbes was talking about a triple-entry tourist visa and in my reply I therefore also talked about the tourist visa. You, on the other hand, are talking about visa-exempt entries, ie no visa whatsoever in your passport, and this seems to have confused you. -- Maestro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unforgiven Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 As with most things that this government is doing, the action might sound sympathetic but in the en it is opportunistic at best. If you want to attract tourists why do they need to get to a visa office, an embassy or a consultate. Just give them a three month stamp on arrival. No hassle, people can leave the same day. It is a bit like the economic stimulus package. Raising petrol prices with 5 baht including vat and complaining that the car industry is having a bad time. But than again the ruling people want to benefit but at the same time they want to enforce a kind of police state regime. you bone head.They don't want a bumch of criminals showing up at their doors.That's what a visa is for.To check criiminal records etc........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPCustom69 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Most legitimate tourists would be there for 30 days or less. And some people just cannot be happy. They are trying to stimulate tourism. A single entry visa will cover most of the short term tourists that come here. Most Western short term tourists do not need a Visa. They get in for free anyway. If they come in less than 30 days, yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaaklenmai Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Wow! You detractors are really in such a rush to criticize that you totally missed the point of a program like this. This is done like almost any promotion in order to issue a press release. Said release will go out on travel agent mailing lists, boards just like this one and to travel magazines. The value of the program is not measured in how many people that were already going to come here rush the gates to save 1.500 baht but in all the new people who are casually thinking about where to go on vacatation with nothing set in stone and now reading about this program think "Oh yea Thailand we should find out more about Thailand" only a fraction of them will finally decide to come here but the value of the program is in the press release it allows you to issue not in the program itself.The notion that property ownership would increase tourism is what is trully silly I can, honestly, see the point that you are making. Maybe, the problem is that those in authority can not! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balo Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) Does this mean that I can visit the thai consulate in my country and have a 90 day VISA for free? I travel in the end of June. If I apply early I still get it for free right? Edited February 27, 2009 by balo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes, you can get a tourist visa valid for one journey to Thailand within 90 days from the date of issue. On arrival in Thailand you get permission to stay for 60 days, and this can be extended by 30 at any immigration office for a fee of 1,900 Baht. -- Maestro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubbaJohnny Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Free short term entry to make tourists come I think they thought this one up in a cat house in Pattaya Only when a woman minister went there she said there is no prostitution in Thailand! Oh Siam I love you long time As others said a real retirement sceme (subject to good behaviour ,health insurance etc ) would be a v marketable deal Not the gold card scam that was run but a real one. The gov could insisit you put all pesion via their bank tax at same rate as Thias and allow modest single home land purchase They could put a codicil that the land reverts to the Thai spouse/state or jangwat on death Of course like the stamp on entry something so evidently rational popular and revenue earning will not be adopted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotover Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Does anyone have an idea as to what the ratio of tourist visas / entries without visa are? I would think it would be a very low ratio. And as mentioned before, suspending tourist visa fees should not nearly be as much as an incentive to visitors as eliminating the time and effort required to apply for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makwaijai Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Does this mean one can apply at an Embassy for a Single 3 month Visa? I have been here for 4 months on a 6 month multiple entry and my last 2 months are requiring a stamp. I would prefer to take an option that gives me the most time here and I am going to Penang anyways..what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicBum Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 wont make 1 bit of diference BUT at least it reads positive!! ....... As usual, all FORM and no CONTENT!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 RE: Cancelling Single Entry Tourist Visas for 3 months - yes, this will be extremely hard on all Honourary Consulaates and Consulates-General - we depend on these fees to keep operating... It is good to hear from somebody directly affected by this on the consular side. I have been wondering from day one when this free tourist visa was announced whether and how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intended to compensate honorary consuls for the loss of income. Then I began to wonder whether perhaps tourists visa would be free only from government-staffed consulates and not from honorary consulates. It seems highly unfair that with the stroke of a pen the Thai government should deprive honorary consuls of one fourth of their annual income from single-entry tourist visas. -- Maestro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Does anyone have an idea as to what the ratio of tourist visas / entries without visa are?I would think it would be a very low ratio. And as mentioned before, suspending tourist visa fees should not nearly be as much as an incentive to visitors as eliminating the time and effort required to apply for one. There seems to be a misconception that most of the worlds population can enter without a visa. People from several countries must get a visa on arrival (15 days) or a tourist visa (many only get a 30 day entry instead of 60) before entering. What is the population of China and India for example. Then there are those that must get a visa before entering because they are not on the list for visa exemption, visa on arrival or a bilateral agreement. Have a look at this list of counties whose citizens can enter under one these catagories and compare to it to all the countries there are in the world. http://www.mfa.go.th/internet/document/ChartVisa.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiman1 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 IanForbes, you could manage that with a double-entry tourist visa and only one border run, because for each entry, for which you get permission to stay for 60 days, your can get a 30-day extension at the local immigration office. -- Maestro what is the source of this info please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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