Visiting thailand for 2 months

[tommyt]

Hi

I'm planning to travel out to Thailand from the UK in the middle of November and stay for 2 months. On a British passport I know I can stay for 30 days without a visa. I'm not going to apply for a tourist visa before leaving the UK as before 30 days is up in Thailand I'm going to Vietnam for a few days and then back to Thailand for a few weeks before returning to the UK.

Can anyone see a problem with me doing this? If necessary, I can get a visa when in Thailand can't I? Last year I stayed more than 30 days and got a visa when already in Thailand to cover the extended stay.

[valentinoxxx]

Bad idea TommyT.

Get yourself a double entry visa BEFORE you leave. This will cost you £30 and give you 60 days per entry.

So, when you return from Vietnam you will automatically get a 60 day visa.

Then you avoid the necessity of extending if you need to. The cost of a visa extension (inside Thailand) has moved from 500 baht(£7.50) to 1900 baht(£29)

If you're sure you won't need to extend, then try it your way.

If you haven't time to visit the London Embassy, here is a list of the Thai Consulates in the UK that have a postal service;

http://www.thailand-uk.com/thaiemb.html

You can download a visa form from this location; http://www.thaiinuk.com/visaapplicationform_internet.pdf

Just in case you need it: http://www.vietnamembassy.org.uk/consular.html

You can download a visa form from that location.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Airlines are unlikely to carry you without a visa. That 30 day permit on arrival requires that you have a confirmed flight out of Thailand within that 30 days.

[tommyt]

Thanks for the info. Didn't realise it was quite so easy to get a 60 day tourist visa, but I've found a site where i can download the forms and Thai consulates in the UK where I can apply by mail which is what i need as I don't live on the mainland. London consular section don't accept applications by mail anymore.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Birmingham and Hull are said to be efficient ...Hull has a website too.

[Guest IT Manager]

Airlines are unlikely to carry you without a visa. That 30 day permit on arrival requires that you have a confirmed flight out of Thailand within that 30 days.

Dr is that a new requirement, about having a ticket out before carrying you in? My wife travels in and out all the time and I'm sure that hasn't been an issue.

Just interested

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It is an ancient regulation, mostly enforced. To qualify for that 30 day tourist permit, the passenger is required to have a confirmed outbound airticket within 30 days. The airlines reluctance to carry people stems from their hip pocket nerve. When people are denied entry ( or 'turned around' in industry parlance ) the airline is fined 20,000 baht and required to remove the passenger at its own expense on the first available flight. Be very careful, particularly right now.