Hello,

I can't find anything about this on other threads, so please forgive me if I'm asking a question that's been asked before. I'm hoping someone here will know the answer.

I am planning to stay long term in Thailand. I already have my visa and leave in two weeks. However now the office manager in our office in Beijing has fallen ill, and my boss has asked that once I get settled in Thailand (I already have an apartment rented, etc) that I fly over to the China office for about a month and fill in there until the other manager is back on her feet. She needs to have surgery and will be out for a while.

My multi-entry visa is good through December to be used the first time. When I arrive in Bangkok in two weeks, can I request that they just do a 30 day visa on arrival? Or will they force me to use one of the 90 day entries on my visa, even though I'll only be staying a couple weeks?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Uh, what do you mean 'one of your 90 day entries'? You have what a 6 month Multiple Entry Non-Immigrant B or O visa I guess, yes?

So when you come to Thailand, they will look at your passport and stamp you in for 90 days. If you leave after 2 weeks, they will stamp you out again - as long as you return within the life time of the visa, you will get another 90 days when you return - there are not a set of 90 day blocks or something, every time you come while the visa is active, you will get 90 days - even if you arrive a day or so before it expires.

So, worry not.

WaatWang, do you have

a) a multiple-entry non-immigrant visa?

a tourist visa, valid for how many entries?

What is your travel itinerary? How many times do you wish to enter Thailand? How long do wish to stay on each visit?

The answer to the above questions will help people to give you useful advice.

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Maestro

What visa do you have? Your post does not really make sense. Multi-entry visas have a 12 month 'utilise before' date. Maybe you have a double/triple entry tourist visa?

Wow Wolf & Maestro - I didn't expect such fast replies!

Much as I wanted the non-immigrant visa, I called the closest Consulate to me (NY) and they said I didn't qualify for it - only the Tourist visa. Why do they vary so much - I had researched other posts on here and so many people can get them in the UK -?! {sigh}

So I have a multi-entry tourist visa - max is two entries. I planned to go and stay until Christmas (doing the BHT 1,900 extension at Immigration so I could stay 90 days), then coming back in January and doing the same thing, then getting an Education Visa in March. That was the plan. But now there's this monkey wrench thrown into the mix.

So do you know if will they make me use up one of my tourist entries, or will they allow me to postpone that and just take a 30 days stamp on arrival? If they do I guess the worst thing I could do is mail it off again to the Consulate in NY when I'm back over the holidays, as I will have blown through both of them already at that point.

Thanks for your advice!

So you are in the USA at the moment, got you double-entry tourist visa in June. We are coming towards the end of September and your visa is valid for travel until the December date stamped on your visa, which means that both entries into Thailand must be made not later than one day before the “must be utilized before” date stamped on the visa. Your plan to use the second entry in January will not work.

1. Arrive in Thailand in September, get permission to stay for 60 days. Then,

a) either get a 30-day extension from an immigration office

or do a border run (leave Thailand, enter/exit neighbouring country, return to Thailand) to activate the second entry of you visa.

2. For your trip in January, get a new tourist visa.

Generally, when asked an immigration officer will allow a traveller with a tourist to enter Thailand on a visa-exempt 30-day entry but there is no guarantee. It is at the immigration officer’s discretion. However, in your case, this need does not arise. In January, your double-entry tourist visa will no longer be valid for travel to Thailand.

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Maestro

You are at the mercy of the immigration officer whether he will allow you a ‘visa exempt’ 30 day entry on arrival rather than using the first entry of your double entry tourist visa. Would suggest you do not put your tourist visa number in the ‘visa number box’ on the arrivals card but just leave blank, so as not to draw undue attention to your visa.

The Immigration rules state that a visa cannot be reserved for entrance at another time. As said, it'd be up to the admitting officer at the time.

The Immigration rules state that a visa cannot be reserved for entrance at another time. As said, it'd be up to the admitting officer at the time.

My partner and I had no touble doing this in Janaury. We had a second entry of a double entry tourist visa, but asked the immigration officer not to use the second entry as we had a plan to leave again in a week. (not really, but that's what I said).

From reports in this forum it looks like nine times out of ten, immigration officers have responded favourably to such requests.

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Maestro

I had a single entry O I wanted to save. I didn't write the visa number on the landing card and kindly asked the officer if he would not use the visa, as I would return again shortly. No problem. Again, luck of the draw, and also there could be a language issue. My key tip, talk to them BEFORE the passport gets in their hot stamping hands!

Many thanks to everyone for your replies! If I have good luck like the rest of you, sounds like it will be no problem.

I was in a similar situation just a couple of months ago. Last April I was in Singapore and applied for a Non-B Visa. I was planning to come to Thailand in June for 3 months but unfortunately I had to stop in Bangkok only for 3 days on the way back to Europe from Singapore. I asked the immigration officer not to use the visa and explained that I will stay only 3 days in Thailand. He called his boss but even she said that it is a new rule and if I have visa then they have to use it.

The funny thing is that I had asked the Thai Embassy in Singapore about this and they said I can choose to use the visa or only ask for 30 days based on visa exemption. As a result I had to apply again in my home country in Europe for another Non-B visa.

Hope you have a better luck than me.

Embassy/consulate staff may know about issuing visas, but generally lack knowledge on immigration procedures which is not their domain