No More Free Thai Tourist Visas From March 5, 2010

[eurasianthai]

Well, I rephrase it.

I know quite a few tourists coming to Thailand and their concern is:

The price of the air ticket

The price of the hotels

Never heard anybody complaining about the price of the visa.

But never knew of any tourist staying for more than one month either.

So maybe I'm wrong.

Edited February 5, 2010 by Farangrakthai

[rstrauss]

I was walking my dog the other day in the tourist area of Chiang Mai.. I felt like I was in... Thailand

As all I saw were only Thai people all around us.. I did not see many "white folks"... It actually felt strange not seeing any "falong" tourists floating about..

I rarely go to town as I live way out in the Thai boonies.. I am the only "falong" in my village..

Where is everyone?? The streets at night are totally empty unless some sort of Thai goings on..

Maybe I will try those monthly VFW meetings..

They must be in Pattaya. I was out with my wife yesterday and Walking street was kicking.

[johnswift1956]

My friend in the UK got one of those "free" visas,they was meant to be an admin of 15/20 pounds but they waved it!.

a good result for a change

At Hull on the UK, paid £25 admin for 60 days. No benefit with this free visa for me

[tropo]

Well, because tourists don't care.

But I guess the people replying in this thread are not tourists...

You've got that wrong. Of course tourists appreciate a free tourist visa just like anyone appreciates a discount. It gives tourists an extra 1000 - 2000 baht to spend in Thailand.

[oMega69]

But. . . . . just 1% are tourist reading this thread . . , the rest of us are "Expats" here in Thai . , .,.,,..., some of us . , like me have the RED stamp in passport now :/

BUT. , The free VISA are gone in March so all back to normal in Lao again

[spatz]

Does this mean if i get a 60 day tourist visa on March 3rd i can use it at the end of March when i should be arriving?

Unlikely

Unlikely why?

You pay for a visa when it is issued, not when it is used.

Answer to whichschool - yes.

Normally you get 90 days to utilize your visa from the day it's stamped in your passport. For example you can get the visa on the 4th of March and you can enter Thailand anytime before the 1st of June.

[computerpsychologist]

Really? Tourist Visa is supposed to be FREE?? But I always pay for my tourist visa, have been doing this for over 1yr now... Amazing T...

[tropo]

Really? Tourist Visa is supposed to be FREE?? But I always pay for my tourist visa, have been doing this for over 1yr now... Amazing T...

Perhaps your local Thai Consulate has been getting around it by charging an administration fee. Perhaps they'll charge you double after March 5.

[Portlandstone]

so good news, really.

i think now all things will return to normal........... finish red stamps in laos, finish all problems about this.

......

Why do you think that just because tourist visas will no longer be free that the red stamps on back-to-back entries will cease? Where is the information for this?

It is a possiblity that red stamps will become less common once visa fees are applied after March 4. My agent mentioned this to me in on my last visit in December.

Time will tell if anything changes. Of course no one has "information" on this, just rumours.

Ahh, the ideology being then that becuase the consulate is receiving cash for each visa they issue, this makes them more 'friendly', thereby not wishing to turn away business? Either that or, they assume that now we will be paying, there must be more dignity to the matter than a bunch of "freeloafing scumbags" as we are thought of when we are getting the visas for free? Is this about right?

[phuketrichard]

They just relaized that it made not one bit of differnece to 99.9% of tourists as they come in on a free 30 day visit.

[user82374298374]

I'm from the USA, and up until now, whenever I've visited Thailand, I was only asked once about an onward ticket, in Australia - and after I informed the airline registration employee that none was required and he verified this with his supervisor, it wasn't mentioned again.

Nor have I ever been asked how much cash I have in my wallet. Most of the time I generally carry the equivalent of 3,000ThB-6,000ThB, but given that my ATM card works in Thailand (150ThB fee annoying, heh), I don't tend to carry a lot of cash in my pockets.

Is this business about having an onward ticket new, or is it an existing rule which simply isn't enforced? And what about the cash requirement?

The reason I ask is that when I visit Thailand, I often don't know where I'm going next, and I generally buy my onward ticket from a travel agent in Bangkok when I've decided. Rules are rules, and when one is a guest in another country, one must abide by them - but if this is really going to be enforced, it's a regrettable hassle, heh.

Clue appreciated, many thanks!

[user82374298374]

Is this business about having an onward ticket new, or is it an existing rule which simply isn't enforced? And what about the cash requirement?

Never mind - I should've done more searching of the forums before posting this question. A pre-purchased onward ticket (an open ticket doesn't qualify) apparently has been a requirement for visa-exempt travelers since December of 2008; it just seems that the rule isn't regularly enforced.

[tropo]

Ahh, the ideology being then that becuase the consulate is receiving cash for each visa they issue, this makes them more 'friendly', thereby not wishing to turn away business? Either that or, they assume that now we will be paying, there must be more dignity to the matter than a bunch of "freeloafing scumbags" as we are thought of when we are getting the visas for free? Is this about right?

Perhaps people should more grateful that Vientiane has been issuing double entry tourist visas for free for almost a year now. Think about it. Which other consulate in SE Asia will issue a double entry tourist visa? Cambodia had started issuing double entry tourist visas early last year, but as soon as they became free they stopped.

One should also wonder why all of a sudden in late 2007 Vientiane started issuing double entry tourist visas while discontinuing their previous practice of giving red warning stamps for back-to-back tourist visas...which was well documented (circa 2006) on this forum.

One could also wonder why the Thai Consulate in Hull will hand out one year non-O visas like candy to anyone claiming to visit family or friends whereas these visas are difficult to get at most other consulates.

Consulates must operate quite independently from Thai Immigration as they all seem to do what they like.

[Stuart8]

This thread is misleading, or at least it has been misleading me. I understand that, for tourists from exempt countries, a visit up to 30 days is still free of charge. This thread seems to be about a change for people staying up to 90 days and more than 30 days. However the thread title refers to all tourist visas. The vast majority would have a holiday of 2 to 3 weeks maximum. 30 days would be plenty. This thread applies to a very limited number of people.

[tropo]

. This thread applies to a very limited number of people.[/size]

If you've ever been to Vientiane or Penang you wouldn't think that. They queue up for hours waiting to apply for tourist visas.

[lopburi3]

30 day is visa exempt entry and is not a tourist visa. This thread is about tourist visas.

[Lite Beer]

This thread is misleading, or at least it has been misleading me. I understand that, for tourists from exempt countries, a visit up to 30 days is still free of charge. This thread seems to be about a change for people staying up to 90 days and more than 30 days. However the thread title refers to all tourist visas. The vast majority would have a holiday of 2 to 3 weeks maximum. 30 days would be plenty. This thread applies to a very limited number of people.

The thread is about Tourist Visas. You are talking about Visa Exempt Entries not Visas.