Thai Visa

[tmaldini]

Hi,

I'm a 24 year old mexican wanting to start a long journey around the wold; a few years ago (2001) I visited Thailand and fell in love with that country, back then visas weren't a problem, I think everyone could get a 90 day tourist visa; now I'm told by the Thai embassy in Mexico that they'll only give me a one time entry visa with a return flight ticket, and that I can't renew the visa while in Thailand.

My questions are the following, are the laws very strict if you remain in the country after the visa expires? How hard is it to find some kind of job for a backpacker? I don't intend to stay and live forever in Thailand but I would like to earn some money to finance the costs of travelling through Thailand and then be able to move on to another country...

I would appreciate any information that could be helpful to me; any tips, advice or comments are very much welcome.

Ricardo.

[jonniebkk]

just look around this site and see all the questions about work permits and visas. yes, it is a very serious offense to stay in thailand past your visa expiration date. (it's a totally different situation than if you were to overstay in let's say, the USA, where MALDEF, the ACLU, jessie jackson, al sharpton, carlos santana, and every other leftist agitprop group/groupie would jump to your defense if you were ever to be apprehended by the US immigration authorities). here in thailand, nowone will give a ###### and you would be left to stew in the immigration jail till your family or friends paid a substantial amount in fines and bought you a ticket out of the country.

also, it is ilegal for a foreigner to work in thailand without a work permit. period. don't even think of doing so without one. again a very serious offense, with serious jail time and financial penalities for violators. that said, if you have specific skills a thai or foreign company in thailand could use, they/you may be able to get you a WP. in that case, you could convert your visa in country to an extendable visa and you would have up to 1 year to stay and work in thailand. if for some reason you could not convert the original visa in thailand, you could take a short trip to a neighboring country, with your WP in hand, and most likely obtain a new proper visa allowing you the 1 year stay.

this is all a quite slow and bureaucratic process and really is not for someone only wishing to work for a little while while financing a trip to thailand or saving money for the next leg of an extended world tour. it is more for those who have decided to live in thailand for an extended period of time.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

A tourist visa enables a 60 day stay, and is extendable by a further 30 days. This has been the case for many years. Mexicans are not eligible for a visa free stay at all, nor can a Mexican get a permit on arrival. It will be very difficult for you to achieve your stated goals in Thailand. You could try to obtain a visa elsewhere, eg.

in the USA. Your chances of finding casual work here are negligible unless you have demonstrable skills.

[KevinN]

The reason it is hard for a MEX to get a visa anywhere in the world is because your people have proven that they are not a responsible people when it comes to an expired visa and doing what is stated by law,,500,000 to 1 mil. mexicans on expired visas now living in california on welfare and can't get rid of them,plus you wouldn't like it here as we have no welfare ,just like mexico,you work or you don't eat,

But unlike mexico,the Thai govt. does not take kindly to armed robbery, murder, drug running/dealing and general thievery as an accepted substitute for a job.

So it would be better if you kinda scratched Thailand off your coming itinerary.

Dr.P,what the ###### you trying to send him to USA for? man they got millions of wet backs there now.they got the welfare so overloaded that it goin in the hole now,and they already got all the jobs so none left for tax payers to have.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Dr.P,what the ###### you trying to send him to USA for? man they got millions of wet backs there now.they got the welfare so overloaded that it goin in the hole now,and they already got all the jobs so none left for tax payers to have.

Oooooooooh sorry Kev. I thought that just one more wouldn't matter a great deal