Hi,

I have a question about validity dates on tourist visas.

I am a US citizen with a residence in Thailand. I live there part of the year, and I stay in Europe or the US the rest of the year. I am currently in the US, and will be travelling to France and Spain for 3 weeks, after which I will be returning to Thailand.

I would like to have a triple entry tourist visa before I enter Thailand. I have thought of three possible scenarios:

1) Obtain the visa from the Los Angeles embassy in late July, travel to Europe, and enter Thailand on August 20.

2) Obtain the visa from the consulate in Penang, Malaysia before entering Thailand, flying to Singapore from Paris instead of Bangkok, travelling via train from Singapore to Butterworth.

3) Get the visa in Paris, assuming it would not take more than 1 day (drop off on a Tuesday morning, picking it up Wednesday afternoon), then fly to Bangkok.

The first scenario would get me the visa in late July, but with a six month expiration date, it would cut off a month in Thailand, and I would have to get a new visa in Penang in late January instead of late February (I think).

My question is whether or not a visa begins to expire on the very date it's issued, or if it can be set to expire six months after the date you tell the embassy you plan on entering the Kingdom. I would like to avoid the hassle of flying into Singapore and taking a train up to Penang (even though the Penang experience is so simple). Needless to say, I would much rather fly into Bangkok and go home rather than negotiate train schedules in Malaysia.

Thanks for your input

-H

From the date the Consulate stamps the visa into your passport.