Firstly thanks to all contributors to the Visa etc forum...there is such a wealth of information there...but too much in fact for a layman such as myself to sift through...apart from the information possibly being out of date in some cases with due respect to the contributors.

I am resident in Bangkok and I hold a retirement visa valid until February 2012. I hold a New Zealand passport and am a native of NZ.

I want to take a holiday in Australia to attend a family wedding for two weeks end September/early October 2011.

I understand I need to obtain from Thai immigration an "exit visa". This allows me to travel to and return from Australia without affecting my retiirement visa....am I right...?

Further to that can any member answer the following questions please.

1. Do I need to purchase the airtickets to/from OZ and then present these with my Exit Visa application to Thai Im ?...or do I just apply for the exit visa..providing the approximate dates of departure/return?

2. When the exit visa is issued is it "date sensitive...ie I must travel on the specific dates and return on the specified dates I indicate?

3. Is their an online exit visa application form I can download from Thai Im.

4. Chaeng Wattana Im is my closest IM office......I assume the EV's are issued at all of the IM offices.

On a seperate but related matter...when surfing the AirAsia website for possible flights/costs etc.....a window opens on their website stating that all visitors to Australia are now required to have (in my case) a tourist visa...and to apply to Immigration Australia via their website and it shows a link....the link however goes to a private Australian company and the fee is AUD150.00.

News to me that a tourist visa is required to enter Australia...!!! especially on a NZ passport...the two countries have had reciprocal arrangements re the exchange of Aust's and Kiwi's travellling between the two countries for since time started.

Unusually when surfing other airlines websites and keying in possible flights to Australia...no mention is made of this requirement.

Surely I can step off the international flight in Australia...and complete the normal formalities re tourist visa's (if in fact they exist) on the spot on arrival.

Any help/advice on the above greatly appreciated from members...thankyou

Re-entry permit is what you need. Just run to your local Imm office and get the re-entry permit. I think they are 1000 baht (or 3800 for a multi-re-entry visa)

I have no clue about the issue on TV's for Oz, (I have always done an E-visa online on my own- US citizen)

Edited July 20, 201114 yr by jdinasia

With the Re-entry Permit you can leave at anytime

Its Expiry will be the same as your Current Permission to stay Extension for Retirement - in February 2012

With the Re-entry Permit you can leave at anytime

Its Expiry will be the same as your Current Permission to stay Extension for Retirement - in February 2012

or it expires as soon as you re-enter the country (Thailand) if a single re-entry is used.

All you need is:

- copy of your passport (all pages)

- 2 pass photo's

- a completed TM 8 form (available at immigration or online http://www.immigrati...ownload/tm8.doc

- THB 1000 for a single re-entry

- THB 3,800 for a multiple-re-entry

With the Re-entry Permit you can leave at anytime

Its Expiry will be the same as your Current Permission to stay Extension for Retirement - in February 2012

or it expires as soon as you re-enter the country (Thailand) if a single re-entry is used.

All you need is:

- copy of your passport (all pages)

- 2 pass photo's

- a completed TM 8 form (available at immigration or online http://www.immigrati...ownload/tm8.doc

- THB 1000 for a single re-entry

- THB 3,800 for a multiple-re-entry

I just got my Re-entry Permit in Cheang Wattana - a "Multiple" one.

I attach photo copies of my passport:

Front page with name, photo and etc. And the latest page -

with the Retirement (Extension of one year stay) stamp.

And the latest page of my arrival stamp.

And the photo copy of the "Departure Card". That's all.

Paid the 3,000 Baht for the mutiple Re-entry Permit.

Less than 30 minutes I got it.

I guess you made a typo and the price was 3,800 baht.

I guess you made a typo and the price was 3,800 baht.

Sorry, typing mistake.

It was 3,800 Baht.

Khap Khon Khap !

With the Re-entry Permit you can leave at anytime

Its Expiry will be the same as your Current Permission to stay Extension for Retirement - in February 2012

or it expires as soon as you re-enter the country (Thailand) if a single re-entry is used.

All you need is:

- copy of your passport (all pages)

- 2 pass photo's

- a completed TM 8 form (available at immigration or online http://www.immigrati...ownload/tm8.doc

- THB 1000 for a single re-entry

- THB 3,800 for a multiple-re-entry

Thanks a million for the good advice...got it today

As for a visa for Australia, New Zealand passport holders do not require a visa in advance of arrival in Australia. You will be granted an SCV (special category visa) subclass 444 upon arrival. Technically, you could be excluded under the blanket "health and character grounds" or if you have previously been deported, excluded or removed from Australia or another country. So just don't tell them about your wayward past.

If it's true, I'm disappointed that AirAsia directs their customers to a private firm that charges $150 for visa processing. Most visitors to Australia from Western Europe, North America and many parts of Asia (including Malaysia but excluding Thailand) are eligible to apply online for either an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) which costs $20 or an eVisitor visa which is free.