Stricter Requirements For Tourist Visa Applicants

[jpinx]

from the original posting the link

Source: Ministry Of Foreign Affairs 2011-08-26

http://www.mfa.go.th...01.php?&id=2815

says ...

Required documents are:

• One completed and signed application form
• One photo (colour, size 4 x 6 cm)
  Citizens of following countries are required to provide 5 photos and 5 copies of application form * Citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Democratic People Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Yemen
• Passport (valid for no less than 6 months)
• Copy of ID card
• Copy of residence certificate (Carnet de Residence/ Family Record Book)

6.1 Company employee must prepare company work certificate (Business card is not acceptable)

Nothing about onward flights or hotel reservations-

Can anyone clarify?

[puuchai299]

This link only seems to be from the mfa website Phnom Penh Combodia http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2501.php?&id=2815 So it hardly looks like anything more than a local scare to control tourists visas at nearby consulates.

There doesnt seem to be any mention of it on this link. http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2630.php

[genobkk]

<deleted> are we doing here. I for one am on the way out if the bureaucracy increases like this. Unbelieveable. Hotels and Restaurants are EMPTY, tour companies are closing all over Thailand (i.e. Diethelm Travel closed Chiang Rai and will do the same with Phuket and Samui) and the clowns wonder, why nobody is coming anymore. Are these people completely out of their mind?

people are still coming to thailand. Long term stayers maybe a different issue, but they do not want long term stayers here any more that is their whole point. In Malaysia you can get a 10 year Visa, in Cambodia you can get one year visa and never have to leave, philippines visa are very easy and even on a tourist visa you can stay forever. those who say that thailand visa are the only easy place to get a visa are wrong. I know people in South Korea who leave every 3 months and they have been doing that for years, the same in Malaysia. that is just a few places in the area that I know has a very easy visa. yes I forget Vietnam. the fact is I am happy what ever rules they make we just deal with it the best we can, but stop changing every month. even retirement visa's requirements change several times in one year. I would not think anyone in their right mind would go for that type of arrangement for a visa other then sex tourist.

Many on this site attack each other on their visa status, the fact is in the years past thailand wanted people here, they was very try lax in Tourist Visas and people could stay here doing that, the time is over now. We all are guest here yes, but we should be standing up for each other NOT fighting each other as I see so often on this site!!!!

[Wavefloater]

I guess tightening requirements for tourists to come here and spend their money makes complete sense. After all, whenever there is a problem in Thai society, government officials automatically point the finger at westerners, claiming that it is their fault. Thais have made it very clear that they are perfect and if it wasn't for westerners coming here, Thailand would be a drug-free, prostitution-free, crime-free, disease-free, and accident-free utopia full of beautiful geniuses.

[lopburi3]

from the original posting the link

Source: Ministry Of Foreign Affairs 2011-08-26

http://www.mfa.go.th...01.php?&id=2815

says ...

Required documents are:

• One completed and signed application form
• One photo (colour, size 4 x 6 cm)
  Citizens of following countries are required to provide 5 photos and 5 copies of application form * Citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Democratic People Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Yemen
• Passport (valid for no less than 6 months)
• Copy of ID card
• Copy of residence certificate (Carnet de Residence/ Family Record Book)

6.1 Company employee must prepare company work certificate (Business card is not acceptable)

Nothing about onward flights or hotel reservations-

Can anyone clarify?

You cut off the page - items 7 and 8 cover the hotel/ticket requirements.

[hullupullo]

Posted on 24.11.2010

http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/visabordercrossings/12642_thai-visa-in-phnom-penh---required-documents-question

Back then there where required documents,

7. Hotel reservation in Thailand with name and dates of checking in/outAirline ticket or confirmation slip with flight number and date of entry/exit

So what's new, embassy officeman in Phnom Penh today just want more money under table?

Edited August 26, 2011 by hullupullo

[terryp]

Why is anyone surprised? we are back into the Purachai/Thaxin Xenophobic Dynasty again ...only this time it's pure Shinawatra

For those asking about Condo use...did you really believe they would let you keep your little piece of Thailand without Non Imm visas?

[Richard4849]

Let me shoot myself in the foot again. Tourism is at its all time low, how else can we $%^& it up ?

The numbers do not bear out your statement.

[jpinx]

from the original posting the link

Source: Ministry Of Foreign Affairs 2011-08-26

http://www.mfa.go.th...01.php?&id=2815

says ...

Required documents are:

• One completed and signed application form
• One photo (colour, size 4 x 6 cm)
  Citizens of following countries are required to provide 5 photos and 5 copies of application form * Citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Democratic People Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Yemen
• Passport (valid for no less than 6 months)
• Copy of ID card
• Copy of residence certificate (Carnet de Residence/ Family Record Book)

6.1 Company employee must prepare company work certificate (Business card is not acceptable)

Nothing about onward flights or hotel reservations-

Can anyone clarify?

You cut off the page - items 7 and 8 cover the hotel/ticket requirements.

Thanks - my crappy gprs died - I had to reload

[Richard4849]

Thai Embassies and Consulates abroad to be stricter with requirements when applicants are applying for Tourist visas for Thailand.

Does this apply to "Visa Exempt" entry also?

What happens if the tourists are staying with friends?

Or if you are married to a Thai citizen and will be staying at their/your residence.

Too me this sounds like another way to kill tourism.

Another nail in the tourism coffin.

Blah bla bla. That damned coffin has more bleater nails in it than a fully-stocked Home Pro, yet tourism numbers keep going up and up.

[Suradit]

Can't see tourists paying for accomodation in advance to secure their reservation

complete guess but i could believe at least half the tourists who come to thailand don't have a clue where they are staying and when. it's one of the reasons the place is so popular as a tourist destination. as if backpackers are going to have guesthouses pre-booked before arriving.

It's most likely the backpackers and people who want to sleep on the beach or sleep 5 to a room in some Baht 100 a night flophouse, et al, that they want to discourage. A few visitors who do pre-book at upscale hotels are probably worth 10 backpackers in terms of their benefit to the economy. Quality over quantity.

[arthurwait]

Can't see tourists paying for accomodation in advance to secure their reservation

complete guess but i could believe at least half the tourists who come to thailand don't have a clue where they are staying and when. it's one of the reasons the place is so popular as a tourist destination. as if backpackers are going to have guesthouses pre-booked before arriving.

^^^^

This.

Another well thought out plan.

[puuchai299]

One wonders where thaivisa gets this information from. If you view the original link in google chrome then click the Home link on the left of that page,taking you to the next page,then click the back button on chrome and hold it,it will show where the link is from.Surprisingly Cambodia is not even spelt correctly.

Edited August 26, 2011 by puuchai299

[Atmos]

Its low season, and blame the guys who have been living on tourist visas and now it is crack down time.

blame 'them' for what exactly?

Plenty of unmarried and under-50 people here with incomes higher than an old-age pension pays, from eg overseas rental properties, who get by on Tourist Visas.

I'm not aware of them having caused any 'trouble'?

There is little change here, just enforcement perhaps till they lose interest. . . Feb 2010 in Singapore for a TV I was asked to produce either confirmation of flight out of Thailand or proof I had finances to support me and buy flight out, I had both, not a problem. As for address, I use a copy of partner's tabien baan and her ID card - has been adequate for immigration here for proof of residency for drivers licence and vehicle purchase, don't see why this wold not also meet consulate requirements.

Be prepared!.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Atmos

[Richard4849]

So make a reservation, print it out if necessary, then cancel it if you want. Seriously, you guys whine like little old ladies deprived of their favorite brand of laxative.

[Soi Sauce]

So what about if I apply for one in Laos or Cambodia and arrive in Thailand on foot or by bus/van?

Are these now not available due to no air-ticket?

[arthurwait]

How about owning a property in Thailand?

If you own a condo can you use the ownership paperwork for the visa?

Obviously if you own a property in Thailand you dont need a hotel booking?

if you own a property worth over 3 million baht you can get an investor visa for 1 full year

Nope. 10 million baht.

Is that when owned under the business rule thingy ? Or do you have to have a house that's worth 10 million not including the land ? However any of that works.

[StevieH]

Let me shoot myself in the foot again. Tourism is at its all time low, how else can we $%^& it up ?

The numbers do not bear out your statement.

guess that depends on whether or not you believe the numbers and their source though doesn't it.

[williamp]

Typical Thai thinking - 'How to encourage more tourists to help the economy' - perhaps u should be an ex-pm on the run ???

[FarangBuddha]

When I went to live in Vietnam I went to the embassy and got my visa without a problem. When I arrived at the Cathay Pacific check-in desk at Heathrow they wouldn't allow me to check as I didn't have a return or an onward flight. They told me this often happens. I had to go to and buy an onward ticket from the Cathay Pacific sales counter. The deal was that I could go to the Cathay office in HCMC and get a 100% refund. Within 12 hours of arriving in Vietnam I had my 100% refund in my hand without a hitch.

There are always ways around these rules.

That's always been the workaround for these airline reservation requirements (just make sure it's full-price fully refundable ticket).

[moe666]

Its low season, and blame the guys who have been living on tourist visas and now it is crack down time.

blame 'them' for what exactly?

Plenty of unmarried and under-50 people here with incomes higher than an old-age pension pays, from eg overseas rental properties, who get by on Tourist Visas.

I'm not aware of them having caused any 'trouble'?

There is little change here, just enforcement perhaps till they lose interest. . . Feb 2010 in Singapore for a TV I was asked to produce either confirmation of flight out of Thailand or proof I had finances to support me and buy flight out, I had both, not a problem. As for address, I use a copy of partner's tabien baan and her ID card - has been adequate for immigration here for proof of residency for drivers licence and vehicle purchase, don't see why this wold not also meet consulate requirements.

Be prepared!.

Reread the post nothing said about anyone causing trouble. But living on a tourist visa for a long period of time maybe considered causing trouble.

[challenger99]

In the given link by georges

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2501.php?&id=2815

I don't see any remarks about European, USA etc. countries .... I guess for this foreigner nothing have changed?

Edited August 26, 2011 by thaiphoon
Fonts resized

[OzMick]

It seems this is aimed at those using back to back tourist visas as a way to achieve residence, but if so, it is a shotgun approach which have un-expected consequences.

Many of the hotels where I live depend on walk-in customers and don't use internet or agent booking. Big (?) loss of business to larger businesses.

I for one would be reluctant to pay a deposit for a 60 day stay in a hotel where I have only seen the brochures or internet pics. Too often the place turns out to be a dump, or alongside an all-night disco. Or maybe Pattaya is not quite what the tourist expected.

[overherebc]

<deleted> are we doing here. I for one am on the way out if the bureaucracy increases like this. Unbelieveable. Hotels and Restaurants are EMPTY, tour companies are closing all over Thailand (i.e. Diethelm Travel closed Chiang Rai and will do the same with Phuket and Samui) and the clowns wonder, why nobody is coming anymore. Are these people completely out of their mind?

I would reckon that Tour company offices are closing because most people book on-line now. Can't remember the last time I used one myself.

[newmember]

Good to see this thread had the desired effect . . . i.e. panicking the dumbed down masses.

The link - http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2501.php?&id=2815 refers only to the applications at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. SOmething that must have accidentally been missed out in the original 'news' report.

The MFA is just making it harder for people to get long visas from neighbouring countries. Same as they did for Non Imm visas a few years ago. Anyone with some common sense knows that the rules wont be enforced in a western country, and even if they were, they come with a handy, face saving get out - the applicant can submit a letter to say why they cant provide the correct docs.

Next thing you know anyone with an overstay of 24 hours or more will be thrown in jail at Suvarnabhumi. Remember that piece of 'news' reported here a few months back?

[bkk_mike]

Thai Embassies and Consulates abroad to be stricter with requirements when applicants are applying for Tourist visas for Thailand.

Does this apply to "Visa Exempt" entry also?

What happens if the tourists are staying with friends?

Or if you are married to a Thai citizen and will be staying at their/your residence.

Too me this sounds like another way to kill tourism.

If you are married to a Thai Citizen you can get a Non-O visa.

That can be down to the interpretation of the consulate.

I.e. I work in HK so I'm never in Thailand long enough to apply for a permit to stay. Last year I got a non-O in HK with no issues.

This year, along with my wedding certificate, HK ID card, etc. they added a mysterious requirement for my wife's bank statements. (My HK bank statements showing salary being paid in, etc. were apparently insufficient. My salary is pretty large before people suggest I wasn't showing sufficient funds.)

I knew I was going to be in London a couple of months later so I just got a 60 day tourist visa in HK (which at the time was free), and got my regular non-O from London instead. And of course, in London, they never asked for the copies of my wife's bank statements, or even mine.

It could be worse though. The UK requires tourist visa applicants to fill in a 10 page form in English. Just imagine how much tourist numbers would drop if Thailand required you to fill in a 10 page form in Thai.

Edited August 26, 2011 by bkk_mike

[Samuian]

"Stricter requirements for Tourist visa applicants"

regards... from, the new Government?

Anyone an idea what is going to come...?

[newmember]

"Stricter requirements for Tourist visa applicants"

ONLY for applicants in Phnom Penh Embassy. Regular tourists wont be affected at all. Wait and see.

[Furryman]

Looking at my local embassies page the only thing I see different is an increase in visa fees as of October 1, 2011

[FarangBuddha]

Good to see this thread had the desired effect . . . i.e. panicking the dumbed down masses.

The link - http://www.mfa.go.th...01.php?&id=2815 refers only to the applications at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. SOmething that must have accidentally been missed out in the original 'news' report.

The MFA is just making it harder for people to get long visas from neighbouring countries. Same as they did for Non Imm visas a few years ago. Anyone with some common sense knows that the rules wont be enforced in a western country, and even if they were, they come with a handy, face saving get out - the applicant can submit a letter to say why they cant provide the correct docs.

This is true...the page is from the Thai embassy in Cambodia's website (not the Thai MFA in Bangkok) and some of the provisions pertain to Cambodians nationals applying for tourist visas for Thailand. (like the copy of the ID card). As I have never reviewed this site before, I don't know if the airline/hotel reservation requirements are new or have always been there but ignored. One would have to check other local embassy/consulate sites in some other countries to see if this is a new policy from Bangkok or only particular to the Cambodian embassy.

If you then check the MFA's website for tourist visa issuance, while they mention the entry/exit flight ticket requirement (which has always been there but unenforced...at least for "desirable" tourists) the hotel reservation stuff is not listed. Therefore, likely it's just a local Cambo policy.

Edited August 26, 2011 by FarangBuddha