6 Week Stay

[shaggy1969]

Hi folks,i am sure that this topic is featured somewhere in this forum but i am in a bit of a hurry.I have just been looking for a flight to Thailand and have found a reasonably cheap one.My problem is that i will be coming over for 6 weeks this time and am not sure how to go about arranging a visa.Can i just use the visa i get on the airplane and extend it by going across the border to a neighboring country and getting my passport stamped or do i need to apply for a visa.I am really sorry if this seems a stupid question but i have never been to Thailand for more than 4 weeks at a time.I am English but am living and will be flying from Holland will this make a difference if i need to apply for a visa?

Many thanks for any help

[beechguy]

I would apply for a single entry Tourist Visa, allows a stay of 60 days and if needed, could be extended for 30 days for a fee of 1900 Baht. The other entry you mention isn't a visa, it is a visa exempt entry, 30 days if entering by air and 15 days if entering at a land crossing.

[TerryLH]

A tourist visa will give you 60 days and can be extended for 30 more

at an immigration office.

The airline may not let you board a flight to Thailand without either a return ticket within 30 days or a visa.

You may be able to get a visa by mail. Check with the closest Thai Consulate/Embassy and see what they require.

[shaggy1969]

I would apply for a single entry Tourist Visa, allows a stay of 60 days and could be extended for 30 days for a fee of 1900 Baht.

thanks beechguy,where do i need to apply for one? Holland or thailand (i take it is LOS seeing as though it is 1900 Baht)

[shaggy1969]

A tourist visa will give you 60 days and can be extended for 30 more

at an immigration office.

The airline may not let you board a flight to Thailand without either a return ticket within 30 days or a visa.

You may be able to get a visa by mail. Check with the closest Thai Consulate/Embassy and see what they require.

thanks for the advise and help Terry

[beechguy]

I would apply for a single entry Tourist Visa, allows a stay of 60 days and could be extended for 30 days for a fee of 1900 Baht.

thanks beechguy,where do i need to apply for one? Holland or thailand (i take it is LOS seeing as though it is 1900 Baht)

You apply at a Thai Consulate outside of Thailand, fee is the equivilant of 1000 Baht, the 1900 Baht fee I mentioned was for the extension in Thailand should you decide to stay longer. I believe Amsterdam has a consulate as well as the U.K. has them at Hull, Cardiff, and London.

[Phuketscooter]

You apply at a Thai Consulate outside of Thailand, fee is the equivilant of 1000 Baht, the 1900 Baht fee I mentioned was for the extension in Thailand should you decide to stay longer. I believe Amsterdam has a consulate as well as the U.K. has them at Hull, Cardiff, and London.

I like to do things easy. So I would get the automatic 28 days visa on arrival, and then before the 28 days (but not earlier then the new 28 days are covered by the time you are leaving) bye an extension for new 28 days at the nearest immigration office. The cost is 1.900 Bath and as little hazzel as possible. But this is just an suggestion.

[TerryLH]

"I like to do things easy. So I would get the automatic 28 days visa on arrival, and then before the 28 days (but not earlier then the new 28 days are covered by the time you are leaving) bye an extension for new 28 days at the nearest immigration office. The cost is 1.900 Bath and as little hazzel as possible. But this is just an suggestion."

What nationality does this post apply to?

For many of us, including the OP, these don't apply. I suspect, but may be wrong, that they don't apply to anyone.

The automatic 30 days, not 28, is a visa exempt entry, not a visa on arrival.

The OP is 'English', so not eligible for a VOA.

The only extension available for that entry is for 7 days, and you might have to show a ticket out of Thailand within those 7 days.

Extensions don't normally overlap with the original permission to stay date. They are added on at the end.

All extensions are 1900 baht, be they for 7, 30, 60 days or for a year.

My post is based on the OP being 'English'.

[Sophon]

You apply at a Thai Consulate outside of Thailand, fee is the equivilant of 1000 Baht, the 1900 Baht fee I mentioned was for the extension in Thailand should you decide to stay longer. I believe Amsterdam has a consulate as well as the U.K. has them at Hull, Cardiff, and London.

I like to do things easy. So I would get the automatic 28 days visa on arrival, and then before the 28 days (but not earlier then the new 28 days are covered by the time you are leaving) bye an extension for new 28 days at the nearest immigration office. The cost is 1.900 Bath and as little hazzel as possible. But this is just an suggestion.

There is no "automatic 28 days on arrival", so I guess you are talking about the 30 days given for people who qualify for visa exempt entry. If so, those cannot be extended by more than a maximum of 7 days at immigration. And to qualify for visa exempt entry in the first place you need to have a flight ticket out of Thaland within 30 days, which the OP won't have, so he could very well be denied boarding by the airline.

The easy way is to apply for a tourist visa before coming to Thailand.

Sophon

[shaggy1969]

Thanks for your replies folks,After reading your posts i decided not to book the cheap flight that i found last night before i have obtained the visa.I have also sent the Thai Consulate in Hull England an email asking their opinion and advise.I was kinda hoping it would just be a simple matter of coming in on a holiday visa and extending it by popping over the border,but with the uncertainty of whether i will be allowed to board my flight without a visa made me worry a little.

Shaggy

[chris5346]

if you can get a tourist visa for thailand easily where you live then do that,

if not you get 4 weeks on arrival and can always do a quick border land crossing for extra 2 weeks,

why are you worried ?

[trawlerman]

i was flying out with B.A. 2mths ago from heathrow with the normal 30 day entry, as i was staying 6 or 7wks they nearly wouldnt let me board as they wanted to see a ticket leaving thailand before the 30 days were up, 1st time that had happened! had a big argument an told the woman id be goin to laos on the 29th day as i usually do, eventually they let me board as i said i do it all the time and i knew the rules, very close to not getting on the flight though!

i ended up just doin the minibus bus run from pattaya to cambodia for an extra 15days, pick up at 6am and back at 3pm, think it was around 2000baht plus i had 5 days overstay at 500baht a day, oops!!

[shaggy1969]

if you can get a tourist visa for thailand easily where you live then do that,

if not you get 4 weeks on arrival and can always do a quick border land crossing for extra 2 weeks,

why are you worried ?

The comment from trawlerman explains why i am worried.I dont want to be refused boarding.The problem for me is that i am English but am working/living in the Netherlands.I am not sure if the Dutch Thai consulate will issue me a visa.will just have to wait for a reply from the English Thai Consulate.

[trawlerman]

its never been a prob b4 but just shows if u get the wrong person at the check in desk u may be refused boarding, id always thought that story was a bit of a myth, not anymore!

u could always get a cheap flight from bangkok to somewhere on ur 29th day just to show them at checkin and not use it then depending on where ur staying do a cambodia or laos run for the extra 15days.

looks like im gonna have to go all the way to hull myself at xmas as im not chancing it again!

[thaicbr]

OP.. have you thought it's reasonably cheap as Thailand's central region is having the worst flooding in 50 years..

And yer the tourist places are not affected blah blah blah. As long as you can get to them, get a room and then back home again.

When were you thinking of coming and to where?

[Sophon]

i was flying out with B.A. 2mths ago from heathrow with the normal 30 day entry, as i was staying 6 or 7wks they nearly wouldnt let me board as they wanted to see a ticket leaving thailand before the 30 days were up, 1st time that had happened! had a big argument an told the woman id be goin to laos on the 29th day as i usually do, eventually they let me board as i said i do it all the time and i knew the rules, very close to not getting on the flight though!

i ended up just doin the minibus bus run from pattaya to cambodia for an extra 15days, pick up at 6am and back at 3pm, think it was around 2000baht plus i had 5 days overstay at 500baht a day, oops!!

You say you know the rules, but unless you already had your ticket for Laos, you were not complying with the rules for arriving in Thailand on a visa exempt entry. From the IATA database:

National United Kingdom (GB) /Destination Thailand (TH)

Thailand (TH)

Passport required.

- Nationals of United Kingdom can enter with passports and/or

passport replacing documents valid for the period of

intended stay.

Visa required, except for A touristic stay of max. 30 days:

- for holders of British passports endorsed British

Citizen ;

- for holders of British passports endorsed British National

(Overseas)" issued in Hong Kong;

Minors:

- When arriving in, or departing from Thailand, minors aged

under 16 yearsFor details, click here

Additional Information:

- Visitors who are visa exempt are required to hold documents

for their next destination.

- Visitors over 12 years of age are required to hold

sufficient funds to cover their stay (at least THB 10,000.-

per person or THB 20,000.- per family).

For details, click here

- For those who do not require a visaFor details, click here

Warning:

- Visitors who are visa exempt but do not hold return/onward

tickets could be refused entry.

CHECK TINEWS - CHECK LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES ON TRAVEL

INFORMATION

The airline can be fined and will have to pay for your return to the UK should you not qualify for entry into Thailand, so the check in clerk were correct in questioning you. It's not enough just to claim that you will take a trip out of Thaland within the 30 days, you have to have tickets that proves it (and normally only flight tickets are accepted). You were very lucky they decided to let you on the plane in the end.

Sophon

[lopburi3]

You do not have to obtain a tourist visa in the UK. There should be no problem at all getting at any Thai Consulate in EU and most of the world.

[trawlerman]

yes sophon, i realise now i was lucky, id never been asked b4 so i never thought it was a prob, id normally get a flight bangkok to udon thani then go laos 4 a few days then back to pattaya, as i work in the arctic and get flown back to aberdeen i always thought it was too much hassle goin to hull for a visa as the max time i can usually stay is 6 or 7 wks but now i think about it its a lot less hassle than pattaya, bangkok, udon, laos then back again!!

i think i must be a liccle bit simple in the the head!

[TerryLH]

"...i always thought it was too much hassle goin to hull for a visa..."

You can do it by mail. From reports here, it appears that's a good option.

[hinhua]

One thing I always used to do is just book the flight within 30 days, and then once I was here change it for later on. With Emirates it was either free or only £50...if the cost of changing the ticket happened to be less than all the messing about, it's one option....but yes by far the best option is just to get a tourist visa by post from Hull, or your nearest consulate...piece of cake!

[steve187]

Why do people not just get the correct visa before flying, "its just too much hassle" , as if flying 6000 miles to Thailand isn't hassle,

Hull is as easy as 1,2,3 ( to quote a Jackson 5 song)