Getting A Visa At The Bangkok Airport

[egeefay]

My wife is a Thai with US passport and I am a US citizen.

We plan to travel to Thailand and stay for several months (36 days for me..90 days for her)

We thought we could get a visa at the airport in thailand but I'm told they only issue 30 day visas.

What are our options. It's too late to apply at the counsulate here.

Thanks

[Pink Mist]

just cross a border and get stamped back in for another 30 days

[egeefay]

just cross a border and get stamped back in for another 30 days

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your reply and suggestion. Short of having to travel to Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia, is it easy enough apply for an extension somewhere in Bangkok.

I once heard someone say that you can get an extension by paying a fee of a couple thousand baht but I never got more details than that

[lopburi3]

It will not matter if the airline says you do not get on the flight as they could well say as you do no meet requirements to receive a 30 day stay without visa unless you have onward transportation within 30 days. They may not check but if they do you may have to either change your return date (may not be possible) or buy a ticket to some other country (full fare so you can turn in later). So be prepared. It may not be checked but it is the law.

You can probably obtain 10 days extension on that 30 day stay from an immigration office for 1,900 baht and a current 4x6cm passport photo (or two) and copies of passport pages.

Your wife can obtain a one year extension on the basis of her citizenship at the same time. She does have an ID card? If she has no proof she will have to make border runs every 30 days like other foreigners without visas. She should really obtain and use a Thai passport for Thailand to avoid visa troubles.

[egeefay]

My wife intends to apply for her residency card (butt brachum doah) when she goes to Thailand this time. If she enters Thailand using a US passport..then mangaes to get her residency card and Thai passport during her stay in Thailand, can she exit the country using her Thai passport..and use her US passport upon arrival back in the states.. The US passport will be missing the Thai extension visa and show that she "overstayed" her 30 day tourist visa since she won't have applied for an extension but used her Thai ID to stay in Thailand

[lopburi3]

She needs to exit Thailand using the passport she entered with and she needs to take care of her entry/stay in any case. So if she gets a passport she could exit with the US and enter with the Thai during the 30 days stay allowed or she could extend here stay and then exit with the US passport later. Thereafter always use the Thai at the Thai end and the US at the US end.

[thaiflyer1]

We plan to travel to Thailand and stay for several months (36 days for me..90 days for her)

Bit confused by this statement are you staying several months or 36 days?

If 36 days then as already pointed out simply extend your visa by 10 days at local immigration in Bangkok...........providing you can get on the plane of course.

If its going to be a several month stay then you may wish to consider doing a run down to Penang Malaysia for a new double entry tourist visa at the end of your 30 day stay...............this way you will only have to leave the country once during the 6 months remaining of your stay..........alternative to this is exiting and re-entering Thailand every 30 days (border running) which could become tiresome.

[The Dude]

The last time that I came from the USA, my airline, Northwest, asked me, The Dude, if I had a proper visa cause my return was in 90 days. I did have the said proper visa so was not an issue

[george]

My wife intends to apply for her residency card (butt brachum doah) when she goes to Thailand this time.  If she enters Thailand using a US passport..then mangaes to get her residency card and Thai passport during her stay in Thailand,  can she exit the country using her Thai passport..and use her US passport upon arrival back in the states..  The US passport will be missing the Thai extension visa and show that she "overstayed" her 30 day tourist visa since she won't have applied for an extension but used her Thai ID to  stay in Thailand

She should enter Thailand with a Thai Passport or Thai ID card, never mind if it's expired or not.

A Thai citizen should *never* enter the Kingdom with a foreign passport (or be an Alien).

[samran]

My wife intends to apply for her residency card (butt brachum doah) when she goes to Thailand this time.  If she enters Thailand using a US passport..then mangaes to get her residency card and Thai passport during her stay in Thailand,  can she exit the country using her Thai passport..and use her US passport upon arrival back in the states..  The US passport will be missing the Thai extension visa and show that she "overstayed" her 30 day tourist visa since she won't have applied for an extension but used her Thai ID to  stay in Thailand

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If your wife enters Thailand on her US PP, she will need to depart on that passport as well.

As others have said, best to plan ahead and get the Thai PP organised before departure. It will make everyones stay in Thailand infintely easier, and the local ID card issuer will most likely want to see that she actually did enter the country recently (ideally on the Thai PP) so she can avoid be fined for not having an ID card renewed when her last one expired.

[Thaiquila]

The last time that I came from the USA, my airline, Northwest, asked me, The Dude, if I had a proper visa cause my return was in 90 days. I did have the said proper visa so was not an issue

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had the same experience with Northwest. They were totally on the ball about checking for visas when the return is over 30 days. They were clear boarding would have been denied without a visa.

I would buy a cheap air ticket to Penang to show exiting Thailand before 30 days; otherwise, it is likely you will be denied boarding.

[egeefay]

We plan to travel to Thailand and stay for several months (36 days for me..90 days for her)

Bit confused by this statement are you staying several months or 36 days?

I will be visiting Thailand for 36 days. But my wife will stay on for a total of three months.

Since there is no time for her to apply for a Thai passport (we leave for Thailand in a week) perhaps we can apply for one in Bangkok, or get one when we come back to the States. Would that be the thing to do?

The part that confuses me is that it will look like she has dual citizenship.

Is it possible to use her Thai passport when entering Thailand and her US passport when entering the US....on the same trip. There won't be any indication on the US passport that she applied for a visa to Thailand or that she ever exited the US at all. Might that be a problem coming back to the STates

[samran]

I will be visiting Thailand  for 36 days.  But my wife will stay on for a total of three months.

Since there is no time for her to apply for a Thai passport (we leave for Thailand in a week) perhaps we can apply for one in Bangkok, or get one when we come back to the States.  Would that be the thing to do?

The part that confuses me is that it will look like she has dual citizenship. 

Is it possible to use her Thai passport when entering Thailand and her US passport when entering the US....on the same trip.  There won't be any indication on the US passport that she applied for a visa to Thailand or that she ever exited the US at all.  Might that be a problem coming back to the STates

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Neither Thailand nor the US have a problem with the concept or excersice of dual citizenship. Thailand however does have proceedures. One of them is that if you are a Thai national entering thailand on a foriegn passport, for all intents and purposes you are treated as a foreigner and are subject to all immigration rules that come with that nationality. Therefore, when she departs Thailand, she will have to leave on the passport she originally entered on.

From the perspective of the US, there is no problem that she won't have any stamps in her passport. They will only be wanting to make sure that she is a US citizen and has the right to enter the US. They won't be looking for stamps. Many European countries for instance, do not even stamp visitors in and out of their countries any more. Only a cursory check of the passport is given. Indeed, many people travel the world these days and never get any stamps to show that they have been anywhere!

[glassdude007]

post deleted found answer in other thread....sorry

Edited November 20, 2005 by glassdude007

[gnode]

From the perspective of the US, there is no problem that she won't have any stamps in her passport. They will only be wanting to make sure that she is a US citizen and has the right to enter the US. They won't be looking for stamps.

Perhaps this has changed in recent years. I asked the immigration officer upon leaving the U.S. on our last trip to Thailand if my wife could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and was told specifically NO, she must have a stamp in her U.S. passport showing entry into another country within X number of days, and another departure stamp within X days of her return to the U.S. He said that if she left Thailand and returned during her course of travel, she could travel on her Thai passport if she wanted to, but that technically she wasn't really supposed to hold two passports.

If this information is incorrect, please let me know because I would really rather not have to deal with immigration Visas and such for her if we decide to stay for longer than 30 days next time.

[lopburi3]

From the perspective of the US, there is no problem that she won't have any stamps in her passport. They will only be wanting to make sure that she is a US citizen and has the right to enter the US. They won't be looking for stamps.

Perhaps this has changed in recent years. I asked the immigration officer upon leaving the U.S. on our last trip to Thailand if my wife could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and was told specifically NO, she must have a stamp in her U.S. passport showing entry into another country within X number of days, and another departure stamp within X days of her return to the U.S. He said that if she left Thailand and returned during her course of travel, she could travel on her Thai passport if she wanted to, but that technically she wasn't really supposed to hold two passports.

If this information is incorrect, please let me know because I would really rather not have to deal with immigration Visas and such for her if we decide to stay for longer than 30 days next time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is totally incorrect and I wonder if the officer was really immigration (as you do not go through immigration to leave the USA).

[samran]

From the perspective of the US, there is no problem that she won't have any stamps in her passport. They will only be wanting to make sure that she is a US citizen and has the right to enter the US. They won't be looking for stamps.

Perhaps this has changed in recent years. I asked the immigration officer upon leaving the U.S. on our last trip to Thailand if my wife could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and was told specifically NO, she must have a stamp in her U.S. passport showing entry into another country within X number of days, and another departure stamp within X days of her return to the U.S. He said that if she left Thailand and returned during her course of travel, she could travel on her Thai passport if she wanted to, but that technically she wasn't really supposed to hold two passports.

If this information is incorrect, please let me know because I would really rather not have to deal with immigration Visas and such for her if we decide to stay for longer than 30 days next time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It must have been a long while since you visited Thailand!!! I first visited the US in 1996 and have visited a couple of times since and have never had any outbound immigration formalities.

The thing to remember with the US is, that it is illegal for US citizens to enter the US on anything else but a US passport. Other than that, there is no requirement for a 'stamp trail' in the passport. For reasons I have already explained, many places in the world simply don't stamp passports anymore, and it is something that the US can do very little about.

As for holding dual nationality from a US perspective, I beleive that while it isn't in any way illegal for a US national to hold foreign nationailty, it is as a matter of official policy, not encouraged. The state department site has plenty of information on this.

[gnode]

It must have been a long while since you visited Thailand!!! I first visited the US in 1996 and have visited a couple of times since and have never had any outbound immigration formalities.

The thing to remember with the US is, that it is illegal for US citizens to enter the US on anything else but a US passport. Other than that, there is no requirement for a 'stamp trail' in the passport. For reasons I have already explained, many places in the world simply don't stamp passports anymore, and it is something that the US can do very little about.

As for holding dual nationality from a US perspective, I beleive that while it isn't in any way illegal for a US national to hold foreign nationailty, it is as a matter of official policy, not encouraged. The state department site has plenty of information on this.

It was just this past summer. Just to clarify, I didn't have to clear customs to leave the U.S., I specifically approached an immigration officer before we left so that we would avoid problems on our return. If he was just flat out wrong with the information he gave me, I am not surprised, as I ran into that quite often when dealing with my wife's citizenship issues.

[gbarta]

Perhaps this has changed in recent years.  I asked the immigration officer upon leaving the U.S. on our last trip to Thailand if my wife could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and was told specifically NO, she must have a stamp in her U.S. passport showing entry into another country within X number of days, and another departure stamp within X days of her return to the U.S.  He said that if she left Thailand and returned during her course of travel, she could travel on her Thai passport if she wanted to, but that technically she wasn't really supposed to hold two passports.

This sounds like absolute rubbish.

Dunno about specifics of a us/thai dual national, but as long as you leave a country on the same passport you entered with, and enter a country on their passport if you have one, then it should be fine. If there is confusion about visa stamps, you can just show them the other passport.

I travel on both US and Australian passports without a problem, despite sometimes being in a situation where a passport shows that I left the country for long periods without ever arriving anywhere. I have talked to immigration officials about it and they had no problem, dealt with dual nationals all the time.

That being said, I only swap passports when I am required to. You never know when someone is going to cause trouble

[dr_Pat_Pong]

My wife is a Thai with US passport and I am a US citizen.

We plan to travel to Thailand and stay for several months (36 days for me..90 days for her)

We thought we could get a visa at the airport in thailand but I'm told they only issue 30 day visas.

What are our options.  It's too late to apply at the counsulate here.

Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Getting a tourist visa in the USA does seem to be a very simple option.