Question About 7 Day Extension

[nicechrisman]

So I will be in Thailand and Laos from January 4-31. I am from the US. I plan to enter on the 30 visa exemption. My question is- I would like to enter Laos and come back into Thailand. I understand that when I re enter Thailand I will be granted a 15 day visa exemption. Now I have heard of a 7 day extension one can get. Does this work if you are on visa exemption, or only if you have a Thai visa? I'm just curious because I don't really want my options to be too limited as far as waiting till the 16th to re enter. I think I understand this, but just want to make sure i have it straight. Thanks in advance.

Chris.

[wayned]

It seems that you have a fixed itinerary for your trip, so I assume that you have a round trip ticket. If you don't, you might have a problem boarding the aircraft. The airline might not let you board without an onward ticket leaving Thailand within the 30 day period.

If you enter on the 30 day exemption, any time that you leave Thailand and reenter you should be granted another visa exempt entry. However, you only get 15 days if you enter by land, you only get 30 days by air. The number of visa exempt entries is not limited so you could make more than one land crossing. You also can apply for a 7 day extension at an immigration office in Thailand (1900 baht), but you might have to show a ticket exiting Thaialnd during that 7 days.

[nicechrisman]

Thank you so much. Yes I do have a roundtrip ticket. And I plan to re enter Thailand by land from Laos

I've heard about having to prove you have enough money for your stay. How does that work? Must I have a set amount of cash in hand?

[wayned]

this is a quote directly from the MFA website:

"Nationals of the United States of America and 41 other countries are eligible

to travel to Thailand, for tourism purpose, with the exemption of visa and

are permitted to stay in the Kingdom for a period of not exceeding 30 days.

Therefore, you do not need a visa.

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for

at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to

at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be

inconvenienced upon entry into the country."

I have never seen any postings about it being enforced, but a valid credit card should do. 100000 baht is only a little over $300. If you intend to stat 30 days, I hope that you have at least that much in your pocket!

[nicechrisman]

I've get well more than that much. LOL. Just didn't plan on having it in my pocket. I had planned on just withdrawing cash when I get to the airport to avoid money changing hassles. I guess maybe I should have some in my pocket too. I do have an ATM card with me.

Thanks so much again for your help! This is my first trip to Thailand, and it's coming right up, so I'm starting to get the jitters a bit.

[Crossy]

I've get well more than that much. LOL. Just didn't plan on having it in my pocket. I had planned on just withdrawing cash when I get to the airport to avoid money changing hassles. I guess maybe I should have some in my pocket too. I do have an ATM card with me.

Thanks so much again for your help! This is my first trip to Thailand, and it's coming right up, so I'm starting to get the jitters a bit.

I would carry a couple of hundred USD just in case you have ATM problems. I'm assuming you have more than one means of accessing funds, if not get something in addition to a single ATM card (an eaten card can really ruin your day), travellers cheques are a good secure backup.

[nicechrisman]

Yeah good point. Travellers checks just kinda seem like a hassle, but I guess not as much of a hassle as having no access to my money. Can I buy travellers checks at the BKK airport? I've never used them before. Maybe I'll just carry some extra US dollars in my money belt.

[wayned]

I don't know a lot about using an ATM card issued by a US bank in Thailand, but I would not put myself at risk on depending it to provide all of my financial support while I'm in Thailand. I would use it to purchase some traveller's checks before I left the US just in case, Maybe somebody has experience with this, I know credirt cards (Visa, Master Charge, AX) are okay because I've used them, but I would hesitate on travelling with just a bank issued card with no credit company connections.

[nicechrisman]

Oh I guess I wasn't clear. It's a Chase Mastercard Debit card.

[wayned]

That's better, but Crossy does have a point. Sometimes the ATM machines get "hungry" and eat your card. Travelling back to the issuing bank to collect it wouldn't be an option. Having only one source of funds could be a problem.

[wayned]

The 3rd is not a holiday in the US. I would go to your bank and get traveller's checks before you left the US. Yhey will be in USD, but exchanging them is no problem. Don't wait until you get to Bangkok airport. If tou have my kind of luck, the first time you try to use your card will be the time the machine is hungry! "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket", you want to have a good time!

[nicechrisman]

Thanks for the good advice. I will go today and get some travellers' checks. I'm also going to talk to a banker about what to do and what info I will need in case of loss of ATM card. Thanks for the good thinking! I'm SO excited-leaving tomorrow!