This is a question from my friend, who is yet a member of the forum.

He's from Vietnam. He is in Bangkok now and has just got a work permit and the non-immigrant visa.

His relatives are with him in Bangkok at the moment. As they are from Vietnam, they can stay for 30 days without a visa.

Now that his paperwork is completed, his relatives want to stay with him for another two months. Can they apply for a 90-day tourist visa in a one-stop centre in Bangkok? Or do they need to go back to Vietnam and apply there?

My sincere thanks,

A visa is always asked for outside the country where one wants to stay.

The fact that a relative has got a work permit/permission to stay has no meaning in this case.

People from a few nations get a freebe on arrival but for a visa back home or another country.

Visas are not issued in Thailand.

Only his wife and children and parents over 50 years old could apply for an extension of stay based on his work permit, if he not only has a work permit but is also on a 1 year extension of stay himself that is.

In all other cases they will have to apply for a visa abroad.