Looking To Stay For 3 Months In Thailand, Leave In 2 Weeks.. Help!

[Dave777]

My girlfriend and i are wishing to head to thailand in 2 weeks time. We have booked the flights but now are looking at the visa. We were planning on staying for 3 or 4 months and not needing to work.

We have seen the best for us may be the double entry tourist visa which gives us 60 days for each entry. I have noticed that i can apply in australia at the Royal Thai Consulate and they say they take 3 working days to process but for some reason they advice..

"All visa applicants are strongly advised to apply at least 4 - 5 weeks in advance of their anticipated travel, especially during holiday seasons"

As we are travelling in two weeks I am worried that it will take longer and they actually will have my passports while it is processing. Does anybody know how long it usually takes? The other option is to apply when we arrive in Thailand but then i believe we will need a flight out of thailand booked within 30 days of arriving which isn't ideal.

Can anybody advise of the best thing to do? ps we are unable to move our flights back due to out staying my visa in australia (i am british and my girlfriend is australian)

Thank you anybody that can help us!!

[Mario2008]

You don't say which consulate, but normally it will not take longer then a a few days to get the visa by mail. Apply Monday morning.

You cannot apply for a visa inside Thailand itself.

[Postmaster]

Make an appointment and turn up yourselves ! Do not let your passport out of your sight so near to departure.

Having said that in the UK Hull Thai Consulate were very efficient and did quickly in about 4 days I got everything back. If you decide to send then do it 'Special Delivery' and put a prepaid pre-addressed 'Special Delivery' robust return envelope inside.

[KED]

There should be enough time - but I agree that, if possible, you should visit the Embassy directly.

If for any reason you are unable to get your Thai visa before departure. You could book a flight from Thailand to Malaysia or Cambodia and apply for a visa there. But, this is not a fun process during your holiday.

Also, the airline flying you into Thailand will most likely want to see a visa or a ticket out of Thailand within 30 days.

Good luck....

[ubonjoe]

The embassy and consulate in Sydney are official consulates and are slow to process visas plus are more stringent on the rules.

Use one the honorary consulates (Brisbane is often mentioned in reports) that often give same day turnaround on mailed in applications.

Contact info here:http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/consulate.html

[Dave777]

Thanks for the replies. I was planning on going to the sydney consulate on monday morning in person but I think they will still need my passport for the days they are processing. This is what worries me as I am not sure if I will be able to get it back in time. On their website it says 3-4 days processing but i will ask when i go on Monday morning to make sure. I don't think posting is an option with it being so close!

Hopefully, even if it takes longer to process, I can go back to the consulate and retrieve my passport before the flight. I would rather pay just book a flight out of thailand than overstay my visa in australia!

[Dave777]

actually from what Postmaster has said.. quote.. "Make an appointment and turn up yourselves ! Do not let your passport out of your sight so near to departure."

Do you think if I go to sydney consulate on Monday they will only need to see/copy my passport and won't keep it?? If so then I am much more comfortable doing it!

[ubonjoe]

If you use overnight delivery service to one of the honorary consulates and pay for overnight return you would could have passports back 2 days after sending.

Edit: The consulate must keep your passport for any visa application so that they can put visa sticker in passport.

[tom21]

the sydney consulate likes to see your air ticket at least they did a few years ago . apply for a double entry tourist visa and you will need to do a visa run while in thailand. you can ask for a non imm O and see what happens . enjoy your trip it is a great place to spend time in

[ubonjoe]

you can ask for a non imm O and see what happens

I doubt very much that they qualify for non O visa (not married to a Thai, probably not over 50, have family in Thailand).

[Dave777]

Just read this..

"Upon arrival, travellers with this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period of not exceeding 30 days or 60 days (subject to the discretion of the Immigration Officer at the immigration check-point."

I was planning on booking a flight out of thailand after around 55-60days so I can show people when i apply for visa and when I get on the flight. But what if the visa is approved but then the immigration in bangkok advice me I am only allowed for 30 days? It seems i won't know how long I am allowed there for until I arrive but then how I am supposed to pre-arrange my departure from thailand??

[lopburi3]

Oz passport gets 60 day stay on a tourist visa entry - some nationalities only get 30 days. And regardless if you have a visa you do not require onward travel tickets for flights or entry.

[ubonjoe]

The 30 days only applies to people from certain countries.

You will get a 60 day permit to stay with out any problem or question.

[Dave777]

i have a british passport.. hence my problem with overstaying in australia as my visa ends here soon.. the day after the flight to thailand is booked for.

So.. just to clarify what lopburi3 has said.. if I apply for the 60 day tourist visa (either one entry or multiple entry) I won't have to show any outbound flight tickets from thailand? Is that correct? I remember when i went to thailand for 3 weeks a couple of years ago and i remember showing my flight tickets but that was just a 'visa on arrival' thing so could be different.

Thanks everybody for helping, i really appreciate all your comments, I will go to the consulate in sydney and ask them everything twice over so Im sure before i hand anybody my passport but its good to have some knowledge before so i know exactly what to ask.

[lopburi3]

Consulate could ask for show of tickets - airline and immigration will not. But suspect it is highly unlikely Brisbane would require from a UK passport holder - Sydney might require something. You will get a 60 day entry on arrival and you can extend each entry 30 days at any immigration office if you wish..

[jawdoe]

The Australia one is easy took me one day to get 3 mth visa $90 it will cost u... just go to your local thai consultant... UK one is going to stuff up your 3mth plan to stay in Thailand..can't see u getting that in 2 weeks. Maybe go into neighbouring country once in Thailand and apply there?

[Colabamumbai]

Thanks for the replies. I was planning on going to the sydney consulate on monday morning in person but I think they will still need my passport for the days they are processing. This is what worries me as I am not sure if I will be able to get it back in time. On their website it says 3-4 days processing but i will ask when i go on Monday morning to make sure. I don't think posting is an option with it being so close!

Hopefully, even if it takes longer to process, I can go back to the consulate and retrieve my passport before the flight. I would rather pay just book a flight out of thailand than overstay my visa in australia!

Thanks for the replies. I was planning on going to the sydney consulate on monday morning in person but I think they will still need my passport for the days they are processing. This is what worries me as I am not sure if I will be able to get it back in time. On their website it says 3-4 days processing but i will ask when i go on Monday morning to make sure. I don't think posting is an option with it being so close!

Hopefully, even if it takes longer to process, I can go back to the consulate and retrieve my passport before the flight. I would rather pay just book a flight out of thailand than overstay my visa in australia!

Tell them that you have a flight booked, I'm sure that they will process you quickly.

[dundas]

Thanks for the replies. I was planning on going to the sydney consulate on monday morning in person but I think they will still need my passport for the days they are processing. This is what worries me as I am not sure if I will be able to get it back in time. On their website it says 3-4 days processing but i will ask when i go on Monday morning to make sure. I don't think posting is an option with it being so close!

Hopefully, even if it takes longer to process, I can go back to the consulate and retrieve my passport before the flight. I would rather pay just book a flight out of thailand than overstay my visa in australia!

Thanks for the replies. I was planning on going to the sydney consulate on monday morning in person but I think they will still need my passport for the days they are processing. This is what worries me as I am not sure if I will be able to get it back in time. On their website it says 3-4 days processing but i will ask when i go on Monday morning to make sure. I don't think posting is an option with it being so close!

Hopefully, even if it takes longer to process, I can go back to the consulate and retrieve my passport before the flight. I would rather pay just book a flight out of thailand than overstay my visa in australia!

Tell them that you have a flight booked, I'm sure that they will process you quickly.

They might and they might not be helpful if they know about your booked flight. In my case I applied for a Thai visa from the Embassy in Canberra and told them my departure date from the outset. I applied many weeks in advance; a pattern then developed of being asked for more information, supplying it, and then being asked for yet more information. The people in Thailand who had to supply this information were amazed; no-one else had required this information before. Finally, on the day before I was due to fly out, I was told "good news - your visa is ready. We will post it out today." Of course it would have required me to rebook my flight and change every other arrangement I'd made. I'd like to be wrong, but I got the feeling that the person doing this to me was getting a kick out of it (although very proper and polite). On the day the visa became available, I paid more than $200 to have the thing couriered to me, same day service. If I were in your situation, I would take the recommendation of other posters and go through an honorary consul.

[Dave777]

An update of what happened.

I went in on Monday morning to the Thai Consulate in Sydney. I just needed my passport, 1 copy of passport, filled in form (available at the consulate office) and a copy of my Visa (as I have British passport). They gave me a receipt that said come back on Wednesday for your passport. I went in on Wednesday afternoon and they gave me my passport back with the tourist visa stapled inside it. Seemed pretty straight forward.

[Colabamumbai]

An update of what happened.

I went in on Monday morning to the Thai Consulate in Sydney. I just needed my passport, 1 copy of passport, filled in form (available at the consulate office) and a copy of my Visa (as I have British passport). They gave me a receipt that said come back on Wednesday for your passport. I went in on Wednesday afternoon and they gave me my passport back with the tourist visa stapled inside it. Seemed pretty straight forward.

All is well that ends well.