When Is The Best Time To Apply For Tourist Visa From Uk?

[MattGreenfield]

Hi,

I am in the UK and flying out from Heathrow to Bangkok end of July.

I am wanting to get everything sorted as early as possible to make sure my tip runs smoothly.

Please could someone advise the earliest time I can apply for a visa? If for example, I get a trple entry tourist visa next week to for the end of July, will this be OK.. or is there a certain amount of time I have to leave before applying for the visa?

Thanks

[Mario2008]

A visa has a validity in which you must use the visa. For a single entry that is 3 months and for a double or triple entry it is normally 6 months if you apply at a Thai consulate in the UK. All your entries must be made within that time frame, so in your case it is unwise to apply so early.

Hull issues in a few days when applying by express mail, a week before you go should do nicely.

Note that a tourist visa entry can always be extended by 30 days for 1,900 baht in Thailand, so a double entry can get you 180 days and a triple entry up to 270 days in Thailand.

[MattGreenfield]

A visa has a validity in which you must use the visa. For a single entry that is 3 months and for a double or triple entry it is normally 6 months if you apply at a Thai consulate in the UK. All your entries must be made within that time frame, so in your case it is unwise to apply so early.

Hull issues in a few days when applying by express mail, a week before you go should do nicely.

Note that a tourist visa entry can always be extended by 30 days for 1,900 baht in Thailand, so a double entry can get you 180 days and a triple entry up to 270 days in Thailand.

Great, thanks for that. I suspected as much but wasn't 100% sure.

The 270 days (or close as possible) is what I'm aiming for so I will definitely leave it until a week before travel.

[IMA_FARANG]

Your double or triple entry tourist visa often has a 180 day expiration period from date of issue.

That's what it means when it says on the visa "must be used by ....<stamped date>."

Double entry tourist and triple entry tourist visas especially have this time limit.

So all THREE entry and exit pairs (as an example) must be used before that 180 day expiration date.

So with a triple entry tourist visa, it expires in 180 days after issue, and you need to be sure you watch the date carefully.

After that 180 day expiration date, which starts from day of ISSUE not day of arrival in Thailand, any unused entry is voided.

So, for that reason, a double entry or triple entry visa should be the last thing you get before you leave your home country.

Make all your travel plans and hotel reservations and tickets first, then get such a visa last just before you leave.

It should be the last thing you do just before you leave your home country.