Dear All, I have a questions, possibly a dumb question: is there a difference between a 60 days tourist visa issued at Bangkok airport and any 60 tourist visa issued in Penang, Vientiane, KL, and so forth? I've read so many reports about Thai embassies unwilling to grant visas if the applicant seems to be a perpetual tourist, so the solution would be to enjoy a short trip abroad, then fly back to Bangkok and get a tourist visa at the airport, bypassing Thai embassies and related nuisances. Or not? I must be missing something...

Your comments are very much appreciated.

Thank you for your attention.

Bangkok Airport do not issue Tourist Visas.

They will give you a 30 day Visa Exempt entry.

Correct, visa exempt stay of 30 days issued at airport immigration.

Extension not possible. Proof of onward travel required (e.g. round trip ticket).

Tourist visa issued at an embassy/consulate will give you 60 days when entering and can get extended by a further 30 days at any immigration office in Thailand.

Ok so what do you get at the VISA ON ARRIVAL counter (which is located before immigration?)

If you arrive by flight you get a 30 days stamp, which is not a visa. Similarly, at land borders you get a 15 days stamp.

Why bother with visa on arrival if you get the same 30 days stamp at immigration? This is the core of my question.

Thanks

The Visa On Arrival is not the same as a visa exemption. The VOA is for citizens of the following countries:

1. Bhutan
2. China
3. Cyprus
4. Czech Republic
5. Estonia
6. Hungary
7. India
8. Kazakhstan
9. Latvia
10. Liechtenstein
11. Lithuania
12. Maldives
13. Mauritius
14. Poland
15. Saudi Arabia
16. Slovakia
17. Slovenia
18. Taiwan
19. Ukraine

The visa exemption is for:

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Belgium
6. Brazil
7. Brunei
8. Canada
9. Chile
10. Denmark
11. Finland
12. France
13. Germany
14. Greece
15. Hong Kong
16. Iceland
17. Indonesia
18. Ireland
19. Israel
20. Italy
21. Japan
22. Korea
23. Kuwait
24. Laos
25. Luxembourg
26. Macau
27. Malaysia
28. Monaco
29. Mongolia
30. Netherlands
31. New Zealand
32. Norway
33. Oman
34. Peru
35. Philippines
36. Portugal
37. Qatar
38. Russia
39. Singapore
40. South Africa
41. Spain
42. Sweden
43. Switzerland
44. Turkey
45. United Arab Emirates
46. United Kingdom
47. United States
48. Vietnam

Visa on arrival is only for certain nationalities, who do not qualify for 30 days visa exempt stays.

Nationals from India for example.

They need visa on arrival and will get only 15 days.

If they arrive with a tourist visa issued at a Thai embassy/consulate, they will receive 30 days when entering.

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

As said the VOA is a paid for visa that nationals of those countries can obtain at entry point which supplies a 15 day tourist entry. The reason for this is the difficulty in obtaining visas from Thai Consulates for these countries.

This explains everything. Thank you for the clarification.

All the best!