I am a Chinese passport holder with valid U.S student Visa and New Zealand Permanent Residence permit. I wish to visit a friend Bangkok for 4 days on my own. I know Thailand allows visitors to apply for visa upon arrival. But I heard if I leave straight from China, airport customs may not allow me to leave China without proper visa. Does anyone have any info in this case? Leaving from mainland China, Am I eligible to apply for a visa when I arrive in Bangkok (落地签）? What if I leave from Hongkong to Bangkok, am I eligible then? If I must apply for the Thai visa from China, which visa should I apply for? Do I need an invitation from my friend to do so? Thank you!

Edited July 5, 201313 yr by lopburi3
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In practise Chinese immigraiton indeed requires you to have a visa for Thailand if you fly to Thailand from China.

There are 3 consulates in China, where you can apply for a tourist or transit visa.

Is Thailand a stop-over till you go to New Zealand or the US, I'm not sure if Chinese immigration will than also require a visa for Thailand.

Chinese immigration WILL let you pass, It is the airlines that won't let you check-in unless you have a Thai Visa.

I know Chinese people that have cleared Check-in and immigration without a Thai visa. But most airlines won't allow it.

The easiest way is to go to any Travel agent in China and they will get your visa within a couple of days.

Leaving from Hong Kong or New Zealand basically any non-mainland Chinese airport to Thailand without a visa is OK. But leaving from the mainland without a visa is unlikely. The last poster claims that he/she knows Chinese people who have managed to leave China without a visa for Thailand, but this is rare and was probably an exception. Even with a return ticket, airlines departing China still don't allow it.

A 15-day Thai visa on arrival, if you can get it, requires payment of 1000 and a confirmed ticket out of Thailand within this period (and they will want to see this) - they may even want to see evidence of sufficient funds to support your stay (I think this is 10000 Baht or equivalent). If this is too much hassle, you might as well get a visa in advance because once you're in Thailand, you can get stamped in and nobody will want to see any evidence of onward flights etc.

I'm not sure about invitation letters for Chinese nationals to visit Thailand, but I doubt there is such a requirement (although in the reverse direction, it helps if Thai citizens are able to supply invitation letters to visit China). More likely they'll want to see evidence of employment or student status. Chinese visa agents would be the ones to request help from as they can fill you in on the requirements more, but having applied for a Thai visa in Kunming before, I recall these were the requirements for Chinese citizens; they are more lenient for foreigners.

Edited July 9, 201312 yr by Tomtomtom69