No More Visas By Mail From Honorary Consulates (in USA)

[el jefe]

for those of you recommending LA and Washington, those only work in your situation. For those of us looking for Triple Entry Tourist visas this is a huge problem. Only the Honorary Consulates will issue them. The Embassy in DC and the Consulates in LA, NY, Chicago will not issue triple entries, just doubles. I walk past the NY Consulate on a regular basis but have to mail my passport to Portland to get a triple entry tourist visa.

From the opening post of this topic it appears that you no longer have the option of getting a triple-entry tourist visa, or any visa at all, by mail from the Thai consulate in Portland or from any other honorary consulate in the USA.

I think that if with a letter accompanying your visa application you can demonstrate your need for a triple-entry tourist visa and satisfactorily assure the consul that you will use your three stays in Thailand exclusively for tourism and nothing else, especially not for working without a work permit, the consular section of the embassy in Washington and the consulates in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago will give you a triple-entry tourist visa.

I don't know about DC, LA, or Chicago. I've applied for and received one-year visas 7 or 8 times at the NY Consulate but sometimes a triple entry is better/cheaper. The staff in NY knows me and I'm sure they can figure out from my passport and many long trips out of Thailand that I truly am a tourist and am not working. In 10 years I've never even asked for an extension on any of my visas and my (US) wife has only done so once. I've asked them about triple entry visas and they've said "No. Not possible." I've even explained that i can just mail my passport to Portland and they just shrug. Maybe that will change now that mail-in triples are no longer available.

You restated my exact point in your first paragraph.

[Maestro]

Watgate, with your planned travel itinerary you are the ideal candidate for a triple-entry tourist visa. I suggest that you email the Thai consulate you plan to use, give an outline of your tentative arrival and departure dates in Thailand, and ask if they can give you a tourist visa valid for three entries into Thailand within six months from the visa's issue date.

If the answer is negative and if, as you have indicated, you plan to spend four to six months in Thailand every winter and qualify for the retirement extension, ask the consulate if they will give you a single-entry non-O visa for the purpose of travelling to Thailand to apply for successive one-year extensions of stay for the reason of retirement.

If the non-O visa is also denied, you have the third option of applying for the multiple-entry non-O/A visa, which will give you permission to stay for one year every time you arrive in Thailand within one year from the visa's issue date.

[Maestro]

el jefe, the problem with a telephone enquiry to an official, ie government-staffed, Thai consulate is that you usually don't talk to the person who has the authority to approve and/or sign the visa. This is why I generally recommend writing an email, marked for the attention of His Excellency The Consul. The consul will probably have delegated the answering of emails to a subordinate but written communications go on the record and therefore a bureaucrat is more careful in analysing the question and formulating his reply when it is an email.

[watgate]

Maestro- I spoke to a lady in the Washington,DC thai consulate office and I explained to her about the need for a triple-entry tourist visa due to my planning to visit Cambodia and Laos during my 4 month stay this winter in Chiang Mai. She seemed to be receptive to the idea and said when I applied to give an explanation for the need for a triple entry tourist visa. Unfortunately I couldn't get through to her about the importance of the Tourist visa being valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. She kept stating that if a triple-entry tourist visa is issued by their consulate to me, then each entry is good for 60 days. My concern is if the valdity is only for 3 months for the tourist visa then isn't there a very good chance that the tourist visa would expire before I was able to use all the entries?

[hawker9000]

Maestro- I spoke to a lady in the Washington,DC thai consulate office and I explained to her about the need for a triple-entry tourist visa due to my planning to visit Cambodia and Laos during my 4 month stay this winter in Chiang Mai. She seemed to be receptive to the idea and said when I applied to give an explanation for the need for a triple entry tourist visa. Unfortunately I couldn't get through to her about the importance of the Tourist visa being valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. She kept stating that if a triple-entry tourist visa is issued by their consulate to me, then each entry is good for 60 days. My concern is if the valdity is only for 3 months for the tourist visa then isn't there a very good chance that the tourist visa would expire before I was able to use all the entries?

The triple-entry tourist visa I obtained last fall (from LA) was valid for six months from the date of issuance. Six months was not something I specifically requested. I thought all tourist visas had six month validity. Please tell me that's not changing, too.

[Maestro]

In your covering letter with the visa application, give details of your planned travel itinerary and ask that the visa should be made valid for travel to Thailand within six months from its issue date.

[Maestro]

The triple-entry tourist visa I obtained last fall (from LA) was valid for six months from the date of issuance. Six months was not something I specifically requested. I thought all tourist visas had six month validity. Please tell me that's not changing, too.

The single-entry tourist visa is usually valid for three months. Most consulates automatically give the tourist visa valid for two or three entries a six-month validity, others only if specifically asked for and needed on the basis of the travel itinerary, and some consulates, particularly those in neighbouring countries of Thailand, give it routinely only with a three-month validity.

[hawker9000]

The triple-entry tourist visa I obtained last fall (from LA) was valid for six months from the date of issuance. Six months was not something I specifically requested. I thought all tourist visas had six month validity. Please tell me that's not changing, too.

The single-entry tourist visa is usually valid for three months. Most consulates automatically give the tourist visa valid for two or three entries a six-month validity, others only if specifically asked for and needed on the basis of the travel itinerary, and some consulates, particularly those in neighbouring countries of Thailand, give it routinely only with a three-month validity.

'Didn't know that about single-entry visas, though it does kind o' make sense. Thanks!

[riclag]

Hi, Its official I'm the cause of all this . I have been stressing over this triple entry visa's for 3 months on this forum.Weather it be applying with a one way or not having, a return ticket or talking about the officials not going by the same rules or weather the airline is not going to let me board because I don't have a return ticket even if I have a visa. . My flight leaves the 21st of August.I have set the date of sending my visa app 3 weeks ago .and that date was today Aug 8th.My friend sent me this link as I was driving over to Fedx to send to the Boston consulate. .I called the lady today before I knew about this post. I told her "I'm sending in my app and I want to make sure who to make the money order to "she said plainly without any explanation about new rules etc etc. "make it out to the Royal Thai Consulate" . You would think she would of said something .So like I said: I sent it in she will receive it on the 12th. I have it being sent back next day air .So I'll either get a call or my visa being sent back denied.

[watgate]

Maestro-Thany you for your reply concerning the single-entry non-0 visa for the purpose of traveling to Thailand to apply for successive one year extensions of stay for the reason of retirement. Could you possibly walk me through what one needs to do upon entering Thailand to apply for this visa. What exactly do you need to bring with you. I am concerned that I might not have all the required info or documentation when applying in Thailand for this visa and my application gets turned down. Then what do I do? I will be there on a single-entry visa and if my application gets rejected then how would I be able to travel to Cambodia and Laos as I had originally intended to? Is it a lengthy process to apply for the one year extension of stay and what is the turn around time typically?Also, do you have to go through this process every year to apply for another one year extension? Thanks for any info to help clarify this for me

[bangkokburning]

It appears that the honorary consuls will process your requests (if not shuttered) but it is now required for you to front up. Very clever. As ThaVisa posters have boasted about sending visa apps hither and yon, then posting of their exploits on TV in should be no surprise the other shoe has dropped.

By requiring reporting in person, the consul removes the work and hassles of sending all.the paperwork back and fielfing nasty calls. Answer = no. sorry. Next...

As soon as an angle is posted on TV, it's finished. I have been on this board in one eay or another since its creation and I've seen it all ruined.

It's fine to share basic information, directions, costs - but the fastest way to screw yourself is by sharing your insider information - with strangers.

This is my second to last post I will make on TV.

[hawker9000]

What the heck is "exploitive" about sending off your visa application by mail rather than having to "front up" in person? Where's the "angle"? The regular (i.e., not honorary) consulates publish specific instructions for mail-ins and still accept them - what was so underhanded or hush-hush about doing the exact same thing with an honorary consulate, meeting all the same requirements, and paying the same fees? What's the difference between mailing off your package to a consulate for a visa, and mailing it off to some visa service who's going to walk your application over to the consulate and obtain the visa for you - at considerably more expense? Oh, excuse me - maybe we shouldn't be talking about mailing in applications to the regular consulates either! Maybe we shouldn't be sharing info about getting visas at ALL!

What a nonsense post.

[lopburi3]

Flame removed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Perhaps the government/MFA sees this as the latest in a series of changes over time aimed at reigning in/curtailing the business/revenues taken by the Honorary Consulates vs the official government ones.

All I know is, years ago when first coming to Thailand, I handled all my business visa paperwork through the Houston Honorary Consulate, even though I had a government consulate in my home city. The advice I received at the time was that the honorary consulate was going to be much easier to deal with and less bureaucratic than their government counterparts.

The honorary consulate certainly provided good and rapid service for me. At the honorary consulate's suggestion, everything was handled by FedEx or USPS Priority Mail, with the ability to track everything coming and going. But even more important for me, when I called their office or sent an email, I was able to communicate directly with the person who was going to be handling my documents. And when I called or emailed, I usually got a clear, English-proficient, understandable response back from that person in the same day.

It seems a real shame if the by-mail service of the honorary consulates is now going to be shuttered.

[tlock]

I got a triple entry tourist visa from LA last Feb. I had read on this forum that LA won't do triple entries, and had been mailing to Houston for 6 years. I happened to be in LA so I went in person, and asked them if there was ever any rule about not issuing triple entry tourist visas, and they didn't know what I was talking about. Promptly issued a triple entry TV and I picked it up the next day.

[NanLaew]

Very naive to think that the new MFA restrictions on what the Hon. Consuls can do regarding visas is related to revenue streams.

It's about getting better control of the whole immigration chain which includes actually sighting the applicant and verifiying his/her bona fides and qualifications for their desired visa BEFORE he/she ever sets foot in LOS to work on-line/rent out their condo/sit in their bar go visit temples. The Immigration Police are flat out chasing the visa abusers so the MFA are giving them a boost by making the visa RIGHTFULLY a bit more arduous to get. I fear the ones that make the most noise about this 'discriminatory' or 'racist' policy are the same ones that complain about foreigners 'taking over' THEIR homeland.

Edited August 9, 2013 by NanLaew

[jrtmedic]

In my opinion this is just part of an ongoing and progressive "squeeze" directed at those who have (and continue) to abuse the "system". It is not just the USA ! Same squeeze being applied in the UK and I have no doubt other countries.

Think about it !

1.Why do you imagine that one only gets a 15 day (as opposed to 30 days) visa exempt entry when entering via a land border ?

2. Why are multiple entry visas almost impossible to obtain from neighbouring countries ?

3. Why is it becoming difficult to secure back to back tourist visas ?

4. Obtaining visas to visit "family and friends" now very difficult if the correct paperwork is not supplied

I could continue but I guess the point will be understood !

Edited August 9, 2013 by jrtmedic

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Very naive to think that the new MFA restrictions on what the Hon. Consuls can do regarding visas is related to revenue streams.

It's about getting better control of the whole immigration chain which includes actually sighting the applicant and verifiying his/her bona fides and qualifications for their desired visa BEFORE he/she ever sets foot in LOS to work on-line/rent out their condo/sit in their bar go visit temples. The Immigration Police are flat out chasing the visa abusers so the MFA are giving them a boost by making the visa RIGHTFULLY a bit more arduous to get. I fear the ones that make the most noise about this 'discriminatory' or 'racist' policy are the same ones that complain about foreigners 'taking over' THEIR homeland.

It's a nice thought, but I think you're giving too much credit to the Thai police and MFA...

Bangkok and other cities are overrun with all varieties of foreigners who've come here to scam, work illegally, buy/sell drugs, etc etc.. And I seriously doubt most of them are getting their tourist visas from the honorary consulates in the U.S. or the U.K.

I'm recalling, just as one example, the Thai police in Pattaya recently raiding the Walking Street nightclub/gogo that for years has had Eastern European/Russian women dancers in the windows there. They collared about a dozen, and all had valid visas...but they didn't have work permits. Now just where and from whom were those gals, and all the others before them, getting their Thailand visas from?

[Mightycabage]

I'll be in the Denver Consulate in an hour and will find out exactly whats going on.

So did you find anything out? I have a 7-8 month trip planned and I'm flying out mid September. Almost applied for my visa a couple weeks ago. damn..

[watgate]

I contacted the Washington D.C. thai consulate about the need for a triple entry tourist visa with a validity of 6 months since I am planning on going to Cambodia and Laos during my 4 month stay in Thailand this winter. Since my second trip to Laos will be beyond 3 months from the expected date of issuance of my tourist visa I stressed to the Washington D.C. thai consulate the necessity of a 6 month vaild tourist visa. I was hoping for some reassurances that they understood my specific situation and a 3 entry tourist visa with a 6 month validity would be no problem. This is the response I received back and I quote: " You could apply for a 1,2, or 3 Entry Tourist Visa that would allow you to be in Thailand for 60 days. And for an extension of stay at the Immigration Bureau which would allow you to stay in the Kingdom for an additional 30 days. A total of 90 days in Thailand, no matter how many times you enter the kingdom". Any idea what this means and my take is that I am left out to dry because if I am given a 3 entry tourist visa with a validity of only 3 months, how will that help me when I want to go to Laos sometime in early February 2014 which would be more then 3 months from my expected visa issuance of approximately October 17, 2013. Has anyone had any dealings with the Washington D.C. thai consulate and any problems with obtaining the proper tourist visa with the necessary validity time period? Note: I posted the complete email I had sent to the Washington D.C. thai consulate and their reply in the next posting to give anyone who might be able to help me a clearer understanding of what was told to me by the consulate in Washington D.C.

Edited August 9, 2013 by watgate

[watgate]

Dear John,

You could apply for a 1, 2, or 3 Entry Tourist Visa that would allow you to be in Thailand for 60 days. And for an extension of stay at the Immigration Bureau which would allow you to stay in the Kingdom for an additional 30 days. A total of 90 days in Thailand, no matter how many times you enter the Kingdom. (http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15398-Issuance-of-Visa.html)

You could also consider applying for a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant Visa Category O-A (Long Stay) what wold allow you to be in Thailand for the maximum of 1 year. And to enter the Kingdom many times. http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22O-A%22-(Long-Stay).html

Lastly, you could apply for the Visa in person or by mail at the Royal Thai Consulate General in New York (http://www.thaiconsulnewyork.com/) or the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC (http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Tourist.aspx)

Best,

---

Consular Office,

Royal Thai Embassy,

1024 Wisconsin Ave., N. W.,

Washington, DC 20007.

E-mail - [email protected]

Fax - (202) 944-3641

Tel - (202) 944-3600

On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 4:22 PM, wrote:

I am writing for some help concerning the need for a triple-entry tourist visa this winter. I am going to be residing in Chiang Mai this winter from November 6,2013 until my departure back to the US on March 6, 2014. I am planning on visiting Cambodia to see Angkor Wat for a few days. I am also going to be visiting Luang Prabang Laos for a few days at some point during my 4 months in Thailand. Therefore, this is the need for a triple-entry tourist visa since I will be leaving Thailand twice to visit Cambodia and Laos. Will I be able to get a triple-entry tourist visa when I apply sometime in October of this year? Also, I need the tourist visa to be valid for 6 months from the date of issuance since it will be more then 3 months from the date when you issue my tourist visa until I use my tourist visa to go to Laos. If the tourist visa will only be valid for 3 months then I won't be able to use it to go to Laos which will be most likely sometime in February 2014. Please let me know if I will be able to get a triple-entry tourist visa and if it will be valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. This will be my 4th year of wintering in Thailand and I am retired from Government service in my state of Conn. Thank you for your help in this matter. Sincerely, John Mastroddi

[hawker9000]

Very naive to think that the new MFA restrictions on what the Hon. Consuls can do regarding visas is related to revenue streams.

It's about getting better control of the whole immigration chain which includes actually sighting the applicant and verifiying his/her bona fides and qualifications for their desired visa BEFORE he/she ever sets foot in LOS to work on-line/rent out their condo/sit in their bar go visit temples. The Immigration Police are flat out chasing the visa abusers so the MFA are giving them a boost by making the visa RIGHTFULLY a bit more arduous to get. I fear the ones that make the most noise about this 'discriminatory' or 'racist' policy are the same ones that complain about foreigners 'taking over' THEIR homeland.

You say by "actually sighting the applicant", as if THAT were the source of some abuse, but the regular consulates still allow you to mail in visa applications and can grant them without "sighting the applicant". What WAS this abuse, anyway? What was UNrightful about using an honorary consulate or MAILING one's visa application in to them, if you can STILL do that to a regular consulate? Are you no longer able to use the visa services, who walk your application into a consulate for you? THAT consulate isn't "sighting you" either? Why do posters keep glossing over this? 'Makes you wonder who these posters really are...

Edited August 9, 2013 by hawker9000

[el jefe]

Very naive to think that the new MFA restrictions on what the Hon. Consuls can do regarding visas is related to revenue streams.

It's about getting better control of the whole immigration chain which includes actually sighting the applicant and verifiying his/her bona fides and qualifications for their desired visa BEFORE he/she ever sets foot in LOS to work on-line/rent out their condo/sit in their bar go visit temples. The Immigration Police are flat out chasing the visa abusers so the MFA are giving them a boost by making the visa RIGHTFULLY a bit more arduous to get. I fear the ones that make the most noise about this 'discriminatory' or 'racist' policy are the same ones that complain about foreigners 'taking over' THEIR homeland.

it's naive to think that the clerk who takes my paperwork when I hand it in in person is doing anything more than checking to make sure I paid the proper fee. Someone else processes the paperwork. Besides, it's usually my wife, who has a different last name than me, who hands in my paperwork. no where on the paperwork do we reference that we are married to each other.

It's $120 for a triple entry tourist visa. It's $200 for the one year visa my wife and I are both eligible for. If my wife and I are only spending 6 months in Thailand and want to make 3 or 4 trips around the region (or two visa runs for everyone else), a triple entry tourist visa saves us $160. I'm sure many Americans and Brits are in the same situation. It's all about the money.

[JLCrab]

When applying by mail to the Embassy of Thailand in Washington DC or one of the 3 consulates the applicant would likely mail to the nearest one. What I would guess was the problem with mail-in to the Honorary Consulates was there was too much venue shopping with persons US country-wide applying to what was perceived as a user-friendly consulate regardless of the applicants physical location.

[Maestro]

I contacted the Washington D.C. thai consulate about the need for a triple entry tourist visa with a validity of 6 months since I am planning on going to Cambodia and Laos during my 4 month stay in Thailand this winter. Since my second trip to Laos will be beyond 3 months from the expected date of issuance of my tourist visa I stressed to the Washington D.C. thai consulate the necessity of a 6 month vaild tourist visa. I was hoping for some reassurances that they understood my specific situation and a 3 entry tourist visa with a 6 month validity would be no problem. This is the response I received back and I quote: " You could apply for a 1,2, or 3 Entry Tourist Visa that would allow you to be in Thailand for 60 days. And for an extension of stay at the Immigration Bureau which would allow you to stay in the Kingdom for an additional 30 days. A total of 90 days in Thailand, no matter how many times you enter the kingdom". Any idea what this means and my take is that I am left out to dry because if I am given a 3 entry tourist visa with a validity of only 3 months, how will that help me when I want to go to Laos sometime in early February 2014 which would be more then 3 months from my expected visa issuance of approximately October 17, 2013. Has anyone had any dealings with the Washington D.C. thai consulate and any problems with obtaining the proper tourist visa with the necessary validity time period? Note: I posted the complete email I had sent to the Washington D.C. thai consulate and their reply in the next posting to give anyone who might be able to help me a clearer understanding of what was told to me by the consulate in Washington D.C.

What the Washington DC consulate means to tell you that with the triple-entry tourist visa you can enter Thailand three times during the validity period of the visa, ie within six months from the visa's issue, and on each entry you will receive permission to stay for 60 days. If you wish, you can extend any or all of these 60-day permissions to stay by 30 days with an application at an immigration office in Thailand. The fee for the extension is THB 1,900.

[hawker9000]

When applying by mail to the Embassy of Thailand in Washington DC or one of the 3 consulates the applicant would likely mail to the nearest one. What I would guess was the problem with mail-in to the Honorary Consulates was there was too much venue shopping with persons US country-wide applying to what was perceived as a user-friendly consulate regardless of the applicants physical location.

And so now, you not only can't apply to any but the nearest one, you can't apply to ANY AT ALL (among the honoraries) unless you're close enough to drive by and walk in??? And this because some one or other offered a faster turnaround or responded to inquiries more understandably (than is often the case with the regular consulates)? What was supposed to happen when the one you were closest to decided to take a holiday & just up & close shop for 3 weeks? 'Gonna' put some of the honoraries (unless they're serving visas for other countries besides Thailand, which I guess some do) right out of the game I'd imagine. If undesirables were somehow obtaining visas, I'm trying to figure out how being in Utah vs S. Dakota and mailing in your request was helping anyone "beat the system".

*ALL have to provide pretty much the same application form (tho' they do vary somewhat, and this among the regular consulates!...)

*ALL have to provide their (valid) passports

*ALL have to provide the same add'l documentation, including passport photos

*ALL have to pay the same fees

*NONE have to show up in person - until now (but JUST for the honoraries; you can still mail in to the regulars)

What's such a big deal that the convenience for travelers of being able to mail-in to an honorary consulate has to be shut down? If one particular honorary consulate wasn't playing by the rules, how does removing everyone's mail-in, but not their walk-in, option, instead of just dealing with the particular honorary involved, eradicate that exactly? IOW - is this really all about honorary consulates' failure to conform, or about someone else's failure to manage?...

Just venting. And certainly not at you, JLC. Sorry. It is what it is, but it's kind of a head-scratcher.

[JLCrab]

Well Kuhn Hawker I am just trying to fathom a reasonable explanation for the new policy which may be a ridiculous notion in itself. I would guess there is something in the agreement to be an Honorary Consul that is maybe being violated by some HCs accepting applications beyond their assigned territory. If you look at the list, all of them are ongoing businesses so I don't think they are dependent on visa-type revenues for anything other than to cover expenses.

[Mightycabage]

Ok so who has actually gone through the process of getting a visa at one of the consulates? I might have to mail my documents to the LA Consulate.

Are they more rigorous in the process of actually granting visas? Does it take much longer?

I also see on the LA consulate website that they only allow up to two 60-day visas. That's a bummer because I need three.

I have only done it through Portland Honorary Consulate before and it was a breeze.

[moe666]

The Denver office has always been a stickler for the rules, I enquired about a non-o visa for exploring retirement a few years ago and was just told flat out no. I asked what can you give me a one entry tourist visa. I checked with Portland and no problem just send me a copy of bank statement that you have enough money to live on for 90 days sent that in and had a non-o in a few days.

[hawker9000]

It would be interesting to know if the Portland Honorary Consulate continues to accept visa applications by mail and/or triple-entry tourist visas after they reopen 19AUG.