Need Advice On Thailand Visa

[GraemePaul]

Hello everyone,

I am 25 years old and I come from Guernsey in the Channel Islands (a part of the British Isles). I hold a current British Passport that is valid until May 2010.

I have managed to save up £7000 and should have between £8000/£9000 by June which is when I intend to Leave Guernsey and Travel around Thailand for between 6 months and a year.

The purpose of my vist is to get away from the Rat Race where I live and be a bit of a beach bum. I want to see some of the sights of the country and I also have a cousin that has Married very recently to a Thai girl in Thailand and I would like to visit him (I think he is somewhere near Phuket).

Now I am a complete novice when it comes to Visa's as I have never travelled outside the European Union before and I do not know exactly what I am required to do. I do not have a Thai consulate where I live so I know I will have to mail my passport and Visa application form(special delivery) to the consulate in the UK (most likely the Cardiff consulate).

Can anyone help talk me through what I need to do. I believe I need a Torist Visa but the Visa is for 60 days. How do I go about getting extensions on this if I want to stay longer?

I have also read that as a British Citizen I can get a 30 day Visa upon entry into Thailand. Are there any stipulations on this, such as a valid return ticket leaving the country or can I get a one way and arrange my flight home while in Thailand? I have also read about the Visa Run where people go to the boarder, cross into another country and directly back into Thailand. Is this very inconveniant or is it quite easy to do?

I dont think this is everything I want to ask but it is a start. If anyone can provide help or good advice I will appreciate it.

Regards

Graeme

Edited April 17, 2006 by GraemePaul

[vinny]

See Types of visa (2. Tourist visa) and Tourist visa exemption. With the tourist visa exemption, the airline may require you to have an confirmed onward/return ticket within 30 days. See qantas' IATA database.

See required documents (visa extension, as tourist) for extending tourist visas.

You can search this forum for information on visa runs.

[lopburi3]

The best visa would be a multi entry O visa which would only require you to exit/enter the country once every 90 days. This may or may not be available from a Consulate on the basis of you visiting your cousin here. It would be worth a phone call or email to various Consulates. The next best would be a two or three entry tourist visa. That would be valid for six months and you could stay up to almost nine months (on the three entry). A tourist visa allows 60 day stay but each stay can be extended 30 days for 1,900 baht without leaving country. After that you have to leave/return for the next. Third choice would be normal single entry tourist visa. You do need a visa as the 30 day entry without visa is only available for those with ticked onward travel during that time period. Once you are here you can use the 30 day entries at a land crossing to complete the year if you run out of visa entry time.

[GraemePaul]

A tourist visa allows 60 day stay but each stay can be extended 30 days for 1,900 baht without leaving country. After that you have to leave/return for the next.

Thanks for your help. I telephoned the Consulate in Birmangham today and was told that I could only get a Torist Visa Extension on a Single entry Visa. For a multiple entry Visa The maximum per entry is 60 days. According to the consulate I can get a maximum of 7 1/2 months getting a 4 entry Torist Visa (£100 at £25 per entry) as the way the visa works you dont get exactly 8 months out of the Visa.

Can anyone who has used this method Visa into Thailand confirm this information or if it now works differently and I can get a Visa Extension on each of my 60 day entries. Thus giving me 90 days per entry?

I intend to Telephone the Cardiff Consulate just to see if they can provide any more information.

Thanks for your help.

[monty]

Normally you can get a 30 day extension (1900 Baht) on eachentry of your multiple tourist visa, giving you 90 days for each entry.

You only have to be carefull that your last planned entry is timed before the expiry date of your multiple tourist visa (printed on your visa sticker). The expiry date will always be a couple days earlier then your "have to leave before" stamp received at the borderpoint...

[thaiflyer1]

Pm'd you..............