Applying for a tourist visa in Sri Lanka

[djdobs]

Hi All

This is my first post on 'ThaiVisa' after using the forum for a number of weeks now for some great info (and amusement!). So firstly... Hello to you all!

I wondered if any of you would be so kind to help and advise me...

I am currently staying in Bangkok, I have been here just over a week now and I sadly failed to organise a tourist visa in the UK before I left. I am very interested in doing a TEFL English teaching course in Koh Sumui (I will ask further questions about this in the appropriate forum) but I realise I will need to leave Thailand by air travel before the 30 days is up if I am to return again to do the course (which is 4 weeks long).

So I am planning to visit some friends in Sri Lanka for around a week and I have been advised by the TEFL school that I could apply for a Thai tourist visa at the Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka.

Question 1: Has anyone had experience of doing this? Sri Lanka has always been a difficult place to organise anything in my experience. I do love Sri Lankan people and the country but I wonder if the process of obtaining a tourist visa over there will be successful? Anyone done this before?

Question 2: How long would a tourist visa allow me to stay in Thailand, I read in some places it is 30 days or 60 days or even longer with an extension... I am a little confused?! My intention is to find teaching work in Bangkok if possible so I can stay/live here in the future (I love this country and it's people).

Question 3: What documentation, information and payment will I require to provide to get the tourist visa whilst in Sri Lanka?

Thank you in advance for any help/advice...

Robin

[ubonjoe]

The latest report is that they are only doing visas for those who are citizens or residents of Sri Lanka.

You should contact them to get the latest info. http://www.thaiembassy.org/colombo/en/organize

Each entry of a tourist visa will give a permit to stay of 60 days that can be extended by 30 days at immigration.

You can get a 2 entry tourist visa in Laos that would give you about 6 months of total stay.

The 30 day tourist visa you heard or read about was probably somebody incorrectly calling a 30 day visa exempt entry a tourist visa,

[djdobs]

Hi 'ubonjoe'

Many thanks for your quick response... that has helped clarify the Tourist Visa length of stay for me, thanks.

I have emailed the Thai Embassy in Sri Lanka so I hope to hear back from them soon in regards to the application for the Visa

[sarathjay]

Hi DJdobs,

My 26 year old daughter with a EU passport, was at the Thai Embassy in Colombo very recently and was declined a tourist visa as she was not a resident of the country. After I got on the phone and explained that she would be spending a month in Sri Lanka and going back to her mother who is working in Bangkok, they took her application and referred it to Bangkok and it was then finally granted with three entries.and costing nearly 80. I e mailed them over and over again without any response. The Tel. line. is almost the same.

You can take the risk and talk your way through or choose Penang for example. Let us all know how far you got.

Cheers,

Sarath

[djdobs]

Hi Sarath

Thank you for the info, I thought this might be the case (as with most things in Sri Lanka, if pressure and especially money comes into the equation... suddenly things start to happen! haha). And getting a response from the Embassy will be slow I'm sure. I have good friends in Sri Lanka and I wonder if with their help and persuasion skills, I might get the Tourist Visa?

I am pretty confused as to the best option!? I have also been informed that one option would be to go to Kuala Lumpur (capital city of Malaysia) in order to get the Tourist Visa? I have sufficient funds to travel in order to get the visa but these funds wont last forever and I am very keen to get a stay of more than just 30 days at a time.

I have always been unable to make decisions... and this time is no different! I really don't know what is the best route...

[Dork]

Hi Sarath

Thank you for the info, I thought this might be the case (as with most things in Sri Lanka, if pressure and especially money comes into the equation... suddenly things start to happen! haha). And getting a response from the Embassy will be slow I'm sure. I have good friends in Sri Lanka and I wonder if with their help and persuasion skills, I might get the Tourist Visa?

I am pretty confused as to the best option!? I have also been informed that one option would be to go to Kuala Lumpur (capital city of Malaysia) in order to get the Tourist Visa? I have sufficient funds to travel in order to get the visa but these funds wont last forever and I am very keen to get a stay of more than just 30 days at a time.

I have always been unable to make decisions... and this time is no different! I really don't know what is the best route...

Perhaps travel from Bangkok to Colombo via Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia.

It's possibly the cheapest route anyway.