Coming To Thailand With No Visa.........

[cjnst2]

Hello,

I will be flying into to Thailand on August 4th. My plan is to stay atleast 4 to 6 months, probably longer. What are the best options for me concerning the Visa I will need to apply/get after I have been 30 days in the country? Realize I will not be entering the country with a Visa to begin with.

Also, I would like to cut down on the visa runs as much as possible, preferably closer to atleast 60 days in between visa runs. I am even willing to pay more to make this possible. Can to get a 60 day tourist visa and keep renewing it from the Thai consulates around Thailand? If so, what documents do I need to apply. Thanks in advance.

[britmaveric]

Uh I hope you have a roundtrip ticket prior to 30days or another ticket proving onward travel prior to 30days or you might not be able to board the plane to even get to thailand.

[calibanjr.]

Get a tourist visa first! It entitles you to 60 days, then a 30 day extension at the imm office (no visa run), so there's three months right there.

[cjnst2]

Get a tourist visa first! It entitles you to 60 days, then a 30 day extension at the imm office (no visa run), so there's three months right there.

Yes. I am OK to get on the plane. So, regarding the Visa........ do I get a tourist visa at one of the thai consulates out there? Should I get it at the end of my 30 days with NO visa in thailand?

It is too late for me to get a tourist visa here in the US.

[calibanjr.]

Well getting it in the States would've been best. But now you get a 30 day stamp on arrival, and then you can see Vientiane, which is the closest place to get a tourist visa and quite a nice city for an overnight. Great coffee, bread, chocolate (thanks to the frogs) and Beer Lao on the Mekong at a "sunset bar".

Edited July 28, 2006 by calibanjr.

[IMA_FARANG]

Hello,

I will be flying into to Thailand on August 4th. My plan is to stay atleast 4 to 6 months, probably longer. What are the best options for me concerning the Visa I will need to apply/get after I have been 30 days in the country? Realize I will not be entering the country with a Visa to begin with.

Also, I would like to cut down on the visa runs as much as possible, preferably closer to atleast 60 days in between visa runs. I am even willing to pay more to make this possible. Can to get a 60 day tourist visa and keep renewing it from the Thai consulates around Thailand? If so, what documents do I need to apply. Thanks in advance.

What is your nationality? If you are a U.S. passport holder you should be able to get a visa-on arrival. They will stamp your passport at immigration at the airport, it should be 30 days or 60 days. It can not be extended.

If you still have time, the best idea is to get a tourist visa from a Thai consulate in your country before you leave. But you are running short of time for that. It should be possible to do it you have your birth certificate and the fee with no delay.

It is a required to have a ticket departing Thailand on arrival. That is a onward ticket to take you out of Thailand. The immigration may not check, but technically they are not supposed to let you in to Thailand without an onward ticket to leave.

Assuming you arrive at the airport without a tourist visa, and are able to get a visa-on-arrival stamp in your passport at the airport, you probably will not be able to extend that visa. You will have to do a "visa run" out of Thailand to one of the nearby countries to get a tourist visa. You will have to pay the fee for the visa. Should be able to get at least a 60 day visa or maybe a 90 day visa. Return back to Thailand. At the end of the 60 day entry, you can extend that tourist visa for 30 days. That makes 90 days. There is a fee for the extension. During that time you will be able to figure out what to do if you want to stay longer. it is possible to get multiple entry visas ( a triple entry for example) that will let you depart across the border and return immeadiately. But there is no guarentee, and a lot of the Thai consulates in southeast Asia won't give multiple entry visas anymore.

Read the "pinned" entries at the start of the visa section on this forum. You will at least get the info on what types of visa are available.

Good luck.

[vinny]

US passport holders may be entitled to a 30-day Tourist Visa Exemption, not Visa on Arrival.

[calibanjr.]

You CAN get an extension on the 30-day at the imm dept, but it's 10 days for 1900 THB, which only makes sense if you're staying a few days over the 30, otherwise a visa run is in order. So if, as you say, it's too late for you to do the tourist visa in the states, then you're going to have to do the 30 day thing and then leave the country to get a tourist visa (Vientiane, as I mentioned, or Penang), which you'll need to do every 3 months (2 months visa/ 30 day extension [1900 THB for extension]). You can keep doing 30 day stamp runs at Poi Pet (Cambodia) or other places, but that's just not worth the time, in my mind, and some people have had iffy experiences with a lot of back to back to back 30 day stamps.. I have a B-visa (biz) now, but I used to do the tourist visa/extension every 3 months to Vientiane. Worked well for me.

[JimGant]

Yes. I am OK to get on the plane.

Is this in response to brit's advice to have an exit ticket from Thailand? If so, as he says, you may NOT be ok, as without a visa the airlines are supposed to ensure you've already booked your exit from Thailand.

Not always enforced, however. But be prepared to buy an exit ticket when you check in.

[Thaiquila]

Yes. I am OK to get on the plane.

Is this in response to brit's advice to have an exit ticket from Thailand? If so, as he says, you may NOT be ok, as without a visa the airlines are supposed to ensure you've already booked your exit from Thailand.

Not always enforced, however. But be prepared to buy an exit ticket when you check in.

Jim, I am a little confused by your comment. An exit ticket would be a ticket out of Thailand before 30 days are up. Did you mean that he would need to show a later exit ticket, from Thailand back to home country?

One way tickets can definitely cause some problems. I was talking to Korean airlines about their policy from US to Thailand, and their computer info said it was OK if you showed an exit before 30 days, but it did NOT mention that having a VISA would also be OK!