Visa for over 30 days on arrival

[sophie678]

Hi, I am a Dutch citizin and traveling south east Asia for the next 5 months. I will spend my last month and a half in Thailand, therefore I am not able to buy a visa in my own country.

If I fly to Bangkok and I show a planeticket to the Netherlands for over a month later, will they still provide me with a visa? More importantly can I extend my visa during my stay in Thailand? If so were can I do this and how much will this all cost me?

Thanks very much to anyone who can help me.

[paz]

There is no need to show tickets when entering Thailand. If you enter visa exempt, you can only extend stay for 30 more day, after which you will have to leave country. Fee Bt 1,900.

You can obtain a Thai tourist visa in most SEA countries. Cost about Bt 1,200.

[FritsSikkink]

" If I fly to Bangkok and I show a planeticket to the Netherlands for over a month later, will they still provide me with a visa? "

There is the possibility they won't let you board the plane because you stay over 30 days without a visa. Get a tourist visa from the Thai embassy in the country you will be before going to Thailand.

[Tessellation]

You can't technically get a visa on arrival.

You have 2 options:

A. If you're entering by air, you will be exempt from needing a visa for 30 days. Near the end of that 30 days, you can go to an immigration office and extend your exemption for another 30 days for a small fee. If you do this you will be covered for the duration of your stay.

OR

B. You CAN get a Thai tourist visa from another country in SEAsia before you arrive. You will have 90 days to activate this visa, so get it less than 90 days before you arrive. Its easy and simple, especially easy in Vientianne and Penang, but you can do it in any SEAsian country easy enough.

The price of the Tourist Visa is almost identical to the price of the exemption extension, so its your choice which you prefer.

For option A you will need to spend a few hours in Thailand getting the extension to add 30 more days at immigration.

For option B, you will need to spend a few hours going to the Thai Embassy (in whichever country) to apply for the tourist visa, and then picking it up the next day. You won't need to get an extension to cover your estimated time here, but you can get an extension if you like.

NOTE:

If you're entering by land, you will only be exempt for 15 days at first. I'm not sure how long you can extend a 15 day exemption, but even if it is for 30 more days you will be barely covering your planned visit duration. I do not recommend this option.

Having done ALL of these myself, I recommend getting a Tourist Visa from another SE Asian country during your travels. Its easy, there are many services that can help you do it if you want to make it even easier, and it will give you 60 days with the option for an additional 30 days extension, so if you decide to stay in Thailand another week or another month longer than you currently plan, you'll be covered.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Tessellation