Visa Rules Will Be Tightened To Stop Abuse

[lung]

Visa rules will be tightened to stop abuse

Maximum stay of 90 days for foreigners

Visa-on-arrival (VOA) regulations will be tightened for nationals of 41 countries to prevent abuse of the privilege and curb the rising number of illegal entries, according to the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB). Foreign nationals from those countries, including the US, China and India, will be able to stay longer but with fewer chances of renewing the VOA.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/10Sep2006_news04.php

Current list of Thailand's VOA nationalities:

http://www.thaivisa.com/479.0.html

[Maestro]

Visa-on-arrival (VOA) regulations will be tightened for nationals of 41 countries...

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/10Sep2006_news04.php

Either the IPB commissioner does not know what he is talking about or the Bangkok Post misquoted him. More likely the latter.

---------------

Maestro

[cclub75]

Either the IPB commissioner does not know what he is talking about or the Bangkok Post misquoted him. More likely the latter.

What do you mean exactly ?

It would be a confusion between real visa on arrival, and the exemption of visa (for countries like europe, US etc.) ?

Edited September 9, 2006 by cclub75

[the scouser]

To the best of my knowledge, visa on arrival is 15 days and only applies to certain nationalities.

The 30 days that a Brit or a Yank gets is not a visa on arrival, but entry without a visa.

Scouse.

[Nam Kao]

This aint good

[cclub75]

This aint good

Yes, they start with India and China (on the list of countries eligible to visa on arrival).

And then... the first list (visa exemption, like USA, Europe) ?

Anyway : it's going to be difficult to tighten the rules for Indians and Chineses and... not for europeans who are doing exactly the same (visa run).

[Nam Kao]

I am confused, can Americans still stay on perpetual visa runs?

thanks

nam

[lung]

It would be a confusion between real visa on arrival, and the exemption of visa (for countries like europe, US etc.) ?

i think it's about 3 times borderrun (3 entry in one piece) and then

bai gap ban or not ?

[sriracha john]

This is definitely big news...

It'd be great if we could get clarification as to exactly which countries are involved (the article references both Western and Eastern countries as being affected) and precisely what type of entries are affected.

Edited September 10, 2006 by sriracha john

[Lobsterman]

I have over 6 VOA already, are they going to throw me out? me, support a Thai lady, her 2 children, and all her brothers and sisters.

[Thaiquila]

How about multiple entry tourist visas? No change there I hope.

Its funny how Thailand wants to bite those who love their country too much. To those that say Western countries are much more restrictive, get real, Thailand is not a Western country and overall does benefit from all kinds of tourists, even perpetual ones.

[Khun Jean]

Gee, why so much fuss about a tourist visa. A tourist visa can be 60 days. Seems more than enough for a holiday.

And people wanting to stay longer, ask a non immigrant visa.

And if you are here and you are not a tourist, well obvious you did something wrong in planning for a visa.

If you support someone get a 1 year visa. If you work get a business visa and a work permit. No excuses.

[AmeriThai]

To the best of my knowledge, visa on arrival is 15 days and only applies to certain nationalities.

The 30 days that a Brit or a Yank gets is not a visa on arrival, but entry without a visa.

Scouse.

Is there actually a difference between a 'Visa On Arrival' and an 'Entry Without a Visa'? I understand that foreigners from certain countries such as the UK, USA and a few others are granted a 30-day stay on arrival. Others are allowed only 15 days. Somehow, I thought the 15-day stay was pretty much the same as what might be considered as a 'Transit Visa'.

The article itself is confusing though because it states "Foreign nationals from those countries, including the US, China and India, will be able to stay longer but with fewer chances of renewing the VOA."

Then it goes on to say nationals from those specific countries are currently allowed to remain in Thailand for 15 days maximum after the VOA is granted. According to the article, it seems to suggest that the USA is one of those specifix countries. So then does that mean if you had a 30-day VOA than you could stay an additional 15 days, giving you a total of 45 days per VOA?

So if you can have up to 3 VOAs, what happens after that? When can you return? The article seems to omit saying anything about it. Some additional information would be helpful.

I'm guessing the object is to stop the perpetual VOA border runs and get people to apply and pay for longer visas if they wish to stay in the country longer.

[Gonzo the Face]

Gee, why so much fuss about a tourist visa. A tourist visa can be 60 days. Seems more than enough for a holiday.

And people wanting to stay longer, ask a non immigrant visa.

And if you are here and you are not a tourist, well obvious you did something wrong in planning for a visa.

If you support someone get a 1 year visa. If you work get a business visa and a work permit. No excuses.

Jean, you must understand the loudest protesters are those here who will not admit that they are the ones who want the immigration laws to bend for them. and they offer all kinds of excuses ,,, spending lots of money here, supporting 10 families and 3 buffalo, etc... Those protesters can still stay, but they would have to get the correct visa to stay the way they are entitled to. The law here says they cannot live here forever on a tourist visa. Simple.

There are a multitude of visa types to allow you to stay. If you do not wish to apply for the correct visa, or cannot afford the proper visa , well then in that case don't blame the immigration people for saying you are here illegally.

Thats life all over the world. Complainers don't complain if you do not fit the rules. Use the rules to work for you. In the end it will be better for all.

[grtaylor]

Good points Gonzo and Jean!!! If you want to stay, just get yourself sorted out legally . . . . .

G

Gee, why so much fuss about a tourist visa. A tourist visa can be 60 days. Seems more than enough for a holiday.

And people wanting to stay longer, ask a non immigrant visa.

And if you are here and you are not a tourist, well obvious you did something wrong in planning for a visa.

If you support someone get a 1 year visa. If you work get a business visa and a work permit. No excuses.

Jean, you must understand the loudest protesters are those here who will not admit that they are the ones who want the immigration laws to bend for them. and they offer all kinds of excuses ,,, spending lots of money here, supporting 10 families and 3 buffalo, etc... Those protesters can still stay, but they would have to get the correct visa to stay the way they are entitled to. The law here says they cannot live here forever on a tourist visa. Simple.

There are a multitude of visa types to allow you to stay. If you do not wish to apply for the correct visa, or cannot afford the proper visa , well then in that case don't blame the immigration people for saying you are here illegally.

Thats life all over the world. Complainers don't complain if you do not fit the rules. Use the rules to work for you. In the end it will be better for all.

[lung]

Good points Gonzo and Jean!!! If you want to stay, just get yourself sorted out legally . . . . .

do u mean 1 year legally ?

----

3 times 30 days...

3 times 60 days...

3 times 90 days

...

3 times 360 days

and then ?

[astral]

The minister does not appear to know what he is talking about.

There are 41 countries that qualify for Tourist Visa Exemption.

There are 20 countries that qualify for Visa on Arrival.

The MFA sites goes on to say that:

Visitors who enter the Kingdom with Visa on Arrival generally cannot file an application for extension of stay except in special cases such as illness which prevents them from travelling.

Having said this the announcement is worrying, coming on the heels of the change in finacial requirements for foreign wives of retirees.

However although the minister mentions visa runners he does not appear to have a plan to change that situtaion.

[david96]

From the Thai Consulate Website Sydney.

As of the 18 August 2005.

43 Countries Visa Exempt, Entry stamp only, 30 days entry.

19 Countries Visa on Arrival TR15, 15 days entry.

It would appear that you would only be permitted 3x30 day entry stamps (90 days) within a 1 year.

The you will have to obtain a Tourist visa at a consulate in a adjacent country or in your home country for futher stay.

Immigration will be targeting the visa runner.

It is unwise to reply on Consular sites.

Always cross check with the MFA site.

Astral

Moderator

[Sunbelt Asia]

From the Ministry of Foreign affairs website

List of Countriest

TOURIST VISA EXEMPTION

- According to the Interior Ministerial Announcements dated 1 October B.E. 2545 (2002), 20 December B.E. 2545 (2002) ,18 October B.E. 2547 (2004) and 6 May B.E. 2548 (2005) , passport holders from 40 countries and Hong Kong SAR do not require a visa when entering Thailand for tourism purposes and will be permitted to stay in the Kingdom for 30 days.

- Please note that Tourist Visa Exemption does not apply to foreigners holding Travel Document for Aliens issued by these 40 countries.

- Foreigners entering Thailand under Tourist Visa Exemption must possess means of living expenses at the amount of 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family accordingly.

1. Australia : Commonwealth of Australia

2. Austria : Republic of Austria

3. Belgium : Kingdom of Belgium

4. Brazil : Federative Republic of Brazil (****)

5. Bahrain : State of Bahrain

6. Brunei Darussalam : Negara Brunei Darussalam

7. Canada

8. Denmark : Kingdom of Denmark

9. Finland : Republic of Finland

10. France : French Republic

11. Germany : Federal Republic of Germany

12. Greece : Hellenic Republic

13. Hong Kong : Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

14. Iceland : Republic of Iceland

15. Indonesia : Republic of Indonesia

16. Ireland : Republic of Ireland

17. Israel : State of Israel

18. Italy : Republic of Italy

19. Japan

20. Korea : Republic of Korea (****)

21. Kuwait : State of Kuwait

22. Luxembourg : Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

23. Malaysia

24. Netherlands : Kingdom of the Netherlands

25. New Zealand

26. Norway : Kingdom of Norway

27. Oman : Sultanate of Oman

28. Peru : Republic of Peru (****)

29. Philippines : Republic of the Philippines

30. Portugal : Republic of Portugal

31. Qatar : State of Qatar

32. Singapore : Republic of Singapore

33. Spain : Kingdom of Spain

34. South Africa : Republic of South Africa

35. Sweden : Kingdom of Sweden

36. Switzerland : Swiss Confederation

37. Turkey : Republic of Turkey

38. United Arab Emirates

39. United Kingdom : United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

40. United States of America

41. Vietnam : Socialist Republic of Vietnam

--------------------------------------

(****) Since Thailand has bilateral agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official and ordinary passports for a visit of not exceeding 90 days with Brazil, the Republic of Korea and Peru , nationals of these 3 countries will be permitted to enter and stay in Thailand for 90 days without a visa.

For more information on countries that have bilateral agreements on visa exemption with Thailand, please see List of countries which have concluded agreements on the exemption of visa requirements with Thailand.

Top

VISA ON ARRIVAL

- According to the Interior Ministerial Announcements, passport holders from 20 countries may apply for visas at the immigration checkpoints for the purpose of tourism for the period of not exceeding 15 days.

- The applicant must possess means of living expenses at the amount of 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family accordingly.

- The applicant must present full paid ticket which is usable within 15 days since the date of entry

- Visa on arrival is provided at 23 designated international checkpoints and applicants should submit the application form duly filled out and to which his/her recent photograph (2 ½ inches) is attached. The application fee is 1,000 Baht.

- Visitors who enter the Kingdom with Visa on Arrival generally cannot file an application for extension of stay except in special cases such as illness which prevents them from travelling, etc. They can submit an application at the Office of Immigration Bureau , Immigration Division 1, Soi Suan Plu, South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120. Tel. 02 287-3127 or 02 287-3101-10 ext. 2264-5 or at website http://www.immigration.go.th

List of 20 countries is as follows :

1. Bhutan : Kingdom of Bhutan

2. China : People’s Republic of China (including Taiwan)

3. Cyprus : Republic of Cyprus

4. Czech : Czech Republic

5. Estonia : Republic of Estonia

6. Hungary : Republic of Hungary

7. India : Republic of India

8. Kazakhstan : Republic of Kazakhstan

9. Latvia : Republic of Latvia

10. Liechtenstein : Principality of Liechtenstein

11. Lithuania : Republic of Lithuania

12. Maldives : Republic of Maldives

13. Mauritius : Republic of Mauritius

14. Oman : Sultanate of Oman

15. Poland : Republic of Poland

16. Russian Federation

17. Saudi Arabia : Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

18. Slovakia : Slovak Republic

19. Slovenia : Republic of Slovenia

20. Ukraine

China and India are on the list of 15 days for visa on arrival. The USA citizens are on the 30 day list and are exempt. But yet they group these three countries together. Will they be changing the list?

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

[lukamar]

43 Countries Visa Exempt, Entry stamp only, 30 days entry.

19 Countries Visa on Arrival TR15, 15 days entry.

It would appear that you would only be permitted 3x30 day entry stamps (90 days) within a 1 year.

The you will have to obtain a Tourist visa at a consulate in a adjacent country or in your home country for futher stay.

Immigration will be targeting the visa runner.

I think you are correct in your thinking. The first group contains most of the EU countries, Canada and US all allowed 30 day . The second group China, India allowed 15 day.

The first group would then be allowed 3 renewals for a max of 90 days and group 2 - 3 for a max of 45 days.

There has been word coming down the pike for some time that border runners would be refused re-entry at some point in the future. Probably the next step will be to require 90 day visa applications to be made in the country of the passport holder rather than an adjoining country or a max renewal of possibly 2 in a calender year.

[sonnyJ]

What about the citizens of Korea, Brazil and Peru. They get 90 days as a standard arrival, can they extend it thrice, or no?

[Ijustwannateach]

I have several good friends who may be affected by this news (if it's for real). They are financially independent and bring a lot of money into the country, but are not old enough to qualify for a retirement visa. I hope some sort of accommodation will be made for them.

[astral]

I have several good friends who may be affected by this news (if it's for real). They are financially independent and bring a lot of money into the country, but are not old enough to qualify for a retirement visa. I hope some sort of accommodation will be made for them.

If married couples cannot get an accommodation,

I doubt that others will............

[John K]

I think it is best to sit back for a few days until the story is sorted out. It looks from the outside just a paper plan to deal with abusers. If it has any real functionality will be at the border and with the occasional passport check. Other than that the people who abuse the system don’t make visa runs and stay hidden in plain sight. Passport sweeps will be the only way to root out the problem people. This is not to untypical if what is done in the states. Just keep a copy of your passport and visa on hand. I suspect only certain parts of Bangkok will be swept like China town and so on. Other than that I would not worry too much if you are on the 41 country list.

[kudroz]

The article is saying:

Visa-on-arrival (VOA) regulations will be tightened for nationals of 41 countries to prevent abuse of the privilege and curb the rising number of illegal entries, according to the Immigration Police Bureau (IPB). Foreign nationals from those countries, including the US, China and India, will be able to stay longer but with fewer chances of renewing the VOA.

1.) There are no such things as VOA for the US like the article mentions.

2.) Article says that the VOA rules will be tightened for the nationals of 41 countries including the US. But there are only 20 countries that are issued VOA and the US is not one of them.

The article is phrased all wrong, and instead of talking about VOA, they are talking about nationals of VISA EXEMPT countries (30 days stamp on arrival) because of this part of the article:

In future, foreigners from those 41 countries will be able to stay in the country for 30 days from the first VOA stamp, which will be renewable twice at most, each time for a maximum of 30 days. In other words, a foreigner will be permitted to remain in Thailand for no longer than 90 days in total after three VOA stamps.

Here they make refference to 41 countries (the 41 visa exempt countries) and they talk about the 30 days stamp as well - pertaining to the 41 countries.

-- The above in a nutshell :

The article is phrased all wrong, it appears the Bangkok Post is confusing the term "Visa On Arrival" (VOA) and "30-Days Entry Stamp". It's impossible at this point to know for certain what all this is all about.

But it is a fair assumption that the new rules will be enforced on the 41 countries that are visa exempt; where you would be able to receive only 3 times a 30-days entry stamp aggregating to a period of 90 days per calendar year.

[h5kaf]

Ha! Ha! Ha! all the whingers are out in force. There are those rich people supporting half of Isan but unable to afford a 1 year visa (if over 50) or a 1 year multiple entry tourist visa or non-o (if under 50). Both these avenues are far cheaper than the constant border runs required by the renewal of the 90 day stamps. It seems to me that whatever the laws of thailand there are those (constant whingers) who dont want to go back to their own countries but want to try and pretend that Thailand should somehow emulate their own countries.

Someone else said it, and I totally agree. If you work get a work permit; if you live here permanently get the correct visa; if you visit frequently get the correct visa. In other words get legal. Then of course you would have nothing to whinge about in this forum.

[The Dan Sai Kid]

I think it is best to sit back for a few days until the story is sorted out. It looks from the outside just a paper plan to deal with abusers. If it has any real functionality will be at the border and with the occasional passport check. Other than that the people who abuse the system don’t make visa runs and stay hidden in plain sight. Passport sweeps will be the only way to root out the problem people. This is not to untypical if what is done in the states. Just keep a copy of your passport and visa on hand. I suspect only certain parts of Bangkok will be swept like China town and so on. Other than that I would not worry too much if you are on the 41 country list.

I'm not sure that is very wise. If you are caught on overstay - not at the airport - the ramifications are pretty medieval!

Although it doesn't affect me I imagine that this is going to make a lot of people up sticks and go live somewhere else - I've heard that Cambodia and Vietnam are getting more popular.

I live in CM and there must be hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners living here that do this. Do the Thai government not want these people spending money in LOS?

[sabaijai]

The article is phrased all wrong, it appears the Bangkok Post is confusing the term "Visa On Arrival" (VOA) and "30-Days Entry Stamp". It's impossible at this point to know for certain what all this is all about.

Precisely. The way the article is written there's no way of saying for sure whether they're talking about the VOA countries (which does not include the US, so that part of the article is false) or about Tourist Visa-exempt countries (which includes the US but not China and India, for example).

If I had to guess, it looks like they are talking about limiting the 15-day VOAs to three rounds. We'll just have to wait and see ...

[zxray]

I like the tourist visa, it allows me to get off my leash, once a month, and have a good time with my friends in Phnon phen, does this mean, that I will need to get a retirement visa now?

[stumonster]

this could affect many people on a 6/2 working cycle who come to thailand for their time off.

the visa exemption has been very handy.