Thailand plans to grant multiple-entry visas to tourists from all nations

[chainarong]

A step in the right direction!

Are you all familiar with that expression?

if I were the Thai team trying to create a more positive tourist and Foreigner environment, where would I go to get instant feedback?

Thai Visa.

And what would I see?

Negative, cynical and counter productive comments .. including a "Dash of Bash"

My conclusion would be, "Nothing can make these people happy, even when we move in the direction they claim they want, they cry like a school girl who fell off her bike."

Never mind ... let's work on something else .. noting makes these whiners smile. EVER.

Suggestion: How about .. just for a change .. some POSITIVE FEEDBACK for them to read?

I am glad of your last part, Positive feed back for them to read , spot on.

[lkv]

I think that all comments, whether positive or negative, turn out to be an important source of information for people that want to become more familiar with rules and regulations in Thailand and understand them better. If you are a frequent traveler or someone that likes Thailand,you have to understand it. I for example have always wondered why the system has been created in such a complicated way. As someone was commenting before, if you wanted to attract tourists then why not just give free visas to everyone? It has been done in the past.

In my opinion, all the modifications over the last 12 months had a single purpose, and that's to increase revenue collected from fees. I'm not moaning about it, I have no problem to pay a little more, I still feel it's worth the money. They feel that people will still buy it, which is why they are doing it. I think that anyone that has lived or travelled to Thailand for a number of years and has bumped into all these technicalities may share some of my views.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Pffft....

Want to impress me.

Make it an e-visa.

[lkv]

Tell you what would make me smile. Make a multiple entry tourist visa valid for 12 months and price it at 5,000 baht, which is the same price as multiple entry Non Imm Visa valid for 12 months. Or price the 6 month multiple entry tourist visa at 3,000 baht so it is an upgraded version of the triple and I get more value, meaning more entries, in the same validity. To be fair.

A step in the right direction!

Are you all familiar with that expression?

if I were the Thai team trying to create a more positive tourist and Foreigner environment, where would I go to get instant feedback?

Thai Visa.

And what would I see?

Negative, cynical and counter productive comments .. including a "Dash of Bash"

My conclusion would be, "Nothing can make these people happy, even when we move in the direction they claim they want, they cry like a school girl who fell off her bike."

Never mind ... let's work on something else .. noting makes these whiners smile. EVER.

Suggestion: How about .. just for a change .. some POSITIVE FEEDBACK for them to read?

I am glad of your last part, Positive feed back for them to read , spot on.

Edited August 7, 2015 by lkv

[lkv]

"BANGKOK: The Thai Government has introduced a new six-month multiple-entry visa for visitors from any country.

Visitors can look forward to the new visa as early as October, following the approval by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha earlier in the week. The new multiple-entry visa will cost slightly more than US$140, compared to a single-entry visa that costs about US$28.

The Tourism and Sport Minister said the new measure is aimed at increasing the number of tourists to the country. While foreigners from about 40 countries do not require a visa to enter Thailand, visitors from some countries in the region, such as China and India, still do.

The president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents said the new visa may help increase the number of holidaymakers from these Asian neighbours."

Right. So at the moment the Chinese and Indian people have 2 options: Paid visa on arrival 14 days (1,000 baht) or Paid visa at their embassy single entry (1,000 baht) - 60 days , perhaps double. So they don't benefit from 30 day free chops like other nations do. They always pay.

So now they're going to continue to pay either 1,000 baht or 5,000 baht.

Can someone please enlighten me or am I missing something here?

Was there not a visa waiver scheme in 2014 for Chinese what happened to that?

Edited August 7, 2015 by lkv

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Wow. The deafening groan you just heard was Mcwalen and all of the other ED visa peddlers throughout the kingdom.

Hey Mac, better ramp up the sales in your stock market course.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Sounds good in principle. The devil will be in the detail. For example driving licenses, etc.

Yep. Can you do a border run just before the expiry date and get another 60 days, and then extend it for another 30?

It would then be a 9 month visa.

And how will it line up with 90 day reporting. At present no tourist is in the country longer than 90 days unless he or she is on overstay.

The whole system is so ancient, cumbersom and complex that not even the IOs understand it.

Maybe they will get around the 90 day report thing by calling it the CETVA (Cameroonian English Teachers Visa).

Or maybe, as I suspect, it will just be a lot of talk and when it comes to implementation it will just be too difficult and the archaic and dysfunctional system now in place will remain the same.

Anyway, whatever happens, it is probably now all too little too late. I personally have four friends who have all left for Cambo and the PIs since the coup. They all had money, and two of them a lot of it, but they were just too fed up with the visa bullsh!t.

Looks like the plan to try and push people on to the outrageously priced Elite visa failed.

By God, that's it, they can call it the Non Elite Visa...

Or, if they fail to make it an e-visa, they can call the DV (the deforestation visa).

Edited August 7, 2015 by Bulldozer Dawn

[espinoza]

"Thailand plans to grant multiple-entry visas to tourists from all nations" The present genius government are just lost. They almost propose gay affairs with the Chinese, do anybody think the Chinese think this junta will have a long life?

[lkv]

So a year after forcing thousands of expats out of Thailand - expats who did border runs but who still no doubt spent lots of money in Thailand, they come back with this.

They did not force expats out of Thailand. It was a lot of fuss last year in August about this. What happened is that a lot of expats were only using consecutive visa waivers, meaning they never paid any money to the Thai Embassies. They were effectively living in Thailand for free. That situation had to change by limiting the in-out on the visa waiver, so now all those expats are back on the right track paying the correct visa fee at neighboring Embassies. You can't breathe Thai air for free.

Sorry to dash any hope of being accepted here, but many Thais echo the government, all of them, in spouting we whities 'have ruined Thai culture'. I hear this from my Thai neighbour and, unsurprisingly, given the intelligence quotient from more than a few the of long term stayers (there are no 'expats' here, no matter how you delude yourselves).

Remember that this is an uber nationalist country, kept so for the benefit of the big bosses.

Yeah, I did not want to word it that way myself, but I subscribe to what is being said above. The only reason for tolerance towards foreigners is money, the more the better. Actions being taken speak for themselves.

Yep. Can you do a border run just before the expiry date and get another 60 days, and then extend it for another 30?

It would then be a 9 month visa.

And how will it line up with 90 day reporting. At present no tourist is in the country longer than 90 days unless he or she is on overstay.

The whole system is so ancient, cumbersom and complex that not even the IOs understand it.

Maybe they will get around the 90 day report thing by calling it the CETVA (Cameroonian English Teachers Visa).

Or maybe, as I suspect, it will just be a lot of talk and when it comes to implementation it will just be too difficult and the archaic and dysfunctional system now in place will remain the same.

Anyway, whatever happens, it is probably now all too little too late. I personally have four friends who have all left for Cambo and the PIs since the coup. They all had money, and two of them a lot of it, but they were just too fed up with the visa bullsh!t.

Looks like the plan to try and push people on to the outrageously priced Elite visa failed.

By God, that's it, they can call it the Non Elite Visa...

Or, if they fail to make it an e-visa, they can call the DV (the deforestation visa).

There's not going to be a 90 day reporting because any entry of those multiples will not allow you to stay for more than 60 days, extendable 30 days at the regular cost. So it's impossible to find yourself in Thailand on day 91 and not be on overstay, you have to exit.

But yeah if your last entry happens before the "Enter before" date, you can stretch it for up to 9 months.

So in the future 9 months = 5000 baht

Now 6 months (double entry visa 3 months validity stretched to 6) = 2000 baht.

Edited August 7, 2015 by lkv

[lkv]

But the real question is this....Putting aside the price and all that.

Where is this type of visa going to be issued? Is it going to be issued in all the neighboring embassies or maybe in your home country?

Are there going to be any additional requirements (more finances such as 40,000 baht, exit tickets, proof of accommodation etc). Will these be really enforced or is it going to be a light situation where you need a picture, the application form and the money? (see Vientiane today)

This is what I am curious to find out.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

There's not going to be a 90 day reporting because any entry of those multiples will not allow you to stay for more than 60 days, extendable 30 days at the regular cost. So it's impossible to find yourself in Thailand on day 91 and not be on overstay, you have to exit.

But yeah if your last entry happens before the "Enter before" date, you can stretch it for up to 9 months.

So in the future 9 months = 5000 baht

Now 6 months (double entry visa 3 months validity stretched to 6) = 2000 baht.

No, what you have just said can not be true. Because what you have described is exactly what the current double entry tourist visa provides:

60+30 in/0ut 60+30 = 180 days.

If so...why all this fan fair?

This is the ALL NEW and IMPROVED SUPER SPECIAL 6 month Tourist visa...

Oh...hang on...we already have one....

[lkv]

No, it's actually similar to what a triple entry tourist visa provides, but it provides more flexibility for people that actually want to enter Thailand more than 3 times in a period of 6 months.

Double Entry Visa = 60 + 30 + 60 +30 = 180 (valid 3 months) = 2000 baht

Triple Entry Visa = 60+30+60+30+60+30 = 270 (valid 6 months) = 3000 baht

This MULTIPLE = unlimited entries for 6 months, then your last entry before the expiry gives you another 60+30 so 270....but 5,000 baht

Advantage 1: No triple entry visa issued in neighboring South East Asia only Europe, Australia etc, so Vientiane limits you to 180 days, now you will get 270 (hopefully in Vientiane)/ But it comes with a price tag.

The problem is that based on every article I have been reading people will only be left with 2 options on the Tourist visa, single or multiple. So you either pay 1,000 baht or you pay 5,000 baht.

There's not going to be a 90 day reporting because any entry of those multiples will not allow you to stay for more than 60 days, extendable 30 days at the regular cost. So it's impossible to find yourself in Thailand on day 91 and not be on overstay, you have to exit.

But yeah if your last entry happens before the "Enter before" date, you can stretch it for up to 9 months.

So in the future 9 months = 5000 baht

Now 6 months (double entry visa 3 months validity stretched to 6) = 2000 baht.

No, what you have just said can not be true. Because what you have described is exactly what the current double entry tourist visa provides:

60+30 in/0ut 60+30 = 180 days.

If so...why all this fan fair?

This is the ALL NEW and IMPROVED SUPER SPECIAL 6 month Tourist visa...

Oh...hang on...we already have one....

[lkv]

The best example is this for the long stayers that sometimes travel.

John wants to enjoy Thailand for 12 months. To cover the whole year, John has to get two double entries at present that will total 4,000 baht in Embassy fees. Plus all the visa run cost.

Because in the future, there will only be the option of single or multiple, John will cover 9 months out of the 12 at a cost of 5,000 baht. After the 9 months hopefully John will decide he likes Thailand so much that he wants to stay for another 9 months and the Embassies will be ok with it as long as John pays his 5,000 baht.

After 2 multiple entry visas stretching for 18 months, John would have fallen in love with Thailand so much that he will have decided to carry on with the process until the age of 50 (so for another 15 years), at which point he will consider Retirement Options.

If John wants to go to holiday to Singapore every now and then, he will save money on the Reentry Permits that he used to get from Suvarnabhumi at a cost of 1,200 baht on his tourist visa, because even though John was only allowed to enter Thailand 2 times max on a double, he'd use reentry permits for short trips and enter Thailand more than 2 times anyway. So John kind of had a multiple entry tourist visa even before they invented it officially. But it's less headache and less money for him now because he comes and goes as he pleases.

The only thing John hopes is that finally, everybody's happy with this arrangement and 10k a year will do.

Edited August 7, 2015 by lkv

[lkv]

As for those people commenting on how the foreigners are always unhappy, please note that John is very happy with the new arrangement, on the understanding that you don't ask John why he will have 30 consecutive multiple tourist visas in his current and future passports spanning over the next 15 years.

John thanks you for the understanding and it's a pleasure doing business.

PS: Sorry my bad 20 consecutive multiple tourist visas, John plans to stretch one of these new thingies to the max so for 9 months.

Edited August 7, 2015 by lkv

[BKKSnowBird]

Reading this thread I love how some posters write like the Thai government is going to read their post and take their opinions and/or advice to heart. LMAO!

[lkv]

No, they could not care less. But neither do we, as long as some of us are way under 50 and we will have to design cheaper solutions that suit our needs. Not all of us feel that Elite visas are the best value for the money options.

[luvthailand]

I think this is my first login to Thai Visa forum in maybe 5 years. I used to live in Thailand (Chiang Mai) but I decided to move to the Philippines. I was pretty enthusiastic (as one can see from my login name), I went to Thai language school and studied hard, made some true Thai friends, and lived there for well over a year's time. Some of my friends and extended family flew from the USA to visit me in Thailand.

But these visa issues were one of the primary reasons I decided to leave. As an under-50 wealthy retired guy, there was no good visa for me in Thailand. I was able to get an SRRV retirement visa in the Philippines, which is a true long term visa that does not need to be reapplied for each year (like a Thai retirement visa requires, for instance), does not require border runs or check-ins with immigration. It is more expensive but it is an actual long term visa that provides the security of residency I was looking for (without border runs, exit tickets, telling immigration officials that I am just a tourist, getting papers signed every year, etc.).

While I agree the Thais can manage their immigration however they want, I took the message and quietly moved on. I turn 50 within the year but after over 5 years in the Philippines I am very happy.

I am not really trying to criticize Thailand, but I think lots of guys just move on and you never hear from them again, that is the main reason I wanted to post.

[lkv]

Look there are options now that were not available 5 years ago when you left. The one similar to what you have in PH is called "Thai Elite Visa"

THB 500,000 (USD 14,230) - 5 years (1 year stamp, extendable every 12 months). Not required to exit the country, no other annual fees/

THB 2,000,000 (USD 56,920) - 20 years, plus an annual fee of THB 20,000

The first one includes VAT, the second doesn't.

As far as I understand, these visas would not count towards any residency if you wanted to get one, which is anyway rather difficult in Thailand.

So it's not like there aren't options, the question is what price do these options come at.

For me, if I spend foreign money in Thailand, so I'm injecting enough foreign currency into the economy, being asked for half a million baht sounds like a "legal bribe" to me. Something like.....We'll make your life so difficult visa wise that just to get rid of that stress you'd be tempted in this product.

I mean, this "Thai Elite Visa" is advertised as "no more headache with immigration stuff". So, "we know you have a headache, we've created your headache, now we will take the headache away". 500,000 baht please.

I hope that now some of the Thai guys reading this that don't understand why us foreigners are moaning and seem unhappy. Because someone's trying to rip us off here, that's why.

Hey. I have a better idea. Why not simplify the visa system, make it more attractive, do an e-visa as someone was saying, etc etc, so that we don't have headaches to start considering paying half a million baht in the first place.

I think this is my first login to Thai Visa forum in maybe 5 years. I used to live in Thailand (Chiang Mai) but I decided to move to the Philippines. I was pretty enthusiastic (as one can see from my login name), I went to Thai language school and studied hard, made some true Thai friends, and lived there for well over a year's time. Some of my friends and extended family flew from the USA to visit me in Thailand.

But these visa issues were one of the primary reasons I decided to leave. As an under-50 wealthy retired guy, there was no good visa for me in Thailand. I was able to get an SRRV retirement visa in the Philippines, which is a true long term visa that does not need to be reapplied for each year (like a Thai retirement visa requires, for instance), does not require border runs or check-ins with immigration. It is more expensive but it is an actual long term visa that provides the security of residency I was looking for (without border runs, exit tickets, telling immigration officials that I am just a tourist, getting papers signed every year, etc.).

While I agree the Thais can manage their immigration however they want, I took the message and quietly moved on. I turn 50 within the year but after over 5 years in the Philippines I am very happy.

I am not really trying to criticize Thailand, but I think lots of guys just move on and you never hear from them again, that is the main reason I wanted to post.

Edited August 8, 2015 by lkv

[luvthailand]

Thanks, lkv. Yeah, about a year ago I visited this forum when I found out about the new and improved Thai Elite Visa and spent about 2 hours reading through that very long thread. I even summarized it and sent it to some 40-something retired friends.

If that Thai Elite visa had been available in its present form (and not the version that was available 5 or 6 years ago that included prepaid greens fees, lol, I think it was a million baht back then), I might very well have gone for it as a way to bridge to age 50.

Although I would still not be happy with a post-50 year old retirement having to effectively reapply from scratch for a new Thai Retirement visa each year -- but at least if that were an option I might have reconsidered my move.

As it stands I have made my choice and enjoy where I am and could never go back to living in Thailand. My Filipina girlfriend and I visited Thailand earlier this year, we had a wonderful time, she went to Thai cooking school among many other things, and we now cook lots of Thai food at home.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

A lot of piffle already in this thread.

We will wait and see. These are the only things that are of any importance.

1. Is it an e-visa?

2. If, not where can it be applied for?

3. Are outgoing (and incoming) ticket purchases required?

4. If tickets are required, can they be bus or rail?

That about it as I see it.

[lkv]

E-visa? What's that, the name sounds too high tech for me.

"Foreign citizens staying in Thailand are able to report their address every 90 days online via the Immigration Bureau's website, effective from April, the immigration spokesman said on Thursday.
.....

The service currently requires the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser. The bureau hopes to make it compatible with other popular browsers later."

That was the 90 day address notification.

[Rocketsurgeon]

My hunch is that the visa will be for Rusian, Chinese and ASEAN who have bought property. White devils will be still subject to same visa scheme.

If tourism numbers have truly remained constant there is no need to change the visa scheme in place for mongers.

Thailand needs to devalue, that adds immediate value.

Its far and about time married persons +3 years are given privileges:

Perm Residency as long as married or till death after five yrs.

Right to own up to four rai land - in their name. Money from outside = wife has no right to claim upon divorce.

Fast track to small sole proprietor business.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

They better hurry up and rework the whole visa system.

The econony is tanking big time.

Another nail in the coffin was the announcement today by Virgin that they are no longer flying to Phuket.

I often fly Phuket/Jakarta with Air Asia and yesterday I checked on ticket prices. Although it has not been announced, AA has also cut all flights to Phuket from Jakarta.

[Philip666]

Some superb ideas emerging at last !!!

Agreed.

This is really good news.

[lkv]

The econony is tanking big time.

True, that's why they've devalued the Thai Baht from 32 to 35 baht to the dollar. So that provides some value. For tourists or any people spending foreign income here. Off topic, I think what happened in the US and then Europe is finally starting to happen in Asia. Don't buy property just yet, wait a little and you may get a 50% discount.

Edited August 9, 2015 by lkv

[Bulldozer Dawn]

The econony is tanking big time.

True, that's why they've devalued the Thai Baht from 32 to 35 baht to the dollar. So that provides some value. For tourists or any people spending foreign income here. Off topic, I think what happened in the US and then Europe is finally starting to happen in Asia. Don't buy property just yet, wait a little and you may get a 50% discount.

There may be some correction in the property market here but you won't see anything like what happened in America, Spain and other countries. The reason is that most buyers here pay cash, whereas in the States they had zero down mortgages. Once upside in their mortgage the American's just started walking and the jingle mail catch phrase was spawned.

Australia's property market failed to correct at that time because, unlike America it has FULL RECOURSE mortgages. That is walk away and the bank will seize your house but they will still pursue you for the money. That full recourse issue enabled banks and government in Australia to kick the house price crash down the road a few more years. But it will arrive nonetheless in the next year or two.

[lkv]

Ok I'm not an expert but what I know is this. In any country 95% if not more of properties are bought on mortgage, and not cash. Here in Thailand you already get 105% mortgage which sounds dodgy to me.

The properties that you are describing being bought cash are the ones bought by investors (Rich Thai or foreign), and those people buy 20 apartments in a transaction. The farangs that buy one apartment to live in and pay cash are limited in numbers I believe compared to the "smart investors that are looking for guaranteed income", "because "prices will never go down"

These type of people are the ones responsible for the bubble in my opinion and they are the ones that will take a loss when the bubble bursts.

The regular Thai person cannot afford to buy a condo cash.

Sorry for the off topic.

PS: Ah sorry I just remembered what one of my friends that has a real estate company was telling me about how people make money just by putting the 10% deposit before the construction starts, then just selling the contract half way through. So the investors don't even make money anymore by buying a condo and selling it, they just buy into the contract and make a very nice profit margin just by selling the contract before the building is even finished. Does that not sound like a big bubble that's about to burst?

The econony is tanking big time.

True, that's why they've devalued the Thai Baht from 32 to 35 baht to the dollar. So that provides some value. For tourists or any people spending foreign income here. Off topic, I think what happened in the US and then Europe is finally starting to happen in Asia. Don't buy property just yet, wait a little and you may get a 50% discount.

There may be some correction in the property market here but you won't see anything like what happened in America, Spain and other countries. The reason is that most buyers here pay cash, whereas in the States they had zero down mortgages. Once upside in their mortgage the American's just started walking and the jingle mail catch phrase was spawned.

Australia's property market failed to correct at that time because, unlike America it has FULL RECOURSE mortgages. That is walk away and the bank will seize your house but they will still pursue you for the money. That full recourse issue enabled banks and government in Australia to kick the house price crash down the road a few more years. But it will arrive nonetheless in the next year or two.

Edited August 9, 2015 by lkv

[Chicog]

One hopes this isn't going to result in genuine tourists like myself who visit 3-4 times a year being suddenly asked to pay Bt5000-10000 more for the "privilege".

Because if it is, they can f--- off.

[IMA_FARANG]

So what are they planning, a multiple entry 6 month VOA for 5000 baht?

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

The article is marvelously unclear as always.

For me, I have had tourists visa before to enter Thailand.

I know there is a single entry tourist visa, a double entry tourist visa, and , if you can find a place that will give them, a tr[ple entry tourist visa.

To me, as a fat old Farang, a multi-entry tourist visa would be one that offered more than 3 entries and exits.

And a 6 month visa has a life of 6 months from date of issue.

But maybe that is to logical..... to call something what it really is

A multi entry 6 month tourist visa to me would mean a visa that would let you enter Thailand as a tourist and then stay one month in Thailand.

Then if you wished you could go for a month to let's say Vietnam , after which you could re-enter Thailand for at least another month.

After that you could leave Thailand and do a couple weeks trip to Malaysia if you wanted to. Again you could re-enter Thailand as a tourist....you still have time left months on your 6 month multi-entry tourist visa that you can use.

By my simple mind a 6 month multi - entry tourist visa means you can enter and exit from Thailand as many times as you desire in 6 months, just as long as you are a valid tourist.

That would enable a valid tourist to travel around South East Asia for 6 months using Thailand as a home base for that period.

He or she would be able to enter and exit Thailand as many times as he or she desired in that 6 month period.

That to me is what a 6 month multi re-entry tourist visa should be by definition.

Apparently not to Thai immigration however.

if that is really what it was, I might be willing to pay 5000 Baht for 6 months of freedom to enter and exit Thailand as many times as I wished to travel around South East Asia freely.

But frankly, I don't expect that to ever happen.

Edited August 9, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[slipperylobster]

So a year after forcing thousands of expats out of Thailand - expats who did border runs but who still no doubt spent lots of money in Thailand, they come back with this.

Stamp will look like this...

(Come back..Please.)