Clarification on Visa Exempt

[Phrased]

Hey guys just looking for a little clarification on my options.

I am 25 and have a British passport, and I'm planning to go to Phuket for 58 days. My flights are booked from Singapore (I'm currently living in Batam, Indonesia) for the 5th of January, to the 1st of March.

From my research it seams my two options are a normal visa exempt 30 day stay with a 30 day extension. Or getting a single entry 60 day tourist visa.

I will be getting the ferry to Singapore on the 4th, which gives me the day and night there, Is that enough time to apply for a a single entry tourist Visa at the Singapore Thai Embassy? or would it take a few days to process?

If i go with the visa exempt 30 day stay and extend, iv heard horror stories of being denied extension. Also will the fact that my return flight is booked for more then 30 days after i arrive in Thailand be a problem?

Is there another option I'm over looking like a visa run (land or flight) or a different type of visa that I haven't come across yet?

Thanks for reading guys!

Ryan.

[ubonjoe]

You apply for the visa at the embassy in Singapore between 9.15am-11.30 am and pick it up the next afternoon from 2.00 pm-3.00 pm.

Info here: http://www.thaiembassy.sg/visa-matters-consular

You may be asked to a show ticket out of the country to board your flight within 30 days of arrival if you don't have a visa. You could get a one way ticket on a low cost carrier to a to a nearby country to meet the 30 day requirement.

You will have no problem getting a 30 day extension of your visa exempt entry. Not sure what or whee you were reading they can be hard to get.

[Phrased]

Thank you for the reply ubonjoe.

Unfortunately my flight from Singapore is at 9am. How ever it wouldn't be a problem for me to change it to the 7pm flight.

So I have 2 options.

1. Change my flight apply for 60 day tourist visa in Singapore (no problem)

or

2. Buy a cheap flight ticket for my first 30 days and just apply for an extension of my visa exempt entry at some point in Phuket. (also no problem)

Either way it looks like I shouldn't have any issues.

[elviajero]

You seem to understand all your options.

• You will not have a problem extending a 30 day visa exempt entry. Denials are usually because the person has had an extension already for the same entry, or are using an address outside of the immigration office's area.

[Phrased]

You seem to understand all your options.

• You will not have a problem extending a 30 day visa exempt entry. Denials are usually because the person has had an extension already for the same entry, or are using an address outside of the immigration office's area.

Just as long as i book another flight as an illusion of a return flight (seeing as my current return flight is 58 days after my arrival).

[elviajero]

You seem to understand all your options.

• You will not have a problem extending a 30 day visa exempt entry. Denials are usually because the person has had an extension already for the same entry, or are using an address outside of the immigration office's area.

Just as long as i book another flight as an illusion of a return flight (seeing as my current return flight is 58 days after my arrival).

• If you decide to travel without a visa the airline flying you to Thailand may want to see an onward flight dated within 30 days. That can be to any country so you could buy a cheap air ticket to anywhere and not use it.
• You don't need any flight bookings to get an extension of stay.

[steve187]

just look for a cheap air ticket, i just looked at pattaya to singapore for the 4th feb at 890baht

[jacksam]

Just an aside thought. OP you could buy a return ticket to somewhere like HCMC. Just take a couple day break from thailand. Prob only suits if your handy to bkk. Anyway the flights are seriously cheap and that way you could just obtain two visa exempt stamps. Better that trips to consulates. Just a thought.

Oh pick somewhere you don't need a visa. Your UK so you get 15 days exempt vietnam

[Bludshoteyes]

Am I reading this right... A visa exempt stamp in a British passport can be extended by 30 days? At the local immigration office...?

[Eclipse]

Am I reading this right... A visa exempt stamp in a British passport can be extended by 30 days? At the local immigration office...?

Yes. 1,900 Baht fee.

[Ketchup]

Me too please. I am a US citizen in the US. Last summer I got a legit double-entry visa from the Thai Consulate then used it along with two re-entry permits in order to use BKK as a base for country-hopping in SE Asia. It worked out fine (thanks to advice from Ubonjoe and others).

Next summer I plan to do something similar but want to try it visa exempt if possible as I would rather not go through the hassle with the new multiple entry tourist visa thing. I will depart the US in May 2016 to BKK with a return flight booked maybe 120 days out. I have no intention of staying in Thailand for more than 30 days at a time. In order to be able to board the departing plane in the US, I plan to get a cheap train ticket on the Malaysian Railway from Hat Yai as has been described in other threads. This onward ticket will be dated within 30 days of my BKK arrival. I will leave Thailand within those first 30 days and might not return until within 30 days of my flight back to the US.

Does this sound like it would work? Have there been any stories of US citizens being forced to have air travel tickets instead of rail tickets for onward travel? I won't be doing any back-to-back exempt entries that smell of a visa run, nor do I expect to stay more than perhaps 60 days total in Thailand during CY2016. Thank you.

[ubonjoe]

Me too please. I am a US citizen in the US. Last summer I got a legit double-entry visa from the Thai Consulate then used it along with two re-entry permits in order to use BKK as a base for country-hopping in SE Asia. It worked out fine (thanks to advice from Ubonjoe and others).

Next summer I plan to do something similar but want to try it visa exempt if possible as I would rather not go through the hassle with the new multiple entry tourist visa thing. I will depart the US in May 2016 to BKK with a return flight booked maybe 120 days out. I have no intention of staying in Thailand for more than 30 days at a time. In order to be able to board the departing plane in the US, I plan to get a cheap train ticket on the Malaysian Railway from Hat Yai as has been described in other threads. This onward ticket will be dated within 30 days of my BKK arrival. I will leave Thailand within those first 30 days and might not return until within 30 days of my flight back to the US.

Does this sound like it would work? Have there been any stories of US citizens being forced to have air travel tickets instead of rail tickets for onward travel? I won't be doing any back-to-back exempt entries that smell of a visa run, nor do I expect to stay more than perhaps 60 days total in Thailand during CY2016. Thank you.

Airlines often will not accept any proof of onward travel other than a flight out of the country.

The remainder of you plans will not be a problem.