Visa questions / Russia --> Thailand Chiang Mai

[Sergey Black]

hi to all,

 

my friend planned come to Chiang Mai (first time travel to Thailand) with family, 2 adult + 1 child, just for living there maybe about 1 year and look around/travel/holidays/healthy things

 

plane from Russia to BKK --> Chiang Mai

1) do they need tickets back or tickets in another country (where they can make next travel visa for example, witch one better)?  or just unpaind booking enough (valid in 10 days)? or some another way better ?

 

2) first they want use 30 days free stamp on arrivals, after - what kind of visa best way for them ? (if they plan stay there near 1 year, interesting cheap/easy variants) need to make visa for child 4 year ? What better for living ED visa or travel visa ?

 

3) how much they must to have cash with yourself in airport (Russia)? in Thailand/BKK ? how much money they must to have on border for example with Laos Vientiane ? only $$$ dollars right ? 

 

I will be very grateful if someone writes everything step by step and how to make everything better

 

cheers to all 

[andreww]

better ask in Russian groups on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/110970745658472/

[JackThompson]

Russian citizens can get a VOA, unlike most entries without visa-in-advance discussed here.  But if going for a year, I would suggest they start with a "Tourist Visa" obtained before arrival, which gives them 60-days and does not require proof of an outgoing ticket to board their plane.  The Thai-consulate in Russia where they get that visa may have unique requirements to apply (consulate-rules vary) - call them and check.

 

The rule for cash to prove they can afford to enter Thailand with a Tourist-Visa is 40K Baht (in any convertible currency) per family.  The same "cash rule" applies at the border.  If they decide to come in VOA, or make subsequent VOA entries later, perhaps someone else can verify the cash requirement; it might be only 10K per-person, as with Visa-Exempt entries from citizens of many other countries.

 

The only requirement I would anticipate at the airport in Russia would be having a flight booked out of Thailand (to anywhere) if they choose not to obtain a Visa in advance.  But, they would need to have the cash required to enter Thailand at that point, so if asked to show cash, they could do so.

 

ED visas could work, but be aware that you get 90-days, then must prove you are attending classes and/or pay "extra" to obtain additional extensions for the remainder of the year.  There is a self-defense class taught in Chang Mai by ex-military which is purportedly "trouble free" due to their out-ranking of Immigration in the command-hierarchy.

Edited June 9, 2017 by JackThompson

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Russian citizens can get a VOA, unlike most entries without visa-in-advance discussed here. 

They do not get a 15 day visa on arrival. They get a 30 day visa exempt entry from a bilateral agreement. They cannot get the 30 day extension since it is not under the standard visa exempt scheme. The also do not fall under the 2 entry per calendar year at land border crossings reule..

[JackThompson]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They do not get a 15 day visa on arrival. They get a 30 day visa exempt entry from a bilateral agreement. They cannot get the 30 day extension since it is not under the standard visa exempt scheme. The also do not fall under the 2 entry per calendar year at land border crossings reule..

Thanks for the correction on VOA/exempt.  So perhaps the 10K Baht cash-rule per-each applies?

Would it still be a good idea for them to get a TR-Visa in advance, which can be extended 30-days in-country?  I see Russians getting them in nearby consulates, so suppose they are similarly restricted as the rest of us from doing back-to-back Visa-Exempts (even if no 2-land-crossing hard-limit).

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, JackThompson said:

So perhaps the 10K Baht cash-rule per-each applies?

Yes