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Help!! Do I need a Visa 90 days!??

return ticket to and from thailand for 90 days

16 years ago, September 14th 2007 No: 1 Msg: #19447 Delete Edit

dellyelly
Adele

N Posts: 2

Basically Ive got a return ticket to and from thailand which is for 90 days, but Im not going to be staying in Thailand for all that time, Ill probably re-enter it a few times in the 3 month period.

Im just really worried that if I dont get a visa beforehand then I wont be able to get onto my flight or into the country, Im really confused as I havent done this on my own before, can anyone help??

Adele Reply to this

16 years ago, September 15th 2007 No: 2 Msg: #19457 Delete Edit

Rossi
Ross Brown

N Posts: 1

You automatically get a 1 month visa upon entering Thailand . If you at any stage want to stay longer than one month you will need to apply for a 3 month visa in another country. As long as you leave to visit the other countries before one month is up all will be sweet.

Rocky Reply to this

16 years ago, October 15th 2007 No: 3 Msg: #20917 Delete Edit

AlreadyThere
Lee Boyer

N Posts: 13

Dellyelly-

You should be worried, depending where you are from, they may require verification that you will be leaving the counrty by or befre your thirty days are up. If you are leaving Thailand before that 30 day period, you must have proof of that at the airport before entry for visa on arrival. This passage must be by air and from the entry airport (BKK?), they will not accept train or bus tickets. Your airline rep will not help you at all with not having your visa.

Save yoursef a real ugly surprise after a long flight and after waiting in a visa on arrival line by being denied entry in the Kingdom. Just buy the visa ahead of time. What is so hard about that? It is not that expensive.

You should use your visa on arrival for returning into the Kingdom from "local" travels, such as from Cambodia or Loas, but not for your inital entry. Also remeber that once you use your 90 Visa for entry, you must get a new one if you leave and return and be sure not to overstay that. If you leave Thailand on an overstayed Visa, you will face delays and fines, if you are caught in Tailand with an overstayed Visa, you will be jailed for a fairly long time before being deported. Do not expect fairness and the fact that you came in on a 90 day visa to change that, unless you speak Thai well enough to convince a judge of that.

Enjoy your stay, just try to follow the laws like you would in every other country. Do not use Visa on arrival for your situation. Reply to this

16 years ago, October 15th 2007 No: 4 Msg: #20951 Delete Edit

dellyelly
Adele

N Posts: 2

thanks for that, yeh ill get the 90 day visa before i go then Reply to this

16 years ago, October 16th 2007 No: 5 Msg: #20975 Delete Edit

RandomWill
Will Hoffmann

N Posts: 3

Where would you apply for the 90day Visa? can I do it in Australia?

Would any one know if the dates are flexible or do you have to state the exact dates that you will be in Thailand when applying? Reply to this

16 years ago, October 23rd 2007 No: 6 Msg: #21368 Delete Edit

Laur4
Laura Fowler

B Posts: 61

i have lived in Thailand for a yea and left on numerous occaisions. You can have 3 30 day tourist visa's in any 90 day period. After that you need to apply for a 60 day tourist visa. I have never been asked for evidence of an onward ticket. if they do just show them your ticket in 3 months...explain that you will be leaving the country....you will have no problem, I assure you. Don't be worries. Reply to this

16 years ago, November 17th 2007 No: 7 Msg: #22680 Delete Edit

Jo Jo wants to go
Jo May

B Posts: 35

I'll be in Thailand for just over a month, but will be doing local tours to Cambodia and Vietnam, I'm only likely to be out of Thailand for a week or so then returning before heading down to Malaysia.

Presumably I can just get a tourist visa for the 60 days and that will cover me going into the country twice, firstly on my arrival and then back from Vietnam?

Just want to double check to be 100% sure!

Cheers guys Reply to this

16 years ago, November 26th 2007 No: 8 Msg: #23166 Delete Edit

Uncle Matt
Deborah

B Posts: 24

Heya,

I'm going travelling to Thailand and will be going straight form Bangkok to Cambodia, travelling the guts of that and headin to Vietnam and going from South to North, into Laos and back through N. Thailand down to the south.... I don't fully understand VISAs and how you use them, when you need em, how to get em and how to know which one to get!!! I know I'm a hopeless case, I do plan on learning and i guess the best way to do this is to ask thiose who are doing it......
What would I need for this process, that is pretty much the way I intend to travel as I see from what I've read it saves messing about getting one visa and another....

What would you're advice on thios be for that itenery?

Can you hold two visas at the one time, when you exit does that mean that you're new visa begins... ?? Treat me like your kid sister who you want to ensure stays alive!!!!LOL!! and explain slowly to me .....???

Cheers for you're patience! Reply to this

16 years ago, November 27th 2007 No: 9 Msg: #23183 Delete Edit

FlipACoin
Alex and Julija

B Posts: 5

I'm confused!
1. Do I need to have an exit ticket to get into Thailand? Right now I have a one-way into BKK but no exit because I'm going all over the place and will book it later. Is this going to be a problem?
2. Do I need to have a 90 day Visa, even if I plan to cross into Laos around day 25 (within 30 day tourist visa deadline)? Can't I get away with buying a 90 day visa over there when I cross back into Thailand from Cambodia or should I just get a 90 day Visa before I leave the U.S. to ensure my entry into Thailand?

Thanks,
Alex
Reply to this

16 years ago, November 29th 2007 No: 10 Msg: #23339 Delete Edit

Rachel and Philippe
Rachel Mueller and Philippe Wheelock

B Posts: 8

Confusing issue for sure.... I just spent about two months in and around Thailand and we debated the visa situation ourselves. After our research, we just planned our travel so that we were never in Thailand for more than 30 days.

We took a day trip (a.k.a., 'visa run') to Burma at the end of our first 30 days. The second time we were in Cambodia. We received new, free 30-day visas each time we entered Thailand (once at BKK airport, and twice overland).

(We have US passports, but I saw people from all over doing the same thing.)

Despite signs posted that said they require proof of your planned exit, the only person ever concerned about proof was the guy selling me the ticket to fly to Thailand in the first place. We were never asked for anything at the actual crossings.

Personally, I recommend planning your schedule to take advantage of Thailand's free visas.

FlipACoin.... to answer your questions more directly,
1) If you have a credit card to prove you can pay for a ticket home, this would likely work in place of an actual ticket.
2) for your first 25 days before Laos, you should just get the free 30-day visa upon entry. When you cross back into Thailand from Cambodia, you'll get a new one with 30 more days. I'm not sure how long you'll be in-country for your second stay, but if it's less than 30 days, just use the free visa.
Also) If you do apply for the visa ahead of time in the states, find out if it's multiple entry or single entry. Single entry would (obviously) only be valid for one of your two planned entries. I'm not sure it would change anything about the exit/return ticket proof, anyway, should they choose to ask you about it.

Reply to this

16 years ago, November 29th 2007 No: 11 Msg: #23349 Delete Edit

FlipACoin
Alex and Julija

B Posts: 5

Rachelle and Philippe, you are awesome!!! Thanks so much for that advice...I've heard a lot of conflicting stories on this issue, so it's refreshing to hear some experienced folks lay it down.
When did you get back from this 2-month journey? Was Burma/Myanmar safe for tourists? Were there any places that you visited that I should watch out for (sketchy stuff)? Your info about the southern Cambodia border crossings was great... that's the kind of info I need to find (thanks, again). I'm thinking about trying to find a boat/ferry from the Cambodian coast across the Bay of Thailand to the Thai peninsula so we can find our way down to Phuket and the southern beaches...Koh Phi Phi, etc. Do you think I could find a way to do that for not too much cash? About how much $$ did you spend per day in Cambodia as a couple (nosy question, I know...but I'm trying to make sure that we'll have enough to last us a while)? Where are you guys from? Just curious, no pressure.... My girl and I are from Washington state, US.

Cheers, Alex. Reply to this

16 years ago, November 29th 2007 No: 12 Msg: #23352 Delete Edit

Rachel and Philippe
Rachel Mueller and Philippe Wheelock

B Posts: 8

Alex.... glad you found the info helpful. Yeah, the visa thing is confusing and I totally understand wanting to have your passport in order before you get there. Generally speaking, we prearrange our visas when we're traveling overland, but didn't do anything ahead of time for this part of our trip in SE Asia.

Your questions:
- We got back this week (Monday night).

- We only spent about 15 minutes in Burma and didn't get any further than the immigration office... this is what they refer to as a 'visa run' where you go over the border long enough to reset your Thai visa. Crazy, huh?

- Regarding the Gulf of Thailand... I didn't see or hear anything about crossing it, but I think it may be bigger than you think. FYI, I'm sure you already know this, but you'll be on the wrong side of Thailand for Phuket and Koh Phi Phi (we spent three weeks at Railay... loved it and totally worth it).

- Cambodia money/budget... we expected it to be a lot cheaper than Thailand, but I'd budget about the same... some specifics, our bungalow in Sihanoukville was $4US and our hotel was ~$12/night in Phnom Penh (we splurged),... my favorite was ice coffee for $0.25US.

Ooh... Budget a little bit of money for Siem Reap to give away or buy little things from the young girls... you'll see what I mean when you're there). ~$3US/day while you're there will go a long way if you exchange it into small bills. Not a big expense, but if you're traveling on a tight budget, it starts to add up after a few days.

We're from Colorado... 😊

Happy to chat more, just PM me or you can email me at rachelinouray@yahoo.com.

Rachel

Reply to this

16 years ago, November 30th 2007 No: 13 Msg: #23406 Delete Edit

AlreadyThere
Lee Boyer

N Posts: 13

Flip-A-Coin,

Hey, good luck with that. I didn't just get back from Thailand, I live here and my wife is a Lt. for Immigration at the airport. Is it possible that perhaps I may know a little more about this subject?

The whole visa thing is enforced at the airport upon arrival and really scrutinized for visa-on-arrival cases. Once you are in and make "visa runs", which, by the way, you can do practically forever (6 months, then simply by a visa to stay on from there), they will not check you as well at the land boarders.

So, what is the REAL story about this? Well, here it is, according to immigration laws, visa-on-arrival visitors are required to have a CONFIRMED AIR return ticket before entry and may be required to show that they have sufficient funds on hand to support themselves in Thailand as well. The operative words here are "confirmed", meaning not open ended, and "air" meaning that a bus ticket to Cambodia is not acceptable, but if you are coming from, say, the States and going on to say, Singapore, that is O.K.

I have heard of many stories of people getting passed with less then this and I do not know if it is due to some slackness in enforcement or whatever the case is. What I do see, when I hang out there is people being held until the airlines can find them a return flight. I have seen husbands arrive with and wives without a visa and the wife is not permitted in even when the husband is.

We are not talking about saving thousands or even hundreds of dollars here. A tourist visa is 20 or 30 USD, so why is everyione so willing to risk their entire vacation to try to save a couple of dollars? Is everyone really that cheap? Anyway, the Thai visa looks damn nice on your passport, very colorful and well worth the 30 USD even if it served no purpose. After all, half of you coming here are coming so that you can look like Gods to your friends while spending less for you whole vacation then you would for a weekend back where you are from, so why not complete the picture with a pretty visa on your passport?

Good Luck. Get your visa and we will see you when you get here.

Reply to this

16 years ago, December 1st 2007 No: 14 Msg: #23458 Delete Edit

Rachel and Philippe
Rachel Mueller and Philippe Wheelock

B Posts: 8

Yes, it is possible that you know more about the immigration laws of Thailand. I just had a radically different experience from the description you provided and I don't think my attitude or approach was unique. That said, I agree whole-heartedly that a little time, effort, and expense is worth it if it's going to make or break your vacation.

Personally, I've applied in advance for three tourist visas in the past year. Perhaps you don't remember what a pain it is... Finding the web site isn't too bad, but from there it gets a little more difficult. You have to read vague directions, print and fill out endless forms, take passport pictures, get money orders, travel to other cities (or in some cases, countries) to get to a Consulate General's office or kiss your passport good-bye as you mail it across the country, time the application so that there is enough time for them to process it but not so much time that your visa expires before you want to use it... I could go on, but if a country offers visas on arrival, why not take advantage of it?

If I recall correctly, the real debate here is about what proof of onward travel is required.... to that point, I just checked the Royal Thai Embassy web site. For Tourist Visas, it says "Purpose of visit: for pleasure purpose only (requiring copy of airtime ticket or itenery)."

I'm not sure what is meant by 'airtime ticket or itenery'... but I'll start by assuming that they mean itinerary. Next, does this mean that they require proof of exit tickets when you apply for a visa in advance? I don't know the answer, but if this is the case, the requirement exists whether you get your visa on arrival or if you apply for it in advance.

Oh, while I'm sharing details from the site.... tourist visas cost $30US per entry (not free, but not as much as some other countries.)... There is a three month validity once it's issued (meaning you need to enter within three months of getting the visa).... Maximum stay 60 day, extension of stay may be applied in Thailand.

I'm not sure if I've helped those of you who are planning travel.... I guess the bottom line is that AlreadyThere and I are just two experiences, so balance our thoughts and advice with your own risk tolerance and travel approach. Do your research, make your own decisions, and have a great trip!

Rachel Reply to this