FAQ - Thailand - Visa

I have only read some of this topic, but as i am going to Thailand on 30July for 88days , would it be best to get a Tourist Visa from the Thai Embassy for 60 days then go to Malasia for a few weeks after the 60 days?

I have been told that all you need to do once in thailand is do a visa run that loads of places do. (im guessing this is just a cross over the border then straight back again?) I will obviously need to do 3 of these whilst i am there. Also, i am guessing a visa run would allow me to see other parts of thailand too

Oh, im on a budget of £20 a day including accom, food, drink and travel so i hope these runs are not that expensive. Failing this 500baht at day charge and 58 days is about £460, so not the end of the world

thanks

Quoting alex1236

I have only read some of this topic, but as i am going to Thailand on 30July for 88days , would it be best to get a Tourist Visa from the Thai Embassy for 60 days then go to Malasia for a few weeks after the 60 days?

That would be the best way as the return/onward ticket requirement is not imposed on visitors with the 60-day Tourist Visa. Check out AirAsia and FireFly for cheap flights to Malaysia and aroud the region.

I have been told that all you need to do once in thailand is do a visa run that loads of places do. (im guessing this is just a cross over the border then straight back again?) I will obviously need to do 3 of these whilst i am there. Also, i am guessing a visa run would allow me to see other parts of thailand too

Oh, im on a budget of £20 a day including accom, food, drink and travel so i hope these runs are not that expensive. Failing this 500baht at day charge and 58 days is about £460, so not the end of the world

Yes, visa run is crossing over the border and return to Thailand on the same day or immediately. But the problem here is not whether or not if you can afford to pay the THB500/day penalty. It's a big problem if you were so unlucky to be arrested by the police for overstaying. You would be put into the police lockup and possibly charged in court. This has happened before based on accounts from foreigners living in Thailand. Would you want to risk that?

Thanks for the quick reply.

No not really. Plus there no point in risking it as the days are added up and you are fined when leaving from singapore airport anyway.

Options are to get a 60 visa from a thai embassy then do one crossing or

Do 3 border crossings.

How much is a thai 60 day visa and would it be even worth it as i could make a night of travelling on a train to cross a border maybe?

That leads me to ask - Where are the Thai borders and what islands could i stay in to earn a bit of money if i was to stay there for a week (i can do manual work aswell as bar/restaurant and spin fire)

thanks

Quoting alex1236

Thanks for the quick reply.

No not really. Plus there no point in risking it as the days are added up and you are fined when leaving from singapore airport anyway.

Fined when leaving from Singapore airport??? Err... why is Singapore fining you for an offence in Thailand?

Options are to get a 60 visa from a thai embassy then do one crossing or

Do 3 border crossings.

Either way is possible. But bear in mind that the immigration may require an onward ticket if you get the 30-day social visit pass (tourist visa exemption). The 60-day Tourist Visa is exempted from the onward ticket requirement.

How much is a thai 60 day visa and would it be even worth it as i could make a night of travelling on a train to cross a border maybe?

According to the Thai Embassy in London, it's £28 per entry.

That leads me to ask - Where are the Thai borders and what islands could i stay in to earn a bit of money if i was to stay there for a week (i can do manual work aswell as bar/restaurant and spin fire)

Check out the Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar travel guides (see section Getting There) for more info about border crossings.

As for working, remember that just like in any other country, it is illegal to work (paid or unpaid) while travelling under the social visit pass and tourist visa. Not sure how often the authorities check this at tourist areas, but my brother who works in Bangkok told me that a Malaysian construction company director was arrested last year for being at a construction site located outside the permissible area of his work permit. They can be very strict if they want to.

Quoting cerulean

Then we fly back to Bangkok on 28th July. This is our second entry.

We will get the overnight bus from Bangkok to Laos (visa at the border) and stay there a week or so before re-entering Thailand into Chiang Mai - around 2nd August.

Just curious, why are you even returning to Bangkok for one day just to take an overnight bus? There are flights and buses straight from Hanoi to Veintiane and it'll save you a lot of time. Unless there's a special reason you absolutely have to be in Bangkok for that one day?

Quoting alex1236

Thanks for the quick reply.

No not really. Plus there no point in risking it as the days are added up and you are fined when leaving from singapore airport anyway.

Options are to get a 60 visa from a thai embassy then do one crossing

You can extend the 60 day Tourist Visa for a further 30 days at any Thai Immigration Office. That makes a total of 90 days which covers your 88 days in Thailand. And there's no need to do any border runs..unless you particularly want to. There are Imigration Offices in most Thai towns. There is definitely one in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Nan where I used to live for ten months. Nan was such a tiny town, so I'm assuming there'll be an ofice in any other town that you happen to be in when the 60 days are up.

Oh and about the onward flight. I hopped into Bangkok airport last month with a 60 day Tourist Visa and no one hassled me about an onward ticket. They hassled me at Sydney airport for it, but I told them I was coming here for work and didn't know when I was flying back anyway. The Thai's seem to have a lot of laws in place but very few people enforcing them.

Quoting alex1236

That leads me to ask - Where are the Thai borders and what islands could i stay in to earn a bit of money if i was to stay there for a week (i can do manual work aswell as bar/restaurant and spin fire)

thanks

You won't get bar work or manual labour because the wages are so minimal that as a foriegner you wouldn't be able to survive on them. I'm talking around 4000 Baht a month, which is about US$133 a month (sorry if that's not your currency). The best bet for getting decent paid work in Thailand is teaching English, or working as a dive instructor if you're in the islands. Just google working in Thailand and you'll find some more information easily

My wife and I (both Americans) are going to Thailand to teach for 21 days. We are then going to Cambodia (Siem Reap) for 5 days and returning to Thailand for an additional 11 days. Will we need to apply for a Thai visa or does our trip to Cambodia start our 30 day clock over when we return to Thailand the second time? Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

Quoting markul08

My wife and I (both Americans) are going to Thailand to teach for 21 days. We are then going to Cambodia (Siem Reap) for 5 days and returning to Thailand for an additional 11 days. Will we need to apply for a Thai visa or does our trip to Cambodia start our 30 day clock over when we return to Thailand the second time? Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

If you are entering just for the purpose of tourism, you don't need to get any visa. You will be given a new 30-day social visit pass each time you enter, and your stay is still subject to the 90 days limit over a period of 180 days.

But since you're going there to teach, you'll need to get a visa for (English) teacher from the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, DC or any nearest Royal Thai Consulates-General in USA. Remember, any kind of work, paid (employed) or unpaid (volunteer), must have proper visa or you could land yourself in trouble with the Thai authorities.

I sent off for a 60 day tourist visa. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and is a stamp on a passport page. It says in the letter received to make sure they stamp the correct amount of days on the page in the passport because they have been known to stamp 30 instead of 60 (im guessing so you dont notice and have to pay for the extra days)

Just a heads up for anyone else with one

Alex