General Reports

[Turgid]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/why-...091008385.html

[Wolvenvacht]

You can get a visa on arrival if you are going to be visiting for 60 days or less.

Most "visa on arrival" are actually "visa exemption" schemes. You don't get a visa, just an entry stamp and a date before which you must leave.

The covid-situation put some extra admin on top of the existing visa regulations.

Actually, you now have three controls:

* the airline checks your documents (ticket, visa (if needed) and covid-papers) before checking in.

* immigration checks if you are allowed in.

* health authorities check the covid-documents and administer the tests.

At each of these checks you can be denied.

[Wolvenvacht]

I don't know how many restaurants are still open at the land side of the airport. I should have checked that, but I didn't. Most likely the situation is not much better there.

Not a huge amount, but still enough if you only need a quick snack before or after or in between flights.

I went all the way down to the raillink level (to change money at the Superrich counter. Much better rates than at the bank counters!) and saw at least 3 or 4 food stalls at that level.

[Explorer8939]

They not allows visa on arrrival?

It depends on your country.

[Downandup]

They not allows visa on arrrival?

You can get a visa on arrival if you are going to be visiting for 60 days or less.

[Member #4740]

1 Showed it to embassy, got my visa.

They not allows visa on arrrival?

[Breadman]

Might be useful when your trying to grab one on the way out of Thailand.

https://service.dmsc.moph.go.th/labscovid19/indexen.php

[SinfullyKorean]

Thanks again for the wonderful bit of info / advice! I'll definitely do this in a month or so. Beer's on me!

1. Do it yourself. You really don't need an agent unless you are dealing with something very complicated like a business visa or some type of semi dodgy visa which requires "special fees" to be divided up between said agent and senior immigration officer.
One point in regards to Thais, they love their paperwork. As long as everything ticks the boxes with the required document they will be happy with your app.

2. Yes I did this when last entered on a Multi entry Tourist Visa pre covid. I booked at a big name hotel for 12 weeks on the fully refundable stay rate. Some hotels won't even hit your credit card until a week before your entry but will still send you out a fully confirmed reservation.

3. I would always get a fully refundable ticket back out of the country. I simple $100 ticket out to a nearby country that is currently open will be good enough. I have done this many times and many visas, never needed a round ticket.

4. There is no rule which says you cannot just leave the country for 1 night and come back the next day to a visa on arrival. Then repeat this forever as many people did for decades. There were even visa run companies with Vans set up to do this to the closest land borders in Burma or Cambodia.

About 4 years ago they started to stop some people doing this at some entry points including Bangkok airports. Technically they were not meant to do this but ultimately it is up to the discretion of the immigration officer to admit you or not for whatever reason. They started to deny some people that had been doing this for say 18 months in a row. They never really did it to anybody that did it for less than a year.

Interestingly Chang Mai Airport and the land border back in from Vientiane Laos / Udon Thani never sent anybody back. So guys staying here for a long time simply did visa runs through this route and it worked until Covid started.



At the moment I cannot imagine Thailand denying anyone that wants to come back on a tourist visa or visa on arrival even if they have stayed for basically 9 or 12 months straight. There is no immigration law against doing this and they desperately need tourists. Phuket, Samui, Chang Mai, Tourist area of Bangkok are all at 5% capacity, so they are not going to deny any fully vaxed up tourist with cash in the next year or 3.

They are currently talking about new visas for longer term tourists but the Thai government loves to overly complicate stuff so don't know how workable they will be.

There is also the annual "Volunteer Visa" that any agent can help you get. The only volunteering you need to do is to "voluntarily donate 50,000 to the agent" which then gets split with some higher up immigration officer usually in the middle of Issan. These work quite well, I know people that have entered and left the country within the year without any issue at border crossings or airport. Everyone knows what it is but they are not going to interfere with some ones "special fees". A junior immigration office that tried to interfere would probably be put in a bad career position by interfering with a higher ups source of tea money.

[Turgid]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/frenchman...125343578.html

No wonder you guys never criticize the Thai government.

[Member #4753]

1. The Special Tourist Visa application looks relatively simple. Do you think it's worth hiring a company to handle the application process?

2. I heard people are making a 3 month reservation for a place to stay, then cancelling the reservation once necessary paper (proof of payment) has been submitted. Airbnb only seems to allow cancelations within 48 hrs. What alternative bookings allow free cancelations past that (to cancel after STV has been approved)?

3. I need to provide proof of a departure flight, right? I've read that a round-trip itinerary is not necessary, only a departure flight. Is this true? Should I book an outbound flight with points so I can cancel after arrival? I don't think I can even book a 3 month round trip flight (from Google flights at least).

4. After 9 months (2 extensions), if I want to visit with visa exemption (from USA, the normal tourist visa), will having had an extended STV impede on my ability to do so?
TIA.

1. Do it yourself. You really don't need an agent unless you are dealing with something very complicated like a business visa or some type of semi dodgy visa which requires "special fees" to be divided up between said agent and senior immigration officer.
One point in regards to Thais, they love their paperwork. As long as everything ticks the boxes with the required document they will be happy with your app.

2. Yes I did this when last entered on a Multi entry Tourist Visa pre covid. I booked at a big name hotel for 12 weeks on the fully refundable stay rate. Some hotels won't even hit your credit card until a week before your entry but will still send you out a fully confirmed reservation.

3. I would always get a fully refundable ticket back out of the country. I simple $100 ticket out to a nearby country that is currently open will be good enough. I have done this many times and many visas, never needed a round ticket.

4. There is no rule which says you cannot just leave the country for 1 night and come back the next day to a visa on arrival. Then repeat this forever as many people did for decades. There were even visa run companies with Vans set up to do this to the closest land borders in Burma or Cambodia.

About 4 years ago they started to stop some people doing this at some entry points including Bangkok airports. Technically they were not meant to do this but ultimately it is up to the discretion of the immigration officer to admit you or not for whatever reason. They started to deny some people that had been doing this for say 18 months in a row. They never really did it to anybody that did it for less than a year.

Interestingly Chang Mai Airport and the land border back in from Vientiane Laos / Udon Thani never sent anybody back. So guys staying here for a long time simply did visa runs through this route and it worked until Covid started.



At the moment I cannot imagine Thailand denying anyone that wants to come back on a tourist visa or visa on arrival even if they have stayed for basically 9 or 12 months straight. There is no immigration law against doing this and they desperately need tourists. Phuket, Samui, Chang Mai, Tourist area of Bangkok are all at 5% capacity, so they are not going to deny any fully vaxed up tourist with cash in the next year or 3.

They are currently talking about new visas for longer term tourists but the Thai government loves to overly complicate stuff so don't know how workable they will be.

There is also the annual "Volunteer Visa" that any agent can help you get. The only volunteering you need to do is to "voluntarily donate 50,000 to the agent" which then gets split with some higher up immigration officer usually in the middle of Issan. These work quite well, I know people that have entered and left the country within the year without any issue at border crossings or airport. Everyone knows what it is but they are not going to interfere with some ones "special fees". A junior immigration office that tried to interfere would probably be put in a bad career position by interfering with a higher ups source of tea money.

[Mogwai]

Why wouldn't she be 100% Thai? As long as you have been going to Thailand, you have not realized that they cater to the customers they are usually around? This includes learning the language, listening to the music, and dressing and doing their makeup the way women from those countries do it. If it was in English would you think she was not 100% Thai?

I just thought it could be possible that she had some Arabic blood in her veins, based on her looks.
Anyway, I have just asked her, and she confirmed that it means 'nothing lasts forever'. But she's not partially Arabic, she just likes the phrase.

[Mogwai]

This is what most of Suvarnabhumi airport looks like after you have passed immigration to leave the country (so at the air side). There's a lot of (re)construction work going on, and there is hardly anything open. Most of the stores that are still open are selling electronics, liqiors or souvenirs. It's very hard to find stores that are selling food and drinks. There have never been that many restaurants at the air side, but now there's almost nothing left. I have walked past many of the gates (not all of them) and all I found was a coffee shop, a One Minute Gourmet and a Dairy Queen at the entrance towards gate E1-E10. And a small Japanese noodle shop, also around there somewhere.
And I was lucky that I could still get something, because it was already passed midnight and they were about to close.

I don't know how many restaurants are still open at the land side of the airport. I should have checked that, but I didn't. Most likely the situation is not much better there.

[LookingLooking]

Wasn't sure where to ask this, so I'm putting it here. If there's a better place to ask this, please let me know. I'll be happy to move it.

1. The Special Tourist Visa application looks relatively simple. Do you think it's worth hiring a company to handle the application process?

2. I heard people are making a 3 month reservation for a place to stay, then canceling the reservation once necessary paper (proof of payment) has been submitted. Airbnb only seems to allow cancelations within 48 hrs. What alternative bookings allow free cancelations past that (to cancel after STV has been approved)?

3. I need to provide proof of a departure flight, right? I've read that a round-trip itinerary is not necessary, only a departure flight. Is this true? Should I book an outbound flight with points so I can cancel after arrival? I don't think I can even book a 3 month round trip flight (from Google flights at least).

4. After 9 months (2 extensions), if I want to visit with visa exemption (from USA, the normal tourist visa), will having had an extended STV impede on my ability to do so?

TIA.

1. It's simple process if you have all the required documents to submit, stated on Thai Embassy's website. Hard copies only.

2. Yes I did that too. Made hotel reservations for the whole duration of my stay, not paid yet. Showed it to embassy, got my visa, cancelled the whole reservation later. Did it using Agoda. Make sure your reservation is "cancellable" before you book it.

3. You can always amend your departure flight after you enter Thailand. Book it first for easy visa process.

4. Not applicable for me. Can't answer this for you.

[SinfullyKorean]

Wasn't sure where to ask this, so I'm putting it here. If there's a better place to ask this, please let me know. I'll be happy to move it.

1. The Special Tourist Visa application looks relatively simple. Do you think it's worth hiring a company to handle the application process?

2. I heard people are making a 3 month reservation for a place to stay, then canceling the reservation once necessary paper (proof of payment) has been submitted. Airbnb only seems to allow cancelations within 48 hrs. What alternative bookings allow free cancelations past that (to cancel after STV has been approved)?

3. I need to provide proof of a departure flight, right? I've read that a round-trip itinerary is not necessary, only a departure flight. Is this true? Should I book an outbound flight with points so I can cancel after arrival? I don't think I can even book a 3 month round trip flight (from Google flights at least).

4. After 9 months (2 extensions), if I want to visit with visa exemption (from USA, the normal tourist visa), will having had an extended STV impede on my ability to do so?

TIA.

[Explorer8939]

Sometimes ladies ask me to photos of them in jacuzzis or when they are otherwise not fully clothed. I notice they don't post the best photos on Facebook, I guess they are sending them to their customers.