Thai Visa. Do I need one?
Thai visa requirements. What do you need? Where can you get one?
Visiting Thailand for less than 30 days
If you are coming to Thailand for a holiday you can enter the Kingdom for 30 days as long as you hold a valid passport from one of the following 42 countries and your passport is valid for 6 months beyond your intended length of stay. Another requirement is a confirmed airline ticket to leave Thailand. This is important as many airlines will now not let you on board without an onward ticket, if you do not hold a valid Thai visa! 1. Australia 2. Austria 3. Belgium 4. Brazil 5. Bahrain 6. Brunei Darussalam 7. Canada 8. Denmark 9. Finland 10. France 11. Germany 12. Greece 13. Hong Kong 14. Iceland 15. Indonesia 16. Ireland 17. Israel 18. Italy 19. Japan 20. Korea 21. Kuwait 22. Luxembourg 23. Malaysia 24. Monaco 25. Netherlands 26. New Zealand 27. Norway 28. Oman 29. Peru 30. Philippines 31. Portugal 32. Qatar 33. Singapore 34. Spain 35. South Africa 36. Sweden 37. Switzerland 38. Turkey 39. United Arab Emirates 40. United Kingdom 41. United States of America 42. Vietnam A further 20 countries listed below can apply for a "Thai visa on arrival" for a fee of 1000 Baht, valid for 15 days. You must be able to show 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family, a full paid airline ticket which is usable within 15 days. A recent photograph (4 x 6 cm) is needed along with the completed form. 1. Bhutan 2. China (including Taiwan) 3. Cyprus 4. Czech 5. Estonia 6. Hungary 7. India 8. Kazakhstan 9. Latvia 10. Liechtenstein 11. Lithuania 12. Maldives 13. Mauritius 14. Oman 15. Poland 16. Russian Federation 17. Saudi Arabia 18. Slovakia 19. Slovenia 20. Ukraine
Visiting Thailand for more than 30 days
If you want to stay in Thailand for longer than 30 days there are a few options.Apply for a tourist Visa The easiest option is to apply for a Tourist visa which is valid for 60 days ( if you come from 1 of the 42 countries listed above ) or 30 days for people from other countries. Apply at any Embassy or consulate outside of Thailand. You will need a passport valid for at least 6 months beyond your intended stay, an onward airline ticket, 2 photographs (4 x 6 cm) and may be asked for proof of funds for your stay. The fee is currently 1,100 Baht. This visa is easily extended an any immigration office for a further 30 days for a fee of 2,000 Baht. If your staying in Cha am the nearest immigration office is in Hua hin. Leave Thailand and get a further 30 days Do a "Visa run" as they are called. Hop over the border and get another 30 days stay. In theory you can do this 3 times in any 180 day period for total of 90 days stay, but you may be asked for an onward ticket again which may cause problems. I have done this many times, but recently they are becoming much stricter! Apply for a long stay visa This is a much more complicated subject! If you are over 50 and can show adequate funding then you should have no problem getting a "Type O" 1 year visa - for full details of applying for long stay visa's please click on the link to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs below.
The information on this Thai visa page is supplied as a guide only. Visa requirement may change, so please check for the latest information at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for the latest visa requirements. You can also download a Thailand visa application form from this site.
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Overstaying your visa You will be fined 500 Baht for every day you overstay your visa. There is also a small chance that you will be thrown into a very unpleasant Thai jail! So best advise - don't overstay! The exception to this rule is at the airport, where you are allowed 1 days overstay for free.
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