Old Hippie Posted September 21, 2006 Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 New visa rules confirmed PHUKET: -- New rules limiting stays in Thailand on â??visas on arrivalâ? to 90 days over any six month period were confirmed at a September 15 meeting of Immigration Department Chiefs in Bangkok. The new policy will go into effect on October 1. In a related development, the Royal Thai Consulate in Penang, Malaysia, has stopped issuing double-entry tourist visas. Pol Lt Col Pipat Pongpan, an Inspector at Phuket Immigration Office, told the Gazette, â??Anyone who has already stayed 90 days on visa-on-arrival permits does not need to worry. We will start counting the days from October 1. â??[Foreigners from countries qualifying for visas on arrival] can come in and out of the country as many times as they like with a visa on arrival, but can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any six month period. If they stay 90 days then they must leave for 90 days before they are entitled to another visa on arrival. They can, however, go and request a tourist visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad and come back into the country,â? he said. â??Extensions above the 90-day limit may be granted in exceptional cases, such as if the tourist is suffering from an illness or involved in a lawsuit,â? he added. â??No new investment visas will be issued after October 1. However, existing visas in this category may be extended if the holder still has funds of 3 million baht and is still doing business in Thailand,â? Col Pipat said. Tourist visas are still available, for a fee, at Thai embassies and consulates in neighboring countries. The Royal Thai Consulate in Penang, however, will now issue only single-entry 60-day tourist visas. An official at the consulate said that an order had been sent down from Consul Pramote Pramoonsab to cease issuance of double-entry tourist visas, which allow a total stay of up to 120 days. Double-entry tourist visas are at present still available in the Thai Consulate in Kota Bharu and Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, however. A source in the Visa and Travel Document Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), said that the move by the consulate in Penang is not due to any sweeping changes in MFA policy. The decision whether or not to issue double-entry tourist visas rests solely at the discretion of each diplomatic mission, the source explained. --Phuket Gazette 2006-09-21 So this pretty much clears things up as far as my concerns go. Pretty much what some guys called. Of Course, given recent events who knows...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 New visa rules confirmedâ??Extensions above the 90-day limit may be granted in exceptional cases, such as if the tourist is suffering from an illness or involved in a lawsuit,â? he added. Tourist visas are still available, for a fee, at Thai embassies and consulates in neighboring countries. The Royal Thai Consulate in Penang, however, will now issue only single-entry 60-day tourist visas. An official at the consulate said that an order had been sent down from Consul Pramote Pramoonsab to cease issuance of double-entry tourist visas, which allow a total stay of up to 120 days. Double-entry tourist visas are at present still available in the Thai Consulate in Kota Bharu and Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, however. The decision whether or not to issue double-entry tourist visas rests solely at the discretion of each diplomatic mission, the source explained. Nice to see that the "medical visa" is still an option. Also, instead of Penang, a trip to KL, however the airfare is often cheaper to Sillypore. I should be "kicking the tires" the end of the month, before 01 Oct, at the new airport, with the new PM and the new visa reqs around the corner...I will have to see if I can throw in some more variables Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted September 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 I still want to see how they will count up all the days you have remaining on each visit, and how many days until you can return etc...amidst all the stamps one might have in their passport, bound to be tons of mistakes and plain old screw ups! Maybe a new/different stamp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 OH, either they use the computer system for that or they just pick flagrant violations. It's not so complicated to see if a person stayed too much the last 6 months and hand over the case for somebody having time to check the days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 â??[Foreigners from countries qualifying for visas on arrival] can come in and out of the country as many times as they like with a visa on arrival, but can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any six month period. If they stay 90 days then they must leave for 90 days before they are entitled to another visa on arrival. They can, however, go and request a tourist visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad and come back into the country,â? he said. --- This is same what i read somewhere, good news to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exileexpat Posted September 22, 2006 Report Share Posted September 22, 2006 Be interesting if the "new goverment" passes this anti-foreigner law. With Toxin out, all bets are off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeTime Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 I plan to obtain a 60 day tourist visa here in Canada prior to arriving in Thailand. My current understanding is that this visa can be extended by 30 days by application in Bangkok. Just before the 90 days are up I will leave Thailand and enter a nearby country that has a Thai consulate or embassy. After a day or two I will reapply for another 60 day tourist visa and come back to Thailand for the final two months of my 5 month Thai visit. I read of another possible option once having left Thailand as above, and that is to simply enter Thailand again on a 30 day entry stamp which can be renewed twice on a border run. I would go back home to Canada for the summer and be set to repeat again the following October. This process could not be reversed. (The 30 day entry stamp first, renewed twice, followed by the 60 day visa) Anything I'm missing here, apart from Penang currently only granting one 60 day tourist visa to travellers applying there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Why don't you ask the Consulate in Canada if they will give you a multi entry (usually 2) tourist visa that has a 6 months validity. In theory this would allow you to stay your entire 5 months with only one exit/entry at a nearby border. I have never heard that Penang is only granting one tourist visa, only they have stopped giving multi entry. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 the big thing that I see is that it will be much more costly to get a visa in a nearby country! The Cambo run on the bus was cheap...1,100 Baht. Now airfare to KL? Sillypore? plus if you stay overnight, horizontal adult activities? I think the days of the quicky visa run are over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeTime Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Re response by ThaiHome suggesting a multi entry tourist visa with a 6 month validity. I went back to the Thai Consulate web site based in Vancouver and I can't find any reference to a multi entry 60 day tourist visa. From the Phuket Gazette article above, I thought that 'double entry' tourist visas meant two separate applications, the 2nd after the first was completed. The only multi entry visa noted on the Consulate web site was for a 'Non-Immigrant Visa'. Comments or clarification on the above appreciated. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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