E-Visa system being introduced for Thailand

[PostMan]

On 04/09/2022 at 12:21, Kandinski said:

Thats correct they ask you to fill in details of accomodation but nowhere to upload proof. Playing safe I'm shooting a mail to the embassy. Thx for taling the time😊

 

On 04/09/2022 at 17:26, Kale said:

I'm sure that has caused lots of confusion for people.  Took me awhile to figure it out.  There is a Chonburi city and also a Chonburi province. I seem to recall the dropdown was labelled "city",  so that didn't really fit. However, it was the only option that made any sense.

I've just spend a couple of hours looking for documents, taking photos on my phone, emailing to my laptop editing etc etc. Just as well it's a rainy day! Pattaya isn't listed as a city so I opted for Chon Buri, the Thaievisa website doesn't ask for proof of booking just the hotel name, city and postcode.

I'm still working on the 40/400k insurance and mulling over my employment status .. do I really need to be retired ? I'm using the 3 month >10k sterling bank statement for financials rather than some non-existant pension.

[PostMan]

On 29/09/2021 at 08:21, davidge said:

Reports from people using RTE London that they’ve had the email confirming the visa within 2 days using the new system.

 

I can confirm a fast turnaround with RTE London. Submitted Friday to beat any weekend rush

Application for Type 'O' retirement 90 day Visa submitted Friday 15:00
Approved Tuesday 21:00

very pleased with approval time, mind you getting a new passport was even quicker and that included the time in the postal system.

Edited November 2, 2022 by PostMan
specify London

[bsand]

9 hours ago, PostMan said:

I can confirm a fast turnaround with RTE London. Submitted Friday to beat any weekend rush

Application for Type 'O' retirement 90 day Visa submitted Friday 15:00
Approved Tuesday 21:00

very pleased with approval time, mind you getting a new passport was even quicker and that included the time in the postal system.

Yup my approval was 3 working days. I'm liking the system now as I didn't need to surrender my passport to the postal system or waste 2 visits to the Embassy to drop off and pick up which I have done previously as I live on the outskirts of London and that was possible. So all in all the extra investment of time and effort to master the system has already paid off in time/money spent and will be much easier the next time to boot. 

[THguypattaya]

Got my E-VISA approved in LAX branch, 12th working days into the 15 days they promised. They email you a copy that you need to print out, you can also find it at their site.

[wrapper]

I got approved in 2 days (London) 60 day tourist visa despite the fact it told me my background was too dark when attaching my photo and also that my return flight is 104 days from arrival, I used my uk drivers license photo on two of the questions and my blue book and chanote for my condo on another two of the questions, sent an online kbank statement on another and  a uk bank account statement on another, took me about 1 hour to do my form and 2 days later I have my visa.

this is so much better than going to the city with my application and then going back again to collect my visa, which is what I used to do, this way is so much better by a long long way!

[SlowlyMan]

5 days. application - Approval. Used the Chicago office. 

I selected Chonburi as the accommodation city (Pattaya). 20150

For travel history, I posted a photo of blank visa pages from my passport.

The rest was just posting exactly what they asked for.

[PostMan]

On 03/11/2022 at 20:53, wrapper said:

I got approved in 2 days (London) 60 day tourist visa despite the fact it told me my background was too dark when attaching my photo and also that my return flight is 104 days from arrival, I used my uk drivers license photo on two of the questions and my blue book and chanote for my condo on another two of the questions, sent an online kbank statement on another and  a uk bank account statement on another, took me about 1 hour to do my form and 2 days later I have my visa.

this is so much better than going to the city with my application and then going back again to collect my visa, which is what I used to do, this way is so much better by a long long way!

After they closed the Irish consulate in Dublin it became a real PITA to get the 60 day tourist visa. For me it involved a very early flight from ireland to London,  two visits to the RTE and an overnight I  or near London..never a low cost option. I miss the giant visa sticker but not the good old days way of getting it.

Edited November 4, 2022 by PostMan

[jaynewcastle]

10 hours ago, PostMan said:

After they closed the Irish consulate in Dublin it became a real PITA to get the 60 day tourist visa. For me it involved a very early flight from ireland to London,  two visits to the RTE and an overnight I  or near London..never a low cost option. I miss the giant visa sticker but not the good old days way of getting it.

Could you not send your passport by post ?, like people who live in England did  ?

Just curious why you had to travel to London to get a visa

 

I did the evisa last November 2022, but have to admit it was a lot easier & less time-consuming just to send the application off to the Thai embassy by post 

[beethoven]

hi 

i leaving on 1st February for a 55 day visit so i think i will need the 60 day visa, this is my flrst 'long' trip

just wondering when would be the best time to start the on line application process?

Cheers beet

[davidge]

2 minutes ago, beethoven said:

hi 

i leaving on 1st February for a 55 day visit so i think i will need the 60 day visa, this is my flrst 'long' trip

just wondering when would be the best time to start the on line application process?

Cheers beet

You’ll have 3 months to use the visa once you’ve got it so anytime really. No rush though as RTE London are very quick.

You get 45 days Visa Exempt now so that plus an extension in Thailand would be fine - but you might have to mess around with the date of your flight, or get a throwaway ticket, to avoid hassle at check in. Personally, I’d get the visa.

[Roadglide]

LAX consulate is very slow...just a word of warning for the American West coast guys.  My first application was rejected, my second application was submitted on October 18th and I was just approved on the 4th of November.

Plan ahead, like 2 months in advance.

[Roadglide]

4 hours ago, beethoven said:

hi 

i leaving on 1st February for a 55 day visit so i think i will need the 60 day visa, this is my flrst 'long' trip

just wondering when would be the best time to start the on line application process?

Cheers beet

 

4 hours ago, davidge said:

You’ll have 3 months to use the visa once you’ve got it so anytime really. No rush though as RTE London are very quick.

You get 45 days Visa Exempt now so that plus an extension in Thailand would be fine - but you might have to mess around with the date of your flight, or get a throwaway ticket, to avoid hassle at check in. Personally, I’d get the visa.

Start it as early as you can.  Once you paid for your flight and have your hotel booking I would start the process.  My first application was rejected, and the second one approved, but I burned a month in total.

[jaynewcastle]

40 minutes ago, Roadglide said:

 

Start it as early as you can.  Once you paid for your flight and have your hotel booking I would start the process.  My first application was rejected, and the second one approved, but I burned a month in total.

You can only apply a maximum of 3 months before date of arrival in Thailand

Applications in the UK normally take a couple of days

I think your situation may not be what most people experience in the USA to be fair

[englishman]

I've just completed my third E-visa application this one being for January and while I think it's a great improvement over applying in person or via regular mail ( I hated sending my passport to the embassy, firstly the cost and also the fear of loss or some kind of postal dispute which has happened in the past).

But I still find it's a bit clunky and cumbersome, this time it still took me a couple of hours...one of the biggest problems is just being able to down load one page for each question..my trips to LOS involve multiple flights so my itinerary is multiple pages...last time I had the required travel info but it didn't have my name in it..that was on another page. I have a rented house so I have to show the Lease agreement..last time they wanted all of the pages again not possible on the online application.  However I must say they are very good at emailing you back and asking you to send the missing info, this has happened to me the last 2 times...the approved visa usually arriving within a few days of me supplying the additional info.. maybe this time I'll have it right first time ?

Incidentally my first application which was last January was for 90 days..with my flight itinerary showing the full 90 days this was not a problem even though it's only a 60 day visa...last one was for just 60 days ...this one however is again for 90 days..actually 91 ( leaving early on the 91st day).. hopefully no problems. I just feel there are just too many questions and too much info required when if your stay is shorter you can just show up at the airport and get 45 days almost no questions asked.

So thumbs up for the E-visa but it needs some refinements....

ps sad they have done away with the 90 day Special tourist visa..

[PostMan]

On 05/11/2022 at 08:53, jaynewcastle said:

Could you not send your passport by post ?, like people who live in England did  ?

Just curious why you had to travel to London to get a visa

 

I did the evisa last November 2022, but have to admit it was a lot easier & less time-consuming just to send the application off to the Thai embassy by post 

Posting the passport to RTE was an option but you had to include the UK postage stamps so they could post it back. Two problems with that, 1 UK stamps are not sold in Ireland and 2 there is no international registered post and I am not putting my passport in regular international post.

[PostMan]

3 hours ago, englishman said:

I've just completed my third E-visa application this one being for January and while I think it's a great improvement over applying in person or via regular mail ( I hated sending my passport to the embassy, firstly the cost and also the fear of loss or some kind of postal dispute which has happened in the past).

But I still find it's a bit clunky and cumbersome, this time it still took me a couple of hours...one of the biggest problems is just being able to down load one page for each question..my trips to LOS involve multiple flights so my itinerary is multiple pages...last time I had the required travel info but it didn't have my name in it..that was on another page. I have a rented house so I have to show the Lease agreement..last time they wanted all of the pages again not possible on the online application.  However I must say they are very good at emailing you back and asking you to send the missing info, this has happened to me the last 2 times...the approved visa usually arriving within a few days of me supplying the additional info.. maybe this time I'll have it right first time ?

Incidentally my first application which was last January was for 90 days..with my flight itinerary showing the full 90 days this was not a problem even though it's only a 60 day visa...last one was for just 60 days ...this one however is again for 90 days..actually 91 ( leaving early on the 91st day).. hopefully no problems. I just feel there are just too many questions and too much info required when if your stay is shorter you can just show up at the airport and get 45 days almost no questions asked.

So thumbs up for the E-visa but it needs some refinements....

ps sad they have done away with the 90 day Special tourist visa..

Agreed on the clunky upload procedure as for the 91 days due to wee hours departure on day 91, I did the same thing a couple of months back. Flight was at 02:30 on day 91 and I went through immigration at 23:15, no problems no questions, maybe I was lucky. As an alternative to the STV do you qualify for a 90 day retirement visa, it was easy get from the London Embassy and I don't recall having to upload a flight itinerary or proof of accommodation although I was asked to name the hotel. 

[Leo_Bia]

If am guessing if you intend to stay in Thailand for 60 days + 30 days, then you put 60 days down on the application?

[bangna]

19 minutes ago, Leo_Bia said:

If am guessing if you intend to stay in Thailand for 60 days + 30 days, then you put 60 days down on the application?

Applying via London RTE you use calendars to input date of arrival and date of departure, in my case it immediately said 59 days.

Applied Monday 19 December at 3.15 p.m. and received visa on Wednesday 21 at 9.20 p.m.

[Leo_Bia]

1 hour ago, Leo_Bia said:

If am guessing if you intend to stay in Thailand for 60 days + 30 days, then you put 60 days down on the application?

So have put down 60 days.

But then when you upload the flight ticket it shows 90 days, so ..?

Apologies, Its my first time, and my head is bursting.

Do I just leave these ones blank when applying for a Tourist Visa to London, or?

7 . Confirmation of legal residence in a country in which you are applying for the visa. (In case that you are not a national of the country in which you are applying for the visa.) 
 
8 . A confirmation letter from employer, School, Self-assessment, Pension statement 
 
9 . Identity of the person inviting you to stay e.g. Thai ID card, Passport 
 
11 . Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency. 

Edited December 28, 2022 by Leo_Bia

[davidge]

22 minutes ago, Leo_Bia said:

So have put down 60 days.

But then when you upload the flight ticket it shows 90 days, so ..?

Apologies, Its my first time, and my head is bursting.

Do I just leave these ones blank when applying for a Tourist Visa to London, or?

7 . Confirmation of legal residence in a country in which you are applying for the visa. (In case that you are not a national of the country in which you are applying for the visa.) 
 
8 . A confirmation letter from employer, School, Self-assessment, Pension statement 
 
9 . Identity of the person inviting you to stay e.g. Thai ID card, Passport 
 
11 . Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to upload document that can verify his/her current residency. 

Some of the questions are irrelevant- though those look different to the ones I had.

7. just your passport again. The question is for people applying in a country other than their home country.

8. Not relevant to TR. Upload bank statement if you want or try leaving blank.

9. Not relevant. Upload a hotel booking if you want.

11. any bill with your address on.

 

I just don’t know how they look on stays of over 60 days for a TR. If they’re not happy with your flights they’ll ask for more info. I applied for a 90 day Non O and my flights were 92 days and they didn’t question it, but that’s not quite the same.

[biggles]

The Thai embassy in Manila requires 2 business days to process a TR. You lodge it before 12noon day 1 and pickup after 3pm day 3. For me this means a night in Manila plus lots of travel in traffic. 

The 45 day visa-free entry was great. And for 1900 baht you can extend it for 30 more days. Had one already and plan to get another trip in before March 31.

[beethoven]

hi gents, your advice would be very helpful

im trying to do my 60 day visa application via RTE website in London, im going for 55 nights btw

i have deleted my first attempt as i uploaded accidently an accommodation doc to the financial declaration, and no matter how i tried it would not allow me to remove it !!

on the financial part could a kind soul suggest how this is done?  Do i get a screenshot of my bank account latest figures and send that? 

Cheers Beet

ps or could i just come in on the now 45 day visa and just go to the immigration place in Jomtien to extend my stay for those last 10 days ?

 

[Thomaz73]

2 hours ago, beethoven said:

could i just come in on the now 45 day visa and just go to the immigration place in Jomtien to extend my stay for those last 10 days ?

Yes. The problem, though, would be the initial airline requiring you to have onward travel within the first entry stamp. 

Maybe try and restart the visa application in a different browser? 

[Shamrocksam]

2 hours ago, beethoven said:

hi gents, your advice would be very helpful

im trying to do my 60 day visa application via RTE website in London, im going for 55 nights btw

i have deleted my first attempt as i uploaded accidently an accommodation doc to the financial declaration, and no matter how i tried it would not allow me to remove it !!

on the financial part could a kind soul suggest how this is done?  Do i get a screenshot of my bank account latest figures and send that? 

Cheers Beet

ps or could i just come in on the now 45 day visa and just go to the immigration place in Jomtien to extend my stay for those last 10 days ?

 

Yes. I took a screen grab from most recent bank statement. 

I had to order one online but I had it within 24hrs. You could fo the 45 days + ext 

[taylor1975]

The bank statement needs your name and address on it - so a screenshot with account balance is insufficient. Mine was denied for that.