USA citizen arriving without a visa

[Carl123]

Last November I got the 45 day stamp in my passport upon arrival. My understanding is that now (after March 31, 23) I will get a 30 day stamp upon arrival.  My question is, if I go to immigration in jomtien how long is the extension that I can get?

I ask this because some sources say 15 days at a cost of 1900Bt, some sources say 30 days?. Some sources indicate that a 30 day extension is only possible with the aid of a visa service at a cost of like 2100Bt + 1900Bt.

I am trying to do a travel plan for this fall and considering my options.  (I suppose this whole 30 vs 45 day entry stamp issue could change after the upcoming election.)  Any info on this is greatly appreciated., THANKS.

[davidge]

6 minutes ago, Carl123 said:

Last November I got the 45 day stamp in my passport upon arrival. My understanding is that now (after March 31, 23) I will get a 30 day stamp upon arrival.  My question is, if I go to immigration in jomtien how long is the extension that I can get?

I ask this because some sources say 15 days at a cost of 1900Bt, some sources say 30 days?. Some sources indicate that a 30 day extension is only possible with the aid of a visa service at a cost of like 2100Bt + 1900Bt.

I am trying to do a travel plan for this fall and considering my options.  (I suppose this whole 30 vs 45 day entry stamp issue could change after the upcoming election.)  Any info on this is greatly appreciated., THANKS.

You can extend once for 30 days at a cost of 1900 baht.

[PattayaSuperman]

The 45 days is over, you can get 30 day extension.

But best option is to get an e-visa before arrival, it gives you 60 days of stay.

Edited April 24, 2023 by PattayaSuperman

[Kale]

15 minutes ago, PattayaSuperman said:

The 45 days is over, you can get 30 day extension.

But best option is to get an e-visa before arrival, it gives you 60 days of stay.

It costs approx the same as getting an extension and no need to waste half a day waiting in line somewhere, so definitely sounds like the best option to me.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Kale

[Carl123]

11 hours ago, PattayaSuperman said:

The 45 days is over, you can get 30 day extension.

But best option is to get an e-visa before arrival, it gives you 60 days of stay.

 

11 hours ago, Kale said:

It costs approx the same as getting an extension and no need to waste half a day waiting in line somewhere, so definitely sounds like the best option to me.

I will have to check out this e-visa. It seems that 10 or so years ago the 60 day tourist visa required I send my passport, required documents, and payment to a Thai consulate and then pray it did not get lost and returned in a timely manner.  I hate to surrender my passport and possibly other critical information to persons and institutions of unknown quality.

[Greg_B]

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

[Carl123]

11 hours ago, Kale said:

It costs approx the same as getting an extension and no need to waste half a day waiting in line somewhere, so definitely sounds like the best option to me.

I will gladly " waste half a day" than trust the USPS to not loose my passport. 

If the e-visa can be done on-line I will seriously consider this option. Thanks

[Arnie85]

e-visa can be done online. That’s why it’s called an e-visa. 

[Bob4678]

You do not submit passports any more.  It is all done online.  I submitted my Tourist Visit online application yesterday.

This is the website:

https://www.thaievisa.go.th/

Same website that I used last July to get a 60 day Tourist Visa.  I extended it 30 days and ended up staying 86 days.  

Living Life Large 😃😃

Edited April 25, 2023 by Bob4678

[bangna]

English-Manual.pdf (thaievisa.go.th) 

[bgtp]

9 hours ago, Carl123 said:

I will have to check out this e-visa. It seems that 10 or so years ago the 60 day tourist visa required I send my passport, required documents, and payment to a Thai consulate and then pray it did not get lost and returned in a timely manner.  I hate to surrender my passport and possibly other critical information to persons and institutions of unknown quality.

I’ve never had an issue mailing my passport to an embassy or consulate for a visa. Still, the e-visa sounds better and I’ll do that next time I have a planned stay of more than 30 days.

One time I went to get an extension at Jomtien near the end of my tourist visa and their computers were down. They said to fill out the paperwork, leave my passport with them and come back the next day to pick it up. My ‘claim check’ was an ordinary piece of cardboard with a number written on it, nothing more. They didn’t ask for any other form of ID when I picked it up either. Just gave them a piece of cardboard with a number on it and got a passport. I was more worried about my passport then than when I sent it off to an embassy or consulate in the mail.

I’d rather get a visa ahead of time than have to do an extension while on vacation. Avoids any potential airline check-in issues as well. As always, up to you.

[Kale]

10 hours ago, Carl123 said:

I will gladly " waste half a day" than trust the USPS to not loose my passport. 

If the e-visa can be done on-line I will seriously consider this option. Thanks

You don't need to send your passport or passport photos in the mail anymore.  You just just need to take a selfie of yourself and your passport and attach that to the online application.  Their instructions explain it all.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Kale

[jc932]

Wait I'm confused....so e-visa is the same as tourist visa? 

[hoback]

On 24/04/2023 at 22:00, Carl123 said:

Last November I got the 45 day stamp in my passport upon arrival. My understanding is that now (after March 31, 23) I will get a 30 day stamp upon arrival.  My question is, if I go to immigration in jomtien how long is the extension that I can get?

I ask this because some sources say 15 days at a cost of 1900Bt, some sources say 30 days?. Some sources indicate that a 30 day extension is only possible with the aid of a visa service at a cost of like 2100Bt + 1900Bt.

I am trying to do a travel plan for this fall and considering my options.  (I suppose this whole 30 vs 45 day entry stamp issue could change after the upcoming election.)  Any info on this is greatly appreciated., THANKS.

If you're American and in the USA you need to go to the website of the Royal Thai Consulate General nearest you (New York, LA, Chicago, Miami) to get your visa information and do the (60 day Tourist) e-visa from the link on their website.  Once you're in Thailand, a 30 day Tourist Visa extension can be done at a Thai immigration office located in Bangkok, Pattaya or a provincial capital.  According to a document Dated April 1 2023 on a Thai Consulate website, a 30 day visa on arrival is still avaiable to Americans.  In the past this was extendable don't know if is still is.

Edited May 8, 2023 by hoback

[Fire Bar Matt]

18 minutes ago, jc932 said:

Wait I'm confused....so e-visa is the same as tourist visa? 

It’s a 60 day tourist visa, it’s obtained outside of Thailand before entering and as it’s done online it’s referred to as an e-visa.

[jaynewcastle]

42 minutes ago, jc932 said:

Wait I'm confused....so e-visa is the same as tourist visa? 

Its the same thing, only done online now for many countries

[Carl123]

To anyone who has successfully gotten an e-visa I say congratulations. To successfully submit all the different information required in the acceptable file/formats is no small accomplishment.  I am working on it and am not sure at this stage if I will be successful.

[bangna]

2 hours ago, Carl123 said:

To anyone who has successfully gotten an e-visa I say congratulations. To successfully submit all the different information required in the acceptable file/formats is no small accomplishment.  I am working on it and am not sure at this stage if I will be successful.

Finished my application and paid at 15.00 today, Monday, took about 15 minutes including downloading the Declaration, sign and scan as jpeg file. I always create a folder and add the relevant info required before I log in. Apart from flight details,  hotel booking and the declaration, most information is saved for successive applications.

When I hit the 'PAY' button I received a message that the web address was incorrectly spelt and I was bounced out of the site.

Checked my online banking and found £30 to Kasikorn Bank pending. Waited 30 minutes and logged in the thaievisa site and found the print receipt button available.

[Carl123]

4 hours ago, bangna said:

Finished my application and paid at 15.00 today, Monday, took about 15 minutes including downloading the Declaration, sign and scan as jpeg file. I always create a folder and add the relevant info required before I log in. Apart from flight details,  hotel booking and the declaration, most information is saved for successive applications.

When I hit the 'PAY' button I received a message that the web address was incorrectly spelt and I was bounced out of the site.

Checked my online banking and found £30 to Kasikorn Bank pending. Waited 30 minutes and logged in the thaievisa site and found the print receipt button available.

Bangna you are much more tech savvy than myself.  I recommend if you are so inclined to actually do a detailed step by step procedure on exactly how you got all that info (recent bank statement especially) into a jpeg file that is acceptable. Did you do a screen shot or actually take a digital picture of the required bank account statement?

[overseas516]

I too have recently gone through this process and got my sixty day visa.

My question if anyone can help is On Bangna visa application list if you have never been to Thailand and do not know anyone how do you fill in question 9????

[bangna]

7 hours ago, Carl123 said:

Bangna you are much more tech savvy than myself.  I recommend if you are so inclined to actually do a detailed step by step procedure on exactly how you got all that info (recent bank statement especially) into a jpeg file that is acceptable. Did you do a screen shot or actually take a digital picture of the required bank account statement?

Carl123, I have a printer with scan capability, alternatively there are free online programmes that will convert pdf to jpeg format. The site I use only permits 2 documents per day PDF to JPG - Convert your PDFs to Images online for free (smallpdf.com) many other programmes  are available. Alternatively, if using a Windows computer you can use the snipping tool to capture something on screen and save as jpeg.

For the I receive monthly statements by post from my UK bank, unfortunately they send a cover page with name and address which includes opening and closing balances and second page without  name and address. A couple of years ago, the UK Thailand Embassy did not accept the second page and requested alternative. I am registered for online banking and a  statement included name, address and transactions. Print to pdf format and convert online to jpeg.

I had created a Word doc which I have edited with further information, saved as pdf then using the snipping tool, converted to jpeg. 

Hope this helps.

 

[bangna]

1 hour ago, overseas516 said:

I too have recently gone through this process and got my sixty day visa.

My question if anyone can help is On Bangna visa application list if you have never been to Thailand and do not know anyone how do you fill in question 9????

As you got your visa I would be interested to know how you answered Q 9.

For Q 9 I created a word document then using the Windows snipping tool saved the jpeg file below. I have submitted this to the UK Thai Embassy several times without a problem. Feel free to download and use it. The UK Thailand Embassy is pretty lenient, a couple of times they have emailed me to request further information, they have never refused a visa without trying to clarify any answers.

Hope this helps.

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by bangna

[overseas516]

5 hours ago, bangna said:

As you got your visa I would be interested to know how you answered Q 9.

For Q 9 I created a word document then using the Windows snipping tool saved the jpeg file below. I have submitted this to the UK Thai Embassy several times without a problem. Feel free to download and use it. The UK Thailand Embassy is pretty lenient, a couple of times they have emailed me to request further information, they have never refused a visa without trying to clarify any answers.

Hope this helps.

 

Many thanks for your reply bangna. I have an old Thai girlfriend and used her I’d card for question 9 which I uploaded her details after notifying her of my intended visa application.

[mikemikemike]

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway. I was thinking about staying 40 days on my next trip. I know that I will get 30 days when I arrive and will have to extend my visa another 30 days if I want to stay 40 days. My dumb question is would I be allowed to extend my visa after I arrive at the immigration office in Jomtien? Would the airline even let me on the airplane if I had a round trip ticket for 40 days and no visa extension? If the airline let me fly would I have any problems at arrival without the visa extension? I would be flying from the USA.

[madmike]

11 minutes ago, mikemikemike said:

This is probably a dumb question but I'll ask it anyway. I was thinking about staying 40 days on my next trip. I know that I will get 30 days when I arrive and will have to extend my visa another 30 days if I want to stay 40 days. My dumb question is would I be allowed to extend my visa after I arrive at the immigration office in Jomtien? Would the airline even let me on the airplane if I had a round trip ticket for 40 days and no visa extension? If the airline let me fly would I have any problems at arrival without the visa extension? I would be flying from the USA.

I have arrived with 60 day visas and return flight in 90 days.  Can't guarantee that it still works or if it should have worked then.