Fun with applying for tourist visa

[Call me Alfie]

I'm looking at a trip next year and hope to stay about 3 months. I intend to get the 60 tourist visa and then extend it while I'm there so should take me up to three months. I will have a return flight booked so that shouldn't be a problem as I can upload the details, my question is do I have to provide proof of a accommodation for the entire three months?....or can I provide proof of a few days in a hotel when I arrive? ( I want to look round for a 3 month deal on condo when I'm there).

[komplot]

21 minutes ago, Call me Alfie said:

I'm looking at a trip next year and hope to stay about 3 months. I intend to get the 60 tourist visa and then extend it while I'm there so should take me up to three months. I will have a return flight booked so that shouldn't be a problem as I can upload the details, my question is do I have to provide proof of a accommodation for the entire three months?....or can I provide proof of a few days in a hotel when I arrive? ( I want to look round for a 3 month deal on condo when I'm there).

When I stay for 3 months I apply for a 60 day visa and extend with another 30 days a few days after arriving.
Never been asked to provide proof of accommodation for the rest of the 30 days when I'm extending the visa.

Last time I extended with an agent he asked my current hotel for a TM30 printout, and he was able to extend my visa even though I did not have the hotel booked for the whole trip.

 

Edit: 
I misunderstood the question, nevermind

Edited November 23, 2023 by komplot

[englishman]

38 minutes ago, phuclam said:

I just applied for one earlier this week. Only took 2 days to get approved, it was a lot easier than I expected given the earlier feedback from others.

I'm Curious which Embassy you applied through ?  I've done the E visa thing half a dozen times now , never been less than a month to get it , always through Ottawa

[englishman]

12 minutes ago, Call me Alfie said:

I'm looking at a trip next year and hope to stay about 3 months. I intend to get the 60 tourist visa and then extend it while I'm there so should take me up to three months. I will have a return flight booked so that shouldn't be a problem as I can upload the details, my question is do I have to provide proof of a accommodation for the entire three months?....or can I provide proof of a few days in a hotel when I arrive? ( I want to look round for a 3 month deal on condo when I'm there).

Seems to vary a lot between all the different embassies in different countries , some guys i heard show just a hotel for a few nights and include a letter saying they will be moving around to various hotels, no problem...

Here in Canada they want proof of accommodation for the entire trip,

ps I do the same, get a 60 day visa then extend for 30 ..though I'm leaning towards getting a retirement visa due to the amount of time i spend there and all this messing around every trip getting the 60 day visa.

[Call me Alfie]

@englishmanI intend to get a retirement visa as well at some point in the future, but I'm only in my 40's and don't have the cash yet so I have to make due with tourist visas. I really don't want to have to book 3 months worth of accommodation in advance to get a tourist visa, thats crazy...I didn't have to do that on my 2019-20 trip. Always seem to get the best deals on the ground.

 

[phuclam]

35 minutes ago, englishman said:

I'm Curious which Embassy you applied through ?  I've done the E visa thing half a dozen times now , never been less than a month to get it , always through Ottawa

I'm on the west coast so I went through Vancouver. This is my first time and I was pleasantly surprised. Applied on the 15th and received on the 17th. I only provided proof of accomodation for the first half of the trip which I was somewhat worried about but ended up not having any issues.

[phuclam]

57 minutes ago, Call me Alfie said:

I'm looking at a trip next year and hope to stay about 3 months. I intend to get the 60 tourist visa and then extend it while I'm there so should take me up to three months. I will have a return flight booked so that shouldn't be a problem as I can upload the details, my question is do I have to provide proof of a accommodation for the entire three months?....or can I provide proof of a few days in a hotel when I arrive? ( I want to look round for a 3 month deal on condo when I'm there).

I'm doing the same thing and only provided proof of accomodation for the first 6 weeks and didn't run into any issues. Received visa in just 2 days.

[englishman]

3 minutes ago, phuclam said:

I'm on the west coast so I went through Vancouver. This is my first time and I was pleasantly surprised. Applied on the 15th and received on the 17th. I only provided proof of accomodation for the first half of the trip which I was somewhat worried about but ended up not having any issues.

I can't imagine what's up with  RTE Ottawa...they seem to be real sticklers and really slow , took them almost 5 weeks just to ask for another document ...  those in the UK seem to be getting them in a few days , hours even ??

[Scubabum]

Did anyone have a problem paying with a credit card when they populate the billing address as different from yours? They populate the billing and shipping address with a Thai address therefore payment failing

Edited November 23, 2023 by Scubabum
Additional information

[SlowlyMan]

23 minutes ago, Scubabum said:

Did anyone have a problem paying with a credit card when they populate the billing address as different from yours? They populate the billing and shipping address with a Thai address therefore payment failing

Why would they populate a Thai address? If you don't use the bill to address for your card it will fail. That being said I had to try 3 cards before I got one to work. Something about the payment portal creates problems.  I called each card. they claim they didn't deny any payments. That would indicate a problem with the portal.

Edited November 23, 2023 by SlowlyMan

[SlowlyMan]

2 hours ago, Call me Alfie said:

I'm looking at a trip next year and hope to stay about 3 months. I intend to get the 60 tourist visa and then extend it while I'm there so should take me up to three months. I will have a return flight booked so that shouldn't be a problem as I can upload the details, my question is do I have to provide proof of a accommodation for the entire three months?....or can I provide proof of a few days in a hotel when I arrive? ( I want to look round for a 3 month deal on condo when I'm there).

I have always provided my booking for the first couple of weeks. Always been approved. Chicago Consulate. As you've seen the rules are enforced differently at each consulate. I would just give them what you have and see what happens. You could email them prior to applying and ask the question. But, I've never gotten a response from Chicago when I sent emails.

I've also never provided a bank letter.  Just a current statement.  My theory is I have a passport full of 60 day stamps with no overstays. I would think I get some good boy points. But, I could be completely wrong.

Edited November 23, 2023 by SlowlyMan

[Scubabum]

4 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

Why would they populate a Thai address? If you don't use the bill to address for your card it will fail. That being said I had to try 3 cards before I got one to work. Something about the payment portal creates problems.  I called each card. they claim they didn't deny any payments. That would indicate a problem with the portal.

 

4 hours ago, SlowlyMan said:

Why would they populate a Thai address? If you don't use the bill to address for your card it will fail. That being said I had to try 3 cards before I got one to work. Something about the payment portal creates problems.  I called each card. they claim they didn't deny any payments. That would indicate a problem with the portal.

That is the problem. I cannot enter my billing and shipping address instead of what they put in 

[phuclam]

6 hours ago, englishman said:

I can't imagine what's up with  RTE Ottawa...they seem to be real sticklers and really slow , took them almost 5 weeks just to ask for another document ...  those in the UK seem to be getting them in a few days , hours even ??

Perhaps it's busier? Not sure if you can choose to use the Vancouver one next time if you're in the east, but maybe give that a shot if they will allow you to. I applied pretty late so if it was going to take as long as what you've experienced I wouldn't have even gotten it in time.

[jimbo3303]

18 hours ago, englishman said:

Seems to vary a lot between all the different embassies in different countries , some guys i heard show just a hotel for a few nights and include a letter saying they will be moving around to various hotels, no problem...

Here in Canada they want proof of accommodation for the entire trip,

ps I do the same, get a 60 day visa then extend for 30 ..though I'm leaning towards getting a retirement visa due to the amount of time i spend there and all this messing around every trip getting the 60 day visa.

Huh.. mine is submitted right now and I only provided my first two weeks of accommodation.  I hope I don't have to resubmit and pay again..  I'm still waiting to hear back.

[englishman]

12 hours ago, phuclam said:

Perhaps it's busier? Not sure if you can choose to use the Vancouver one next time if you're in the east, but maybe give that a shot if they will allow you to. I applied pretty late so if it was going to take as long as what you've experienced I wouldn't have even gotten it in time.

You have to apply to the embassy that's closest to you, I'm right on the east coast so it has to be Ottawa ...yes I guess they must be busy but considering that as a Canadian we have the 30 exemption and most people just travel on this , I find it hard to believe there are THAT many that go 60 days plus ?  

It does state right on the Ottawa embassy web site allow 20 business days... funny how they vary so much

[englishman]

1 hour ago, jimbo3303 said:

Huh.. mine is submitted right now and I only provided my first two weeks of accommodation.  I hope I don't have to resubmit and pay again..  I'm still waiting to hear back.

fingers crossed mate ...hopefully they take departure date into consideration

[phuclam]

6 hours ago, englishman said:

You have to apply to the embassy that's closest to you, I'm right on the east coast so it has to be Ottawa ...yes I guess they must be busy but considering that as a Canadian we have the 30 exemption and most people just travel on this , I find it hard to believe there are THAT many that go 60 days plus ?  

It does state right on the Ottawa embassy web site allow 20 business days... funny how they vary so much

That's a good point, I'd assume most people travel on the 30 day exemption too. On the e-visa site it said 15 days, so 20 is in the ballpark. Anything longer than that seems unreasonable.

[englishman]

2 hours ago, phuclam said:

That's a good point, I'd assume most people travel on the 30 day exemption too. On the e-visa site it said 15 days, so 20 is in the ballpark. Anything longer than that seems unreasonable.

I agree, seems overly long to me, especially when you've already had visas granted in the past ..should be a mere formality, I'd think ?

[yellowcurrythai]

On 09/10/2023 at 04:45, madmike said:

Well I just spent 30 minutes entering lots of data and jpgs of information they want to give me an evisa.  I love the fact I don't have to be in person or mail my passport.

However their system needs help.  I was saving my work as I completed each section and was on the last section when it locked up.  OK, I logged out and back in.  Shows I have an incomplete visa application but click on it and blank screen.

Love that they are doing this but wish it worked.  Hope tomorrow it does  LOL

 

 

Could you pls elaborate the steps followed for getting the visa .

websites 

documents etc

Will be helpful for new applicants 

 

[sulu]

1 hour ago, yellowcurrythai said:

Could you pls elaborate the steps followed for getting the visa .

websites 

documents etc

Will be helpful for new applicants 

 

Here's the website I used about a year ago. Everything's there.

Thai Visa

[yellowcurrythai]

20 minutes ago, sulu said:

Here's the website I used about a year ago. Everything's there.

Thai Visa

Thanks

[englishman]

Finally ! took 41 days but I got it at last ... Moral ...don't leave it to the last minute , just in case

[worldtraveler3]

I got my visa in 2 days put it in this past Saturday got it this Monday applied to the New York embassy also there was less thing to input this time. Only proof of address flight and hotel booking.  

[madmike]

39 minutes ago, worldtraveler3 said:

I got my visa in 2 days put it in this past Saturday got it this Monday applied to the New York embassy also there was less thing to input this time. Only proof of address flight and hotel booking.  

They didn't ask for bank statement or any proof of income?

[worldtraveler3]

Just now, madmike said:

They didn't ask for bank statement or any proof of income?

They didn't but I sent in a bank statement as proof of address to prevent them from asking later.