Thai VisaOn this page I shall give you some information about obtaining your Thai Visa, its useful to know if you aint been here before. First of all the immigration office here in Pattaya is located on Soi 6 in Jomtien. The best advice I was ever given regarding this place is.. 1, Arrive reasonably well dressed and looking presentable (there is a sign saying please dress respectfully) I have seen tourists turned away as they have been dressed as though they have slept on the beach!... 2, Never try to argue and whatever you do don't raise your voice. This can be a tough one, but beleive me just go with the flow and smile if you are asked to make any corrections etc,
If you listen to many of the Pattaya addicts and ex-pats you will quickly realise that one of the main topics of conversation is about their Thai visa or extension there of. Most of this talk is crap, ignore it. I have never had any problems whatsoever in obtaining extensions to my Thai visa. Dont get me wrong some ex-pats are very knowledgeable, but by the time the correct info, has been passed on 3 or 4 times to other guys in various states of sobriety it has changed totally! I would suggest if you need info on visa's go direct to immigration and ask, if you are here in Pattaya. OK, so you aint been here before and your reading this and want to know what kind of Thai visa you need. Many guys coming for the first time usually get a... Visa on entry This will allow you to stay in Thailand for up to 30 days as a tourist. There's no paperwork as such simply present your passport on arrival. However You must be a resident of one of the countries below. 1. ARGENTINA 2. AUSTRALIA 3. AUSTRIA 4. BAHRAIN 5. BELGIUM 6. BRAZIL 7. BRUNEI 8. CANADA 9. CHILE 10. CYPRUS11. DENMARK 12. DJIBOUTI 13. EGYPT 14. FIJI 15. FINLAND 16. FRANCE 17. GERMANY 18. GREECE 19. ICELAND20. INDONESIA 21. IRELAND 22. ISRAEL 23. ITALY 24. JAPAN 25. KENYA 26. KUWAIT 27. KOREA, Republic of 28. LUXEMBOURG29. MALAYSIA 30. MAURITANIA 31. MEXICO 32. MOROCCO 33. MYANMAR 34. NETHERLANDS 35. NEW ZEALAND 36. NORWAY 37. OMAN38. PAPUA NEW GUINEA 39. PHILIPPINES 40. PORTUGAL 41. QATAR 42. SAUDI ARABIA 43. SENEGAL 44. SINGAPORE 45. SLOVENIA46. SOUTH AFRICA 47. SPAIN 48. SWEDEN 49. SWITZERLAND 50. TUNISIA 51. TURKEY 52. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES53. UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND 54. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 55. VANUATU 56. WESTERN SAMAO 57. YEMEN After your 30 days you can apply for a 10 day extension at the immigration office. Whatever you do go before the 30 days are up. So check the date in your passport.  Tourist Visa Here's another couple of recommended options regarding a Thai visa if you plan on staying for longer than 30 days. Apply for a 60 day tourist visa before you leave your home country. This is done through your nearest Thai consulate or embassy. The application is straight forward and usually very quick. Once the 60 days are up you can apply for a 30 day extension at the Pattaya immigration office. There is also a double entry visa that you can apply for, this means you can enter Thailand twice on the same visa. Which means you can stay for a total of 6 months in Thailand. That is 2 months plus 1 month on your first entry and 2 plus 1 on the second entry. Got it!! Lets assume you came to Thailand on a 30 day visa on entry and decided to stay for longer,, much longer! You can apply for the same types of Thai visa as above. You just need to do it in a neighbouring country, I have always gone to Laos for this and I highly recommend the place. You could just as easily go to Malaysia or Cambodia or even take a trip to singapore.  Remember that to obtain extensions to your visa you need to cross the border out of Thailand. Except the 10 or 30 day extensions available at Pattaya immigration office. Other types of Thai visa There is an "O" type visa which is for simply living in Thailand and there is a "B" type visa with which you can apply for a work permit once you are in Thailand. Be sure to apply for a multiple entry visa which allows you to come in and out of Thailand using the same visa. There are also retirement visa's and if you're 50 or over you can get one of these known as a NON-IMMIGRANT VISA – CATEGORY "O-A" But be warned the application can be frustrating to say the least. There is also a residence visa available, complete with the same frustrations!  Finally I do not consider myself an expert on the subject of a Thai visa so for that reason I ain't gonna start publishing how to apply for the various kinds of visa. All I will say is do what I have done, simply contact your local Thai consulate. They can be incredibly helpful and all the information you need is free so you don't have to pay some visa company to do the work. If you google "Thai embassy" you shall soon find you're nearest location. Thanks for looking and good luck. Head back to the Living in Pattaya page Find out the best way of getting one of the many Teaching Jobs Other pages Thailand practical travel information Go to Enjoy Pattaya home page from Thai Visa |
