Thai Visa Information

Thai Visa Information

30 Days Visa Exemption

First of all, the most basic requirement for a visit to Thailand is a passport valid for at least six months - counting from the date of your arrival in the Kingdom. So if the expiry date of your current passport should be within the near future, please apply for a new passport asap!
Secondly, do NOT overstay your visa! Always check the expiry date of your visa and entry stamp ("admitted until"). In case you make it to the airport or any other border checkpoint the overstay charge may be only 500 Baht per day. However, if you should get caught with an expired visa during your stay in Thailand you would be considered an illegal immigrant and face deportation and harsh fines. Take care.

Types of Visa
(please click the appropriate link)

Tourist Visa
Business/ Non-Immigrant Visa "B"
Retirement/ Non-Immigrant Visa "O-A" (Longstay)
Marriage/ Non-Immigrant Visa "O"
Other types of non-immigrant visa include investment, diplomatic or ED (educational study or observation) visa.

30 Days Visa Exemption

In general, any foreigner who wishes to enter the Kingdom Of Thailand for longer than 30 days or an extended period of time, is required to obtain a visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate. Nationals of most European, many North and South American as well as Asian countries, however, do not require a visa, provided they meet "visa exemption" requirements and wish to stay in Thailand for not exceeding 30 days for tourism purposes only.
Often referred to as "Visa on arrival" (or "Tourist visa") this permission of stay has actually only little in common with a proper visa (described as a permission of stay obtained from a Royal Thai embassy). The official term "visa exemption" simply means that qualified applicants will be granted a permission of stay in Thailand without having to apply for a visa at a Thai embassy before their entry.
Upon arrival at the airport or at any Thai immigration checkpoint you will simply have an entry stamp stamped onto a page of your passport which displays both the day of arrival and an "admitted until" field - showing the date when you are due to leave. The permitted duration of stay is usually 30 days (not 1month). This entry stamp is free of charge. The only official requirement is an onward travel ticket as proof of your intention to leave Thailand again, so travelling to Thailand with a one-way ticket cannot be recommended. In practice, however, this rule is hardly enforced.
Visitors from the following countries can enter Thailand without visa for a maximum stay of 30 days (15 days in case of "visa on arrival") for tourism purposes only. Employment is strictly prohibited and work permits cannot be applied for.In order to work in Thailand legally or conduct a business you need to obtain a non-immigrant visa "B".

Passport holders of the following countries can enter Thailand without a visa and stay in the Kingdom for 30 days for tourism purposes only ("visa exemption") or apply for a "visa on arrival" (15 days permission of stay):

Argentina, Australia, Austria
Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei
Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus (15), Czech Republic (15)
Denmark
Estonia (15)
Finland, France
Germany, Greece
Hong Kong SAR, Hungary (15)
Iceland, India (15), Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan (15), Korea/ South, Kuwait
Latvia (15), Laos, Liechtenstein (15), Lithuania (15), Luxembourg
Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives (15), Mauritius (15), Mongolia, Myanmar
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway
Oman
Peru, Phillippines, Poland (15), Portugal
Quatar
Russian Federation (15)
Saudi Arabia (15), Singapore, Slovakia (15), Slovenia (15), South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Taiwan (15), Turkey
Ukraine (15), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA
Vietnam

For updated conditions and specifications of "visa exemption", "visa on arrival" and permitted duration of stay please visit the website of the Thai Ministry Of Foreign Affairs or contact your local Thai embassy.

If you should decide to stay longer in Thailand than 30 days and have not applied for a visa in advance you can apply for a visa extension (of usually 7 days only) at a fee of 1900 THB at any Thai immigration office. Please note that since Octobre 2007 visa rules and visa extension requirements have become stricter once more. In order to get an extension you will be asked to show an onward travel ticket that proves you will be leaving the Kingdom not after the expiry date of your extension. In case of a 7-days extension this means you will have to show an onward travel ticket that proves you'll be leaving Thailand within the next seven days!
For Pattaya Immigration and downloads of visa application and extension forms please click here.

Other popular options include so-called "Visa-Runs" either to the nearby Cambodian border where you could get another 30-days entry stamp or (recommended) a visit to a Thai consulate in one of the neighbouring SEA countries where you could apply for a proper tourist visa or (if you're lucky enough to qualify for one) non-immigrant visa of either type (please click the appropriate links). Visa Run To Vientiane, Laos
Visa-runs to the Cambodian border (either Aranyaprathet or Chantaburi) have been popular with foreign residents of Pattaya for many years. They can be booked at many travel agencies all over Pattaya at rates between 1700 and 2500 Baht. These prices include the Cambodian visa fees, visa assistance at the border and minibus transportation from Pattaya to the border and back; depending on what package you choose, even breakfast and/or lunch might be included. The total duration of an organized visa-run should be roughly between eight and ten hours.
Please note, however, that since October 1st 2006 new visa regulations are being enforced and 30-days entry stamps (visa exemption) can only be used back to back for a maximum of 90 days within six months. To quote the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs you "may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry." Furthermore, the "onward ticket rule" is increasingly getting enforced at immigration checkpoints along the Thai-Cambodian border.
This means, for example, you could travel to Thailand without a visa and stay in Pattaya for 30 days; you could then make another two visa-runs to the Cambodian border and stay in Pattaya for a total of 90 days. After that, however, you would no longer be permitted to stay in Thailand using the "visa exemption" scheme. So if you wish to stay in Pattaya for longer than 90 days you will need to obtain an appropriate visa issued at a Royal Thai embassy or consulate either in your respective home country or in a country neighbouring Thailand such as Malaysia or Laos.
Please note, however, that Royal Thai consulates on Penang/ Malaysia or in Vientiane/ Lao PDR generally only issue single-entry visas at the moment whereas double, triple or multiple entry visas can be obtained easily from Thai embassies in your home country!
To read more on the types of Thai visa available and find out which one suits you best please click the appropriate link below.

Tourist Visa
Visa Run To Vientiane, Laos
Business/ Non-Immigrant Visa "B"
Retirement/ Non-Immigrant Visa "O-A" (Longstay)
Marriage/ Non-Immigrant Visa "O"

For updates on visa regulations and visa-related forum discussions we'd recommend you to visit the Thai Visa Expat Forum. If you have a specific question just register as a member and post a new thread.

Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Directory of Thai Embassies and Consulates
www.ThaiEmbassy.org (official website)

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