Normally you will get a 30-days tourist visa at the border when you
enter Thailand. This can be extended up to 15 days at the immigration
office for a fee of 1900 baht. When your visa expire, you must leave
Thailand. But you can enter Thailand as many times you want and you will
always get a 30-days tourist visa.
Don't
overstay your visa! Except the 200 baht fine/day you may also end up in
jail!Business Visa (Non Immigrant
B)
If you want to work in Thailand you need a Non Immigrant B Visa. This is
easy to obtain in your home country if you have a letter of employment
and other documents supporting your visa from your counterpart in
Thailand but you may only be granted 3 months if this is first time you
work in Thailand. Second time you may get double entry or 1 year
multiple entry visa, but you still need to leave Thailand every 3 months
(Have you heard of the famous VISA RUN?). There is one exception, if you
get work permit from a BOI (Board of investment) approved program you
may get a real 1 year business visa and you don't need to do the visa
run every 3 months. (But on the other hand, if you want to leave the
country for holiday in another country you need to do lot of paperwork
to keep your 1 year visa. This is not required for the normal multiple
entry visa.)
Note: You must show your work permit when you apply for business visa
(Non-B) second or third time you renew it. This means you can not stay
in Thailand by using business visa without having a work permit.
You
are NOT allowed to work in Thailand without a work permit! Business Visa
(Non-B) and work permit is required! Some companies try to hire
staff and they say Business Visa is enough, work permit can be acquired
later. This is wrong and you may end up and in jail and later be
deported from Thailand.
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Tourist Visa
If you plan to stay longer, you should apply for a Tourist Visa at the
Thai embassy in your home country or go to a neighbor country of
Thailand when your 30 day tourist visa expires. It is easy to get and
you will be granted a 60 days tourist visa. This one can be extended
with another 30 days at the immigration office for 1900 baht, thus 90
days in total. You can also try and ask for a double entry visa, this
means you can enter Thailand two times and stay in Thailand up to 6
months. Although, you must cross the border after 3 months to get
another 3 months.
Note: Thai embassy in Penang only allows applicants to apply for a
tourist visa 3 times.
Married with Thai lady? (Non Immigrant O)
If you are married with a Thai lady/man and can show proof of your
marriage and income/pension, you can obtain a 1-year Non-O Visa.
Where to go to apply for Thai Visa?
Most people go to Penang in Malaysia to apply or renew their visas.
Some other embassies and consulates are only allowed to grant 3 or 6
months visas while Penang can grant 1 year visa.
General requirements when applying for visa
- Passport valid for at least 6 months
- One completed and signed application form
- Two passport-size photographs
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