Thailand Visa question

First thing you need to do is tell us what passport you carry. If
you're American or Brit or Aussie you don't even need a 30 day visa.
Just show up. Thai Immigration will not check your plane ticket.

However, the airline that flies you in might check. If they do, they
will want to see a visa that applies from the arrival date to
departure date on your ticket.

If the airline realizes that the 60 day visa isn't enough, they might
still refuse you.

I'm on a British passport, so figured that I could get a 30 day when landing in
BK. I'm flying out of Sydney on Quantas, and that sounds like the only place
where I could come unstuck. Just how likely is it that they will check for visa
requirments prior to flight? Is this standard airline procedure, or is it
simply a case of it being 'thai immigration's' problem, rather than their
lookout?

"Queequak" schreef in bericht
...
First thing you need to do is tell us what passport you carry. If
you're American or Brit or Aussie you don't even need a 30 day visa.
Just show up. Thai Immigration will not check your plane ticket.

However, the airline that flies you in might check. If they do, they
will want to see a visa that applies from the arrival date to
departure date on your ticket.

If the airline realizes that the 60 day visa isn't enough, they might
still refuse you.

I'm on a British passport, so figured that I could get a 30 day when
landing in
BK. I'm flying out of Sydney on Quantas, and that sounds like the only
place
where I could come unstuck. Just how likely is it that they will check for
visa
requirments prior to flight? Is this standard airline procedure, or is it
simply a case of it being 'thai immigration's' problem, rather than their
lookout?

Normally the airline should check, but if you have a good story + preferably
supporting evidence (do you have a Vietnamese visa in your passport?), they
will let you travel to Thailand. Don't worry, you won't have a problem.

Sjoerd

(Queequak) wrote in message ...
Hey,

I'm flying into BK on July 20th, then journeying overland in Cam, Nam, and
Laos, flying out of BK on 20th Sept. Because I'm both flying into, and outof,
Bangkok, my travel agent says I need to apply for a 60 day visa BEFORE I leave
England.

However, I'm actually away for 62 days, so a 60 day visa wouldn't suffice
anyway. But, after speaking to a traveller I met at the Thai embassy yesterday
(too late to speak to any officials), he reckoned I should go without a visa
anyway and just apply for a 30 day visa once I landed in BK.

I'm obviously concerned about the visa situation because I don't wanna land in
BK only to be told to leave immediately, so can anyone help me out. Do I need a 60 day visa before I go??

Try mentioning on which national you're first before asking.

Anyway. For this kind of stuff, it's better to ask the Thailand
embassy directly, their standing is probably more valid than the
comments from most posters of rec.travel.asia, unless most posters in
rec.travel.asia worked in Thailand embassies and represent their
embassies official stand when they write in rec.travel.asia.

As for being told to leave immediately after you landed. Well... The
ports of entry have the rights to do that even if you HAVE a visa.

Tom

HI TOM,
YES YOU CAN GET A VISA ON ARRIVAL BUT ON THE ENTRY FORM YOU WILL NEED TO
PUT AN ADDRESS OF WHERE YOU ARE STAYING UNLESS YOU ARE ON A PACKAGE
TOUR.I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY DAYS/WEEKS YOU WILL GET.WITH ME IT VARIED EVERY
TIME(PROBABLY TO DO WITH IF THE GUY ON DUTY IS HAVING A BAD DAY OR NOT)(NO
JOKE!!)ONCE YOU HAVE GOT YOUR ENTRY VISA YOU WILL HAVE TO RENEW IT IF YOU
INTEND TO STAY LONGER BECAUSE IF YOU LET IT LAPSE YOU WILL BE FINED FOR
EVERY DAY YOU OVERSTAY I THINK IT WAS ABOUT £1.60 PER DAY AT IMMIGRATION
IN BANGKOK OR DOUBLE ON DEPARTURE AT THE AIRPORT OR BORDER POST.IF YOU ARE
IN BANGKOK THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT IS IN WIRELESS RD.GO A FEW DAYS
BEFORE AND PICK UP A FORM,GET YOUR PHOTOS DONE,AND THEN PICK A 'DAY'!!
WHEN YOU HAV'NT PLANNED TO ANYTHING!!BECAUSE,UNLESS YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,OR
YOUR GOD HAS SMILED UPON YOU,THIS IS HOW LONG YOU WILL WAIT 'MINIMUM' FOR
THE PRIVILEGE TO STAY IN THAILAND AND SPEND YOUR MONEY THERE.I HAVE HEARD
OF PEOPLE HAVING TO GO BACK THE NEXT DAY AND LINE UP AND WAIT TO PICK UP
THEIR VISA RENEWAL ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN GIVEN 14 DAYS
EXTRA.IF YOU HAVE THE TIME/MONEY YOU WOULD BE BETTER TO GO BORDER
HOPPING,WHICH IS WHAT I ENDED UP DOING,AND GOING AND HAVING A LOOK AT SOME
OTHER PARTS OF SOUTH EAST ASIA,AND GETTING ANOTHER VISA ON ARRIVAL,BUT
AGAIN,IF YOU ONLY HAVE A TICKET INTO THAILAND AND NOT A RETURN TICKET OUT
WHO KNOWS HOW LONG YOU'LL GET?GOOD LUCK!!

"SPIDER" schreef in bericht
lkabouttravelling.com...
HI TOM,
YES YOU CAN GET A VISA ON ARRIVAL BUT ON THE ENTRY FORM YOU WILL NEED TO
PUT AN ADDRESS OF WHERE YOU ARE STAYING UNLESS YOU ARE ON A PACKAGE
TOUR.I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY DAYS/WEEKS YOU WILL GET.WITH ME IT VARIED EVERY
TIME(PROBABLY TO DO WITH IF THE GUY ON DUTY IS HAVING A BAD DAY OR NOT)(NO
JOKE!!)ONCE YOU HAVE GOT YOUR ENTRY VISA YOU WILL HAVE TO RENEW IT IF YOU
INTEND TO STAY LONGER BECAUSE IF YOU LET IT LAPSE YOU WILL BE FINED FOR
EVERY DAY YOU OVERSTAY I THINK IT WAS ABOUT £1.60 PER DAY AT IMMIGRATION
IN BANGKOK OR DOUBLE ON DEPARTURE AT THE AIRPORT OR BORDER POST.IF YOU ARE
IN BANGKOK THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT IS IN WIRELESS RD.GO A FEW DAYS
BEFORE AND PICK UP A FORM,GET YOUR PHOTOS DONE,AND THEN PICK A 'DAY'!!
WHEN YOU HAV'NT PLANNED TO ANYTHING!!BECAUSE,UNLESS YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,OR
YOUR GOD HAS SMILED UPON YOU,THIS IS HOW LONG YOU WILL WAIT 'MINIMUM' FOR
THE PRIVILEGE TO STAY IN THAILAND AND SPEND YOUR MONEY THERE.I HAVE HEARD
OF PEOPLE HAVING TO GO BACK THE NEXT DAY AND LINE UP AND WAIT TO PICK UP
THEIR VISA RENEWAL ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT THEY HAVE ONLY BEEN GIVEN 14 DAYS
EXTRA.IF YOU HAVE THE TIME/MONEY YOU WOULD BE BETTER TO GO BORDER
HOPPING,WHICH IS WHAT I ENDED UP DOING,AND GOING AND HAVING A LOOK AT SOME
OTHER PARTS OF SOUTH EAST ASIA,AND GETTING ANOTHER VISA ON ARRIVAL,BUT
AGAIN,IF YOU ONLY HAVE A TICKET INTO THAILAND AND NOT A RETURN TICKET OUT
WHO KNOWS HOW LONG YOU'LL GET?GOOD LUCK!!

1) On 30+ entries to Thailand, they have never asked to see my return ticket
at immigration, nor have they ever asked a single question.
2) on all these entries I have been given the max. number of days. (15 days
until the mid -1990's or so, 30 days thereafter)
3) just put any hotel on your entry form.
4) the OP already told us that he will be travelling to Cambodia, Vietnam
and Laos before his 30 days are up.
5) reading your message is easier if you don't use ALL CAPS.

Sjoerd

EAC wrote:
Anyway. For this kind of stuff, it's better to ask the Thailand
embassy directly, their standing is probably more valid than the
comments from most posters of rec.travel.asia, unless most posters in
rec.travel.asia worked in Thailand embassies and represent their
embassies official stand when they write in rec.travel.asia.

This is a question about how the rules get bent. The embassy is a useless
place to ask that kind of thing. Their job is to tell you about the rules.

There are two categories of people who can tell you about how rules get
bent:

1) The people who apply the rules (i.e., the immigration inspectors at Don
Muang airport)

2) The people who have (or have not) had the rules bent for them.

One of these groups is represented here in this newsgroup. The other, I'd
hazard a guess, are pretty hard to come by online.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

I think Qantas will view your immigration status in Thailand as an issue for
the Thais, particularly as you are carrying a ticket out of Thailand at a
later date.

"Sjoerd" wrote in message
...

"Queequak" schreef in bericht
...
First thing you need to do is tell us what passport you carry. If
you're American or Brit or Aussie you don't even need a 30 day visa.
Just show up. Thai Immigration will not check your plane ticket.

However, the airline that flies you in might check. If they do, they
will want to see a visa that applies from the arrival date to
departure date on your ticket.

If the airline realizes that the 60 day visa isn't enough, they might
still refuse you.

I'm on a British passport, so figured that I could get a 30 day when
landing in
BK. I'm flying out of Sydney on Quantas, and that sounds like the only
place
where I could come unstuck. Just how likely is it that they will check
for
visa
requirments prior to flight? Is this standard airline procedure, or is
it
simply a case of it being 'thai immigration's' problem, rather than
their
lookout?

Normally the airline should check, but if you have a good story +
preferably
supporting evidence (do you have a Vietnamese visa in your passport?),
they
will let you travel to Thailand. Don't worry, you won't have a problem.

Sjoerd

SJOERD,
IF YOU REQUIRE MORE THAN 30 DAYS ie:90 DAYS AS I DID BECAUSE I WAS LIVING
IN BANGKOK AND PAYING THE RENT ON A CONDO,YOU HAVE TO GO TO IMMIGRATION.
I USE CAPS LOCK WHEN I email BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY MANY OF MY
FRIENDS IN SE ASIA TO DO SO AS THEY FIND IT EASIER TO UNDERSTAND.MAJORITY
RULES!
THANK YOU,
SPIDER.

(Queequak) wrote in message ...
First thing you need to do is tell us what passport you carry. If
you're American or Brit or Aussie you don't even need a 30 day visa.
Just show up. Thai Immigration will not check your plane ticket.

However, the airline that flies you in might check. If they do, they
will want to see a visa that applies from the arrival date to
departure date on your ticket.

If the airline realizes that the 60 day visa isn't enough, they might
still refuse you.

I'm on a British passport, so figured that I could get a 30 day when landing
in BK.

Yes, but not a visa. Just a "Permission To Enter".

I'm flying out of Sydney on Quantas, and that sounds like the only place
where I could come unstuck. Just how likely is it that they will check for
visa requirments prior to flight?

100%. Now ask what the odds are that they will understand it enough to
catch that you have a time problem (62 days on a 30 day PTE or 62 days
on a 60 day visa). Maybe 50/50.

Is this standard airline procedure,

Yes. All airlines know that they are responsible for you if they take
you to any country (not just Thailand) when your paperwork is not in
order. So since they are financially liable, they check.

One thing you can do is to apply for a multi-entry visa. With that,
the requirement for an outbound ticket doesn't apply. So it wouldn't
matter the timing of your return ticket.

(Queequak) wrote in message ...
First thing you need to do is tell us what passport you carry. If
you're American or Brit or Aussie you don't even need a 30 day visa.
Just show up. Thai Immigration will not check your plane ticket.

However, the airline that flies you in might check. If they do, they
will want to see a visa that applies from the arrival date to
departure date on your ticket.

If the airline realizes that the 60 day visa isn't enough, they might
still refuse you.

I'm on a British passport, so figured that I could get a 30 day when landing
in BK.

Yes, but not a visa. Just a "Permission To Enter".

I'm flying out of Sydney on Quantas, and that sounds like the only place
where I could come unstuck. Just how likely is it that they will check for
visa requirments prior to flight?

100%. Now ask what the odds are that they will understand it enough to
catch that you have a time problem (62 days on a 30 day PTE or 62 days
on a 60 day visa). Maybe 50/50.

Is this standard airline procedure,

Yes. All airlines know that they are responsible for you if they take
you to any country (not just Thailand) when your paperwork is not in
order. So since they are financially liable, they check.

One thing you can do is to apply for a multi-entry visa. With that,
the requirement for an outbound ticket doesn't apply. So it wouldn't
matter the timing of your return ticket.