Thailand Visas

[Bensold]

Hello me again

I was wondering if anyone had any advice about Visas for Thailand?

I am intending to go over the Phi Phi and train to be a Divemaster, im not sure if I will just pay for the course or do an internship (this will be something I decide after speaking/deciding which dive school I will be doing it with) and I am a little confused what Visa to get. From what I can see you either get a tourist visa which allows you to leave and reenter the country up to 3 times or a Education Visa which allows you to stay for 90days but not leave the country.

My Friend who lived in Phi Phi for 18months working as a DM said you need a visa where you leave every month on what they call a 'visa run' but looking at the Thai embassy website I cant see a visa for this.

I was hoping after passing my DM staying on and working for a bit to get some experience but to do this I will need to get a working visa. Is this the norm? or do people just tend to use the tourist visa for this type of training/working

My Friend obv stayed out there for a while but the tourist/education visas only allow a max of 60 or 90days so im a little confused

Any advice is welcome

Thanks in advance for you reply

Lou

 

[stevenl]

This means your friend was working on a visa exempt entry and without workpermit. I know this nis very common on Phi Phi, but I would not recommend it.

Best course of action for you probably is to first talk to the DC you want to do the course with. When that is sorted, ask them for paperwork so you can go to Penang/KL and apply for a non-immigrant E(ducation) visa.

 

[Quero]

You can only get a student/education visa if the school you will be working through provides the paperwork for you to present to a Thailand consulate outside of Thailand, preferably the one in your home country. Since you plan to go to Phi Phi first to check things out, this is not an option for you unless you leave Thailand after checking things out and go apply for your student visa in a third country.

UK nationals arriving as tourists automatically get a 30-day visa-waiver/visitor's stamp in the passport on entry; this is different from a Tourist Visa that you can obtain before coming at a Thailand consulate and that is described on the Thai Embassy website. If you possess a visa-waiver stamp/visitor's stamp, you need to leave the country and re-enter in order to get a new 30-day stamp if you are planning to stay longer. You can do this twice for a total of a 90-day stay over a period of six months from your first entry.

In order to work legally in Thailand, you need a Business Visa, which will allow you to apply for a work permit. Depending on the visa, you may need to leave the country periodically on a visa run with this kind of visa. Mine doesn't require that I leave the country, is good for two years, and I can renew it locally, but there are different types. An important factor influencing the type of B visa that is awarded has to do with the capitalisation value of the company providing the paperwork for the B Visa application.

Go to the website ThaiVisa.com to find more specific information.

 

[stevenl]

You can only get a student/education visa if the school you will be working through provides the paperwork for you to present to a Thailand consulate outside of Thailand, preferably the one in your home country. Since you plan to go to Phi Phi first to check things out, this is not an option for you unless you leave Thailand after checking things out and go apply for your student visa in a third country.

Yes, that is the easiest thing to do, as written earlier, apply for this in KL/Penang. No reason at all to do this in your home country. Any decent DC will be able to provide you with the required paperwork.

---------- Post added April 27th, 2012 at 09:41 AM ----------

UK nationals arriving as tourists automatically get a 30-day visa-waiver/visitor's stamp in the passport on entry; this is different from a Tourist Visa that you can obtain before coming at a Thailand consulate and that is described on the Thai Embassy website. If you possess a visa-waiver stamp/visitor's stamp, you need to leave the country and re-enter in order to get a new 30-day stamp if you are planning to stay longer. You can do this twice for a total of a 90-day stay over a period of six months from your first entry.

Just noticed this.
2 things about this:
1) official requirement for a visa exempt entry is a flightticket out of the country within 30 days. Your airline might check you fulfill this requirement and refuse boarding if you don't;
2) this 'max 90 days in 180 days period' has been changed for over 5 years ago and does not exist anymore.

 

[Quero]

Immigration rules are very complex and subject to change as well as "interpretation." So whatever one may think is the accepted practice, if the immigration officer makes a different interpretation and thinks otherwise it will be otherwise. Anyway, here is the official explanation as given on a Thailand government website (emphasis by coloured font mine, referring to rules that apply to visa runs):

If you are planning a short holiday in Thailand you may not require a Thailand visa if you are citizen of one of the approximately 40 nations that qualify for a Thai visa waiver or Thai visa exemption. With evidence of onward/return travel, citizens of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the USA, and most European nations may enter Thailand for up to 30 days without a Thai visa. These Thailand visa waivers are issued upon arrival in Thailand. Those entering Thailand by land may not receive a 30 day exemption however; the Thai visa waiver was reduced to 15 days for those entering by land after January 1, 2009.

If your citizenship does not qualify you for a Thailand visa waiver or if you are planning to stay in Thailand for longer than 15/30 days, you must apply for a Thai visa at an embassy or consulate outside of the Kingdom. Thai tourist visas are valid for 30 or 60 days, though visitors who plan to travel from Thailand to a neighboring country and then back to Thailand can apply for several consecutive 30 or 60 day Thai visas. At most, three Thai visas can be issued at one time, granting visitors either 30 or 60 days for each entry into Thailand (maximum 3x60 days, requiring visitors to leave within 60 days before beginning the next 60 day visa).

Best of luck to you.

 

[stevenl]

Quero, what you're mentioning in the second paragraph refers to visa's, not visa exempt entries you talked about earlier. Triple entry can be: 60 days, 30 days extension, visa run 60 days, 30 days extension, visa run 60 days, 30 days extension, so in total 3x90 days BTW.
In the first paragraph you fail to mention the most important issue about visa exempt entry, boarding the plane from the UK. Thai immigration is not the issue, the boarding staff may well be.

So again, for the OP, easiest way during the DM course, especially with a longer lasting internship, would be a non-immigrant Education visa. Best course of action after that depends on his exact plans, but I strongly advice against the often followed way of working on visa exempt entries without work permit.

 

[Quero]

As I said, it's very complex, and it's open to interpretation by immigration officials, sometimes depending on their mood. In theory, a visitor who intends to stay more than 15/30 days must apply for a regular Tourist Visa. But in practice, a visitor may leave and re-enter and extend the stay that way. In fact, an immigration official could, within the law, prohibit that second visa-waiver entry and require the visitor to go buy a Tourist Visa, which then, according to regulations, could be extended as described in the official Thai government website. In practice, the vast majority of visitors end up staying as long as they like, switching between one visa type and another and shuttling in and out of the country.

The OP didn't ask about boarding rules or even mention that he was contemplating buying a one-way air ticket, so I really don't understand why you've chosen that to focus on, but oh well.

To the OP, once again, best of luck!

 

[stevenl]

The OP didn't ask about boarding rules or even mention that he was contemplating buying a one-way air ticket, so I really don't understand why you've chosen that to focus on, but oh well.

Nothing to do with one way ticket yes or no, only with not having an airticket to outside of Thailand with departure within 30 days.

I am not focusing on anything, only giving the OP correct advice and correcting misinformation given here multiple times.

So again, for the OP, non-immigrant Education visa would be the best course of action.

 

[lord khram]

If you possess a visa-waiver stamp/visitor's stamp, you need to leave the country and re-enter in order to get a new 30-day stamp if you are planning to stay longer. You can do this twice for a total of a 90-day stay over a period of six months from your first entry.

This is not the case for those electing to do 'visa run's' via land borders. To get the 30 days on re entry you have to leave / re enter via an international airport.
For several years now those doing the traditional 'visa run' by minibus to the Cambodian border only get a 15 day visa waiver on re entry to Thailand.

If staying up to 90 days, the best and cheapest option is a 60 day Tourist visa which can be obtained in the UK (The Royal Thai Consulate - Birmingham for Visa Applications) direct from the Thai Consulate for £25, this can subsequently be extended within Thailand at any immigration office for a further 30 days for a fee of 1900bt. If planning to stay more than 90 days, the 12 month non immigrant visa is generally the best option, you obtain a stamp for 90 days on arrival and subsequent 90 day re entry stamps can be obtained from Thai Immigration offices for a fee. Also, as long as your final re entry is prior to the expiry of the 12 month visa, you still get a 90 day stamp, so actually get almost 15 months use from your 1 year visa.

To the op: Rather than looking through internet forums I would advise you to contact the Thai Consulate (see above link) by telephone and they will advise you of your best course of action to suit your circumstances, and tell you exactly what documentation you need to submit. You can look at internet forums all you like, but I find when it comes to Thai visa requirements they are full of misinformation and out of date facts. Regulations are constantly changing and that 5 minute phone call could potentially prevent unnecessary inconvenience and expense in the future. Go direct to those that have the current and correct facts.

Also with regard to working either paid or unpaid, many do not seem to bother within the diving industry but you should indeed have the correct documentation and visa to enable you to work within Thailand. If you are caught working without the correct documents it again can develop into a troublesome and expensive lesson.

 

[Quero]

That's true, too, as mentioned in the highlighted part of the website I quoted in post 5. Visa rules in Thailand are very complex and not particularly transparent. I'm personally glad that I don't ever have to do visa runs.