VisasThailand VisasNews:
30 day transit visaFor the UK and many other traveller nationalities a free transit visa is given on arrival. It is renewable for another 30 day transit visa on return to Thailand after leaving the country for a day trip or longer. It can be renewed in this way several times, at the discretion of immigration. They are beginning to interview people who renew the transit visa by daytrips repeatedly. Immigration are happier if you vary the border crossing point or take a flight back into Thailand occasionally. See the sections below on Burma visas, Laos visas and Malaysia visas for easy ways to renew this transit visa.Transit Thailand visas may be extended by 10 days, one time only per visa, by visiting an immigration office and applying for the emergency extension (giving a reason), and paying 1900 baht. Some immigration offices are closed at weekends. See 'Thailand visas at Chiang Mai' below for information about the Chiang Mai office. A confirmed departure ticket within 30 days is needed for the automatic transit visa when entering by air. This has rarely been checked by immigration, however airlines often insist on a return or onward ticket before allowing boarding for the flight to Thailand. This departure ticket has to be for air or sea travel, or for the land border with Malaysia. 60 day tourist visa, and multiple tourist visasTourist Thailand visas can be obtained from Thailand embassies abroad, including: UK (London, see below, Hull), China (e.g. Kunming), Laos (Vientiane) and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang).These tourist visas are for 60 days, and also extendable by another 30 days by visiting an immigration office within Thailand (e.g. Bangkok or Chiang Mai, see below for Chiang Mai) and paying 1900 baht, giving a reason for needing the extension. This extension, and the number of days (up to 30) it is for is at the discretion of the particular immigration office, so it is not guaranteed. Tourist visas may be extended again in the same way, this time only for 10 days, and again giving a reason. Multiple tourist visas are available officially only in countries outside the south-east asia region. For example the Hull consulate in the UK provides double, triple or quadruple tourist Thailand visas that would enable 6 months of travelling in Thailand, with short (perhaps even day-trip) exits between each visa entry. At least double tourist visas are currently (August 2004) still available in Penang, Malaysia, possibly amongst other local consulates. Multiple entry tourist visas can last for almost 9 months if the final entry of a triple/quadruple entry visa is made just before the 6 months validity has expired, and if an extension is granted to extend that entry to 90 days. However the rules for tourist and transit visa repetitions are under review. Thailand visas at Chiang MaiThe Chiang Mai immigration office, on the left, just before the airport, is open 8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Friday. Bring a passport photo or an extra 100 baht to make one there for visa extensions.Thailand visas in the UK3 month tourist visas in London require at least two working days to process and two visits to the Royal Thai Embassy, Basement, 29-30 Queen's Gate, London, SW7 5JB. 0207 589 2944 9.30-12.30, Mon-Fri except bank holidays and Thai public holidays when you need to call 09003 405456 (60p/min) or 09065 508985 (£1/min). Required items: passport valid for 6 months, two recent passport photos, £8 cash. You get 3 months maximum time to enter Thailand. (The call charges and requirements may have changed.)Overstaying a Thailand visaThere is a 200 baht/day fine and some police paperwork if a visa has expired before leaving Thailand. However if caught overstaying before reaching the border you are likely to be in police custody and expelled!Thailand visa agenciesDo not use them as a new transit or tourist Thailand visa obtained without leaving the country is illegal and likely to result in trouble when you do leave.China visasThe cheapest China visas in Chiang Mai are available from the China Consulate: 111 Changloh Road, Chiang Mai, in a white-walled area opposite the moat of the old town, near the corner that leads to the airport. Opening hours of the visa office are 9am-11.30am, Monday-Friday. The cheapest charge is for 3 working days (2200 baht for US passports, 550 baht for Thais and 1100 baht for all others), and higher fees can be paid for quicker service right up to same day service. This is for a single-entry 30 day visa; other visas available are double-entry, half year multi-entry, and full year multi-entry. It is possible to fly to China cheaply from Chiang Mai, and there is now a boat ride to China up the Mekhong river from Chiang Saen in Thailand.Laos visasMore fun and relaxing is a trip of two days or more to Chiang Khong for Laos. Chiang Khong is a great place to stay for a couple of nights, right on the huge Mekhong river overlooking Huay Xai in Laos. The best guesthouse for rooms and food seems to be the Bamboo Guesthouse. The Laos visa can be obtained at the office in Huay Xai on the Laos side of the river for US$30 but it is cheaper to obtain it from Chiang Mai, costing 750 baht from Queen Bee travel agent in Moon Muang Road if at least 4 working days notice are given. A 4.5 hour aircon minibus ride (it takes a shorter route than the regular bus) can be booked from the same place with 2-3 days notice for 195 baht each way. Collect the visa the day before as the minibus leaves at about 9:30am.Malaysia visasVisas are not required for 'social' visits of up to 3 months by nationals of many countries, including Australia, France, Germany, UK, most other European countries, or USA. Nationals of Thailand and most other regional countries except Myanmar are allowed a non-visa stay for social visits of up to 1 month.Myanmar/Burma visasThe easiest way to renew a transit visa from Chiang Mai is to go up to Mae Sai for Burma (from the Arcade bus station in Chiang Mai). It's 4.5 hours each way to Thailand's most northern town by aircon bus and costs 171 baht for an aircon bus or about 90 baht for a fan bus each way. The bus cannot be booked in advance, so turn up at least an hour before to get a seat on the 6am fan bus or the 7.45am or 9.15am aircon bus. On arrival in Mai Sai you can book a return ticket (1.15pm or 3.15pm) straight away but most people leave it until they return to the bus station. More regular fan buses return to Chaing Rai which is a good overnight stop or the whole return trip from Chiang Mai can easily be done in a day. At Mae Sai catch a 5 baht shared red car taxi for a couple of miles to the immigration office where they will stamp your passport, then another red car for the last mile to the border. Burmese immigration charges US$5 or 250 baht for the crossing (1 day visa), and then you can wander around the cheap market in Tachileik or come straight back and catch a red car back to the bus station.
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