Visiting A Thailand EmbassyIt makes a lot to sense to visit a Thailand Embasssy in your home country (or wherever you are) before you come to Thailand if you plan to spend more than 30 days in the country (if you want to spend between 30 and 37 days, it's possible to extend the 30 day 'free' travel for a further 7 days....see details at thailand travel visa) Here's a list of embassies and consulates around the world but don't totally rely on it...do your own research as embassies and consulates, like people, have a habit of moving!...Check details on the specifics for your country by visiting your countries Royal Thai Embassy website (just search on google for 'Thai embassy and the city/country you're in). For instance, for the UK, I typed 'Thai Embassy UK' and the first on the seach is www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk Then you'll be able to find exactly where the Thailand embassy is in your country. The UK has 7 different cities to get the visa. Not only did I find the addresses but also information about how long it will take....For the UK, 2 working days. I also found out that they accept applications between Monday and Friday, just from 9:30am to 12:30pm. And that London doesn't accept applications by post but the other 6 consulates do.
My advice: Go early to do it just in case. You don't want to be in a situation where your flight is leaving and you have no passport. You never quite know with embassies - I can't speak for all embassies but many embassies close for different reasons - national holidays etc. So do it early to be safe. Especially if you're posting your passport....if it's getting near the date of your flight (say..2 weeks), consider whether it's a good idea to post your passport...if you're staying in Thailand for a long time, it's not so inconvenient to travel to a neighboring country of Thailand and get your tourist visa there (see below). You'll need:
A valid passport that's valid not less than 6 months....This is vital....the first time I left for Asia in 2003, I didn't think about this and had a last minute rush to get a new British Passport. Check when your passport expires!
From June 25th, 2009 until March 2010, the Thai visa was FREE and in mid April, 2010, the government announced that the visa will be free up to the 31st of March, 2011. See this page for more information on this. Normally, you'll need to pay (although it's now becoming less normal as the government keeps on extending the free visa). The UK charge 28 pounds...not much more than neighboring countries of Thailand that I presumed wrongly would be much cheaper (eg: 28 pounds is about 1400 Thai Baht...in Vientiane, Laos, the embassy (usually) charges 1000 baht).
2 recent color passport style photographs (the UK say 4cm X 5cm). Some Embassies can be a bit fussy about this...try to get the dimensions right.
The Thai Embassy in the UK talk about proof of financial means (20,000 Thai Baht (about $600 US per person), 40,000 baht for a family (about $1,200). It's highly unlikely that you'll be asked for this. I've never been asked, either at the border/airport or an embassy, nor do I know anyone who has been. It might be an idea to have a credit card or 2 with you so if they do ask, you can get to an ATM. Dress smartly is good advice I think here!! The same goes with an onward flight or border crossing ticket from Thailand as proof that youre leaving. I think embassies will advise you to have this. I don't want to ruin your holiday but I've never been asked...if worst comes to worst and you are asked and don't have an onward travel ticket, you should be able to get to a computer and book a cheap ticket out of the country with a carrier like airasia.com
Of course, if you like to be sure, why not get a flight ticket out of the country. But it would be a shame to be tied down to being at a certain airport on a certain day when you'd prefer to just 'go with the flow'! I met someone just recently in Chiang Mai who had bought a ticket out of the country before he arrived, yet he didn't want to and..guess what...he wasn't asked at the airport! I know Indonesia is very strict with this...Thailand doesn't seem to be.
Lastly, although the Thai Embassy in the UK doesn't request it, it's an idea to photocopy the picture page of your passport. Other embassies such as in Vientiane do request.
To see information about getting the visa in neighboring countries to Thailand, click on the following countries:
Malaysia
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