land crossing visa

[Guest aot87]

On my next trip to pattaya , i want to make a trip to siam reap by land, Will i have to obtain a new 30 day visa on return to thailand or will my old 1 still be ok

[Guest luvthai]

Once you leave thailand to enter Cambodia your exit is stamped on your passport and you then will need to gain another visa on entry back to thailand.

[Guest]

If you are crossing by land and you are getting a Visa on Entry, I think you will only get 15 days. By plane it is 30 days. If you already have a Visa from your country, you can enact that visa on entry for your 30 or 60 days depending on the validity of that visa.

[kokopelli]

On my next trip to pattaya , i want to make a trip to siam reap by land, Will i have to obtain a new 30 day visa on return to thailand or will my old 1 still be ok

 

Wouldn't it depend on the type of visa you already have? If you have a multiple entry visa then you would not require a new one.

[Moses]

It depends on your nationality and\or on your first visa...

 

If you're entering Thailand for tourism purposes and you're from one of the following 40 countries, you're eligible for a free 30-day stay in Thailand -- if you arrive by air. If you arrive by an overland crossing you will be granted only 15 days. You can leave Thailand and re-enter Thailand to get another 30 days for a total duration of 90 days within 6 months (assumming each time you arrive is by air). This means, for example, if you're planning a trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, which involves four stays in Thailand of ten days each, you DO NOT NEED to get a visa in advance. However if one of the stays is longer than 15 days, and you're arriving by land, you will need a tourist visa. If you're planning on more than 90 days in Thailand though, you will need to look into getting a proper Tourist visa at a Thai consulate or embassy.

 

The 40 countries are:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam.

[Guest aot87]

im only in pattaya for 16 days , but midway i would like to go to cambodia for 5 days then return to pattaya for the rest of my holiday

[kokopelli]

im only in pattaya for 16 days , but midway i would like to go to cambodia for 5 days then return to pattaya for the rest of my holiday

Assuming you are coming to Thailand for a total of 16 days then you should be ok when returning from Cambodia since you would receive a 15 day visa on arrival at Thai/Cambodia border crossing.

[pong]

as these rules already seem so confusing to anyone, it will help if the RIGHT words are used-to avoid any more unnecessary confusion.

1. 30-day visa do not even exist. IF you apply (as a westerner) for a tourist-visum, you'll get 60 days.

2. visa on arrival is in fact even IMPossible to gain for westerners-what you get ( if flying in) is a 30-day visum EXEMPT, or for just 15 days if arriving by land.

This term is used only for 2nd rate nationals, like Czechs, Chinese, Indians etc. It cannot be had at all borderpost and first you line up to get it issued (and paid for-scrapped temporarily this year).

3. as such a visum does not differentiate in how you arrive: land, sea, air.

4. IF people report problems, it is most often at the check-in and in just a few specific countries, notably Australia, the USA and sometimes NZ. They strictly will want to see a ticket out of Thailand, if you do not hold any pre-arranged visum.

[kokopelli]

as these rules already seem so confusing to anyone, it will help if the RIGHT words are used-to avoid any more unnecessary confusion.

 

Thank you Pong. I am sure your explanation will clear up any misunderstandings for the aot87.

[Bob]

A little pedantic argument here. I never understood why somebody objects because a whole lot of people say that you get a "free thirty-day visa" upon arrival (at least by plane). A visa is (I'm ripping this definition from some site as it sounded like a rather complete description of what a visa truly is):

 

Certificate issued or a stamp marked (on the applicant's passport) by the immigration authorities of a country to indicate that the applicant's credentials have been verified and he or she has been granted permission to enter the country for a temporary stay within a specified period. This permission, however, is provisional and subject to the approval of the immigration officer at the entry point.

 

In short, a visa is permission for a foreigner to stay in another country. Whether you get it ahead of time or upon arrival or pay for it or not, it's still a visa under any definition of that word. And whether it's a piece of paper pasted or simply stamped in your passport is also a bit irrelevant (e.g., my one-year visa is simply a stamp provided annually here in Thailand and it's really no different than the "upon arrival" one except it's more expensive and I'm allowed to stay longer).

 

And when I arrived the other day (I did have a re-entry stamp so I wouldn't screw up my one-year visa), guess what stamp they used in my passport? Yep, the identical stamp that is the "free upon arrival" one with the only exception that the time limit is not 30 days but the end of next May when my one-year visa expires.

[Moses]

A little pedantic argument here. I never understood why somebody objects because a whole lot of people say that you get a "free thirty-day visa" upon arrival (at least by plane). A visa is (I'm ripping this definition from some site as it sounded like a rather complete description of what a visa truly is):

 

Certificate issued or a stamp marked (on the applicant's passport) by the immigration authorities of a country to indicate that the applicant's credentials have been verified and he or she has been granted permission to enter the country for a temporary stay within a specified period. This permission, however, is provisional and subject to the approval of the immigration officer at the entry point.

 

In short, a visa is permission for a foreigner to stay in another country. Whether you get it ahead of time or upon arrival or pay for it or not, it's still a visa under any definition of that word. And whether it's a piece of paper pasted or simply stamped in your passport is also a bit irrelevant (e.g., my one-year visa is simply a stamp provided annually here in Thailand and it's really no different than the "upon arrival" one except it's more expensive and I'm allowed to stay longer).

 

And when I arrived the other day (I did have a re-entry stamp so I wouldn't screw up my one-year visa), guess what stamp they used in my passport? Yep, the identical stamp that is the "free upon arrival" one with the only exception that the time limit is not 30 days but the end of next May when my one-year visa expires.

 

even more pedantic

A visa is a document entitling the holder to enter a country. A visa is either a stamp or a sticker in the passport and is made according to international regulations. According to international agreements, when a citizen of one country wishes to travel to another country, he or she first has to obtain a visa from the consulate or consular section of the embassy of the country is going to visit. If permission is granted, a stamp or sticker is affixed to his or her passport and he or she may travel to the country of destination. Although basically a visa has to be obtained before travelling to a foreign country, some countries have mutual agreements of visa exemption for their citizens and some countries allow citizens of some countries to enter without visa.

 

Thailand uses a mixed three way system, viz.

1. Persons who have to apply for a visa before travelling to Thailand

2. Persons who may obtain a visa on arrival at some immigration border checkpoints and at international airports in Thailand

3. Persons who are exempted from visa requirements to enter Thailand, which applies mostly to citizens of developed countries with adequate standard of living who enter Thailand for short-term visits as tourists for not more than 30 days.

 

proof: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=visa

 

And even more:

 

TOURIST VISA EXEMPTION

- According to the Interior Ministerial Announcements dated 1 October B.E. 2545 (2002), 20 December B.E. 2545 (2002), 18 October B.E. 2547 (2004) and 6 May B.E. 2548 (2005), passport holders from 41 countries and 1 special administrative region - Hong Kong SAR - are not required to obtain a visa when entering Thailand for tourism purposes and will be permitted to stay in the Kingdom for a period of not exceeding 30 days on each visit. If such foreigners enter the Kingdom at the immigration checkpoints which border neighboring countries, they will be allowed to stay for 15 days each time, except Malaysian nationals who cross the borderline from Malaysia whose granted period of stay will not exceed 30 days each time.

.....

1. Australia : Commonwealth of Australia

2. Austria : Republic of Austria

3. Belgium : Kingdom of Belgium

4. Brazil : Federative Republic of Brazil (****)

5. Bahrain : State of Bahrain

6. Brunei Darussalam : Negara Brunei Darussalam

7. Canada

8. Denmark : Kingdom of Denmark

9. Finland : Republic of Finland

10. France : French Republic

11. Germany : Federal Republic of Germany

12. Greece : Hellenic Republic

13. Hong Kong : Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

14. Iceland : Republic of Iceland

15. Indonesia : Republic of Indonesia

16. Ireland : Republic of Ireland

17. Israel : State of Israel

18. Italy : Republic of Italy

19. Japan

20. Korea : Republic of Korea (****)

21. Kuwait : State of Kuwait

22. Luxembourg : Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

23. Malaysia

24. Monaco : Principality of Monaco

25. Netherlands : Kingdom of the Netherlands

26. New Zealand

27. Norway : Kingdom of Norway

28. Oman : Sultanate of Oman

29. Peru : Republic of Peru (****)

30. Philippines : Republic of the Philippines

31. Portugal : Republic of Portugal

32. Qatar : State of Qatar

33. Singapore : Republic of Singapore

34. Spain : Kingdom of Spain

35. South Africa : Republic of South Africa

36. Sweden : Kingdom of Sweden

37. Switzerland : Swiss Confederation

38. Turkey : Republic of Turkey

39. United Arab Emirates

40. United Kingdom : United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

41. United States of America

42. Vietnam : Socialist Republic of Vietnam

 

+ 56 countries which have agreements with Thailand: http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2495

[Bob]

Regardless of the word games, a visa is governmental permission to stay or remain in a given country for a period of time. And the stamp you get (either ahead of time or at the time you show up) is your proof/documentation of the permission to stay. If it helps, perhaps we just ought to call it permission to stay although most people quite correctly call it their visa.

 

The citizens of some countries are exempted (not required to) obtain any permission to stay prior to showing up in the foreign country.

[Moses]

Regardless of the word games, a visa is governmental permission to stay or remain in a given country for a period of time. And the stamp you get (either ahead of time or at the time you show up) is your proof/documentation of the permission to stay. If it helps, perhaps we just ought to call it permission to stay although most people quite correctly call it their visa.

 

The citizens of some countries are exempted (not required to) obtain any permission to stay prior to showing up in the foreign country.

 

No. Main difference btw visa and extemp is:

- when issue visa: officer at border can do or can don't it by his own reasons and can ask for proof like back way tickets etc...

- when make extempt: officer at border must do it if you are from one of listed countries and you aren't in "black list/stop list"

[kokopelli]

My question is to aot87, are you satisfied with the responses to your post or are you thoroughly confused?

[Bob]

My question is to aot87, are you satisfied with the responses to your post or are you thoroughly confused?

 

Yea, I'm wondering if the word games confused him there.

 

It's obvious aot87 is getting the 30-day deal (regardless of what the heck you want to call it when he arrives at Bangkok). Presuming that's the case, that permission will be cancelled and totally gone when he leaves Thailand by either air or land. When he returns (by vehicle through Cambodia), he'll get a new permission for 15 days.

 

If, aot87, that's all the time you need, then you don't need to do anything else or worry about it; if, however, you need more than 15 days after your land trip to/from Cambodia, then there are a couple of other options but I won't go into those unless you feel you need more than 15 days after you return to Thailand from Cambodia.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Well put, Bob. It is so much easier to understand than all the other gobblty goop.

[Guest gwm4sian]

Just to throw in a bit more confusion (if such is possible!)

 

To qualify for the 30 day visa exempt stamp, the traveller must also be in possesion of a valid return air ticket.

 

 

Now consider the following scenario, which actually happened to a friend of mine.

 

He entered Thailand via the airport on day 1. He had a return ticket to fly out on day 29. He was given a 30 day stamp to stay until day 30.

 

All good and logical so far.

 

On day 3 he went to Cambodia, overland. Came back on day 4, and the immigration official started to give him a stamp for 15 days, expiring on day 20. When friend pointed out to the immigration officer that he had previously had a stamp valid until day 30, and showed him the plane ticket, the office said "no problem" and made the expiry of the new stamp the same as the original 30day stamp - in other words he got a 25 day stamp.

 

However, i wouldn't guarantee it will work like that every time.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

When I moved here 6 years ago I arrived by air with no return ticket and no advance visa. The immigration officer asked me about it and told him I was planning to get a retirement visa and would not be returning to the US. He said, "OK", stamped my passport with 30 approval and off I went. Maybe I was just lucky, I don't know.

[Guest aot87]

To all concerned Many thanks, The 30 day /15 day stamp , will do me fine , im only in thailand /cambodia fo a grand total of 14 nites , i fly into bkk on the 21st oct and depart fot home on the 5th nov, going to cambodia for a total of 4 nights midway