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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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 Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:12 am Post subject: Travelling to Thailand...can't figure out IF I need a visa |
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I posted this on the Thai boards and got a reply with a link to a Thai consulate who have studiously failed to reply to my enquiry, so I figure I'll post here on the off-chance that someone else has gone this route.
My wife and I are planning on travelling to Thailand in December. We are both Canadians with valid passports with more than 6 months remaining and are flying from Taipei.
We have a return booked to Taipei for January 25th so our entire trip will be about 6 weeks.
We are not sure if we need to apply for a visa to enter Thailand as we only plan to travel for about a week initially in Thailand and then go to Laos and Cambodia (total travel time of 3 weeks) before returning to Thailand for about 3 weeks. The total length of our trip will be no more than 6 weeks from entering Thailand from Taiwan to flying back but we are not sure if we will be able to leave and re-enter Thailand on a Tourist visa / if we should get a visa exempt on arriving in Thailand and then another when we re-enter from Cambodia / if we will even be allowed to board our plane in Taiwan without a visa but with a ticket that 'for all intents and purposes' looks as though we are staying in Thailand for 6 weeks.
Can someone let us know what our best options are please? |
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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:36 am Post subject: |
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| As Canadians, you can get your tourist visa on arrival at BKK. It's cancelled when you leave. If you come back that way from some other country, you do the same thing again. |
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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:30 am Post subject: |
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Right, I understand that but I've also heard that if you have a return ticket for a stay of more than one month you are required by some airlines to have a visa before they will even let you board your flight.
If KLM (our carrier) looks at our tickets they will see that we are flying to BKK on December 15th and returning to TPE from BKK on Jan 25th... a duration of 6 weeks. Even though we will only be in Thailand for about 3 weeks of that time it will seem to them as though we may be there for the entire duration; therefore necessitating a visa.
Or will they even care / check? |
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BigWally
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Try asking a travel agent. |
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dvasas
Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 138
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:57 pm Post subject: |
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I was just in Thailand,
they used to give Canadians a 90 day landing visa,
this just changed and they only give 30 days,
you can land there and get 30 days if you like and then take a day trip to another country to get it renewed or apply now for a 90 day visa. |
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yamahuh
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 1033
Location: Karaoke Hell
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| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 3:45 am Post subject: |
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| I asked our travel agent and she just sent me a link to a web page I'd already seen. I'm really not worried so much about getting into Thailand as I am being allowed to board the plane, other places I've asked the question seem to indicate that the carrier won't care / look so I guess I'm gonna go with that, cross my fingers and hope they're right! |
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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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| dvasas wrote: |
I was just in Thailand,
they used to give Canadians a 90 day landing visa,
this just changed and they only give 30 days, |
I wonder if this has anything to do with the Canadian "EFL teachers" who've been arrested for alleged sexual crimes with underage kids? |
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dvasas
Joined: 31 Jan 2006
Posts: 138
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
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| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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| jwbhomer wrote: |
| dvasas wrote: |
I was just in Thailand,
they used to give Canadians a 90 day landing visa,
this just changed and they only give 30 days, |
I wonder if this has anything to do with the Canadian "EFL teachers" who've been arrested for alleged sexual crimes with underage kids? |
It was implemented earlier this year before that incident, I was told that it was in an effort to get rid of all the backpackers hanging around and doing nothing.... |
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hokulea
Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:20 am Post subject: |
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Thailand is truly a banana republic. I used to live there.
Visa rules and regs change daily it seems.
They did emphasize having proof of a return ticket to your original departure country. |
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MyTrunkshow
Joined: 21 Apr 2007
Posts: 234
Location: One map inch from Iraq
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 4:13 am Post subject: |
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| yamahuh wrote: |
Right, I understand that but I've also heard that if you have a return ticket for a stay of more than one month you are required by some airlines to have a visa before they will even let you board your flight.
If KLM (our carrier) looks at our tickets they will see that we are flying to BKK on December 15th and returning to TPE from BKK on Jan 25th... a duration of 6 weeks. Even though we will only be in Thailand for about 3 weeks of that time it will seem to them as though we may be there for the entire duration; therefore necessitating a visa.
Or will they even care / check? |
I think I see your points. In your first paragraph, were they talking about Canadian passport holders?
I belong to a travel group of which I am a moderator. Our members fly on round-the-words tickets which contain routes with ALL DATES OPEN. We have not encountered a situation where a visa is required for a country such as Thailand as long as the passport is from a country that is entitled to visa-on-arrival. The existence of an onward journey is the issue when you check-in before you go to Thailand.
Thailand has one of the most streamlined visa entry systems due to its reliance of foreign tourist dollars. I've encountered a similar situation as your present one without the bat of an eye.
I've flown to Thailand 15 times, perhaps 8 of them on KLM - once with the date of one year later . I've flown with a paper eticket that has never been asked to be seen after check-in. I've also flown several times with an e-number and not produced anything at check-in besides my passport and credit card that I used to purchase the ticket online.
I've also walked into Thailand without a visa and was gently reminded not to do it again when I exited. I did not know what I was doing that day!
I've entered by train without an onward ticket as well and not a problem.
Thailand and airlines put the onus on the individual to honor the 30 day rule. The penalties for non-compliance are mild fines. Little else unless there's a foreigner living in Thailand for months/years.
Having said all this the 30 day rules applies and you can take care of re-entering by doing a one day visa run to the Cambodian border. There are many travel agents on Khao San road in BKK that offer this service.
You can also take a fun fast ferry from near the extreme SE coast of Thaland to Sihounoukville. It's a thrill and if you're going there for a holiday, there is a circuit that you can do. BKK-Trat-Sihanoukville-train to Phmon Penh. From the capital you can bus it to Angkor or head north to Lao. Your choice.
Regards,
Gary |
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judgedredd
Joined: 16 Sep 2007
Posts: 41
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| Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Just go, u will be fine.. They probably wont even ask for a ticket at the airport anyway.. I live here and I am 100% certain. |
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