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[yamahuh]

Sorry for asking what's probably an oft asked question but I've been looking everywhere and I can't figure out what I need.

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, Taiwan.
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 2 weeks. The total length of our trip will be no more than 6 weeks from entering Thailand the first time to flying home 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 the first time and then another when we re-enter / 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?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

^ Hi


With a return ticket to Taiwan in hand, I'd say you'll have no problems arriving in Thailand without a visa. Ditto when boarding in Taipei - you shouldn't have any problems. Canadians fall into the visa-exempt status, i.e. you get 30 days on arrival. Having said that, I've never felt totally confident giving visa advice. Rules and policies have been in a state of flux for the past year. With that in mind, you can click on this link and then click on 'Contact us' in the upper right hand corner. Give them the essential details and see what they say. You have plenty of time before your departure in December - why not play it safe and ask them directly?

[yamahuh]

Fair enough.
I did find some info today that suggested that a 30 day visa exempt status would allow us to leave the country and re-enter as long as we were in the country no more than a cumulative 30 days.

Still not sure on the flight though...
I'll contact your link.

[rico4444]

The advice you've gotten is correct but what you get in Thailand is NOT a visa....it's simply a "stamp on arrival." The new rules have been on the books forever but they've only been enforcing them since October 2006. You are entitled to a 30 day stamp on arrival and after the 30 days have expired, you must leave the country. You can do this up to a maximum of 90 days (which means after your 1st arrival, you can do it again 2 more times). If you're only staying a short time, no problem. If you go to Laos or Cambodia or anywhere else, you can still re-enter Thailand again.

[yamahuh]

And there should be no problem with boarding the flight?
I've asked the travel agent and the Thai consulate and got the same info as has been posted here. KLM haven't got back to me so I'm just planning on showing up and seeing what happens right now...

[rico4444]

You seem to be using the word "visa" in a literal sense. It is perfectly acceptable to go to the time, expense, and trouble to get a "tourist visa" before you leave Canada. I'm not 100% sure what it is for Canadians (I'm American) but I believe you can get a 60-day multiple entry tourist visa. If you actually get a visa, make sure you ask for "multiple entry" if you plan on entering Thailand, leaving, and then coming back again. However, none of this is absolutely necessary. Believe me, I've been living here 3 years now so I speak from experience. You can fly into Bangkok, get a stamp on arrival, stay up to 30 days, and leave. You can then go to whatever country is on your itinerary and if you wish to return to Thailand, it makes no difference where you're arriving from. You can get another 30 day stamp upon arrival in Bangkok.

[rico4444]

And I forgot to add....no, there will be no problems boarding the flight. The airline in your departure city could care less if you have the proper documents. It's only Immigration in the country that you're flying into that cares.

[yamahuh]

OK thanks.
Yeah I realize I'm using the word 'visa' incorrectly in some instances; what I really mean is an entry stamp I guess.