Korean Job Discussion Forums

[slothrop]

has anyone recently been to the thai embassy in seoul to get a 60 day tourist visa? did you need to show a plane ticket when applying for your visa or were you able to get the visa before buying your plane ticket?
i read on the thai visa forum that tourist visas are free until march 5. is this the case at the embassy in seoul or did you have to pay?
i emailed the thai embassy in seoul these questions and they sent me an email back, but somehow failed to answer any of my questions. it was like they didn't even read my email!

[Drew345]

I went to the Thai Embassy in early December.
The 60 day tourist visa was free, and took 2 or 3 days to process.
I didn't need to show any ticket information, but I brought my reservation just in case.
The embassy staff was insisting that you write down a Korea address on the application; seems you must "live" in Korea to get the free visa or something. But they never checked any ID or anything.

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[Drew345]

I got a double entry visa which is good for 90 days. Each entry is good for 60 days (though that can be extended) and both entries have to be utilized before the 90 days are up (90 days from when they issue the visa).
He was grilling me a bit to make sure I was actually going to use both entries. He said if I got a double entry but didn't use both before the 90 days then it could mean trouble if I wanted a visa in the future. Not sure what was going on with that, but I used both entries anyway.

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[Drew345]

I think it is because since they are doing the visas for free, they feel like they are working for free (visas make tons of money for embassies). So if I got a 2 entry and didn't use it, I would be pissing them off. Of course the only difference was that they have to type 2 on the visa instead of 1.

[jamjam]

I want to get a visa over 30 days for Thailand. But, I will not be going there for 7 months. Should I just wait till I get closer to get the visa? Also, what if I wanted to got to Laos first, then cross into Thailand by land. Would my Thailand visa work then? I am confused about how that would work, either way I would be staying in Thailand over 30 days as a US resident.
Any info would be very helpful
Thanks.

[Drew345]

If you get your tourist visa from the Thai Embassy in Korea, it will be valid for entry within the next 3 months. So you need to wait until 3 months before you go. It will be good for 60 days stay in Thailand.
If you cross by land from Laos, then yes ,you can use the tourist visa. It is a very good use of the visa since when crossing by land into Thailand, you only get 15 days if you don't have a tourist visa. But with the tourist visa you will get 60 days.
Think about how you are getting to Laos. You pretty much have to go to Thailand first to get to Laos, unless your flights connect directly at Bangkok airport. This means you might be entering Thailand 2 times.

Now it gets confusing...
If you have a tourist visa in your passport when you get to Thai immigration in Bangkok, but you want to save it because you are going to Laos the next day or so, then you can tell the immigration man not to use the visa. Just tell them to give you the regular 30 days and save the visa. I've done it, works fine.
The guy at the Thai embassy in Seoul will tell you that it is not possible to save a visa when crossing Thai immigration. He will insist that you need a double entry visa.. one for crossing into Bangkok and going on to Laos, and the second for when you come back from Laos. He is wrong, but he has probably never done it so just doesn't know.
Now the kicker, Thai visas are free this year because tourism there has been hammered by the protest (one happening just now), so you should go ahead and get a 2 entry visa since it is free. Use one to cross into Bangkok on your way to Laos, then use the other coming back from Laos. That way everybody is happy.
Hope that helps

[ttompatz]