Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bryan]

I'm planning to go to Thailand for 2.5 months from mid December to March, the university winter break.

Looking at the Thai embassy website in Seoul, there is no mention of multiple entry tourist visas. That is the type of visa I took when I went to Thailand before for over four months. The deal with that visa is that it was valid for 60 days, then you do a run, then it's valid for another 60, then another run and you get 60 days then you have to leave.

Has anyone got this type of multiple entry visa for Thailand at the embassy in Seoul? Maybe I am missing something on the website. There is a lot less information there than the Vancouver one.

I am Canadian if that helps.

[Drew345]

I have got single entry Thai visas from the Seoul Thai embassy twice. I see no reason why they don't issues double entry visa also. In fact I seem to remember that the price was 40K "per entry", but I may no be remembering correctly.

But it seems you don't need a double entry visa:

1. If you have a 60 day tourist visa, you can go to any immigration office in Thailand and extend that visa for 30 more days. This way you don't need to leave Thailand at all.

2. If you do leave and come back to Thailand, you will get a 30 day "visa exempt" stamp. So this will cover your full 2.5 month vacation if you plan your trip outside Thailand correctly. If you want to do a "visa run" to the border to get the next 30 days, you must have your airplane ticket leaving Thailand in hand to prove you are leaving in the next 30 days (sounds like you have that).

[Bryan]

[Drew345]

There is an immigration office in Chiang Mai, on the road to the airport. I have driven past it several times, but never stopped there.
The price for the extension will be 1900 Bt. Maybe cheaper to head up to the Mae Sai border. You can even cross there and spend a couple of days and travel up to Kentung, Myanmar. It used to be that you could get a one week Myanmar "permit" right at that border to travel up to Kentung only (not to Mandalay or Bagan inside the country).

Exactly right, the "visa exempt" 30 day stamps are for anyone from the list of countries (including most all English speaking countries) arriving without a visa. So after you use your 60 day visa, you leave Thailand. Turn right around or spend a few days out, your choice. Then when you come back you will not have a visa (your previous visa will have been stamped "used" when you entered the first time), so you get the 30 day "visa exempt" stamp.

[Bryan]

Hey Drew,

Thanks for helping me out with a question about my Thai visa.

I was wondering if you knew about this, because you seemed to be knowledgeable about Thailand.

I will be in Thailand for a year on an educational visa and I'd like to go back to Korea on a tourist visa afterward (I'm Canadian). I'd like to go directly from Thailand. However I read on the Vancouver Korean Consulate site that people applying for Korean visas are urged to apply from their country of residence.

Do you think there's any chance I'd get denied? If I did, I'd be shit out of luck as far as my plans go, and would have to buy an expensive ticket back to Canada.

Take care

[Drew345]

If you are Canadian you can arrive in Korea with no visa and stay for 6 months (no visa required).
Even if you got a Korea Tourist visa, I doubt you can stay longer than 6 months at a pop.

I only know about Americans. Americans arriving in Korea get one month with no visa, and we get 3 months if we have a tourist visa.

You already get 6 months, so it doesn't seem that you need a tourist visa.

If, for some reason, you did want to get a Korean Tourist visa, sorry to tell you that the Korea Embassy will not give Tourist visas (to Americans anyway). (They do process work visas, but not tourist visas).
But doubt you need a Korean Tourist visa.
Drew