Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [222]
If you’re planning to stay longer than 30 days it’s best to get a 60-day tourist visa or multiple-entry tourist visa before you arrive. These can then be extended by 30 days at any visa office; see below.
Other Visas
Thai embassies and consulates issue a variety of other visas for people on business, students, retirees or those with employment in Thailand. The Non-Immigrant Visa comes in several classifications and is good for 90 days. To stay longer without needing to constantly renew you need an education visa (minimum requirement four hours a week of Thai classes), an investment visa (minimum requirement 10 million baht – ka-ching!) or a work permit. If you plan to apply for a Thai work permit, you’ll need a Non-Immigrant Visa first. Getting a Non-Immigrant Visa with the intention of working in Thailand can be difficult and involves a tedious amount of paperwork. If you get one, usually with the support of an employer, you’ll likely end up at the One-Stop Service Centre ( 0 2209 1100; www.immigration.go.th; 18th fl, Chamchuree Sq, 319 Th Payathai, cnr Tha Phra Ram IV, Samyan) for several hours of paper pushing.
Note that Transit Visas no longer exist. For information and discussion about all things visa, see www.thaivisa.com.
Visa Extensions & Renewals
The 60-day Tourist Visa can be extended by up to 30 days at the discretion of Thai immigration authorities. Rule changes that limited people on tourist visas staying longer than 90 days in any six-month period are no longer being enforced (though that could change at any time). Which means you can, for now, do a visa run every 90 days and, if you can persuade the Thai officials in Vientiane, Phnom Penh or Penang to give you another 60-day visa, stay quite a while.
In Bangkok, extensions are handled by the Immigration Bureau office (Map; 0 2141 9889, Call Center 1178; Bldg B, Government Center, Soi 7, Th Chaeng Watthana, Thung Hong Song, Laksi; 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm Mon-Fri); elsewhere any immigration office will do. A fee of 1900B will be charged, and you’ll need the usual mug shots. Some travel agencies can also organise extensions.
The 15- or 30-day no-visa stay can be extended for a maximum of seven days for 1900B. It’s better to get a proper tourist visa. It is, however, possible to plan your itinerary so you leave the country after 15/30 days and get another 15/30 days when you return. Currently this can be done numerous times before officials start asking questions, but this could change at any time.
If you overstay your visa the usual penalty is a fine of 500B for each extra day, with a 20,000B limit (after that, more trouble awaits). Children under 14 travelling with a parent do not have to pay the penalty.
Return to beginning of chapter
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering seems to be all the rage at the moment, and Thailand is one of the favourite destinations. Most volunteering positions are in rural Thailand, but there are also plenty of possibilities in Bangkok. Working in some capacity with people who need your help can make a difference and be rewarding both to you and them. But it’s not all sweetness and light, and it’s important to understand what you’re getting yourself into. Unless you know the country, speak the language and have skills needed in a particular field (computing, health and teaching, for example), what you can offer in a short period will largely be limited to manual labour – a commodity not in short supply in Thailand. Having said that, if you can match your skills to a project that needs them, this can be a great way to spend time in Thailand.
There are two main forms of volunteering. For those interested in a long-term commitment, typically two or three years, there are a few long-established organisations that will help you learn the language, place you in a position that will, hopefully, be appropriate to your skills, and pay you (just barely).