Thailand visa question No. 008/20: What kind of visa do we need?
Questioner: Brigitte
Subject: What kind of visa do we need?
We are a Belgian couple who have been married for 41 years.. and retired since 1 year (64 years man) and (59 years woman). We are coming to Pattaya on July 3, 2020 to December 12, 2020. What kind of visa do we need?
We stay in Thailand all the time. We plan to go to the Thai consulate in Antwerp for our visa around May, but then I would like to know what kind of visa we are eligible for, so that we can all bring the correct documents that are needed.
We have already read so much on Thailandblog and on the website of the consulate, but we can't find anything about 2 married people with Belgian Nationality. All are either single or 1 out of 2 is Thai.
We have been coming to Thailand for 21 years, so the country is very familiar to us, but now I need help with our visas, in the sense of collecting all the necessary documents and going to Antwerp with a complete file.
We read that you are very well informed about everything, so we ask you to help us.
thanks in advance
Reaction RonnyLatYa
From July 3 to December 12 is a good 5 months or 163 days. The only way to overcome that,
A. without leaving Thailand:
1. Apply for a Non-Immigrant OA. That is not possible in Antwerp. You have to go to the embassy in Brussels for that. A Non-immigrant OA is not cheap and there are quite a few requirements. Health insurance has recently been added. The advantage is that upon entry you will have a residence period of 1 year and you will therefore not have to leave Thailand.
2. Apply for a Non-immigrant O Single entry. Upon arrival you will receive a residence period of 90 days. You could extend this by one year (shorter is not possible) at immigration, but then you have to meet the mainly financial requirements. You could possibly then apply as a “Dependent” from your husband. This means that only your husband must meet the financial requirements. Make sure you can provide proof of marriage. Are you planning to stay in Thailand every year, that might be the best solution in the end.
B. With “border runs”.
1. You can take a METV “Multiple entry Tourist Visa”. This has a validity of 6 months. Upon entry you will receive a 60-day stay.
You can possibly extend those 60 days at immigration by 30 days. Afterwards you have to make a “border run”. Upon arrival, you will then receive another 60 days due to that METV. You can also extend it for another 30 days. You can of course, because of that METV, also make a “border run” every 60 days instead of extending it by 30 days each time.
2. You can take a SETV (Single Entry Tourist Visa). You can then get 60 days upon arrival. You can then extend it at immigration by 30 days. Subsequently you could make a “border run” and come back on “Visa Exemption”. This will give you another 30 days. You can then extend these 30 days with 30 days at immigration. Costs 1900 Baht. Or you make a new “border run” and re-enter on “Visa Exemption”. You will then have another 30 days. You can also extend it for another 30 days.
3. You could take a Non-immigrant O Multiple entry, but according to the website you can only get a Single entry in Antwerp. You may be able to obtain that Multiple entry in Brussels. But maybe you should put the question to Antwerp or Brussels.
You will then receive 90 days upon arrival. At 90 days you must then perform a “border run”. Due to the Multiple entry you will again receive 90 days upon entry.
4. You could take a Non-immigrant O Single entry. This gives you a residence period of 90 days upon entry. Subsequently you could make a “border run” and come back on “Visa Exemption”. This will give you another 30 days. You can then extend these 30 days with 30 days at immigration. Costs 1900 Baht. Or you make a new “border run” and re-enter on “Visa Exemption”. You will then have another 30 days. You can also extend it for another 30 days.
Website Consulate Antwerp
http://www.thaiconsulate.be/?p=regelgeving.htm&afdeling=nl
Website Embassy Brussels
https://www.thaiembassy.be/visa/?lang=en
Prices of visas in Belgium
– Single Entry Tourist visa (SETV) = 40 Euro
– Multiple Entry Tourist visa (METV) = 170 Euro
– Non-immigrant “O” Single entry = 80 Euro
– Non-immigrant “O” Multiple entry = 170 Euro
– Non-immigrant “OA” Multiple entry = 170 Euro
An extension in Thailand costs 1900 Baht. Whether this is for a month or a year makes no difference.
These are just about the possibilities. It is now up to you to choose and what is important to you. Do you want to leave Thailand or not, is the price of the visa important, etc…
Remember that “border runs” also cost money, of course, and depending on where you go, you may also need to take a visa for that other country.
Border runs via a land border post and based on Visa Exemption are only possible twice per calendar year. Keep that in mind too.
Regards,
RonnyLatYa