Thailand Visa question No. 246/22: Which visa?
Questioner: Peter
We left for Thailand in December 2021 and flew back to the Netherlands on March 15, 2022. We have applied for a tourist visa and had it extended in Hua Hin until March 15th. That was then possible in the Bluport shopping center.
This year we are going to Thailand from October 2, 2022 to January 15. That is 105 days in total. On October 7 we fly to Sydney to visit our daughter who studies there for a few days, we fly back on October 16. Between October 16 and January 15, we also have plans to go to Vietnam and Cambodia (COVID permitting).
We are both 50+, which visa is the best for us to apply for? Bearing in mind, it is better to apply for a visa once with a possible extension than to always have to plan to travel out and in within 1 days.
Is it best for us to go for a Non-immigrant O Retired? or have another Tourist Visa extended for 60 days and 30 days with the starting date being October 16, 2022. We are then very tight on the 90 days and what if we wanted to extend again or something happens that forces us to stay longer .
Reaction RonnyLatYa
You have to look at how you are going to divide that period. Especially the period between October 16 and January 15. It seems to me that with some plans you do not need a visa, but I leave that choice to you.
NB. When you arrive in Thailand and you have a visa in your passport, immigration will automatically activate it. You can try to convince the immigration officer that you want to use it later, but I don't guarantee that you will succeed.
Also keep in mind that whatever you choose for a visa, you will always be able to stay for a maximum of 60+30 or 90 days. Then you have to go outside. The 90 days obtained with a Non-immigrant O can only be extended by a year, not by 30 days.
But if you do the math, there are possibilities on Visa Exemption:
– October 2 to October 7 is possible on Visa Exemption.
– October 16 to January 15 is also possible on Visa Exemption if you take some account of the planning of your trip to Vietnam and Cambodia.
With a Visa Exemption you get 30 days, which you can extend once by 30 days.
You must then always plan a Visa Exemption period, with or without extension, before and after your trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. That way your entire trip can be done on Visa Exemption.
But if you still want to stay with a visa, you can consider a METV or Non-immigrant O Multiple entry.
– Multiple Entry Tourist Visa – Has a validity of 6 months. With every arrival within those 6 months you will receive a new stay period of 60 days, which you can extend once by 30 days.
– Non-immigrant O Multiple entry – Valid for 1 year. With every entry within that year you will have a new stay period of 90 days. After every 90 days you have to go outside.
You can only extend for a year every 90 days and if you meet the conditions for a year extension.
The choice is now yours.
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