Thailand Visa Question No. 326/22: Tourist Visa?
Questioner: Andrew
I have always had a jaa visa which I arranged in Thailand. This has expired due to the COVID. If I now apply for an annual visa via e-visa, they also require insurance where amounts are explicitly stated. Ridiculous of course because I have an English document stating that all costs including COVID will be reimbursed. Both health care and travel insurance.
Now she advised to apply for a special tourist visa. For 60 days, which you can then extend by 30 days. If I were to do a border run then I would get another 60 days and can extend that again by 30 days. With this type of visa, insurance with amounts is not mandatory.
Now I'm afraid that that kite won't work with a border run, that I'll get another 60 days and can extend another 30 days. Who did this? Or can someone give me the right advice?
Thank you in advance.
Reaction RonnyLatYa
If you take a Tourist visa you have 2 options:
– Either you take a Single entry Tourist visa (SETV). You can extend those 60 days once by 60 days. Then you have to go outside. You cannot then obtain another 30 days, because you could only enter once with your visa. What you can do is come back on Visa Exemption. You get 60 days (temporarily 30 days) and you can also extend it by 45 days.
Or you take a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV). That is valid for 6 months.
With each entry you will receive a stay of 60 days, which you can extend once by 30 days. After 90 days you always have to go outside. But due to the multiple entry of this visa, you can get 60 days several times with a new entry through a “border run”, at least as long as that entry is within the validity period of your visa.
-Or you will apply for a Non-immigrant in Thailand
Then you first enter Thailand on Visa Exemption or with a Tourist visa and have that Tourist status in Thailand converted to a Non-immigrant. You can then apply for a year extension. Converting from Tourist to Non-immigrant is necessary because you can never get an annual extension with a Tourist. With a Non-immigrant, yes.
You will find what you need for this here: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022C1_09.pdf
Make sure that there are at least 14 days of residence left when applying for conversion. If allowed, you will first get 90 days and you can then extend those 90 days for another year just like you did before. But all these things above have actually been explained here – a dozen times. Also that proof of insurance is not required for any of the options above
A Special Tourist Visa (STV) as you call it is something completely different from the options I give above. This is a temporary visa that will expire at the end of this month if it is not extended. So there's no point in going into that now.
– Do you have a visa question for Ronny? Use it contact form.! -