Visa for Thailand: Free Visa on Arrival

In 2018-2019 we planned to visit more Asian countries. The selection criteria were: if it is a country that we want to see, the budget and the visa we can get. Among the countries that are on the final list is also Thailand. And as we are Romanians for all Asian countries, we must get the visas.

The visa for Thailand has given us the biggest headaches…

How to get a Visa for Thailand

There are three types of visa if you want to visit the country as a tourist:

Single Entry Tourist Visa

• For this visa, you must personally visit the Embassy of Thailand
• Valid for 3 months and you can only enter Thailand once for a 60-day period
• 30 Euro Fee – which is paid in cash when bringing all the papers at the embassy and only in euros
• Required documents:
  • Passport valid for at least 6 months + copy
  • ID or proof that you are a permanent resident + copy
  • Completed visa form
  • A recent photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm) glued on the form
  • Fight tickets: evidence of travel to and from Thailand (all airline tickets, no matter how many stopovers you are having to and return to your native country.) If you want to continue your trip with another country / countries and you do not have a return ticket yet, are very likely to be unable to get a visa from the embassy)
  • Accommodation for the whole period (reservation or voucher)
  • Proof that you are an employee and account statement (savings account to see that you have a bigger amount)

Multiple Entry Tourist Visa

• For this visa type, you must personally visit the Embassy of Thailand
• Valid for 6 months and you can go to Thailand several times for 60 days
• Ideal for those who want to enter the country several times, make a cruise circuit
• 150 Euro Fee – which is paid in cash when depositing all the papers at the embassy and only in Euro
• Required documents:
  • Passport valid for at least 6 months + copy
  • ID or proof that you are a permanent resident + copy
  • Completed visa form
  • A recent photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm) glued on the form
  • Fight tickets: evidence of travel to and from Thailand (all airline tickets, no matter how many stopovers you are having to and return to your native country.) If you want to continue your trip with another country/countries and you do not have a return ticket yet, are very likely to be unable to get a visa from the embassy)o Accommodation for the whole period (reservation or voucher)
  • Proof that you are employed (certificate with the following specifications: position, salary, number and date of the employment contract)
  • Account statement (with at least € 6,000 deposited in the last 6 months)

Visa on Arrival (VOA)

• The easiest visa, which can be obtained directly in Thailand when you arrive in the country
• This type of visa has a single entry for a period of 15 days
• Required documents:
  • Passport valid for at least 6 months
  • A paid flight ticket proving that you are leaving the country within 15 days
  • Completed Application form for VOA + a recent photo (4 x 6 cm) attached (glued/stapled) – the form is obtained before the VOA counters in the airport – here you can see how to fill in https://www.thai.lt/blog/ 541-how-to-fill-application-form-for-visa-on-arrival-thailand
  • An arrival/departure form that is handed to all passengers on an airplane before landing
  • Confirmed/reserved accommodation (can be shown directly from your phone)
  • Fee: 2000 baht / person
• The applicant must prove that he/she has the necessary funds to live: 10000 baht/person or 20000 Baht/family

Passport holders from the following countries may apply for Visa on Arrival

Official list of the countries and List of Thailand’s Immigration Checkpoints which provide facilities for issuance of visa on arrival  here.

Andorra	Bulgaria	Bhutan	China
Cyprus	Czech	Estonia	Ethiopia
Hungary	India	Kazakhstan	Latvia
Liechtenstein	Lithuania	Maldives	Malta
Mauritius	Oman	Poland	Romania
Russia	San Marino	Saudi Arabia	Slovakia
Slovenia	Taiwan	Ukraine	Uzbekistan

 

What kind of visa for Thailand we chose

By comparing the options we had to obtain the visa from Thailand, we decided that first, we would try to get the visa from the embassy. Many people complain about the lady from the embassy (in Romania) and we can say we had a good and bad experience at the same time.

We knew we needed to be well-prepared with all sorts of documents (written above), so we did. Except we haven’t had all the airplanes tickets yet to prove that we are returning to Romania. We only had an exit ticket from Thailand, bought from a low-cost company (we have to make savings everywhere 😊). Instead, this company does not use e-tickets, you only have a booking code that you check-in with.

And so the “problems” started, while checking our papers: “you do not have a return ticket to Romania“, “we have exit tickets”, ”yes, but it’s not good because you do not have e-ticket, so you do not have”. Then: “you do not have money”, “we have”, “you have to have a savings account, not a current, in which you have enough money to live …”.

In conclusion, if you want to go to the embassy, read carefully what you need, and make sure you have a return ticket too. We’ve tested to see if it works, and it looks like it didn’t. Although, with exactly the same ticket reservation, we obtained the visa on arrival.

Remember that Visa on Arrival is more expensive than the one from the embassy, and is shorter. So, ideal is to get a visa at the embassy if you want to stay for more than two weeks.

Our experience with Visa on Arrival

We arrived in Thailand from India. India that is a country at the same level as Romania, and they like us also need a visa. And as we arrived at a time when Visas on Arrival are free, I caught a very beautiful line 😊.

Signaling at the airport is very good, directs you exactly where it is needed. You can take pictures on the spot in case you do not have them. The less beautiful part was that we arrived at peak hour (3 o’clock in the morning) and besides our plane full of Indians, there were also many Asians (Chinese, Koreans).

And that’s how we stayed nice in line for 3 hours … on the first queue. The organized groups had a much smaller queue and they were passing by immediately … the advantage of going with the group.

After we stood in the queue, we finally arrived at the counter and started our emotions. We had some pictures that were smaller than those requested (we had the size of the passport, they ask for something bigger) and she said nothing. “Super, we have succeeded, there is nothing else wrong.” (In our thought) But… and then we panicked. We as proof of accommodation had a voucher issued by an agency, and we thought everything would be fine. But it wasn’t enough. She needed to see the confirmation number and were we stay and for how long and so on. Our luck was that we had an Airbnb accommodation and it was enough to show it directly on the phone.

And we were lucky because we arrived in a period when we did not have to pay the tax.

Free internet is available in the airport, which is a great help when you arrive and you need to reserve the accommodations and planes on the spot.

After we settled with the papers, we waited in the other queue for the passport with the visa. 20 minutes. Once we received the passport, another queue for passport control and official entry into the country.

And our luggage was waiting for us thrown on the ground by the band.

You need a lot of patience, especially if you catch a peak hour (when several planes land from countries that need a visa). But, although there was a lot of people, the behavior of the officials was very good.

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