Checking your visa

Somebody already warned in a thread here to always check your visa stamp dates before leaving the immigration desk.

Well Let me tell u - they were right!

I didnt have my glasses on and didnt check until in the car driving to Pattaya. I have a 74 day visa and not 90 as i asked for and was told yes yes 90 day. DO CHECK IT every time. Now i have a trip to make to get it fixed!

[Bob]

Huh? Never heard of a 74-day visa but, on the other hand, wasn't aware of a 90-day visa either. There is a non-immigrant O visa for 60 days that's extendable by another 30.

There is a non-immigrant O visa for 60 days that's extendable by another 30.

yes thats what i have - i was told if you ask for 90 days they will give it now But for some reason he gave me from 31st may to 12 august,

There is a non-immigrant O visa for 60 days that's extendable by another 30.

yes thats what i have - i was told if you ask for 90 days they will give it now But for some reason he gave me from 31st may to 12 august,

Passport expires on the 12th?

[catawampuscat]

I have had the same issue and found out the reason. The 90 day tourist visa (60 days + 30 days extension) starts on
the day the visa is issued. The only way to maximize the number of days is to get your visa at the latest possible date
before you depart..

If you use the mail to get the tourist visa or arrange it weeks in advance, you will get less days than if you pick it up
yourself and go across the border.. the only way I know to get the full 90 days (maybe 89) is to get the tourist visa
in a place like Laos and immediately upon picking up your passport, head for the border..
As the visa will have been processed the day before, you will have 59 days and a 30 days extention.. hope this makes
sense .. :cat:

[bkkguy]

hope this makes sense ..

no it does not and it is wrong, like most people here it is confusing expiry date of the visa and length of permission to stay!

the expiry date of the visa has nothing to do with length of permission to stay - provided you enter the country before the expiry date of the visa you will be granted the full permission to stay (and extension of permission) that is determined by the type of visa and the nationality of the person traveling

there is the case of a double entry tourist visa where depending on when you enter the country for the first entry you may decided to leave and re-enter before the last date of your permission to stay (or extension) in order to use the second entry on the visa before the visa expires, but that is your decision and does not affect the permission to stay calculation done by Immigration!

as I have stated on other threads it is very confusing and misleading when people keep using terms incorrectly - try this overview from ThaiVisa as starting point:

Nomenclature for types of visa and permissions to stay for Thailand (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3139&st=0&p=730451&#entry730451)

bkkguy

There is a non-immigrant O visa for 60 days that's extendable by another 30.

yes thats what i have - i was told if you ask for 90 days they will give it now But for some reason he gave me from 31st may to 12 august,

As bkkguy says terms are being confused, particularly by catawumpuscat who is referring to the period in which the visa is valid for entry to the country, which has nothing to do with permitted length of stay and makes no sense!

Oogleman,

it is not clear from your post, but it looks as if you had a 60 day visa, not a 90 day one as first indicated; if so you were lucky to get an extra 14 days given to you on arrival, without having to apply or pay for it - you can still apply for another extension of 14 days in Pattaya when the period of permitted stay is nearly up. The last thing I would do in this case is return to Bangkok to complain as you were given more than you were officially entitled to.

If you had a 90 day visa and were only given 74 then a mistake was made and Pattaya Immigration can correct it for you without any need to return to Bangkok.

Joseph 44,

if the passport expires on 12 August a visa is unlikely to have been issued, as passports must be valid for a period of a minimum of six months.

[Zyxel-old]

Catawampuscat is right about the 60 days visa starting on the day the visa is issued. I used this visa for years before I got my retirement visa. I was lucky that the Royal Thai Consulate was on my way to the airport so I did not loose any day. The staff there (actually only one person in a small office with the portraits of the king and the queen on the wall) every time told me that the visa (the 60 days) starts on the day the visa is issued so I should not wait to use it. With 2 entries and 2 extensions I could stay 6 months in Thailand. Just before 3 months of stay I used to give my passport to one "agency" and for 3000 TB it was stamped at the border using the 2nd entry. I think that these "agencies" have closed now.

[catawampuscat]

Mea culpa..
I was confusing an old double entry tourist visa with a single and will attempt to clarify and correct my misstatement..

I had a double entry tourist visa which I obtained about a week or two before coming to Thailand.. The visa expiry date or
enter before date was 90 days from the date the double entry visa was issued..
What this meant was that I did receive 60 days + 30 day extension but at the end of the 30 day extension, I could not use
the second entry as the visa had expired before the end of the 30 day extension..

Very confusing but all I could get was a visa on arrival for 30 days when I reentered Thailand..
My advise is to get your multiple entry tourist visa as close to your arrival date as possible if you intend to stay for a full
six months.. :cat:

Catawampuscat is right about the 60 days visa starting on the day the visa is issued. .


I have just completed some Visa applications for employees from our London office to visit our Bangkok office for 50 days. These are the non-Immigrant Visa and they are processed by the Thai Consulate in Hull.

Whether using the single or double entry the Visa stamp has to be activated i.e. you must arrive in Thailand before the expiry date of three months from issue. Assuming you are on a 60 day visit then the period of your stay commences on the day you arrive in Thailand not within 90 days of the date that the visa is issued. The date shown on the visa stamp issued prior to your visit is only indicative of the date that you will be given permission to enter the Kingdom using that visa stamp. You can enter on the final day of the visa validity and still be granted up to 3 months stay.

Below from the Thai Consulate website:

The Non-Immigrant Visa is available with a single entry or with multiple entries - there is nothing between these two options. The single entry visa has a validity of three months from date of issue. The multiple entry visa has a validity of twelve months from date of issue. On arrival in Thailand each entry allows a stay of maximum 90 days. The fee for the single entry version is ┬г45. The fee for the multiple entry version is ┬г100. It is no longer safe to assume you can obtain an тАЬextension of stayтАЭ, such extensions are granted at the discretion of Thai Immigration and only in special circumstances.
Having been issued with a Non-Immigrant Visa please note the following:-
c) With a ONE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand within the validity
of the visa which will be 3 months from date of issue.
d) With a MULTIPLE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand on your final
visit before expiry of the visa which will be 12 months from date of issue.

d) With a MULTIPLE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand on your final
visit before expiry of the visa which will be 12 months from date of issue.

so suppose your one year multiple entry visa is from 1/1/2008 to 31/12/2008. Your final visit is on 30/12/2008, and the stamp of this visit will give you 90 days until around 30/3/2008? Am I reading this correctly??

d) With a MULTIPLE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand on your final
visit before expiry of the visa which will be 12 months from date of issue.

so suppose your one year multiple entry visa is from 1/1/2008 to 31/12/2008. Your final visit is on 30/12/2008, and the stamp of this visit will give you 90 days until around 30/3/2008? Am I reading this correctly??

Yes

d) With a MULTIPLE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand on your final
visit before expiry of the visa which will be 12 months from date of issue.

so suppose your one year multiple entry visa is from 1/1/2008 to 31/12/2008. Your final visit is on 30/12/2008, and the stamp of this visit will give you 90 days until around 30/3/2008? Am I reading this correctly??

Yes

As a caveat to the above if you do leave it until the final day of validity you take the risk that should you flight or entry to Thailand be delayed until after midnight of the final day you will almost certainly be refused entry.

d) With a MULTIPLE entry Non-Immigrant Visa you must ensure you enter Thailand on your final
visit before expiry of the visa which will be 12 months from date of issue.

so suppose your one year multiple entry visa is from 1/1/2008 to 31/12/2008. Your final visit is on 30/12/2008, and the stamp of this visit will give you 90 days until around 30/3/2008? Am I reading this correctly??
Yes

No: It would give you 90 days until around 30/3/2009

I'm pretty sure that was a typo in Scott123's post, but with some of the nitpicky anal folks around here (Qui? Moi!?), one never knows where this thread would take off to...