Visa
On-arrival tourist visa might be extended to allow 45 day stays
Thailand’s on-arrival tourist visa might be extended from 30 days to 45 days to lure more visitors. The extra 15 days added on would make up for the mandatory 2 week quarantine required for those entering the country.
National Security Council secretary general Nathapol Nakpanit, who leads a business easing committee, says the committee members plan to propose the idea to the government. The 45-day tourist visa would apply to visitors from the 56 countries already eligible for the 30-day on-arrival visa.
Don’t plan a trip just yet… Thailand isn’t allowing tourists to enter without a previously issued visa at the moment. The 2 main options for tourists are a 60-day tourist visa and the new Special Tourist Visa.
Thailand’s Special Tourist Visa was launched to make up for the losses following a 7 month-period without international tourist arrivals. The visa allows a 90 day stay that can be extended twice, adding up to about 9 months. The visa is usually limited to those travelling from “low risk countries.”
Recently, some Thai embassies started listing revised information for 60-day tourist visas. Check, check, check with your local embassy before planning a trip to Thailand.
SOURCE: TNA MCOT
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Andrew Finley
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 6:31 pm
I’ve just been rinsed for £1100 for asq,they best not stop that now aswell.
Issan John
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 6:42 pm
I think it’ll be a while!
Extending the 30 days to 45 makes sense – why not, even if it doesn’t make much difference?
preesy chepuce
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 9:18 pm
Why not 46 days? Why not 90 days? Why not 365 days? I mean, do these numbers relate to anything specific, or are they just arbitrary? Surely if you want to encourage visitors, you might want to make a warm welcome, and keep them spending?
Issan John
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:08 pm
You might indeed, preecy, but do the authorities really “want to encourage visitors”, or do they just want to kick the can a bit further down the road until there’s a viable alternative?
Ynwaps
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 12:57 pm
Because of nAtIoNaL sEcuRitY
preesy chepuce
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 9:22 pm
For that price, I’d demand some soap, and a happy ending.
Ronny
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 3:09 am
Add 14 days quarrantine when you return to your home country as well.
No holiday incentive here.
Les
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7:13 pm
Next,How about 100b per night at 5 star ASQ?
Peter
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7:27 pm
Let’s take a 6 week holiday and spend a third of it getting trays of food delivered to our doors and stare at a brick wall for the rest of the time.
Then let’s go to the holiday hotspots that have tumbleweed blowing through them with many tourist businesses shut.
I know your not the brightest John but this is plumbing new depths of stupidity even for you.
Quarantine = zero tourists.
preesy chepuce
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 9:20 pm
I can’t believe how shi’ite the food was at ASQ… I mean, a country, world famous for interesting cuisine, is serving the weirdest most inedible portions of vomitsome fruity salad, when all we want is a box of non-Thai beer, a hot Thai girl, and some tasty food.
Wayno
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 9:24 pm
Bang on Peter, especially your comments regarding the self proclaimed oracle from Issan
Issan John
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10:35 pm
Feel free to answer the question, Peter:
“Extending the 30 days to 45 makes sense – why not, even if it doesn’t make much difference?”
Hardly difficult, but I suppose it’s all comparative.
Peter N
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Just more desperation, if a 90 day visa (extendable to 270) was a failure, why do they think a 45 day visa would work? it WON’T. The vast majority of tourists do no want to spend a significant period of their vacation in quarantine, when that changes, they will travel.
EdwardV
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 8:43 pm
The fact most people can’t take 45 days of vacation at any one time aside. You would still be giving up one third of your vacation days to quarantine, not a good deal in any book. Fact is most would look at it as two weeks of vacation that could be spent on the beach somewhere else. Even so the extension itself is long overdue.
Jack Sombra
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 8:45 pm
Old news already, real news is Cabinet just approved STV’s for all countrys. Makes the exemption and normal tourist visa (TR) pointless. Same hassle and requirements for all 3, but 45 (+30) days, 60 (+30) days vs 180 days (+30) for extra 1000thb.
Issan John
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:16 pm
Not really sure why that’s “real news” either.
It’s not going to make any “real” difference because the only people who can make any “real” difference are those developing vaccines and tests – anyone who thinks otherwise is conspicuous only by their inability to come up with any alternative solutions that wouldn’t make things considerably worse.
Jack Sombra
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 8:48 pm
Actually 260 days for STV
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 8:56 pm
What will be their next brain fart?
Fahad
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Nur Fahad
Can I visit Thailand in April 2021?(without a quarantine)
Love from Sweden
Fizz
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10:30 pm
How about a beach asq ?
Mike Frenchie
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10:44 pm
With a 15 days quarantine – nobody will come for 30-45 or 90 days… wondering why these top shots do not try a quarantine first? Dilutional World class level!
Bankruptcies are already all around the touristic area, saw a movie of a part of Pattaya this morning… a ghost town!
Hanskarl
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 10:58 pm
Thailand is very inventive. As long as there has been corona in many countries,
because of covid nobody can travel. And when you can travel again, very few will travel.
Thailand will have to be happy when a few come. And nobody comes in quarantine for 2 weeks to Thailand. Why do I have to quarantine when I live in my one house in Thailand?
No vacations, no investments.
Hanskarl
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:03 pm
Thailand doesn’t make it easy. As long as there has been corona in many countries,
because of covid nobody can travel. And when you can travel again, very few will travel.
And nobody comes in quarantine for 2 weeks to Thailand.
Why do I have to quarantine when I live in my one house in Thailand?
No vacations, no investments.
Issan John
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:04 pm
Of course “it WON’T work”, in my view also – as I’d thought I’d made pretty clear when I wrote “why not, even if it doesn’t make much difference?”
Nothing will “work” until first the borders can be opened safely without risking going down the same route as the West, which would be courting disaster, and then the global economy starts to recover.
None of that’s going to happen soon.
There’s no denying that the succession of “brain farts” is getting nowhere, but so far none of the bright sparks here have come up with anything other than whingeing and neither have any of the genuine experts from the hospitality industry – the latter’s disappointing, but the former’s hardly a surprise.
Robert
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:13 pm
why not redefine the quarantine zone to an entire island and restrict them from visiting the mainland?
Islands such as Phuket, Kho Samui, Phi Phi Island, etc. would allow for millions of tourists to return and start buying Thai products and services, whilst allowing the majority of the Thai population to stay away if they are uncomfortable.
Issan John
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 3:56 pm
Suggested with the Phuket model – rejected because Thais in Phuket were also “uncomfortable”.
2float2
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 11:37 pm
Cov19 in eu, us etc is very bad, but only for the old fat and sick, not for everyone.
Life is never save.
So the whole quarantine, closed borders etc is crazy. We must say that now since the crazy f*** of the white house is defeated, people got to get reasonable and live, as life is precious, and the jailing in solitary con INSANE.
Issan John
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 4:06 pm
Yup, “INSANE” ….. why can’t the “old fat and sick” Thais just be happy to get sick and die so that foreigners can come here and have a holiday … selfish bar-stewards! 🙂 🙂
Greg Chapman
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 1:01 am
My friend staying in an ASQ hotel in Pattaya has just phoned me, Yes … the food is complete and utter shite, 9 days already and not one hot meal!. the breakfast are the worst, those vile frankfurters,semi cooked fatty bacon and choice of eggs, either omelette,scrambled egg (cut up omelette) or stone cold fried eggs. Total cost of each meal
would be about B60 less than B200 per day,a total rip off, hardly anyone speaks English and the only helpful member of staff is a Filipina.
Just one query I have about the entry requirements for Thailand .. what is the point of having to obtain a “Fit to Fly Doctor’s letter” ?. A Covid test I understand but a doctor’s letter is meaningless. At the Covid testing clinic the doctor asks “are you fit, and are you on medication ? he does not have access to your medical records nor are you obliged to tell him the truth, so it’s really worthless yet Thailand insists on it(I don’t believe any other country does). How typical, they have to make everything so unnecessarily complicated
Glenn
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 8:48 am
welcome to Thailand > now get on the bus and we take you to CV jail > 2 weeks you pay!
55555! sum-num-na Thai govt. and frankly, sum-num-na Thai people too.
wake up and realize you have fallen for the biggest scam in the world and now you have to live with the consequences.
This is where critical thinking and accepting responsibility comes in – chok-dee
Alte Ledertasche
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 8:55 am
Rubbish..as long they insist on 14 day quarantine no genuine tourist wil come anyway.
Peter N
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 11:31 am
Some certainly will come, there are many people who have the good fortune to be financially independent and choose not to work a 9 to 5 job in their home country. Fortunately I need never do another days work in my life provided I don’t go crazy with my spending. For people in a similar position, 14 days quarantine wouldn’t present a problem for them if they wanted to winter out in Thailand, but the hoops you are expected to jump through certainly would. Personally 12+ hours sat in a virus incubator (aeroplane) would, and that does present a red line for me, maybe the vaccine will change that when it’s rolled out, but it’s by no means certain. Many questions remain to be answered about the vaccines, before Thailand will relax boarder controls to enable anything resembling easy passage.
Ynwaps
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 12:56 pm
Uhhh that is quite risky! Increasing visa from 30 days to 45 days? What is the National security council thinking!? What’s next? 90 day visas? How we can keep Thailand secure if westerners are staying here for more than 30 days?
Jesus Monroe
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 3:07 pm
Ah…..let me ask the boss for 2 extra weeks and ill get back to ya
Willem
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Why this article shows a picture of canadian passport. Canada is not on the list of countries who get a visa ip on arrival. Thailand is on the list for visa exemption. Or is it changed?