Longer term tourist stay in Thailand?

tightauldgit

I'm looking into staying in Thailand this winter probably from about Nov - Jan/Feb time and was just wondering what's the best way to do this visa wise?

I understand I can get a tourist visa for 60 days if I apply for one, and then presumably pay to extend it in country? Likely to be any issues with this? 

If I enter on the 30 day visa waiver is there any way to extend the stay or would I have to leave and re-enter?

Is there a longer visa I can apply for that would allow me to stay for 90 or 120 days?

Just looking at what's cheapest but also what gives me the most flexibility and doesn't require me to buy exit tickets that i might never use.. 

mebu60

90 day visa. Can be renewed twice. £45 a pop.

Ayr_Rage

@tightauldgit a 60 day tourist visa or a 30 day visa exempt entry can both be extended ONCE by 30 days.

@mebu60 there are no visas that can be extended twice in country as far as I know and please do tell EXACTLY what visa you think gives you 90 days, it certainly isn't a TOURIST visa.

tightauldgit

mebu60 said:

90 day visa. Can be renewed twice. £45 a pop.

mebu60 said:

90 day visa. Can be renewed twice. £45 a pop.

Is that the Special Tourist Visa? I think (but haven't confirmed) that stopped last year, it was a COVID thing wasn't it?

eDicky

Formerly known as the ThaiVisa forum, this should be a valuable source of up-to-date information on Thailand visa and residency requirements, which are constantly varying:

https://aseannow.com/forum/61-thailand-visa-and-immigration-forums/

The Kingdom is heaving with Western and other foreigners staying long-term, I used to be one but I'm not familiar with current methods.

Pompeii2

We went to Thailand for 6weeks early 2019 . We were told we could renew our 30day visa on arival, once we got there.  But we read  somewhere that people were being  denied boarding by some airlines. We contacted the Thai consulate in Liverpool and were told by them we could be denied boarding if we did not have the correct visa, so we got one I think it was for 60 days. We were traveling with Lufthansa and at check in they asked for our visa.

tightauldgit

Pompeii2 said:

We went to Thailand for 6weeks early 2019 . We were told we could renew our 30day visa on arival, once we got there.  But we read  somewhere that people were being  denied boarding by some airlines. We contacted the Thai consulate in Liverpool and were told by them we could be denied boarding if we did not have the correct visa, so we got one I think it was for 60 days. We were traveling with Lufthansa and at check in they asked for our visa.

Can you clarify a bit? Why were people being denied boarding? Because they had 6 weeks travel booked but only eligible for 30 days visa on arrival? That's pretty normal - you should be able to show you had an outward ticket and intend to leave within the 30 days. 

Voyager2002

Pompeii2 said:

We went to Thailand for 6weeks early 2019 . We were told we could renew our 30day visa on arival, once we got there.  But we read  somewhere that people were being  denied boarding by some airlines. We contacted the Thai consulate in Liverpool and were told by them we could be denied boarding if we did not have the correct visa, so we got one I think it was for 60 days. We were traveling with Lufthansa and at check in they asked for our visa.

The rule that airlines enforce: you must have either a visa or a return / onward ticket.

tightauldgit

I suspect what I will do is just get a tourist visa and do a 60 day stay. 

Normally I'd probably just do the 30 days and bounce out to KL or somewhere but my 30 days is going to put me bang into Xmas travel season (Dec 20 or so) so I doubt the plane tickets will be cheap. 

Now just to decide where to stay. 

Anyone have any suggestions of slightly off the tourist route places to try? At the minute I'm probably just going to hit Phuket for maybe a month and then head up to BKK and/or Koh Samui. Though I'm wondering whether Krabi is a cheaper alternative but I'm open to suggestions

Doshwaster

tightauldgit said:

I suspect what I will do is just get a tourist visa and do a 60 day stay. 

Normally I'd probably just do the 30 days and bounce out to KL or somewhere but my 30 days is going to put me bang into Xmas travel season (Dec 20 or so) so I doubt the plane tickets will be cheap. 

Now just to decide where to stay. 

Anyone have any suggestions of slightly off the tourist route places to try? At the minute I'm probably just going to hit Phuket for maybe a month and then head up to BKK and/or Koh Samui. Though I'm wondering whether Krabi is a cheaper alternative but I'm open to suggestions

If you want to be beach-based then I like Ao Nang, Krabi. Still has all of the amenities which you would want but cheaper and more laid back than Phuket (esp Patong - but other parts of the island are quieter) or Samui

Keithy13

We do this regularly, Visa rules change often, however the current rule is 60 day tourist visa from Thai embassy (apply online £30 fee non refundable) The visa can be extended 30 days. To do this you must go to immigration. Arrive early (before 7 AM) or you could be there all day. The form for extension is only available at the immigration office so you can't complete it in advance. The fee for this is 1900 Thai Baht (cash). Alternatively you can do a "border run". Bus from Bangkok, cross into Cambodia, bus back. These buses depart at 5AM the cost is about £100 per person all included, again takes all day. 
Koh Semet is beautiful but not much nightlife.
Hua Hin is a great place for new visitors, nice beach, lots of restaurants, water park, elephant sacuary and more. Eastern enough to be exotic but western enough to be comfortable.