Does my friend from the States need a visa to visit Thailand for three months, or can she extend her stay after arrival?

Visa Exemption Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV)Visa Extension Thailand Immigration Travel to Penang Visa Rules for US Citizens Tourist Visa Procedures

Aug 18, 2017

7 years ago

Lauren ****************

ORIGINAL POSTER

I have a friend from the States wanting to come and visit me here in CM for three months this fall before returning home. Does she need to get a visa in the States before coming or is it easy enough to try and extend things once she gets here? (We do plan to visit Penang once while she's here, if that's helpful info.)

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A friend from the US traveling to Thailand for three months can enter on a 30-day visa exemption or obtain a Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV) before arrival. If she enters without a visa, she can extend her stay at an immigration office for 30 days, costing 1900 baht. If she visits Penang during her stay, she can apply for a SETV at a Thai consulate there, allowing her a 60-day stay upon re-entry. However, using the SETV while planning to visit Penang early can void the remaining validity of the visa. It's advised to consider the timing of the trip to optimize visa options.

Lauren ****************

ORIGINAL POSTER

So helpful, thanks so so much!

7 years ago

Tod *********

There is another option, :O

Have her get a single entry 60 day visa in the US.

When she gets here, after about 15 days go to the immigration office and apply for a 30 day extension for 1900baht.

Once she gets that extension have her apply for a single re-entry permit for 1000baht and then she can exit the country, come back and would be stamped in for the same "admitted until" stamp she had.

7 years ago

Tod *********

Hmm, if that's the case, what I'd suggest is,

She flies in without a visa and gets a 30 day visa exempt stamp entry.

Then you guys go to Penang and while you're there she applies for a single entry tourist visa at the thai consulate (turn in your application one day pick up the passport with the visa in it the next day).

Then when she re-enters thailand she'll be stamped in for 60 days.

7 years ago

Ivan ************

@Sara *********

yes you can extend your SETV for an additional 30 days. It's all on a "per entry" basis so your leaving to get another visa "reset" the counter, they don't accumulate them over multiple entries.

7 years ago

Sara **********

Tod, we've done the 30 days visa exempt stamp entry, then, left for Vietnam to get a SETV which gave us an additional 60 days, totaling 90 days of stay here in Thailand. Can we go to the Immigration office here in Thailand and extend for an additional 30 days for 1900 Baht? Which will bring our total stay here at 120?

7 years ago

Tod *********

Plus she could always apply for a 30 day extension to both the 30 day visa exempt entry or the tourist visa entry if she needed to at the immigration office for 1900baht.

7 years ago

Reply to

Tod *********

When are you going to visit penang when she's here.

IF she shows up here without a visa she'll get stamped on a 30 day visa exempt stamp, which she could extend for another 30 days at the immigration office for 1900baht.

When you go to Penang, she'll stamp out of the country and when you come back she would get another 30 day visa exempt stamp when she enters.

I'd say she could get a single entry tourist visa from a thai consulate in the US and then she would get stamped into thailand for 60 days when she arrives.

7 years ago

Ivan ************

Lauren Key to note with this is you CANNOT get a SETV in the US, and then "save" it for later use, after you go to Penang- it will be voided on her FIRST entry into Thailand.

I discovered this the hard way when I was transiting in Bangkok to go somewhere else, and planning to use my SETV when I came back, no can do, I had to use the entire SETV for a 48 hour stay, you can't stamp in on a visa-exempt if there is a valid visa in your passport, they will use (and void) the visa.

So getting a SETV in the US would be completely pointless if you think you will leave Thailand to go to Penang within the first 30 days. Note there is a METV option, which would work, but it is more expensive ($200) and has more documentation requriements.

If your plans were the other way around, i.e. you planned 60-90 days in Thailand first, then visit Penang, then 30-60 days after, getting the SETV in the US would make sense, and then you could come back to Thailand on a visa exemption.

7 years ago

Tod *********

Looks like our posts crossed paths on the inter-web ;)

7 years ago

Ivan ************

@Lau***

when she leaves that voids the stay granted for the SETV. You can get another visa in Penang though easily enough, there is a Thai consulate there.

If you think you will be leaving for Penang before the first 30 days, but need over 60 when she gets back to Thailand after, the obvious pattern would be:

(1) get visa exempt on entry to Thailand- 30 days

(2) leave for Penang, apply for SETV there

(3) get 60 days on re-entry to Thaiand

(4) can extend this by 30 days within Thailand if she needs to (=90)

7 years ago

Lauren ****************

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thanks so much for the response, Tod! Our Penang trip would likely be before her first 30 days is up, so upon re-entry to Thailand, she'd have more than 60 days before her departure home to the States, most likely. Am I understanding you correctly, that if she gets a SETV from a Thai Consulate in the States, she would get 60 days in Thailand? (If so, what happens if she leaves for Penang within those 60 days? Does that void the rest of that visa?) Thank you for your insight!

7 years ago

Reply to

Lauren ****************

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