Answered3 years ago

How will the 90-day visa exemption for Russian nationals in Thailand work?

Thailand visa exemption 90-day visa Russian nationals visa visa extension ED visa immigration procedures

George *************

asked Nov 1, 2023

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Curious about how the newly announced 90-day visa exemption for Russian nationals will work in practice.

1.  Will Russians be stamped into Thailand with a 90-day permission to stay when they enter?

2.  Can this permission to stay be extended at immigration for an additional 30 days?

3.  Will Russians receive the 90-day permission to stay when entering by air or land?  If by land, will they be allowed to enter two times per calendar year?

4.  Some language schools have informed Russians that they must enter Thailand on a 30-day permission to stay rather than a 90-day permission to stay if they wish to apply for an ED visa.  Is this true?  If so, does the entrant need to ask the immigration officer to stamp them in for 30 days rather than 90 days?

Thanks in advance.  I have not found the answers to these specific questions in any of the announcements I've seen so far.

Answer summary

The newly announced 90-day visa exemption for Russian nationals allows them to enter Thailand with a 90-day permission to stay; however, there are specific conditions and questions surrounding the process. Key points include whether the 90-day stay can be extended for an additional 30 days, the conditions of entry by land versus air, and the requirements for applying for an ED visa. Comments from the community indicate that the arrangement might be treated as a bilateral agreement, which may not allow extensions or multiple land entries within a calendar year. There is still uncertainty as the policy has just been implemented.

12 repliesnewest first

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Frank **********

For those that are not Russian why worry about it?

3 years ago

Neil *******

Makes me wonder how many Thais have jumped on a plane and headed to Russia. ABSOLUTE JOKE

3 years ago

Brandon ************

@Neil ******

that has nothing to do with it. It has to do with how those countries treat Thais if they do go there. When your country starts offering Thais 90 days on arrival you can expect the same from Thailand.

3 years ago

Andy **********

@Brandon ***********

So countries that offer no visa free travel for Thais won't have visa exemption to enter Thailand and its nothing to do with the ruble value having halved meaning the baht yield per Russian pensioner has more than halved.

3 years ago

Andy **********

@Brandon ***********

Thailand says it has a *Visa Exemption* deal in place with Russia, and that has been the case since 2005. The Thai cabinet *unilaterally* extended the exemption to 90 days. See links for the full agreement and the Thai government circular announcing extension of visa exemption for Russians. "Visa exemption" does not mean what you think it means."On 16 October 2023, the Royal Thai Government has approved a unilateral and temporary tourist visa exemption scheme for holders of Russian passports or travel documents, entering the Kingdom of Thailand from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024, to be able to stay in Thailand for a period not exceeding 90 days. This temporary arrangement aims to facilitate Russian tourists travelling to Thailand and to enhance people-to-people ties between Thailand and Russia."

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8.pdf https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/pr

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3 years ago

Brandon ************

@Andy *********

visa waiver and visa exempt aren't the same thing at all. Visa exempt can be extended while visa waiver/bilateral agreement cannot. Visa exempt is also for 30 days and visa waiver is between 30-90 days depending on the country.

3 years ago

Andy **********

@Brandon ***********

Visa exemption and visa waiver are the same thing. Thailand has a bilateral agreement with the UK and others. The agreement with Russia is literally called "Agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the government of the Russian federation on the terms of visa exemption for mutual visits of the nationals of the Kingdom of thailand and of the Russian federation". And in fact it was widely reported on the 23rd October that the thai cabinet voted to take a unilateral decision to temporarily extend visa exemption (their words) for Russians to 90 days until April 2024. It has nothing to do with Russian policy, and Thavisun said it was all about boosting tourism. You have this idea that in diplomacy "bilateral" means equal. It does not. It just means an agreement between two parties. 64 countries have bilateral visa agreements with Thailand. For most, the advantage is given to the side with most clout. Frankly, Thailand needs GBP and USD more than the UK and US need baht inward investment.

3 years ago

Brandon ************

@Andy *********

visa exempt and visa waiver are completely different. Russians get Visa waiver which is from a bilateral agreement because Thais can enter Russia visa free.

3 years ago

Neil *******

@Brandon ***********

I hear you Australia is the worst.. trying to get my Thai partner a visa was an absolute joke. All I’m saying is that Russia was probably all for it knowing that not many Thais would want to visit especially at this time and Russians don’t want to be in Russia either. So it’s more like a 1 way street

3 years ago

Andy **********

@Neil ******

Russian males of military age are no longer allowed to leave the Motherland

3 years ago

Mike *******

Today is day 1 (assuming the Immigration authorities really have been directed to start giving Russians 90 days stamps), so there is not yet any pool of experience to draw upon.

3 years ago

Brandon ************

It's my understanding that it will be treated as bilateral agreement. So they can choose if they want visa exempt or bilateral agreement when they enter. Bilateral agreement is not eligible for a tourist extension or the 2 land border limit.

3 years ago