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What are the best visa options for a family planning to stay in Thailand for 7-8 weeks?

Visa Requirements Thailand Visa Tourist Visa Multiple Entry Visa Immigration Expat Life Onward Travel Thai Embassy Travel Tips

Aug 10, 2023

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Good morning 

We are a family from New Zealand setting off in March for 6+ months of travel around south east Asia. 

Our first destination is the beautiful Thailand. We have a one way ticket booked, my step daughter is coming for three weeks and has a return ticket and the remaining 4 of us will continue on.

Ideally we want to stay a total of 7-8 weeks and will then move onto Vietnam (will apply for a visa here a few weeks out once we have set dates) 

What is the best way to go about our ideal time frame in Thailand with visas? I believed we need proof of exit or can be denied entry? Will crossing a border for a day or two and then re-entry suffice? Can we buy this in advance to prove our intentions? 

Want to do everything properly. Apologies for any incorrect terminology and all the questions. 

Any clarification is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A family from New Zealand plans to travel to Thailand for 7-8 weeks with one member returning home after three weeks. They seek advice on visa options, needing proof of onward travel, and whether border crossing for re-entry is sufficient. Community responses suggest obtaining a 60-day single entry tourist visa from a Thai Embassy or consulate as a straightforward option, comparing it with the possibility of a border run or a multiple entry tourist visa for extended stays.

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John **********

If you're planning leaving and re-entering Thailand you may be better with a multiple entry tourist visa

2 years ago

John **********

@Tarina ********

then that's what you should do

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

we won’t need to leave/reenter if we can get the 60 days visa.

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Graham Seal oh sorry, where? I said we want to ideally stay 7-8 weeks then move onto Vietnam. I would only leave if it were a visa requirement but prefer to just do our 7-8 weeks then move on.

2 years ago

Reply to

Tarina *********

Dianne *****

Get a 60 day single entry tourist visa from either the Thai Embassy or the the Thai consulate in your home country. Check out the requirements on your home country Thai Embassy or consulate websites. Often there are different requirements for the same visa required by differernt Thai consulates/embassies. It costs $60 for the SETV in Australia. As opposed to coming in visa exempt and getting 30 days on arrival, which you can extend at any immigration office in Thailand for a further 30 days, also giving you 60 days in Thailand at a cost of around 1900 baht and up to half a day waiting at immigration. Do the comparision with your home country consulate or embassy visa fee. Both of these options are simpler than a border bounce. Depending on where you are and how close you are to a border, the cost could be more or less than the two options I have described and could involve a whole day sitting in a mini van travelling to and from the border and at some borders now they require at least one night stay in the country you have crossed into. It is a good idea to have evidence of a booked and paid for onward journey out of Thailand either by air or bus. It is unlikely you will be asked by Thai immigration on arrival, but you could be. Less likely to be asked if you have a visa. More likely to be asked for proof of onward travel by the airline you travel into Thailand with.

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Dianne ****

thank you! Very helpful! I am in NZ - would I have to visit these embassy’s in person to get a 60 day single entry visa?

2 years ago

Shaughn ***********

@Tarina ********

hi, I’m also from NZ and just come over for little over half a year. The embassy is in Wellington. If you don’t live there you can courier the application and all your passports to them. Get a fully tracked courier bag at nz post and tell them it’s for your passports- will need a return courier bag also. You would need to email the embassy to ask if they can process and send all back in same courier bag if doing it that way but it would save a trip to Wellington. Doing this would save you half a day visit to immigration in Thailand as you would get 60 days of entry rather than 30 with visa exempt. From memory one of the visa requirements is an outward ticket. You can book a flight to Malaysia for about $70 on AirAsia which can be changed for a small fee if you are undecided on the exact day you plan to move on - you may enjoy Thailand and end up staying for the full 90 days! If apply for the visa you will need to get your bank to stamp a bank statement and meet a small financial requirement. You will need to weigh up the time and effort of doing this paperwork in NZ with spending a big part of a day at immigration while on holiday. You have plenty of time so the visa application route as others have mentioned is cheaper and more convenient once you are on your holiday.

2 years ago

Dianne *****

@Shaughn **********

just to add to this Scoot flights Bangkok to Singapore are often quite reasonable and you can pay for a multiflex option which means you can change the flight date and time, but not route, multiple times for a low fee around $16 Aus which I have found to be a better option than a throw away ticket that you are not going to use

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thank you

@Shaughn **********

! Much appreciated.

2 years ago

Dianne *****

Scoot also fly to Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia, if you were planning on travelling to any of these countries. You can book an onward flight out of Thailand on a date that fits within the 30 days if you enter visa exempt or within 60 days of you enter with a single entry tourist visa, then after you do an extension in Thailand you can move your flight inexpensively to the date you really want to travel, to the destination on your ticket

2 years ago

Tarina *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Dianne ****

thank you that is really helpful info

2 years ago

Reply to

Tarina *********

Dianne *****

@Tarina ********

Check on the websites of the Thai Embassy or consulate in New Zealand. A lot of embassies and consulates changed their visa applications to being mail in only or online only, but there still may be places that allow for in person applications. If you have an NZ passport or you have residence status in NZ you could apply for tourist visas at the Thai Embassy in Wellington or the Thai consulate in Auckland. Have a look at their requirements on their websites

2 years ago

Reply to

Dianne *****

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