What are the options for a South African needing a tourist visa to stay in Thailand?

South African visa ED visa Thai tourist visa Visa options Visa regulations Kuala Lumpur Thai consulate Vientiane Lao Visa approval wait times

Feb 18, 2019

6 years ago

Tsyun **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hi all. My friend was just told he cannot get another ED visa because he's South African. 

His visa expires quite soon and we were considering the options to stay in Thailand for a while. 

He needs to stay in order to sort out domestic things (house, dog, furniture, etc. )

Is there any nearby place South Africans can fly in order to get a tourist visa? 

I heard South Africans will be made to wait a month in Malaysia before they are granted a visa, is this true? 

Is there anyone with any ideas? 

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance.

599

views

likes

all likes

replies

images

users

TLDR : Answer Summary

A South African citizen seeking a new ED visa in Thailand has encountered difficulties, leading to the need for alternative options to remain in the country while managing personal affairs. There are suggestions that the best alternative might be to travel to the Thai consulate in Vientiane, Lao, where a tourist visa can be obtained with fewer complications compared to the Thai consulate in Kuala Lumpur, which reportedly has a four-week wait for approvals. This discussion also touches upon the visa disparity faced by South African passport holders.

Tod *********

and before this deteriorates into a thread questioning why S/A passport holders have a different set of standards to get visas from some consulates I'd say we're done.

The O/P knows that they can send their S/A friend to a thai consulate in lao to get a tourist visa.

6 years ago

Bennie *******

Cannot get an ED visa because he's South African???

6 years ago

Hannah ****

It's becoming more and more difficult for South Africans to obtain any kind of Visa in neighbouring countries. When recruiting new teachers from South Africa we are aiming to have them get their NonB before they leave. It seems to have got worse in the last 12 months.

6 years ago

Tsyun **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Yep me too about my friends. It's new but they've always made it a little harder for people from SA.

6 years ago

Bennie *******

@Tsyun *********

I'm a South African and have some SA friends here with ED visas. If this is a new thing, I'm even more happy that I've made the decision to leave...

6 years ago

Tsyun **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

It's apparently why he can't get another one. Specifically not South Africans at the moment for some reason. This is what he was told by the school.

6 years ago

Bennie *******

Tod Daniels thank you, I understand now. It's the way he said it...

6 years ago

Tod *********

He was told that by a school no doubt. It's consulate specific. They could get an ED visa from SOME thai consulates in the area

6 years ago

Reply to

Tod *********

Yep, at the thai consulate in Kuala Lumpur there is a 4 week wait to get a visa approved, and S/A passport holders cannot use the thai consulate in Penang AT ALL.

You can go to the thai consulate in Vientiane Lao and get a single entry tourist visa without a problem though. That would stamp them in for 60 days when they enter the country and they could extend that by 30 days at the immigration office for 1900baht

6 years ago

Tsyun **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thanks a lot Todd, appreciated!

6 years ago

Reply to

Tsyun **********

Thai Visa Advice

... members · 40% approval rate

The Thai Visa Advice group is a specialized Q&A forum for visa-related topics in Thailand, ensuring detailed responses.

Join the Group

Thai Visa Advice