What are the options for applying for a Tourist Visa for an Ethiopian citizen in Thailand when faced with visa refusal?

Thank you very much

@Charm *****

! I'm looking into this, for Ethiopians the process is at least a month according to the embassy website, but it does say it is possible. Malaysia visa process for an Ethiopian is proving a bit hard to work out-lots of web pages but no coherent guide (and only 14 days).

Your geography and history are correct. But from where do you think they brought Christianity 4ad? Simon the Cananaean in a no frills flight 7kg hand luggage? ("Is that how it's spelled in your passport, sir?") They trekked it through Asia (a couple return journeys by some accounts), bringing Asian culture with them. Hence their cuisine and linguistics, for example, and their sublime esotericsm - part of Christianity before Europe discovered it, (that makes my fiancee's hair stand on end, because Orthodox Ethiopian Christianity uses many of the same scales and gestures as Buddhism here in their worship).

I am sure you're aware of this but I find it mind blowing - religion back then was belief system, science, government, means of cooperation, discipline, the entire reason we evolved to communities beyond 200 or so. (On the shoulders of these questionable cultural precursors stand governments, borders, visas, and visa self-help Facebook groups.)

I dearly loved South America, don't know central, but it's not what we're looking for. Ethiopians are part Asian.

I can only assume you love the country as much as we do. We could do the UK on my citizenship, but would you?! I'm looking for a place to love. Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam all beautiful...no idea if they'd accept Ethiopian....Brazil maybe....but nothing else quite compares to Thailand.

What would you do in my position? How do you suggest I obtain a medical medical visa with no letter and no embassy that issues them?

As a white westerner with a salary paid into a Singaporean bank account married to a Thai with a lack of sympathy and presumably bored with a few beers inside you, you may not be able to sympathise. But slow clap for pulling up my last post from fb. Guilty myself, the temptation to troll is real!

Your post comes across as angry, do feel free to explain what's upset you; information comes from multiple sources and I am happy to explain any of my decisions. Having discussed with Bumrungrad the medical visa would probably only have given us a fortnight, and is not listed on the Laos Thai embassy page, and they were unwilling to discuss today. We are not rich, bear in mind an Elite visa costs 60 times the average annual salary in Ethiopia, so the Elite visa is prohibitively expensive, but I did mention it as an option here. Ethiopia is currently throwing people in concentration camps, outside which the bbc has documented mass graves. So check your privilege. Helpful advice gratefully received.

Thanks there's also eVisa I found, so I'll do that for peace of mind. The embassy website says it takes at least a month because Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand must approve all applications. I am concerned they'll take the passport , which we will then need to extend the Cambodia visa, but it can't be impossible.

Or living in Cambodia?

You mean the Thai embassy in Cambodia?

@Eric *********

thanks, I've been round maybe 8 in person, they very quickly say they can't help an Ethiopian (if they recognize the country name at all), and I don't want to get involved with an agent that is very corrupt - want to keep our long term options open.

Not at all, I'm emailing the school, will work on Cambodia, thanks very much for the ideas!

Thanks John yeah looking likely. On basis of a recommendation below, the Thai embassy in Cambodia does offer Ethiopians tourist visas, so while Elite progressing might give that a final go to then get on education visa. Need somewhere for the elite delay anyway, heard of the mythical beaches and haven't been before.

We really want to study Thai, I think it would be experience transforming for life there. Duke was unhelpful, AAA Thai was better but still said timeframe was weeks, but good point I'll write to them.

Check the website Jo, they don't do Medical Visas at Thai embassy Vientiane, and it would anyway only have given us a fortnight which is less than VOA.

How long does it take normally with eg a British passport? I think we'll need to get my wife an Elite, and me Education, so I'm now pondering timings.

Because she is Ethiopian she needs to get a report from Thai police, which a school said takes 2-4 weeks. Then ministry of education we were told 2-4 weeks. Then immigration 2 weeks. The last part we could do in Laos but that's still 4-8 weeks.

Were we given overly pessimistic estimates?

I was asking (among many, many questions) whether possible to apply for tourist visa in country so this is helpful, apologies if my post wasn't clear.

If the Kenyan Thai embassy mislaid it or it wasn't handed to the embassy correctly by the courier or they took a long time or didn't return it properly we would be in trouble as Ethiopian embassies aren't helpful. I'm not sure there's a law, but that isn't so important in our situation.

That must have been a nerve-wracking experience.

Very much appreciated thanks Av

Laos just refused. Standard practice I believe is to courier from Ethiopia to Kenya. Is your rule just when outside your home country?

Fully agree though, the idea of couriering it makes me very nervous, Eth embassy unlikely to get emergency travel docs to us in event of loss or lateness (we're covered by India here). Hence this fairly desperate post at this point for alternative ideas.