Hi All, Seeking some clarification on the "medical visa". My tourist visa expires April 20, I would like to start a medical visa for dental work before then. The work should take 2 - 6 months to complete and doctor's office said they would provide certifying letter of appointments. My questions are:
* the Thai embassy site seems straight forward, just mentioning the doctor's letter stating appointment dates, but google results mention medical facility registration letter (from Ministry of Health?), and bank statement with minimum balance (not sure if they mean a US bank statement or do I need to open a Thai acct), so what exactly is needed?
* Thai E visa site, pop up window states you cannot apply for E visa while you are in Thailand. Is this really true, and if so would the in person Immigration office tell me if I am missing some documentation before applying/paying and getting rejected?
* Lastly, this is for dental work, so I could fly home and have it done, do they care if I am travel worthy or not to have the work done in my home country?
Any help is appreciated!
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user is seeking guidance on obtaining a medical visa for dental work in Thailand before their tourist visa expires. They are confused about the required documentation, the application process while in Thailand, and the relevance of their fitness to travel for procedures that could be done in their home country. Comments indicate that the medical visa process is complex, with warnings about applying from within Thailand and the potential pitfalls of the application requirements. Some suggest that the user might be looking for a DTV visa instead, which could cater better to their needs.
Issue is that route will cost me upwards of $3,500USD for 6+ months of work. I just googled local dental hospitals, and their services and rates come up, you can email or call them for initial consult exam, I was quoted $200USD for that.
Sorry to hear that. One told me they could give me a certification letter to show immigration for the scope of work (appointments) dating out several months, the rest I do on my own at immigration.
You can't just start a medical visa because your tourist visa is about to expire. If you are unfit to travel its possible to get an extension on medical grounds but that doesn't seem to work with your scenario. Maybe best to detail what your actually hoping to achieve and folk might be able to better advise you
First of all, are you talking about an actual medical visa, or are you talking about the DTV visa and using medical appointments for the soft power classification?
If you are talking about medical visa, I don't really know anything about that, as it's not a common visa to use at all. I believe it's only issued for 90 days and you won't be able to get an extension in Thailand as they only do medical extensions for people who cannot physically leave Thailand.
You CANNOT apply for a visa from a Thai embassy in Thailand. You must be inside of the country where the embassy is that you are applying. One of the required fields on the visa application is proof of your current location, like your entry stamp in your passport. Some people are also called to the embassy for an interview, and some are also asked for additional proof of where they are a few days later to make sure they have not left the country. If you are not able to do any of these things if asked, your application will be cancelled without refund. The embassy is not immigration, you will not be dealing with immigration and no immigration officer will contact you.
Bank statement from anywhere should be fine as long as it meets their requirements. The fact that you can have the work done elsewhere is irrelevant. They want you to go to Thailand to have it done, that's the point.
If anything is missing from your application, the embassy will usually e-mail you and ask for additional documents or whatever it is they need to complete your application. If you make a mistake on your passport number or name it will instantly be cancelled without refund. If you are unable to supply any additional information they need within 2-3 weeks, they will also cancel your application without refund.
It seems like you might be looking at the DTV visa, but I'm not sure. If you are not, that's the visa I would recommend for something like this. If you're already in Thailand, then people have been recommending Vietnam as a good place to get the DTV recently.
Thanks! I wasn't aware of the DTV details till now. Sounds like a better route to go. If I need, I can go to HCM to apply. Would you recommend a visa agent/law firm or is it very easy and many people just do it themselves?
Got it, thanks. Talked to a few visa agents this week, but I think I can do it myself now that I know more information about it. Would you happen to know anything about getting a DTV workcation visa if self employed managing my own portfolio/living off dividends? I've bookmarked your suggestions but wondered if you knew.
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