Henrik JN you must be the smartest person who's commented on this post so far, so why not answer the question that is asked by the original poster?

What is the "visit visa" mentioned? I assume one of the tourist visas to be allowed to enter Thailand, but which one?

Why would the person need and what would be the purpose of sponsorship of the visa, if it is only a basic tourist visa?

If one already has a visa, why would it have to be "submitted" to the "Thai Embassy"?

I find this post confusing, like others do, so maybe you can enlighten all of us?

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

this issue is something that I'm only just becoming aware of. I have only travelled outside of Australia in two occasions before. I had travelled to The Philippines for 5 days in 2005 and didn't think to check any stamps. Last October, I travelled to Thailand for the first time and still didn't check stamps in my passport, but hopefully I will on my next trip there.

Just out of curiosity, when travelling Visa Exempt, when did it change back to 30 days from 45 days, which I believe was for a relatively short time. I just checked my passport after reading through this post and comments, that I was stamped in for 45 days in Thailand.

@Ricky *****

common sense is something I take pride in having, but many don't have common sense, especially in the younger generations. I'd say that regular travellers should be aware of this, but very infrequent or new travellers quite likely wouldn't think that this could be an issue and stamps should be checked immediately.

@Paul ******

I knew that fact because I had a Supervisor at work when Covid-19 started, who is Anti -Vaccinations. He was someone who does a heck of research on things and told me that fact, as something he found out interesting about Mask wearing. This fact wouldn't apply to N95 masks that have an exhalation valve as one wouldn't be inhaling their exhaled breath, or at least not so much of it.

@Paul ******

I wonder if people would wear a Mask if they were aware of the fact that wearing a Mask increases the intake of Carbon Dioxide by at least 10%? That's definitely not healthy, especially if it isn't really necessary to wear one.

@Bri ***

that's good to hear. A polite decline and nothing bad came of it. Being a fairly generous person, though not well off by any means, I might be inclined to offer a small tip if seeing the same I.O. After all, most Thai people are very poorly paid. When going to get the Passport stamped. Declined him/her tea (politely attempted bribe) initially, but part at completion with maybe a smile and goodwill toward future dealings.

@Paul ******

very cheap compared to Australia. I got a new Australian passport last year and I think it cost me about $350

@Paul ******

ok, thanks

@Paul ******

just out of curiosity, how much does it cost for a Thai person to get a new passport for the first time?

@Paul ******

ok, so it is better to pay up you reckon?