One of the things I appreciate most about visiting Penang is that I don't have to apply for a Thai tourist visa in person - I can just give my passport to my hotel and let them deal with it, freeing me up an additional morning and afternoon to enjoy my surroundings or nurse a hangover.
It appears that this isn't possible in Laos, where I went last time. And I can't seem to find any information on any other countries where you can use an agent. Does any body here know of any other countries that feature this little luxury? Doesn't have to be a bordering country but ideally not too far away either!
Well, it was certainly possible in Vientiane when I went there, though that was a few years ago. And it's definitely possible now in Cambodia - and you don't necessarily have to be in Phnom Penh (which is where the Thai embassy is located) to get it done.
migrant, we're talking here obtaining a Thai Visa in a foreign country. In most countries you have to apply in person thus wasting 1 morning and 1 afternoon of one's trip. In Malaysia(well... Penang, at least, I presume it's the same in KL) there are visa agents who will take your passport to the consulate and collect on your behalf. Seems to be a similar situation in Cambodia.
For the record, you can get a visa on arrival in Laos. Never did it at an airport but at a land crossing it was simple enough. Get form, complete form, attatch photo, hand over some money and wait a short while. The process took about 30 minutes which was no real problem for us as we were using Nok Air's fly-n-ride service; and we were finished well before the bus was ready to leave
I'm not sure but I would think that it's OK to use an agent for an in country visa pretty much anywhere. The only dodgy stuff arises if your passport crosses a border without you. But that isn't the case here.
All I can say from my experience of getting a few O visas from Penang years ago is that the agents don't really make the whole experience any quicker. The advantage is that you're not doing the running around or waiting.
I used an agent in Penang and paid a small amount extra to them. Just stayed in the bar having a beer or ate great food.
My wife and i are British living in South Korea just now, some time this year we will go to the Thai embassy in Seoul to apply for a "O" visa, i have down loaded the application form and on this form is a question asking " date of arrival in Thailand" and " Duration of stay"
i thought you had 3 months to travel once your visa has been granted, is this the case, as i will not know the exact dates i will be leaving Korea. also the duration of stay would i just use maximum ( 3 months i am allowed to stay).
Yes, the visa will be valid for 90 days so just put down some random date during that time for your arrival. You won't be held to it.
Enter 90 days for duration of stay.
Well I ended up going to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam for my latest visa as a friend of mine was visiting the area. They required applicatantions to be made in person, but unlike the border consulates, there were no ques. In and out in 5 minutes on both days. Unfortunately they required proof of an onward flight OUT of Thailand, so I was actually in and out (in 5 minutes...) twice on the first day, with a frantic flight-booking and documentation printing session in between!
