Exemption of visa fees for foreign tourists until 31 March 2

[Big Boy]

Despite all of the sound advice received from you guys, I decided to contact the Thai Consul first. I sent a couple of e-mails to Hull, but both were ignored.

On Thursday I applied for visas for Mrs BB and me. I simply completed the Direct Debit piece of the applications authorising 2 x £8. This morning I received our passports back - total cost £8 (and I know that I could have saved even more if I'd bothered with BaaBaa's suggestion of enclosing an addressed pre-paid envelope).

Thoughts:

- Not impressed with their response to e-mail enquiries - why offer the service if they aren't going to reply?

- Very impressed with the visa service. Less than 2 days from initial posting.

[mabubba]

On Thursday I applied for visas for Mrs BB and me. I simply completed the Direct Debit piece of the applications authorising 2 x £8. This morning I received our passports back - total cost £8 (and I know that I could have saved even more if I'd bothered with BaaBaa's suggestion of enclosing an addressed pre-paid envelope).

Hi BB,

Just to confirm, did you also pay the £15 'admin' fee as mentioned previously(in the other thread)?

[Big Boy]

No, all that I did was complete the payment authorisation for 2 x £8 from my bank. Because they returned both passports in the same envelope, I was only charged 1 x £8.

[mabubba]

Thanks, I just sent off my passport to Hull for a tourist visa. No payment of any kind included, just a special delivery return envelope....I'll let you know how it goes.

[BaaBaa.]

Thanks, I just sent off my passport to Hull for a tourist visa. No payment of any kind included, just a special delivery return envelope....I'll let you know how it goes.

Not bad is it considering it cost £40+ before, now it's about £7 all in, signed sealed delivered.

[chopsticks]

I think it only applies to a single entry tourist visa which is a £28 saving.

[BaaBaa.]

I think it only applies to a single entry tourist visa which is a £28 saving.

Yep, I was thinking £35 plus post but it was actually around £35 all in.

[mabubba]

Thanks, I just sent off my passport to Hull for a tourist visa. No payment of any kind included, just a special delivery return envelope....I'll let you know how it goes.

Just got it back yesterday. So very quick turnaround.

[chopsticks]

I think it only applies to a single entry tourist visa which is a £28 saving.

Yep, I was thinking £35 plus post but it was actually around £35 all in.

The policy on double or more entry visas seems to differ according to each consulate
eg.Liverpool :
Single, double, triple etc. entry tourist visas are all free of charge as the £28 fee per entry has been waived.
But with Birmingham :"For all single entry tourist visas the cost has been waived until 31st March 2011, however an administration fee of £15 now applies. This fee replaces the original cost of £28.

Double Entry & Triple entry tourist visas remain at £28 per entry with the overall costs being £56 and £84 respectively. The administration fee does not apply to multiple entry visas."

Some consulates may apply their own extra charges for personal applications and postage costs
eg. Hull charges £10 for personal applications or £8 if postal. Liverpool £5.

Liverpool consulate also state that you must be out of Thailand for 48 hours
before re-entering
'Tourist visas last for 60 days and the maximum number of entries you can apply for is 3 – giving a total of 6 months in Thailand. You have a 6-month period to use this visa, so your final entry must be before the expiry date. You must leave Thailand for a period of 48 hours at the end of each visa but the final entry can be extended by a further 30 days in Thailand, without leaving the country, at the discretion of Immigration officials'

[BaaBaa.]

I'll be doing as mabubba did, post to Hull with a paid return inside.

Nothing paid to the Embassy.

[lomuamart]

choksticks,
What the Liverpool consulate have said isn't correct.
You just need an exit and entry stamp to Thailand to get another entry stamp of whatever length, depending on the visa. You can simply cross a border and turn around immediately and re-enter if you want. Rubbish to the 48 hour thing.
However, neighbouring Embassies and consultes do blow hot and cold as to how many back-to-back visas they'll issue, Obviously, the nub of it all is for how long you want to stay here.

[chopsticks]

choksticks,
What the Liverpool consulate have said isn't correct.
You just need an exit and entry stamp to Thailand to get another entry stamp of whatever length, depending on the visa. You can simply cross a border and turn around immediately and re-enter if you want. Rubbish to the 48 hour thing.
However, neighbouring Embassies and consultes do blow hot and cold as to how many back-to-back visas they'll issue, Obviously, the nub of it all is for how long you want to stay here.

Thanks for confirming that the 48 hours requirement is incorrect (unless I read it wrong and they were referring to back to back visa issuing rather than re-entering on the same visa-see below)

It could cause confusion as it does appear on their website :
http://www.royalthaiconsul.com/visas.htm

"Tourist visas last for 60 days and the maximum number of entries you can apply for is 3 – giving a total of 6 months in Thailand. You have a 6-month period to use this visa, so your final entry must be before the expiry date. You must leave Thailand for a period of 48 hours at the end of each visa but the final entry can be extended by a further 30 days in Thailand, without leaving the country, at the discretion of Immigration officials"

Consulates can ask for additional proof apparently, such as air tickets, before issuing tourist visas if they think the scheme is being abused.

[Lee1975]

Sorry, may sound a bit thick asking this, but its been a while since my last visit to Thailand.
Trying to get my head round all these fees etc. I am only visiting for 3 weeks, so can I just turn up and get my passport stamped free of charge at the Airport or is there a fee upon arrival?

[chopsticks]

Yes, you can for a stay of up to 30 days and it's free.

[Lee1975]

Cheers Chopsticks