A seemingly lawless place at times. Many laws broken are simply a matter of paying someone to make your law breaking troubles go away. Immigration law like all laws in Thailand is complex, ever changing and un-rewarding. The basic tourist visa is simple you arrive at an airport (the airport bit is important) and fill in a form and the un-smiling officer will give you a 30 single entry visa..............that is the simplest version. As the law here changes often and then need to be translated to English I will outline some of the basics for visa's in Thailand.
30 day tourist visa:
You need a valid passport with no less than 4 clear pages and 6month validity. And to arrive by plane at an international airport. There is no fee for this visa, it can not be extended.
Land crossing tourist visa Tourist:
You need a valid passport with no less than 4 clear pages and 6month validity. You will receive 15 days stay in the "Land of Smiles". This has been done in an effort to make the population of Westerners staying in Thailand for long periods of time, not paying taxes, earning an income online or working as an English teacher. I have crossed the border at Aranthyapet/Poipet at least 10 times and had to pay some form of bribe each time the same goes for almost every other border I have used..........perhaps with the exception of Mae Sot/Myawaddy.
60 Day tourist visa double entry:
If your planning to do a long trip top to bottom( I recommend it). This visa is a good idea, you can apply for a double entry, giving you 2 x 60 days. You may also have this visa extended at the Visa office conveniently (heavy sarcasm) located in Lak Si(Bangkok). Giving you up to 2 x 90 day stay. This works by staying about 55+ days, going to an Immigration office and paying 1,900THB for a 30 day extension. Should it be granted you may stay another 30 days and then you must leave and re-enter to start the last 60 day entry. This would then give you a 6 month stay 2 x 60 days and 2 x 30 day extensions.
60 day tourist visa
This is simple enough you apply for a 60 day visa and get 60 days, you will be eligible for a visa extension of 30 days. You will need the usual 2 passport photos and to fill in the form. This has historically been easy enough. In the recent years it has become increasingly difficult to consistently gain this visa close to Thailand. The last place "consistely" (and things do change) offering these visa's is Vientiane in Laos. It used to be possible to do this at the border crossings in Chiang Kong (Laos) as well as Poi Pet (Cambodia) and Penang (Malaysia) for example but it is not certain anymore. Some peole report that it is possible on forums like Thorntree. I was told in Australia where I got my last 60 day x2 visa that Vientiane is the only place. It is also rumored that it is a possibility in Cambodia in a very "grey" area........agencies will take your passport from you from your Hotel in Phnom Penh or their office in Siem Reap and come back with the visa for about $100. There is of course no receipts and a risk involved.
Marriage Visa
Should you be married and either rich enough or making money and wan to stay more permanently here you can apply for a marriage visa. Many foreigners do not bother with this option for convenience and prefer to do visa runs. The requirements are;
Passport Photo x 2
Copies of you passport information page, current visa, entry stamp,departure card (TM6) or police report if loast.
Proof of income, in the form of a letter from the Embassy certifying an income higher than 40,000 a month and a copy of you ATM card (?)
or
More than 400,000 in a Thai bank account. Which must have been there for more than 3 months and a letter from the bank
Copy of your marriage certificate
Kor 2 (less than 1 year old)
kor 3
Copy spouses ID
Photo of spouse
Your house/rental contract
A photo of your house showing the number of your house
And a hand drawn map showing the route to your house(?)
Being as you need a Woking Visa or business visa in the first place to obtain your bank account this is really only an option for a select few.
