DisainaM
Senior Member
Themenstarter
Kennt jemand vielleicht ein Übersetzungsprogramm,
daß den folgenden Text ins Deutsche Übersetzt ?
Da das Thema Visa ein Dauerthema ist, und immer wieder Fragen kommen, wäre es wahrscheinlich nicht schlecht, einen guten Infotext im Forum zu haben, (in Deutsch am besten, damit für alle)
auf den dann immer wieder verwiesen werden kann.
Persönlich fand ich diese Aufstellung nicht schlecht, vielleicht kennen andere bessere.
Travel Visas
General Visa Information Customs Visa Runs Tips
General Visa Information
This section covers the different kinds of entry visa, how to renew visas, tips and related matters. Visa regulations are subject to change (though usually minor changes), and you should check with a Thai consulate or embassy in your country, or the Immigration Dept. in Bangkok, or your lawyer regarding any and all of the following.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at www.mfa.go.th is the best place to start on the web for current information. Their Consulates subpage has information on passport visas, but I suggest you call your particular consulate first and verify because I've found that this information sometimes changes without notice. Their Diplomatic Missions Abroad subpage has a list of embassies and consulates around the world, some of which have their own separate websites.
This section does not cover getting a visa for your Thai girlfriend to visit your country. That's a matter between you and your own government's embassy or consulate, not an issue with the Thai government (besides your girlfriend getting her Thai passport), and is discussed within the Culture section. Here's a shortcut.
The following is meant to be a general introduction. Again, you should check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and your own local Thai embassy or consulate for the most current and most accurate information.
Nationals from 56 countries can enter Thailand for 30 days without a visa, whereby you can get the visa stamped into your passport from an immigration officer at the airport. This is called "visa upon arrival". Nationals of another 76 countries, most of which don't have a Thai consulate, can get a 15-day visa stamp upon arrival. Nationals from Sweden and Korea can get a 90 day visa upon arrival. However, these are supposed to be used for tourists, not people intending to work and/or live in Thailand.
Nationals from countries near Thailand from which many impoverished illegal workers come often have problems (e.g., Bangladesh, India). Immigration officers have the power to deny a visa, so if there's any doubt, get a visa before you come, and check the minimum amount of currency you must have on you (in one form or another) which varies by visa category.
If you plan to be in Thailand longer, then you should bring your passport to the Thai embassy or a Thai consulate nearest you in the country where you are currently residing, and apply for whichever visa is appropriate:
Non-immigrant visa (90 days to 1 year) -- if you plan to do business here, or reside with a spouse. This requires documentation of your intent, usually a letter from your employer or your spouse's employer, or a marriage certificate with your Thai spouse. The 1 year period requires a work permit or, if you have a registered marriage to a Thai but no work permit, then a display of sufficient funds in a Thai bank savings account (was 200,000 baht in 1997 but may have increased). You start with a 90 day visa and extend to a year by submitting an application to the Immigration Department. Requires multiple trips. If the one year application has not been processed before your visa expires, then you must make sure to ask the clerk to stamp your passport with a visa extension before your visa expires, which is extended one month at a time so may require more trips.
Tourist visa (60 days), no special paperwork needed for westerners from rich countries and those from rich Asian countries, issued by Thai consulates and embassies
Transit visa (30 days) issued upon arrival in Thailand for those who arrive without a visa, similar to a tourist visa, and requires a ticket for continuing your travels
Retirement visa for those who transmit substantial funds to their Thai bank account (several million baht, inquire for details) and wishing to retire in Thailand
Normally, a visa is valid for one entry and one exit. If you plan to exit and re-enter Thailand within the period of your visa, for example, if you will go back and forth from a neighboring country, then you may want to apply for a "re-entry permit" along with your visa, so that you don't have to go back to a Thai consulate for another visa. You can also apply for "multiple re-entry". Each re-entry costs 500 baht if obtained in Thailand, and the cost varies in obtained in another country, typically around $20 per re-entry. You can save a lot of time and energy if you get these re-entry permits at the same time you get your visa before you arrive in Thailand. If you are already in Thailand, then you can get a re-entry permit at the Immigration Department in Bangkok on soi Suan Plu (listed below), of course before you leave.
If you stay beyond the expiration of your visa, then you will be fined when you depart. The fee is 200 baht/day (approx. $5-$6) up to a maximum of 20,000 baht, considerable business to the government. This is called "overstaying your visa". Major violations (e.g., many months or over a year of overstay) may have serious complications.
You can extend a current visa by travelling to the Immigration Department in Bangkok and paying a fee. How long you can extend for will depend upon what kind of visa you have.
You are not allowed to work in Thailand unless you get a work permit. This issue is discussed in the section on Work Permits. You also cannot own registered property unless you have a work permit, except those married to a Thai and who fulfull certain requirements.
If you plan to travel to another country, you will be happy to find that most countries maintain an embassy or consulate in Bangkok where you can get a visa. The ThailandGuru has a list of embassies and consulates. Many accept visa applications only during morning hours, and give back passports in the afternoon. Some process your passport on the same day, others may require you leave your passport with them several days.
Customs
Thai customs agents at the airport are generally quite reasonable. You won't get hassled over bringing in your valuable personal belongings or business equipment, though you would get stopped if you were carrying in more than one copy of something obviously resellable and valuable, e.g., several Rolex watches or mobile phones or somesuch. The same applies when exiting. When you are bringing in valuable items, you should be careful to declare them so that you avoid potential problems when exiting.
There are no legal limits on how much money you can bring into the country, but there are legal limits on how much you can take out, as covered in the section on money. The laws changed in 1997 due to currency speculators which caused wild fluctuations and instabilities in the value of the Thai baht.
There are few restrictions on what you can bring in or out of the country.
Drugs, guns and pornography are banned, as are certain other things like harpoons for fishing.
Buddha images are controlled, expecially large ones, as are antiques. You need to get a license from an approved national museum to bring many such items out of the country.
If you are moving to Thailand and shipping a large quantity of household goods here, then you need to make sure you get a well connected and reliable shipping agent from door to door. There are many stories of peoples' belongings winding up at the airport terribly damaged, looted, and/or held ransom for ridiculous unofficial customs charges. On the latter, you may be told to wait in a hot warehouse for some time period before an individual with negotiating power will come to negotiate. Getting a reasonable rate may take a long time. Some of the international shippers are listed in the section on Moving, Housing and Regions.
For small shipments, international couriers such as DHL will often hit you up heavily. A guy may come up to your residence or office with a box and paperwork for a large customs fee. You may not be able to recognize if it's official or unofficial. If you want to get the package quickly, then you might have to pay an exhorbitant fee to bypass customs quickly. If you have time, patience and energy, you can wait from a few days to a few weeks or months and get your goods at the official customs rate. I've been charged exhorbitant rates for things like obviously used toys and baby clothes for my daughter from my sister in the U.S.
Those with a work permit may receive their first shipment of personal property duty free. To benefit from this, you should get an experienced entity to deal with all the necessary paperwork and arrangements. Make sure you get all your valuables transferred in this first shipment.
Visa Runs
"Visa run" is a slang term invented by ex-pats which means to exit and re-enter the country in order to renew your visa, usually very near the time that your current visa is about to expire. The most popular places to travel are listed below, where there is a Thai consulate or embassy which can issue you a visa.
If you have a work permit, then scheduled visa runs are particularly important. Make sure you have all the paperwork needed for your nonimmigrant visa -- check, double-check and triple-check. Get a multiple re-entry visa if you will be travelling outside Thailand again before your next visa expires.
You should be aware that exiting and re-entering Thailand on tourist visas too many times is sometimes frowned upon by foreign Thai consulates, and there's a possibility that you might be denied a visa, in which case the most common option taken is to return on a shorttime visa-on-arrival which is usually granted to westerners without hassle. These considerations have been relaxed in view of the need for tourist money, but not entirely. Major overstays, especially repeatedly, might cause a problem.
Penang, Malaysia
The most common place to go is Penang, Malaysia, a fairly nice, very modern, and inexpensive (for the seasoned traveller) island in the Andaman Sea near the Thai border, and where there is a Thai consulate that processes visa applications efficiently and without hassle. Westerners can travel to Malaysia without needing to get any visa from the Malay embassy.
Penang is relatively safe, peaceful and modern. The island is half natural beauty with a few decent beaches hidden away, and half industrial. The vast majority of Malaysia's computer electronics industry is in Penang, where you'll find major American and other manufacturers (e.g., Intel, AMD, National Semiconductor, etc., etc.). Penang is populated by nearly 50% old Chinese immigrants, and most of the rest is Malays and Indians. English is universally spoken, unlike in Thailand. The national language is Malay, which is a romanized (A-Z spelling) written language. You will find English fluency to be very good down to the street vendors and samlor pedal-drivers.
Some people take the 24-hour train ride down the Thai peninsula in order to save a little money (air conditioned sleeper coach), going thru immigration at the border, and exiting the train at Butterworth where you can take a ferry or a bus over the bridge to Penang. Alternatively, you can fly. While a travel agent can book reservations at a hotel, you will find that Penang usually has plenty of guest houses available, both in the city center and along the much less densely populated coastline, many of which offer to carry your passport and application to the Thai consulate for you for a reasonable fee. You can find information on a wide range of guest houses at the airport. Taxis and buses serve the island very well and economically.
The nightlife is not very lively in this predominantly Muslim country, especially compared to Thailand, and is more expensive. The main ways visa-runners spend time is relaxing in fully equipped hotels or natural beachside guest houses, touring the island's tropical park, and browsing English language bookstores for things not offered in Thailand.
Laos
Laos, or the Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic), is a common place to go for a visa run. It has its plusses and minuses, however.
If you want to go back in time and see Thailand like it was 50 years ago or more, then Laos is the place to go. The cultures are very close to each other, unlike all other neighboring countries. Landlocked and periodically isolated politically, the culture is relatively preserved. Laos is a relatively safe place, and very peaceful. If you speak Thai, then you will be understood since the two languages are about 70% the same and the Lao watch Thai TV, though the Lao will usually speak back in Lao and not Thai. English is rarely spoken in Laos.
You can either fly to the capital, Vientiane, or take the 12-hour train to the border town of Nong Khai (air conditioned sleeper coach) where there are plenty of buses and tuk-tuks waiting to offer to bring you to the border crossing immigration center, and on the other side are Lao transport peddlers to take you to the capital city about 20 km away. Alternatively, you can cross at one of several border points in the north which are much more scenic and interesting, but there is no Thai consulate at those places to get a visa.
The drawbacks are the following:
Everyone except Thai nationals need a visa from the Lao consulate, which is extra expense, time and energy
The Thai embassy in Vientiane is often a wild place due to masses of Indians and Bangladeshis trying to get into Thailand (see discussion below)
Laos is a poor, rustic place with few modern hotels and conveniences, not for the luxury traveller
There is little public transport in Vientiane or anywhere else, mostly tuk-tuks
The capital city, Vientiane, is flat as a pancake. Most visa-running tourists stay in or around the city center. It is a sleepy place. If you like nightlife during a visa run vacation, then forget Vientiane. The people who enjoy a trip to Laos are those who just like to hang out in a quiet, peaceful and inexpensive place, amidst a sedate culture. In many respects, Laos is a very charming country. It is also very poor. Most people get around on bicycles, motorcycles and ad hoc private buses. There are no street signs.
Laos is technically Communist, but it doesn't have the feel of a communist country, and indeed the Lao communists, who seized power in 1975, were one of the first communist regimes to go their own way before the revolutions elsewhere in the world in the 1980's. The government runs about 15% of the economy and what you'll see is the 85% free wheeling private economy regular businesses and markets. Police and military personnel are rarely seen (and usually on bicycles). There is no strict authoritarian interaction with ordinary tourists or anything like that. The main thing you may note about the place that smacks of Communism is lack of a free press. Under the surface, however, there is a lot of control and corruption, just like in any other nondemocratic political system.
The situation at the Thai consulate varies with time, but if you see a huge crowd of people of Indian descent, don't be intimidated. Just skip the long line, walk around them, and go to the window to submit your visa application. That is what the officials will say from time to time. They are stonewalling the majority of these applicants, and that's why there are sometimes very, very long lines. If you go to the gate at opening time, you may find a huge crowd pressing against the gate and a dangerous stampede when it opens. If you can get a visa running service you can trust, e.g., by staying at or visiting a major hotel, then you can save yourself a lot of time, energy and hassle. Be sure to get a receipt for your passport from an established entity you trust before handing it over. It can take from half a day to three days, depending upon their connections.
If you want to bring a Thai girlfriend, she can cross the border at Nong Khai for a small sum (used to be 10 baht) and just using her ID card, not a passport. However, she's supposed to return to Thailand by sunset. For stays of days, you must process the proper paperwork and pay the fee. Check with the consulate for the latest policy and details.
Regarding getting a visa to Laos, there are many reports of visas being given at reduced cost in Nong Khai. Whether you want to take a chance with this, in order to save a little money, is up to you.
Cambodia
Many people go to Phnom Penh for a visa run. Phnom Penh is a very corrupt place, reportedly where you can get just about anything done. Up to you... Just check with the latest on the political situation there, and don't stray too far from the tourist centers.
Burma/Myanmar
You'd better check the latest on Burma, as the situation on visas changes often. I'm reserving comment here. You'd better talk with several different people with recent experience.
Singapore
If you go to Singapore for a visa run, you should be advised that many, many people have been denied a tourist visa at the Thai embassy there on the basis that they just left on a tourist visa and must wait 30 days before re-entering Thailand on a tourist visa. Other strictness has been reported as well.
Tips
If you lose your passport and other documentation, then you could have a time consuming, expensive and difficult problem.
Make a copy of your passport, insurance information, ID cards, credit cards, airplane ticket and any other important documentation, and leave it in a safe place. If you don't have any other good place to put this information, then the ThailandGuru can help you find a secure place for copies of your documents. Spare money stashed away can also prevent hunger and poverty in case you are robbed completely.
A lost passport can be replaced at your consulate or embassy, though it takes time. If you have an emergency, then you may be able to get an immediate temporary travel permit to your home country.
Leaving your passport as collateral is a common practice, and often becomes too routine for many farangs. For example, you may be asked for your passport in exchange for renting a car, motorcycle, or other valuable commodity. This is understandable, as there are countless stories of farangs damaging or losing property and skipping the country.
Do not hand your passport over to anyone without getting a receipt which clearly links your passport with their establishment by formal logo and is signed by a responsible party. This is a common oversight. Western passports are valuable to criminals. If you don't get a receipt, then they may take advantage of the situation and run off with your passport. (They or a thief might use your passport anyway, signed receipt or not.) Do this with your lawyer, too. With everyone.
If your passport is stolen by a scammer, then when you go to your embassy to report this matter, you will probably be referred to the Thai police in the jurisdiction of the person who received your passport. Your embassy or consulate can't do much beyond its own walls, and may or may not be willing to perform the service of calling the Thai police (or better yet, the scammer who received your passport). You are responsible for your passport, regardless of what receipt you may or may not have, though a receipt might put you in a better position. Some embassies and consulates are staffed with people who really don't care or want to be bothered, regardless of the fact they're on a very high salary from the taxpayer, and you may be faced with either persuasion tactics in Thailand or anty-ing up the stakes for them, something that could just add problems and dangers to you as well. There have been corrupt western embassy and consulate staff before... However, you should also understand their experience. They also deal with a lot of false stories, and if they don't know you personally, then they may assume you are a shady character with a cooked up story. They are often overworked individuals. Nice, pushover people aren't hired for consulate kinds of jobs. Western passports are valuable commodities, and are sometimes used by organized crime to get criminals across the border (those banned by the Thai government, and those wanted by international police organizations such as Interpol), e.g., by replacing your photo with someone else's in your passport, which professional criminals know how to do. Your passport could also be used for bogus transactions. In any case, don't panic and make a bad situation worse. Cool off, find a smart and good friend with a cool head to advise and help you (if you don't already have good contacts), and proceed carefully. Most people are able to resolve such matters to their satisfaction, but you must be reasonable and considerate.
The next topic is one that I have been hesitant to discuss on the web because I don't want to see these services encouraged, but there's already been a lot of discussion of these services on the street and on the web, and I get a lot of questions in this regard. So for now, here it is:
There are many services in Bangkok and Pattaya that offer to run your passport across the border for you, whereby you just stay home. They offer to save you money on travel expenses and hotel, and save you time since you can continue working or whatever. They claim to know corrupt immigration officials who stamp piles of passports for a bribe (immigration officers of two countries, plus consulate staff based in another country for the visa -- think about it...). Obviously, this service is illegal, both by Thai law and by the law of your own country which issued you your passport. This may be a victimless, petty crime that benefits everyone involved and reduces wastage of time and resources (issues of corruption aside, in a country with underpaid civil servants and underpaid departments...). Many people have reported using such a service, and most of them reported no problems ... but many have had problems. The moral questions are obvious and I'm not going to discuss them here. The legal problems of the practice are something I don't know. Some other possible practical matters are the following: They could use your passport for fraudulent transactions. Criminals could have your identification information in the form of a copy of your passport. You may spend a lot of time explaining things related to what was done in your name, even if you are cleared of liability. It has also been reported by a number of people using this kind of service that they actually got a falsified visa stamp, recognized as such by an immigration officer they eventually had to pass thru later on. (Yes, immigration officers not on the take are very much aware of this practice...)
If you're so busy that you don't have time to take a travel break, then maybe you need to "get a life" and take an enjoyable travel break. If you are considering using or seeking out a service like this, then you'd better also consider whether it will affect your having a good night's sleep in Thailand.
When you leave your passport with your lawyer, you should not only get a receipt but also make clear that you don't want anything illegal done with your passport. Some lawyers handle a lot of visas and work permits, and it's been know to have a passport "accidentally" go over the border rather than down to the immigration department in Bangkok as planned. Try to find out if they do illegal operations such as phantom visa runs before you hand over your passport. It's not a bad idea to sit around their office and see what kinds of people come in and out before you use them.
It's recommended that you depend upon a reputable or highly established lawyer and firm. Be careful with referrals which may have a commission kickback to the referring person and/or which your associate has limited experience with.
If you think the lawyer service is legitimate because they advertise in the newspapers, then you'd better think again. If you can't afford an expensive lawyer and need an economical one, then the best situation is to use a lawyer who others you trust have used.
Enough said on that topic. Moving on ...
Oftentimes, a business transaction can be done with a signed agreement plus a photocopy of your passport which you sign twice in their presence, i.e., you can avoid handing over your passport for any length of time but can just hand over photocopies. You will find that most businessmen are reasonable, but they are also very cautious.
Do not assume that other farangs are more trustworthy than Thais, or believe the horror stories you hear as if they're the norm rather than the exception. In fact, you may find that the farangs in Thailand may on average be more dangerous. Be careful what parts of town you circulate and do business in. In general, you may find the Thais in the nicer pure Thai areas to be quite trustworthy in most cases. A high concentration of problems generally occur in and around the farang areas, by both criminal Thais attracted to farang money areas, and deadbeat farangs in Thailand who are predators on other, naive farangs. Scams abound.
Some farangs say to not go to the Thai police. However, if trouble comes your way, then the Thai police or Tourist police are usually your best recourse. Who are you going to trust more, a questionable farang or the police? Or your embassy/consulate? Those in official government positions are more accountable. There may be a reason the farang doesn't want you to contact the police -- they don't want a problem (i.e., they want to scare you), or else their attitude towards the police may be due to resentment over having been prosecuted for being on the wrong side of the law, or else they may be too gullible to the general rumblings in the farang underworld.
Of course, in some hot spots, there are corrupt policemen and you should be very careful. Criminals tend to exist ... and continue to exist ... in areas where they are tolerated, usually by bribes, including to the police directly. In these places, the tourist police are often a better recourse than the regular police. Notably, to date, my experiences with the regular police have been pleasant and fair. It is also well known that the police are well connected on what's going on in various communities, and have ways of finding out new information. Sometimes, it may take time to resolve a problem, but it will usually be resolved fairly and with a lot of information in the hands of the police. Usually, the best policy is "live and let live" and don't make problems. "No problemo." Keep cool, don't make problems for anyone else ... or for yourself. Only if they make a problem for you do you need to go to the next level(s), but first try to resolve the problem nicely, directly and peacefully without blowing it out of proportion.
If you're going to be in Thailand for a long time, then you should take some opportunities to get to know people in higher places as you see fit.
Of course, you should also not make trouble for yourself...
daß den folgenden Text ins Deutsche Übersetzt ?
Da das Thema Visa ein Dauerthema ist, und immer wieder Fragen kommen, wäre es wahrscheinlich nicht schlecht, einen guten Infotext im Forum zu haben, (in Deutsch am besten, damit für alle)
auf den dann immer wieder verwiesen werden kann.
Persönlich fand ich diese Aufstellung nicht schlecht, vielleicht kennen andere bessere.
Travel Visas
General Visa Information Customs Visa Runs Tips
General Visa Information
This section covers the different kinds of entry visa, how to renew visas, tips and related matters. Visa regulations are subject to change (though usually minor changes), and you should check with a Thai consulate or embassy in your country, or the Immigration Dept. in Bangkok, or your lawyer regarding any and all of the following.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs website at www.mfa.go.th is the best place to start on the web for current information. Their Consulates subpage has information on passport visas, but I suggest you call your particular consulate first and verify because I've found that this information sometimes changes without notice. Their Diplomatic Missions Abroad subpage has a list of embassies and consulates around the world, some of which have their own separate websites.
This section does not cover getting a visa for your Thai girlfriend to visit your country. That's a matter between you and your own government's embassy or consulate, not an issue with the Thai government (besides your girlfriend getting her Thai passport), and is discussed within the Culture section. Here's a shortcut.
The following is meant to be a general introduction. Again, you should check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and your own local Thai embassy or consulate for the most current and most accurate information.
Nationals from 56 countries can enter Thailand for 30 days without a visa, whereby you can get the visa stamped into your passport from an immigration officer at the airport. This is called "visa upon arrival". Nationals of another 76 countries, most of which don't have a Thai consulate, can get a 15-day visa stamp upon arrival. Nationals from Sweden and Korea can get a 90 day visa upon arrival. However, these are supposed to be used for tourists, not people intending to work and/or live in Thailand.
Nationals from countries near Thailand from which many impoverished illegal workers come often have problems (e.g., Bangladesh, India). Immigration officers have the power to deny a visa, so if there's any doubt, get a visa before you come, and check the minimum amount of currency you must have on you (in one form or another) which varies by visa category.
If you plan to be in Thailand longer, then you should bring your passport to the Thai embassy or a Thai consulate nearest you in the country where you are currently residing, and apply for whichever visa is appropriate:
Non-immigrant visa (90 days to 1 year) -- if you plan to do business here, or reside with a spouse. This requires documentation of your intent, usually a letter from your employer or your spouse's employer, or a marriage certificate with your Thai spouse. The 1 year period requires a work permit or, if you have a registered marriage to a Thai but no work permit, then a display of sufficient funds in a Thai bank savings account (was 200,000 baht in 1997 but may have increased). You start with a 90 day visa and extend to a year by submitting an application to the Immigration Department. Requires multiple trips. If the one year application has not been processed before your visa expires, then you must make sure to ask the clerk to stamp your passport with a visa extension before your visa expires, which is extended one month at a time so may require more trips.
Tourist visa (60 days), no special paperwork needed for westerners from rich countries and those from rich Asian countries, issued by Thai consulates and embassies
Transit visa (30 days) issued upon arrival in Thailand for those who arrive without a visa, similar to a tourist visa, and requires a ticket for continuing your travels
Retirement visa for those who transmit substantial funds to their Thai bank account (several million baht, inquire for details) and wishing to retire in Thailand
Normally, a visa is valid for one entry and one exit. If you plan to exit and re-enter Thailand within the period of your visa, for example, if you will go back and forth from a neighboring country, then you may want to apply for a "re-entry permit" along with your visa, so that you don't have to go back to a Thai consulate for another visa. You can also apply for "multiple re-entry". Each re-entry costs 500 baht if obtained in Thailand, and the cost varies in obtained in another country, typically around $20 per re-entry. You can save a lot of time and energy if you get these re-entry permits at the same time you get your visa before you arrive in Thailand. If you are already in Thailand, then you can get a re-entry permit at the Immigration Department in Bangkok on soi Suan Plu (listed below), of course before you leave.
If you stay beyond the expiration of your visa, then you will be fined when you depart. The fee is 200 baht/day (approx. $5-$6) up to a maximum of 20,000 baht, considerable business to the government. This is called "overstaying your visa". Major violations (e.g., many months or over a year of overstay) may have serious complications.
You can extend a current visa by travelling to the Immigration Department in Bangkok and paying a fee. How long you can extend for will depend upon what kind of visa you have.
You are not allowed to work in Thailand unless you get a work permit. This issue is discussed in the section on Work Permits. You also cannot own registered property unless you have a work permit, except those married to a Thai and who fulfull certain requirements.
If you plan to travel to another country, you will be happy to find that most countries maintain an embassy or consulate in Bangkok where you can get a visa. The ThailandGuru has a list of embassies and consulates. Many accept visa applications only during morning hours, and give back passports in the afternoon. Some process your passport on the same day, others may require you leave your passport with them several days.
Customs
Thai customs agents at the airport are generally quite reasonable. You won't get hassled over bringing in your valuable personal belongings or business equipment, though you would get stopped if you were carrying in more than one copy of something obviously resellable and valuable, e.g., several Rolex watches or mobile phones or somesuch. The same applies when exiting. When you are bringing in valuable items, you should be careful to declare them so that you avoid potential problems when exiting.
There are no legal limits on how much money you can bring into the country, but there are legal limits on how much you can take out, as covered in the section on money. The laws changed in 1997 due to currency speculators which caused wild fluctuations and instabilities in the value of the Thai baht.
There are few restrictions on what you can bring in or out of the country.
Drugs, guns and pornography are banned, as are certain other things like harpoons for fishing.
Buddha images are controlled, expecially large ones, as are antiques. You need to get a license from an approved national museum to bring many such items out of the country.
If you are moving to Thailand and shipping a large quantity of household goods here, then you need to make sure you get a well connected and reliable shipping agent from door to door. There are many stories of peoples' belongings winding up at the airport terribly damaged, looted, and/or held ransom for ridiculous unofficial customs charges. On the latter, you may be told to wait in a hot warehouse for some time period before an individual with negotiating power will come to negotiate. Getting a reasonable rate may take a long time. Some of the international shippers are listed in the section on Moving, Housing and Regions.
For small shipments, international couriers such as DHL will often hit you up heavily. A guy may come up to your residence or office with a box and paperwork for a large customs fee. You may not be able to recognize if it's official or unofficial. If you want to get the package quickly, then you might have to pay an exhorbitant fee to bypass customs quickly. If you have time, patience and energy, you can wait from a few days to a few weeks or months and get your goods at the official customs rate. I've been charged exhorbitant rates for things like obviously used toys and baby clothes for my daughter from my sister in the U.S.
Those with a work permit may receive their first shipment of personal property duty free. To benefit from this, you should get an experienced entity to deal with all the necessary paperwork and arrangements. Make sure you get all your valuables transferred in this first shipment.
Visa Runs
"Visa run" is a slang term invented by ex-pats which means to exit and re-enter the country in order to renew your visa, usually very near the time that your current visa is about to expire. The most popular places to travel are listed below, where there is a Thai consulate or embassy which can issue you a visa.
If you have a work permit, then scheduled visa runs are particularly important. Make sure you have all the paperwork needed for your nonimmigrant visa -- check, double-check and triple-check. Get a multiple re-entry visa if you will be travelling outside Thailand again before your next visa expires.
You should be aware that exiting and re-entering Thailand on tourist visas too many times is sometimes frowned upon by foreign Thai consulates, and there's a possibility that you might be denied a visa, in which case the most common option taken is to return on a shorttime visa-on-arrival which is usually granted to westerners without hassle. These considerations have been relaxed in view of the need for tourist money, but not entirely. Major overstays, especially repeatedly, might cause a problem.
Penang, Malaysia
The most common place to go is Penang, Malaysia, a fairly nice, very modern, and inexpensive (for the seasoned traveller) island in the Andaman Sea near the Thai border, and where there is a Thai consulate that processes visa applications efficiently and without hassle. Westerners can travel to Malaysia without needing to get any visa from the Malay embassy.
Penang is relatively safe, peaceful and modern. The island is half natural beauty with a few decent beaches hidden away, and half industrial. The vast majority of Malaysia's computer electronics industry is in Penang, where you'll find major American and other manufacturers (e.g., Intel, AMD, National Semiconductor, etc., etc.). Penang is populated by nearly 50% old Chinese immigrants, and most of the rest is Malays and Indians. English is universally spoken, unlike in Thailand. The national language is Malay, which is a romanized (A-Z spelling) written language. You will find English fluency to be very good down to the street vendors and samlor pedal-drivers.
Some people take the 24-hour train ride down the Thai peninsula in order to save a little money (air conditioned sleeper coach), going thru immigration at the border, and exiting the train at Butterworth where you can take a ferry or a bus over the bridge to Penang. Alternatively, you can fly. While a travel agent can book reservations at a hotel, you will find that Penang usually has plenty of guest houses available, both in the city center and along the much less densely populated coastline, many of which offer to carry your passport and application to the Thai consulate for you for a reasonable fee. You can find information on a wide range of guest houses at the airport. Taxis and buses serve the island very well and economically.
The nightlife is not very lively in this predominantly Muslim country, especially compared to Thailand, and is more expensive. The main ways visa-runners spend time is relaxing in fully equipped hotels or natural beachside guest houses, touring the island's tropical park, and browsing English language bookstores for things not offered in Thailand.
Laos
Laos, or the Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic), is a common place to go for a visa run. It has its plusses and minuses, however.
If you want to go back in time and see Thailand like it was 50 years ago or more, then Laos is the place to go. The cultures are very close to each other, unlike all other neighboring countries. Landlocked and periodically isolated politically, the culture is relatively preserved. Laos is a relatively safe place, and very peaceful. If you speak Thai, then you will be understood since the two languages are about 70% the same and the Lao watch Thai TV, though the Lao will usually speak back in Lao and not Thai. English is rarely spoken in Laos.
You can either fly to the capital, Vientiane, or take the 12-hour train to the border town of Nong Khai (air conditioned sleeper coach) where there are plenty of buses and tuk-tuks waiting to offer to bring you to the border crossing immigration center, and on the other side are Lao transport peddlers to take you to the capital city about 20 km away. Alternatively, you can cross at one of several border points in the north which are much more scenic and interesting, but there is no Thai consulate at those places to get a visa.
The drawbacks are the following:
Everyone except Thai nationals need a visa from the Lao consulate, which is extra expense, time and energy
The Thai embassy in Vientiane is often a wild place due to masses of Indians and Bangladeshis trying to get into Thailand (see discussion below)
Laos is a poor, rustic place with few modern hotels and conveniences, not for the luxury traveller
There is little public transport in Vientiane or anywhere else, mostly tuk-tuks
The capital city, Vientiane, is flat as a pancake. Most visa-running tourists stay in or around the city center. It is a sleepy place. If you like nightlife during a visa run vacation, then forget Vientiane. The people who enjoy a trip to Laos are those who just like to hang out in a quiet, peaceful and inexpensive place, amidst a sedate culture. In many respects, Laos is a very charming country. It is also very poor. Most people get around on bicycles, motorcycles and ad hoc private buses. There are no street signs.
Laos is technically Communist, but it doesn't have the feel of a communist country, and indeed the Lao communists, who seized power in 1975, were one of the first communist regimes to go their own way before the revolutions elsewhere in the world in the 1980's. The government runs about 15% of the economy and what you'll see is the 85% free wheeling private economy regular businesses and markets. Police and military personnel are rarely seen (and usually on bicycles). There is no strict authoritarian interaction with ordinary tourists or anything like that. The main thing you may note about the place that smacks of Communism is lack of a free press. Under the surface, however, there is a lot of control and corruption, just like in any other nondemocratic political system.
The situation at the Thai consulate varies with time, but if you see a huge crowd of people of Indian descent, don't be intimidated. Just skip the long line, walk around them, and go to the window to submit your visa application. That is what the officials will say from time to time. They are stonewalling the majority of these applicants, and that's why there are sometimes very, very long lines. If you go to the gate at opening time, you may find a huge crowd pressing against the gate and a dangerous stampede when it opens. If you can get a visa running service you can trust, e.g., by staying at or visiting a major hotel, then you can save yourself a lot of time, energy and hassle. Be sure to get a receipt for your passport from an established entity you trust before handing it over. It can take from half a day to three days, depending upon their connections.
If you want to bring a Thai girlfriend, she can cross the border at Nong Khai for a small sum (used to be 10 baht) and just using her ID card, not a passport. However, she's supposed to return to Thailand by sunset. For stays of days, you must process the proper paperwork and pay the fee. Check with the consulate for the latest policy and details.
Regarding getting a visa to Laos, there are many reports of visas being given at reduced cost in Nong Khai. Whether you want to take a chance with this, in order to save a little money, is up to you.
Cambodia
Many people go to Phnom Penh for a visa run. Phnom Penh is a very corrupt place, reportedly where you can get just about anything done. Up to you... Just check with the latest on the political situation there, and don't stray too far from the tourist centers.
Burma/Myanmar
You'd better check the latest on Burma, as the situation on visas changes often. I'm reserving comment here. You'd better talk with several different people with recent experience.
Singapore
If you go to Singapore for a visa run, you should be advised that many, many people have been denied a tourist visa at the Thai embassy there on the basis that they just left on a tourist visa and must wait 30 days before re-entering Thailand on a tourist visa. Other strictness has been reported as well.
Tips
If you lose your passport and other documentation, then you could have a time consuming, expensive and difficult problem.
Make a copy of your passport, insurance information, ID cards, credit cards, airplane ticket and any other important documentation, and leave it in a safe place. If you don't have any other good place to put this information, then the ThailandGuru can help you find a secure place for copies of your documents. Spare money stashed away can also prevent hunger and poverty in case you are robbed completely.
A lost passport can be replaced at your consulate or embassy, though it takes time. If you have an emergency, then you may be able to get an immediate temporary travel permit to your home country.
Leaving your passport as collateral is a common practice, and often becomes too routine for many farangs. For example, you may be asked for your passport in exchange for renting a car, motorcycle, or other valuable commodity. This is understandable, as there are countless stories of farangs damaging or losing property and skipping the country.
Do not hand your passport over to anyone without getting a receipt which clearly links your passport with their establishment by formal logo and is signed by a responsible party. This is a common oversight. Western passports are valuable to criminals. If you don't get a receipt, then they may take advantage of the situation and run off with your passport. (They or a thief might use your passport anyway, signed receipt or not.) Do this with your lawyer, too. With everyone.
If your passport is stolen by a scammer, then when you go to your embassy to report this matter, you will probably be referred to the Thai police in the jurisdiction of the person who received your passport. Your embassy or consulate can't do much beyond its own walls, and may or may not be willing to perform the service of calling the Thai police (or better yet, the scammer who received your passport). You are responsible for your passport, regardless of what receipt you may or may not have, though a receipt might put you in a better position. Some embassies and consulates are staffed with people who really don't care or want to be bothered, regardless of the fact they're on a very high salary from the taxpayer, and you may be faced with either persuasion tactics in Thailand or anty-ing up the stakes for them, something that could just add problems and dangers to you as well. There have been corrupt western embassy and consulate staff before... However, you should also understand their experience. They also deal with a lot of false stories, and if they don't know you personally, then they may assume you are a shady character with a cooked up story. They are often overworked individuals. Nice, pushover people aren't hired for consulate kinds of jobs. Western passports are valuable commodities, and are sometimes used by organized crime to get criminals across the border (those banned by the Thai government, and those wanted by international police organizations such as Interpol), e.g., by replacing your photo with someone else's in your passport, which professional criminals know how to do. Your passport could also be used for bogus transactions. In any case, don't panic and make a bad situation worse. Cool off, find a smart and good friend with a cool head to advise and help you (if you don't already have good contacts), and proceed carefully. Most people are able to resolve such matters to their satisfaction, but you must be reasonable and considerate.
The next topic is one that I have been hesitant to discuss on the web because I don't want to see these services encouraged, but there's already been a lot of discussion of these services on the street and on the web, and I get a lot of questions in this regard. So for now, here it is:
There are many services in Bangkok and Pattaya that offer to run your passport across the border for you, whereby you just stay home. They offer to save you money on travel expenses and hotel, and save you time since you can continue working or whatever. They claim to know corrupt immigration officials who stamp piles of passports for a bribe (immigration officers of two countries, plus consulate staff based in another country for the visa -- think about it...). Obviously, this service is illegal, both by Thai law and by the law of your own country which issued you your passport. This may be a victimless, petty crime that benefits everyone involved and reduces wastage of time and resources (issues of corruption aside, in a country with underpaid civil servants and underpaid departments...). Many people have reported using such a service, and most of them reported no problems ... but many have had problems. The moral questions are obvious and I'm not going to discuss them here. The legal problems of the practice are something I don't know. Some other possible practical matters are the following: They could use your passport for fraudulent transactions. Criminals could have your identification information in the form of a copy of your passport. You may spend a lot of time explaining things related to what was done in your name, even if you are cleared of liability. It has also been reported by a number of people using this kind of service that they actually got a falsified visa stamp, recognized as such by an immigration officer they eventually had to pass thru later on. (Yes, immigration officers not on the take are very much aware of this practice...)
If you're so busy that you don't have time to take a travel break, then maybe you need to "get a life" and take an enjoyable travel break. If you are considering using or seeking out a service like this, then you'd better also consider whether it will affect your having a good night's sleep in Thailand.
When you leave your passport with your lawyer, you should not only get a receipt but also make clear that you don't want anything illegal done with your passport. Some lawyers handle a lot of visas and work permits, and it's been know to have a passport "accidentally" go over the border rather than down to the immigration department in Bangkok as planned. Try to find out if they do illegal operations such as phantom visa runs before you hand over your passport. It's not a bad idea to sit around their office and see what kinds of people come in and out before you use them.
It's recommended that you depend upon a reputable or highly established lawyer and firm. Be careful with referrals which may have a commission kickback to the referring person and/or which your associate has limited experience with.
If you think the lawyer service is legitimate because they advertise in the newspapers, then you'd better think again. If you can't afford an expensive lawyer and need an economical one, then the best situation is to use a lawyer who others you trust have used.
Enough said on that topic. Moving on ...
Oftentimes, a business transaction can be done with a signed agreement plus a photocopy of your passport which you sign twice in their presence, i.e., you can avoid handing over your passport for any length of time but can just hand over photocopies. You will find that most businessmen are reasonable, but they are also very cautious.
Do not assume that other farangs are more trustworthy than Thais, or believe the horror stories you hear as if they're the norm rather than the exception. In fact, you may find that the farangs in Thailand may on average be more dangerous. Be careful what parts of town you circulate and do business in. In general, you may find the Thais in the nicer pure Thai areas to be quite trustworthy in most cases. A high concentration of problems generally occur in and around the farang areas, by both criminal Thais attracted to farang money areas, and deadbeat farangs in Thailand who are predators on other, naive farangs. Scams abound.
Some farangs say to not go to the Thai police. However, if trouble comes your way, then the Thai police or Tourist police are usually your best recourse. Who are you going to trust more, a questionable farang or the police? Or your embassy/consulate? Those in official government positions are more accountable. There may be a reason the farang doesn't want you to contact the police -- they don't want a problem (i.e., they want to scare you), or else their attitude towards the police may be due to resentment over having been prosecuted for being on the wrong side of the law, or else they may be too gullible to the general rumblings in the farang underworld.
Of course, in some hot spots, there are corrupt policemen and you should be very careful. Criminals tend to exist ... and continue to exist ... in areas where they are tolerated, usually by bribes, including to the police directly. In these places, the tourist police are often a better recourse than the regular police. Notably, to date, my experiences with the regular police have been pleasant and fair. It is also well known that the police are well connected on what's going on in various communities, and have ways of finding out new information. Sometimes, it may take time to resolve a problem, but it will usually be resolved fairly and with a lot of information in the hands of the police. Usually, the best policy is "live and let live" and don't make problems. "No problemo." Keep cool, don't make problems for anyone else ... or for yourself. Only if they make a problem for you do you need to go to the next level(s), but first try to resolve the problem nicely, directly and peacefully without blowing it out of proportion.
If you're going to be in Thailand for a long time, then you should take some opportunities to get to know people in higher places as you see fit.
Of course, you should also not make trouble for yourself...
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