The Thai foreign affairs ministry has updated its summaries on the issuing of visas by its embassies and consulates abroad. The most significant announcement is that single-entry 60 days tourist visas now require bond proof of a foreign bank statement or a letter of guarantee of at least 20,000 baht or around US$600. This ruling had lapsed during the covid pandemic. The comprehensive visa regulations and major updates are at the ministry’s website: thaievisa.go.th
However, the nationals of 93 countries can still obtain a visa-exempt entry for 60 days which means they currently have no reason to apply for a tourist visa. However, the prime minister has established a working party to examine the visa exempt discretion. Some immigration sources believe that the result will be the curtailing of the 60 days visa-exempt to 30 days. Extensions would remain the responsibility of the immigration bureau in Thailand and not the foreign affairs ministry or its embassies.
These issues do not affect the requirement for all foreign visitors to Thailand, irrespective of visa or no visa, to apply online for the Thai Digital Arrival Card not more than 72 hours before their anticipated arrival here. Enhanced bureaucratic monitoring is the result of abuse by a minority of tourist foreigners working illegally in Thailand as taxi drivers and cooks or even running businesses. Most of Thailand’s neighbors, including Cambodia, have now moved to a digital immigration rule book.
Not all Thai embassies have yet updated their websites to take account of the visa changes introduced this year. Moreover, it should be noticed that diplomatic posts individually retain considerable independence, as instanced by their ability to interpret uniquely the documentary requirements for the Destination Thailand Visa. However, those visas issued by the immigration bureau, notably the “O” retirement visa and its annual extensions, are not covered on the foreign affairs website. Immigration at present is a shared responsibility amongst Thai government departments.
Other updates on the foreign affairs website concern the amount of medical insurance required for some embassy-issued visas provided they are longstay. For example, the sum can vary from 600,000 baht to three million baht (or US100,000) according to the specific visa category applied for abroad. There are also specific visas for cookery courses, marital arts and even football training which overlap to some degree with the Destination Thailand Visa, howbeit for a shorter time scale. The foreign affairs website emphasizes that none of its e-visas are available for visitors actually in Thailand. You have to be abroad to get one.
