Coming from Cyprus visa problem

[Mandy]

Hi we're new to the Thaiger forum but enjoy reading all the comments people write. We have a dilemma and we were wondering if anyone can help. We're UK citizens but currently reside in Cyprus and are hoping to get to Thailand in August, we have been told we have to pay 370 euros (14060 bhat) each for a 90 day non immigrant visa or (300 euros) 11500 bhat for a tourist visa, surely this must be incorrect,  we thought Thailand government wanted people to visit. We're extremely disappointed, we have never paid anything near that amount on many previous trips there. Please help, any information would be gratefully received. 

[KhunG]

7 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Hi we're new to the Thaiger forum but enjoy reading all the comments people write. We have a dilemma and we were wondering if anyone can help. We're UK citizens but currently reside in Cyprus and are hoping to get to Thailand in August, we have been told we have to pay 370 euros (14060 bhat) each for a 90 day non immigrant visa or (300 euros) 11500 bhat for a tourist visa, surely this must be incorrect,  we thought Thailand government wanted people to visit. We're extremely disappointed, we have never paid anything near that amount on many previous trips there. Please help, any information would be gratefully received. 

As UK citizens you can get a 45 day visa exempt stamp on arrival for no charge.  You can later extend that I believe 30 days for 1,900 Baht each.

[Mandy]

Apparently you have to show an onward flight, we want to stay for at least 3 months with the option of extending it for a retirement  visa, thanks for your input

[BlueSphinx]

20 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Apparently you have to show an onward flight, we want to stay for at least 3 months with the option of extending it for a retirement  visa, thanks for your input

Hi @Mandy

Yes, when entering Thailand Visa Exempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa, you will need to show proof of an onward flight.  But it is very simple to circumvent that 'onward flight' requirement when - like in your case - you do not intend to return before the end of the permission to stay you will receive when entering Thailand.

There are 4 options:

1 - Buying a 'flexible' return-ticket and change the date of your return once you entered Thailand to the date on which you intend to return.  Many airlines now provide such 'change' service at no cost, sometimes even for non-flexible tickets.

2 - Buy a cheap 'throw-away' ticket.  Prior to the covid-restrictions you could book cheap tickets from Bangkok to HoChiMinh City or from HuaHin to KualuLumpur for approx 1.000 THB.

3 - Buy a cheap onward flight-ticket that can be cancelled at no cost.  Several airlines are currently providing such service.

4 - Buy an onward flight-ticket reservation, for as little as 10-12 US $ which will be cancelled automatically by the provider within 2-3 days.  It is a REAL flight-reservation so nothing fake about that, and a good solution for people that need to show an onward flight-booking in order to board the plane for Thailand or at Thailand Immigration.

>> Although required that onward flight-ticket is most often not checked by Immigration when entering Thailand.  But when checking-in on your Thailand bound flight many airlines will ask for it (as they will have to fly you back at their expense when they let you board when Thai Immigration does not let you enter Thailand without such onward flight-ticket).

[BlueSphinx]

51 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Apparently you have to show an onward flight, we want to stay for at least 3 months with the option of extending it for a retirement  visa, thanks for your input

Hi @Mandy,

You might be interested in the timing options on entering Thailand VisaExempt or on a Tourist Visa, prior to applying in country for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement. 

Attached the link to a post in another thread that deals with these options > https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/1247-us-to-thailand-coe-vs-visa-rules/?do=findComment&comment=7440

Feel free to PM me if you have questions or need additional information.  Cheers and welcome to Thailand!

Edited July 6, 2021 by BlueSphinx

[JamesE]

19 hours ago, Mandy said:

we have been told we have to pay 370 euros (14060 bhat) each for a 90 day non immigrant visa or (300 euros) 11500 bhat for a tourist visa

Which begs the question: Told by whom? A tourist visa (from the US) costs the equivalent of +/-฿1,200, the 90-day non-O is twice that. Those prices should be pretty close wherever you are.

[Mandy]

The correct fee for a non immigrant  visa from cyprus is 2700 bhat but apparently the cyprus government are charging 11500 bhat per visa extra.

[BlueSphinx]

11 minutes ago, Mandy said:

The correct fee for a non immigrant  visa from cyprus is 2700 bhat but apparently the cyprus government are charging 11500 bhat per visa extra.

I am confused > how is the Cyprus government involved in you applying for a Tourist Visa or a Non Imm O Visa at the Cyprus Thai Embassy?  Could it be that you are not dealing directly with the Thai Embassy, and that the 'middle man' is taking you for a ride?  Or that an Embassy staffer is trying to up his salary by charging more than the official rates?

There is of course also the option for you of NOT applying for a Visa and entering Thailand VisaExempt (which will provide you with a 45-day permission to stay and can be easily extended once in Thailand).  However just like with a Visa, also in that case you would need to meet the CoE requirements that are applicable for anybody planning to enter Thailand during these covid-times. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by BlueSphinx

[Faz]

43 minutes ago, Mandy said:

The correct fee for a non immigrant  visa from cyprus is 2700 bhat but apparently the cyprus government are charging 11500 bhat per visa extra.

Hi Mandy,

Are the prices your being quoted through an agency?
The Thai Embassy website list the Non Imm O Visa at 70 Euro.
http://www.thaiembassy.it/index.php/en/consular-services/others

Who exactly is telling you otherwise - the Thai Embassy?

[Mandy]

Well the pantous operator is Panayides and he is the processing agent for the Rome Thailand Embassy as our local consulate is no longer operating. He told us yesterday that it was all cyprus government fees but has since emailed us to explain that the extra 11500 bhat each goes directly to them. I don't mind admin fees but that is holding people to ransom. We really wanted to retire to phuket and are still trying various routes. I want to thank all you lovely people that have given us many suggestions, I hope it works out. Life is already stressful enough at the moment and wanted to zen in phuket.

Many thanks

[Faz]

Hi Mandy,

As I suspected, an agent taking advantage of situation to justify their fees.

The answer to your problem has already been posted by @BlueSphinxin the 3rd reply.

You can enter Visa exempt > Non O from the local Immigration office > 1 year extensions.
If your ready to accept this as an alternative option to enter Thailand due to your issues please open a new topic in the Immigration section and you'll get plenty of advice and a step by step guide of the process of entering Visa exempt to obtaining a 1 year extension.

[uanmak]

On 7/6/2021 at 2:46 PM, Mandy said:

Apparently you have to show an onward flight, we want to stay for at least 3 months with the option of extending it for a retirement  visa, thanks for your input

If you want to convert a tourist visa to a non-immigrant one, be advised that, although it is possible on paper, it is rather uncommon (and quite difficult) that this may happen, as immi officers are extremely reluctant to do that, especially with tourist visa holders. You should consider a non-o from the beginning.

[KaptainRob]

11,500 x 2 = 23,000 thb/US $700.  A rip off and for a 1/3 of that you could fly to Rome and back to process visa's (for 2).  Cheaper still if you can send by Courier.

Reporting this extortion to Thai Immigration would likely go nowhere, better to post it on other travel forum's like Tripadvisor.

 

[BlueSphinx]

28 minutes ago, uanmak said:

If you want to convert a tourist visa to a non-immigrant one, be advised that, although it is possible on paper, it is rather uncommon (and quite difficult) that this may happen, as immi officers are extremely reluctant to do that, especially with tourist visa holders. You should consider a non-o from the beginning.

I am sorry @uanmak, but that is completely incorrect.  The 'change of Visa' procedure to apply in-country at the local Immigration Office for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa from the VisaExempt or 60-day Tourist Visa on which you entered Thailand, is very common and Imm officers are not reluctant at all to handle such applications.

[uanmak]

5 minutes ago, BlueSphinx said:

I am sorry @uanmak, but that is completely incorrect.  The 'change of Visa' procedure to apply in-country at the local Immigration Office for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa from the VisaExempt or 60-day Tourist Visa on which you entered Thailand, is very common and Imm officers are not reluctant at all to handle such applications.

You have direct experience? Otherwise that is what usually happens, epecially in local offices. You can get more hope at Lak Si, but it is quite difficult for Tourist/Exempt to Non-Immi.

There are occasional cases involving changes between non-B to non-O and viceversa, but it is uncommon otherwise.

What you said is rather misleading, as it gives the (wrong) perception that everybody is invited here with a tourist/exemt, and then get a guaranteed non-immi once in. That's not what govt wants, and that's not what commonly happens.

[BlueSphinx]

1 minute ago, uanmak said:

You have direct experience? Otherwise that is what usually happens, epecially in local offices. You can get more hope at Lak Si, but it is quite difficult for Tourist/Exempt to Non-Immi.

There are occasional cases involving changes between non-B to non-O and viceversa, but it is uncommon otherwise.

What you said is rather misleading, as it gives the (wrong) perception that everybody is invited here with a tourist/exemt, and then get a guaranteed non-immi once in. That's not what govt wants, and that's not what commonly happens.

I have certainly no intention to mislead people, on the contrary.

I repeat > There is NO problem at all when having entered Visa Exempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa to apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa.  Thousands of people have done this.  Obviously you need to meet the conditions for the purpose on which you are applying.  E.g. when applying for reason of 'retirement' you need to be +50 years of age and meet the financial conditions. 

[uanmak]

As I said, on paper you can do it. In reality, it is quite improbable (that estimation of thousands of people is  quite exaggerate, and there are no stats on this specific points).

Yes, of course there has been special circumstances where someone had the necessity to change visa, but usually it is within the same class and only if that is of interest for the country (e.g. a CEOs and businessmen, important persons, highly skilled workers,...).

Our office concerned to visas and permits has direct ties with MFA, and they are experienced in managing all kind of non-immi visas up to the Non-F. To date, they never managed a tourist to non-immi conversion (my workplace exists in Thailand from the 60s).

When I was hired I had a tourist and I asked if it was possible to go for a conversion, since it is written on the immigration procedures. They said that's not what they do and they will not do for sure, as immi and MFA would not approve that.

The common rationale here is: you come for reason X, you apply for visa X. If you change your reason to Y, go out and apply for visa Y. Period.

[Faz]

2 hours ago, uanmak said:

If you want to convert a tourist visa to a non-immigrant one, be advised that, although it is possible on paper, it is rather uncommon (and quite difficult) that this may happen, as immi officers are extremely reluctant to do that, especially with tourist visa holders. You should consider a non-o from the beginning.

In the past that may have been the case and why?
Immigration officers were reluctant for the simple reason the applications for a change in Visa status could only be approved by regional offices. This meant not only was the application being considered but the Immigration officer accepting such application with the correct documents was also being examined.
It tested their knowledge on the subject and if incomplete, a quite word in their ear from a more senior officer and a loss of face - that was the real issue.

Since early last year due to the Covid pandemic many tourists have either taken advantage of the Covid extensions, or changed to Non O, thereafter applying for 1 year extensions.
Other foreigners have entered VE/TV with the intention to switch to Non O at local Immigration offices to avoid the compulsory Health Insurance requirement for the Non O Visa applications at Thai Embassies.

1 hour ago, uanmak said:

What you said is rather misleading, as it gives the (wrong) perception that everybody is invited here with a tourist/exemt, and then get a guaranteed non-imm once in. That's not what govt wants, and that's not what commonly happens.

From the E-Visa application site.
 

Quote

 

Extension of Stay

Those who wish to stay longer or may wish to change their type of visa must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau

 

From Immigration websites.
https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/issuing-and-changing-type-of-visa/

They are invited as Tourists to test the waters and if they decide they want to stay longer, the Government certainly encourage and offer the services to do so.

The previous reluctance of Immigration officers, has now changed to one of the necessity to allow as many foreigners as possible to remain in Thailand and you'll find Immigration officers are now under instruction and encouraged to process such applications.

[LupedaLupe]

Hi Mandy, Did you ever sort this. My friend in Cyprus went to get a 60 day tourist visa and yes they want 300 euros. I think the only other option is to go to the embassy in Rome. Its a scam but cant see any way around it