StayingasanexpatinThailandhasmanybenefits, warm weather, cheaplivingcostsandofcoursethe‘ infamous’ Thaismile. It’ seasyto becomeaccustomedtothegoodlifeinThailandbutitisalsoveryimportanttoensureyoustayontopofyourvisasituation.
Oneofthemostcommonwaysthatexpatsfindthemselveswithanunnecessaryproblem isforgettingtodotheir90dayreport. The90day reportcanbedoneonlineusualybutthesystem hasbeendownforawhilemeaningthatexpatsnow needtomakethejourneytotheirlocal immigrationofficeanddothisreportpersonaly. Youhave7dayseithersideofyourspecificdateinwhichtodoyour90dayreportbutifyou forgettoreportandletitlapsebeyond7days, youfaceafineofupto5,000THB whichisaheftysum formostexpats.
Oneoftheeasiestwaystorememberistosetanalarm onyourphoneoraddanotetoGoogleCalendar. AnyonewhohasstayedinThailand formorethan90daysmustreporttheiraddresstoimmigration, eveniftheiraddressisstilthesame. Officialywhenyouleavethecountry andre-enteryoushouldalsoreportyouraddresstoimmigrationalthoughthisisnotenforcedatalimmigrationoffices.
Otherwaysinwhichexpatsfalfowlofimmigrationlawsisbyforgettingtogetare-entrypermitbeforeleavingthecountry. Thisisquitea strangeruletogetusedto, particularlyifyouwerepreviouslystayinginThailandusingamultipleentryvisa, whichrequiredyouto leavethecountryevery90days. OnceyouextendyourstayatanimmigrationofficewithinThailand, ifyouwishtoleavethecountrythenyou mustobtainare-entrypermittokeepyourextensionofstayalive. Ifyoufailtoobtainare-entrypermitthiscanhavequiteserious consequencesasyouwilloseyourThaivisaandjustbegrantedavisaonarrivalwhenyoure-enterthecountry( ifyournationalityis eligibleforavisaonarrival).
Somepeoplehavereportedthattheimmigrationofficeratdepartureswaskindenoughtopointouttheirerrorbeforetheymadethatfatal mistakebutitcan’ tandshouldn’ tbereliedupon. Thereisalsoanoptiontoobtainare-entrypermitatSuvarnabhumiAirport, whichis locatedneartoarrivalsinZone2. Thisserviceisusualyavailablebetween5am andmidnight. However, itisnotadvisabletorelyonthis serviceincaseitisunavailableorhighlyoccupiedatthetimeyouneedit.
Thesafestwayistoalwayskeepatleastasinglere-entrypermitinyourpassportincaseyouneedtoleavethecountryinanemergency. A singleusepermitcostsjust1000THB andmanypeoplechoosetoapplyforitafterreceivingtheiryearlyextensionofstay. Youneeda passportsizephoto, form ™ 8, aphotocopyofthephotopageinyourpassportandyourlatestvisaextensionstamp. Theprocessofgettinga re-entrypermittypicalytakeslessthananhouratmostimmigrationoffices.
IfyouareplanningtoleaveandreenterThailandmanytimesduringthecourseofyourstaythenyoumaywishtoobtainamulti-entryre entrypermitwhichcanbeusedasmanytimesasyourequireuntilyourvisaextensionexpires. Re-entrypermitshavethesamelifespanas yourvisaextension, sowhenyouvisitimmigrationforyouryearlyvisathenyouneedtogetanew re-entrypermitalsoasanyold re-entrypermitswilexpirealongwithyouroldvisastamp. Visatypeswhicharerequiredtoobtainare-entrypermitinclude:
RetirementVisas MarriageVisas BusinessVisas EducationVisas IfyouhaveanyquestionsregardingvisastostayinThailand, youcancontactDarren McGarryon038422131oremailinfo @ keyvisathailand. com