Visa information for Thailand

All applicants will be coming into Thailand on a tourist visa. Once in Thailand, your school will give you documents to apply for a Non Imm B visa. This is the visa that is needed to apply for your Thai work permit. The tourist visas issued by the Embassy or Consulate entitle visa applicants to enter Thailand and must be used within 3 months from date of application.

Please contact the Thai embassy / consulate in your country for directions and opening times. Click here for a list of Thai embassies around the world.

Visa Requirements for a Tourist Visa

The following basic requirements always stay the same:

1. Complete and sign two visa application forms.
2. Submit the completed forms along with the following documents:

• Your passport (which should be valid for at least six months from the date of application)
• Two recent photographs (cannot be the same as in passport)
• Certified copy of your I.D. Document
• The Visa fee
• Travel document (photocopy of air ticket / booking / reservation / itinerary)
• Bank statement of financial means equivalent to 20,000 Baht per person.

Visa Fees

Non-Immigrant Visa: R480 per double entry, per person. Apply for a double entry.

What to do after you get to Thailand

You will be entering Thailand on a tourist visa (double entry), which is valid for 60 days. This can be extended for another 30 days in Bangkok or at the immigration center in Hua Hin, giving you 90 days in total that you can stay in Thailand on a tourist visa. In order for the school to apply for your work permit, you will need to convert your tourist visa into a Non Immigrant B visa. This cannot be done from within Thailand, so you will need to leave Thailand (before your 90 days tourist visa has expired) and go to Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia (or any neighboring country) to get this conversion done. Contact a member of the Teach Travel Asia team and we will arrange this for you. The trip will cost around 6000 Baht, please see details below. This is really a very straight forward procedure and is part of being a teacher in Thailand. It’s also a great way to get out of the country for a day or two and see a bit of South East Asia.

Although the school will help you get all the relevant documents needed for your visa run, please do not rely on the school to keep track of when your visa will expire. Do not overstay your visa in Thailand! The fine for overstaying is currently 500 Baht per day. If you overstay more that 40 days (20,000 Baht) you could be deported.

To get a Non-immigrant B visa you need a letter of recommendation from your school that you present to a Thai consulate in another country (Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia etc). The letter should state that the applicant has been offered a job, that the school requests that the applicant be given a non-immigrant visa so the school may apply for a work permit for them, and that the school knows the person to be dependable, upstanding, etc. Be sure to ask for the letter several days before you leave Thailand as the schools sometimes drag their feet with this. They also ask for registration documents from the school you are going to work for.

Visa Trip from Bangkok to Vientiane, Laos

• Trips are run twice a week: Sunday and Wednesday evening. The bus leaves at 8.00pm sharp from the parking lot of Tesco Lotus shopping center in ON NUT, Bangkok (to view the Bangkok Skytrain map click here) , next to the BTS Station On Nut, just besides the KFC. The trip is approximately 9 hours, and we will stop twice for a 15 minute break.
• The Exit and Entry point of Thailand is Nong Khai. At the Thai/Laotian Border and at the Royal Thai Embassy, you will be assisted with all visa formalities. Upon completion of the application we check into a Guesthouse and breakfast will be provided. At 5.30pm you will be invited for dinner (buffet style). The next day, at 13.00pm you will check out, and be picked and head straight to Thailand, on the way back to Bangkok dinner will be provided. You are expected to arrive in Bangkok at around midnight. The cost of the trip is 3000 Baht and it includes transport, transfers, shared room, 3 meals and 1 buffet dinner. If you prefer to stay in a single room, the cost is 3200 Baht.
• Nationals of most Countries have to apply for the Laos Visa on Arrival, please prepare 1600 Baht for the Visa and entry stamp (Canadians 1800 Baht). Visa Application fees: 2000 Baht for any Thai Single Entry Non Immigration Visa or Double Entry Tourist Visa. Single Entry Tourist Visa cost 1000 Baht. Note: Your Passport, 3 passport-size Photo and 2 copies of your Passport are required, please ensure that your Passport is valid for at least 6 month prior to the Visa application and has 3-4 free pages. You will need to book this visa trip 3 days in advance. To book, please contact a member of the Teach Travel Asia team.

Visa Renewal Services to Cambodia and Laos

• Daily Visa Run – Bangkok to Ban Laem, Cambodia, with Thai Visa Service. Most foreign visitors to Thailand are granted a 30 day stay upon entry via Airport into Thailand or 15 days upon entry via any land border. Staying longer requires a new entry stamp, and the fastest & most economical means of visa renewal is to exit Thailand by land and return. The Border is open 365 days per year.
• Every Day: meeting is 7:00am in the parking lot of Tesco/Lotus, next to the BTS Station ON NUT, just besides the KFC.
  07:30am is the latest departure for Ban Laem, a small, quiet border crossing to Cambodia, 320 km from Bangkok. The trip is approximately 4 hours, and we will stop once for a 15 minute break.
• At the Border: all visa formalities / fees are handled by us. You can have Lunch in the Casino on own account, the time at the Border should not exceed 60 minutes. We return to Bangkok, BTS ON NUT at 05:15PM. THB 1,900 – for Westerners and Japanese , THB 700. – for Filipino, Vietnamese, Laotians, Malaysians, Indonesian and Singaporeans (no Cambodian Visa required)
• NB: Includes transportation, Visa processing fees, water en route.

Visa Application – Bangkok to Phnom Penh/Cambodia
TRIP IS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED , at least from 19th September to 3rd October 2011

• In order to obtain a Thai Tourist Visa we offer: Monday and Thursday morning @ 02:00am.
• Meeting in the parking lot of Tesco/Lotus ON NUT, next to the BTS Station ON NUT, beside the KFC.
• The Exit/Entry point of Thailand is Pong Nam Ron, near Chantaburi, 4 hours from Bangkok.
• You will stay in a new Hotel with Wifi on the Cambodian side while we send Passport to the Royal Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh. Currently most trips require a 2-night stay, however should we stay 1 night only, we shall return THB500 for Westerners and THB200 for Filipinos.
• With immediate effect the Applicants for Tourist Visa have to provide additional documents, please refer to Visa Rules for details, furthermore Africans, Chinese and Mynmar can not apply for Visa anymore.
• Royal Thai Embassy Phnom Penh Holidays 2011: 26-28/09, 24/10, 31/10, 9-13/11, 5/12, 31/12
• THB 6,400 – Single Entry for Westerners, THB 7,800 – for Double Entry for Westerners, include Hotel (2 nights, Single Room) 4 meals, Cambodian and Thai Visa.
• THB 3,900 – Filipino (no visa fees) Single OR THB4,900.- for Double Entry includes Hotel (Shared), 4 meals.

Application Fees:

• THB 1,000 – for any Single Entry Thai Tourist Visa.
• THB 2,000 – for any Double Entry Thai Tourist Visa, and any Single Entry Thai Non
• Immigration Visa. (Yearly Multiple Entry not available.)
• Note: All trips require your Passport, 3 ID-pictures (2×3 cm) and 3 copies of your Passport ID-page, kindly ensure validity of your Passport is at least 6 month prior to the Visa application and has 3-4 free pages!

Common Mistakes: Period of visa validity is different from the period of stay. The visa validity “ENTER BEFORE” is a period during which a visa can be used to enter Thailand and is shown in the visa. Generally, the validity of a visa is 3 months. The period of stay depends on the type of visa and is granted by an immigration officer upon arrival at the port of entry. Example; period of stay for a tourist visa does not exceed 60 days, but can be extended by 30 days, however if a short month, like February, or a overstay is involved you might lose the second entry. Check “ENTER BEFORE” date carefully.

Visa Trip from Hua Hin to Penang Island, Malaysia

International Express Train (This train may often be overbooked, please check at Hua Hin Train Station well in advance)

• Depart: Hua Hin 18:20 on Train number 35
• Arrive: Butterworth, Malaysia at 11:55 the next day
• Take a bus, taxi or ferry to Penang
• You will arrive too late to apply for your visa on time. You must do this in the morning and collect it the following afternoon. This is the best train, however you’ll need to spend two nights in Penang, or
• Get off the train in Hatyai at 06:35 and catch a minibus to Penang for about THB 350 and will get you there in about 5 hours. This will mean one night in Penang.

Return from Butterworth

• Depart: Butterworth at 13:45 on Train number 36
• Arrive: Hua Hin at 05:50 next morning

By Bus

• Tickets are approximately THB 750 for First Class. VIP are about THB 1000.
• Depart from Hua Hin Bus Station (between Soi 65 and 64/1) at 09:00, 10:00 or 19:30.
• Travel time is approximately 10 – 12 hours with at least one stop for a meal.
• Arrive in Hatyai and catch a minivan to Penang Island for about THB 350.
• Trip takes about 5 hours to reach Penang Island.
• Make your way to Banana Travel and Tours for visa application

By Air

Bangkok to Penang

• Thai AirwaysTG 425 – 19:55/22:40
• Air Asia FD 3545 – 12:55/16:35

Penang to Bangkok

• Thai Airways TG 426 – 08:00/08:40
• Air Asia FD 3548 – 17:05/17:45

(These flights may change. Please confirm with airlines.)