So you’ve met the woman of your dreams here in the Land of Smiles and you want to take her back to the US. A lot of erroneous information floats around about the US Immigration process particularly with regard to the tourist visa and hopefully this little article will clear up some of the confusion.
The Tourist Visa for your Thai Fiancee
I hear many people discuss the tourist visa in various forums and blogs and mostly I hear about how easy they are to obtain for Thai girls. It’s true that the United States Embassy in Bangkok is somewhat less reluctant to grant tourist visas than other diplomatic missions. That being said, they are still difficult to obtain. I usually tell people that the rejection rate is about 95% and I usually receive and incredulous response because they know someone who got one for their Thai girlfriend, fiancee, or wife. That may be the case, however, the Bangkok Embassy denies many tourist visas on a daily basis and they are not likely to alter this system. The overall rejection rate for Thais wishing to obtain a tourist visa is very high. The reason for this high rejection rate is the fact that a Thai applicant must overcome the presumption that they are merely using the tourist visa as a means for going to the US in an effort to permanently remain.
This presumption can be rebutted by showing “strong ties” to the Kingdom of Thailand, in short: money talks. Overall, “strong ties” implies financial ties, i. e. a well paying career or property in Thailand (condominium, home, company, assets, etc. ) that would require a trip back to the Kingdom. Many US Citizen boyfriends, fiances, and husbands looking to assist Thais coming to America inadvertently may be hurting the Thais chances of getting a tourist visa.
Say you take your Thai girlfriend or fiance to the US Embassy in Bangkok and tell them you want to get a tourist visa to show her around America. Immediately you have given more evidence in favor of denying the tourist visa because it looks as though you may use this visa to get married which would reinforce the presumption that she is simply using the visa to go to the US to remain. Also, if by chance you two get this visa and go to the US to subsequently get married then US Immigration can (and many times does) construe this as an attempt to defraud the US government.
With such a high rejection rate and the other risks involved if marriage is even a remote possibility and the US Citizen boyfriend or fiancé lives in the US, then it is a better option to file for a K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa with USCIS in order to bring the Thai loved one back to the US.
Thanks for Reading,
Benjamin W. Hart, Esq.
Posts Tagged ‘Tourist Visa’
Bringing a Thai Girlfriend to the Usa: Facts About the Tourist Visa
December 9th, 2009Visa Laws in the Kingdom of Thailand
December 9th, 2009As per the Visa Exemption Rule, the Kingdom of Thailand allows foreigners from various nations to enter as well as stay here for a limited period of time. In other words, foreigners from countries that are covered in the exemption rule are allowed to stay in Thailand for a period of up to 30 days, for which there is no need for a visa application. Al though not a single visa can exceed a period of 30 days, the exemption rule permits foreign nationals to stay in the country for a period of maximum 90 days within a period of six months.
However, this rule is applicable only to foreigners coming here for tourism purposes. No matter you are a foreigner from a country not included in the exemption law or from one included in the exemption law, it is essential to apply for a visa if you want to stay in the country for a period exceeding 30 days.
Depending upon the changing requirements and purposes of people, there are different types of visas. A visa is simply a permit or consent issued by the Royal Thai Embassies or Royal Thai Consulate General to a foreigner who wishes to stay here for a particular period of time. The visa duration varies based on a number of factors, which may be up to three months, six months, or sometimes up to one year.
However, a visa is never issued for a period less than three months. Most popular among the visa issued by the Thai embassy is tourist visa, which is alternatively known as travel visa or visit visa. A tourist visa is usually granted for a period of up to 30 days or up to 60 days. Thailand issues a 60-day visa to nationals of almost 40 countries, and for nationals of about 19 countries, visa with a scheme, namely, visa on arrival, is issued. Even though the travel visa for Thailand is quite complex, its requirements are same for everyone. Among the requirements for applying for tourist visa is a valid passport from the home country, two passport size photos, and completed as well as signed application forms.
Business work visa is another popular type of visa issued in Thailand. It falls under the category of non immigrant visa group, and is also known as non-immigrant visa work or Business ‘B’ Visa. A business work visa is regarded as a first step to apply for a work permit in Thailand. When business work visa is issued for the first time, it is given for a period up to three months. But, you may get either double entry or sometimes even one year multiple entry visa when you apply it for second time.
However, you are required to leave the country every three months. But there is an exception and you may get a valid one year business visa, if you acquire work permit through an approved program of Board of Investment (BOI. ) Likewise, in this case, you needn’t have to leave Thailand every three months. But, you have to comply with a lot of paper works provided you leave the country for holiday purposes. Nevertheless, this is not applicable for normal entry visa. Some of the requirements for obtaining a work visa are sponsorship of Thai company, VAT certificate, withholding tax, and letter of employment.
Different types of visas in Thailand also include Ed Visa (Education Visa), which is usually issued to students who are interested in studying in the country. An Ed Visa must be applied at least a month prior to the trip to Thailand. Of the requirements in order to get this visa are a valid passport and a letter from the admission department of college or university you are going to study. Transit visa, diplomatic visa, and courtesy visa are the other popular types of visas issued by the embassies.
Nowadays, a plethora of law firms, immigration agencies, and other service providers are in the scenario to render to a host of services in dealing with visa laws as well as requirements. With an expert team consisting of professional migration consultants, these service providers undertake a myriad of activities in connection with obtaining work permits as well as visas and visas for a number of destinations located worldwide.
Some of them even provide the services of expert immigration attorneys for scrutinizing the authenticity of documents. There are also certain service providers who assist you in securing an Australia visa, the US visa, and the UK visa, apart from visas for other countries such as New Zealand and South Africa.
Thailand Expat Life: Visa Run to Vientiane, Laos
November 18th, 2009A few days ago, I made my first visa run to Laos, by bus.
Normally I go to Singapore to get a 60-day tourist visa, but the last time I went, they refused to give me a 60-day visa because I have an open e-ticket back to Canada. They now want a confirmed ticket, and will not accept an open ticket. This is stupid, if you ask me. I told the lady at the front desk that if the violence in Bangkok gets bad, I can phone Air Canada and be on my way next day, so an open ticket is much better than a ticket for a particular date. No dice. So I had to fly back to Bangkok and got the usual 30-day entry at the airport. The entire trip cost me 18,000 baht, counting hotels, flights, meals, taxis, etc. What a waste.
I did a couple of visa runs by bus to Cambodia, and find that a pain in the bum, since you only get 14 days and then have to do it again, and it costs 2000 baht each time.
So this time, I signed up for the bus to Vientiane.
I must say that the service by the visa run company was excellent; the bus (a 40-seater) was full, and it was the same comfortable bus they use for the Cambodia runs, with the same driver. The driver is relatively conservative, seems to be mindful of the fact he’s got 40 farangs on board, and is as careful a driver as you would want.
The bus left PB Tower on Sukhumvit Soi 71 exactly at 8:30PM.
There was a pee break about an hour later at a service centre, and then another 2 hours later, and so on, throughout the night. These gave the driver a chance to relax a bit, which I thought was a good idea.
Unfortunately, I have never been able to sleep on a bus or airplane, and this trip was no exception. While my seat mate happily snored away the night, I sat there bleary eyed, shifting in my seat periodically as my bum got sore. I appreciated the rest breaks as well.
A DVD movie was played at the start of the trip, but after it finished, it was after 11PM, so no more movies were shown.
We arrived at the border early, before 6:30. I watched the sun come up. We had to sit around for a while until the border office opened, and then one of the bus company ladies got all our passports processed. She had previously collected them on the bus.
After being stamped out of Thailand, we took 3 mini-buses (vans) across the bridge (Mekong River) into Laos, where again we waited while the lady got our passports processed by Lao immigration. In less than an hour, we took the mini-buses into Vientiane, and arrived at the street for the Thai Embassy about 7:30 or 7:40 AM. There were already at least 200 people lined up along the sidewalk, and it was hot.
The embassy gates opened about 8:15 AM, and we all filed into the embassy compound. There was a ticket machine at the front, and we joined the queue.
However, our erstwhile visa run lady ushered us up the stairs into an air-conditioned area and handed out low-numbered tickets from the machine. Our numbers started around 95, whereas the people at the ticket machine were getting tickets numbered over 350. So I presume she had some contact in Vientiane who stood at the beginning of the line at the gates at an early hour, and then passed the tickets to her when she arrived an hour or more later.
The ticket numbers were called out over the public address system in both Thai and English, and repeated once: “Ticket number 37, please proceed to counter number 2″.
I soon noticed that there was no pause in the number callout, the announcements came non-stop, and soon reached the 80s. We all rushed downstairs to the counters and were there when our numbers came up. But the numbers just kept on rolling by. Our lady collected our passports and tickets, and lined them all up along the counter, and then told us to go wait in the other building.
Over there, we found there were four more counters, numbered 3 through 6, but only one, counter 4, was active, and there were at least 100 people waiting, sitting on chairs. This waiting room was also air conditioned.
Again, the numbers were called out, but this time there were big gaps between, and there was a substantial pause after each number was called. When a number was called, a person went up to counter 4, received a paper receipt, and then exited stage left.
After every batch of 10 or 12 numbers, there was a 5 or 6 minute delay. That was when I noticed that the Thai lady behind the counter was printing out and then separating the receipts. Clearly, the passports and applications were being processed in the other building, entered into a computer, and then the receipt was printed in this building at counter 4.
After about 30 or 40 minutes, my number was called; I went up to the counter, got my receipt and exited. The guy next to me had a lower number, but his number was not called, so he got a little upset and went up to the counter, where the lady told him to wait.
I went out the exit, and there was my visa run lady collecting the receipts, and then ushering us over to one of the vans. My receipt had shown “60 days double entry tourist visa” and “fee: $0″, so I was happy.
The van took us to a local restaurant where we had a Thai/Lao food breakfast or brunch of fried rice and whatever. This was free, paid for by the visa run company, but soft drinks were 20 baht extra.
In Laos, you can use Lao kip, Thai baht, and US dollars interchangeably. If you pay in Thai baht, you get change in Thai baht. If you pay in US dollars, you get change in Lao kip, which, like Cambodian currency, has very high denominations and no value. A Pepsi was 20 baht, which was reasonable, but no diet drinks were available. By the way, ATM machines in Laos only dispense Lao kip.
After brunch, we were taken by van to the hotel, which turned out to be quite acceptable, maybe 2.5 stars. There was no pool, just a room, but it was a big room, private bathroom, and cable or satellite TV with many Thai, a few Lao, and some movie channels, including HBO and Star Movies.
The bathroom was typical Thai-style, with no shower stall or bath, and a shower head on the wall. There was a flash water heater which worked, and the toilet worked. The towels were large, red, fluffy, and obviously new.
I had paid an extra 200 baht at the front desk for a private room. The visa run fee of 5000 baht includes a shared room (2 per room). The fee will increase to 6000 baht after the free tourist visa promotion ends June 5.
In bed by 1PM in the afternoon, I slept for several hours, got up, showered, watched a movie, then went out in search of dinner. I walked up and down the main street near the hotel, but there was nothing appealing. However, the office complex 20 meters from the hotel had a restaurant, so I went in there and found 5 other farangs from the visa run also there. The food was good, the prices were not expensive, and I was able to pay with Thai baht. The young lady behind the bar was probably the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, and I have been to Thailand off and on for 20 years. She made me wish I was 25 again.
Next day, I had breakfast at the same restaurant, and then around 1PM, we piled into the vans again and were taken to the border. There are a lot of “duty free” shops at the border. We waited about 45 minutes or so, and then the visa run lady showed up, and we all went through Immigration with the Lao border people just looking at us, not asking to see our passports, which the visa run lady had.
Back across the bridge to Thailand, where we waited another 45 minutes or so, then it was back on the bus for the return trip. Within an hour, we stopped at a restaurant, where we had another Thai meal, again free, soft drinks extra, 20 baht.
The return trip seemed much faster, as several DVD movies were played, which occupies the time and the mind.
We arrived back in Bangkok at 1:30 AM. You can get dropped off anywhere along the route; some exited at Ramkhamhaeng. I waited until the end, which is just beside Ekamai BTS station, where I quickly discovered that the BTS was closed. An 80 baht taxi ride later, I was home again.
Would I do it again? Definitely, yes. The whole process was pretty much automatic. The company took care of everything. You do have to book a seat in advance, though. One farang apparently called to find out the price and time, showed up and was angry that there was no seat for him. But he had not made a reservation, had not left his name or phone number, so was out of luck. Of course, he had left it until the last day of his visa, so he would have to leave the next day somehow and pay the 500 baht overstay fee.
To summarize: you leave at 8:30PM, spend a night on the bus. Then it’s half a day waiting around, with brunch included. Check into the hotel, sleep a bit or, if you have the stamina, explore Vientiane. Not much there, though. Have dinner, sleep one night at the hotel. Next day, wait around for a morning or visit Vientiane, then bus it back to Bangkok, arriving about 1:30 AM.
If you want to do this yourself, the company I used was “Quick Thai Visa Run”, 6th floor, PB Tower, Sukhumvit Soi 71. The contact is Phillip, who speaks perfect English, at 02-713-2498 (office hours) or 09-0245-255 (24 hours). They have a web site at www.ThaiVisaRun.com, but it hasn’t been updated in a while, and only mentions their Cambodia run, not the Laos run.
By: Douglas Anderson
