I believe that the first thing that should be known about the nations who are granted the additional benefit of obtaining a Visa-On-Arrival is the countries that are eligible for this privilege. At the moment, the Kingdom of Thailand has granted special visa-on-arrival status to a total of 28 nations throughout the world. These countries are broken down as follows:
- Australia
- The kingdom of Bhutan
- The republic of Bulgaria
- The people’s republic of China
- The republic of Cyprus
- Czech republic
- Estonia
- Federal democratic republic of Ethiopia
- The republic of Fiji
- Georgia
- The republic of Hungary
- The republic of India
- The republic of Kazakhstan
- The principality of Liechtenstein
- The republic of Malta
- The united Mexican states
- The republic of Nauru
- The sultanate of Oman
- Papua new guinea
- The republic of Poland
- Romania
- The Russian federation
- The kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- The Slovak republic
- The republic of Slovenia
- Taiwan – China
- The republic of Uzbekistan
- The republic of Vanuatu
Countries that fall within this category are able to obtain visas at any international airport or immigration checkpoint in Thailand. For a fee of θ2000, citizens of these countries are granted a tourist visa valid for 15 days, which is issued by Thai Immigration. Depending on the month in which you are visiting, it is possible to obtain a visa for free.
All of the requirements that must be met in order to obtain a Thai visa must be satisfied by the travellers who are from those countries. The prerequisites are as described below:
- The visit is solely for tourism.
- The validity period of a passport should be at least thirty days.
- A valid address when staying in Thailand (for example, a hotel reservation)
- an air ticket for a return flight that has been confirmed within the past 15 days (open tickets are not accepted).
- It is required that a minimum of 20,000 Thai Baht per family and 10,000 Thai Baht per individual be presented in cash. This amount does not include any fees associated with visas.
Tips to make it smooth
The visa on Visa-On-Arrival at airports takes time and if you want to make it a little quicker, then these tips might help you.
- Submit your visa form online and print it well before going to Thailand
- Keep all the required documents in a file and hold it in your hand
- Carry a small pouch with your cash and hold ฿2000 for visa-ready
- Carry a pen
- Smile at the immigration officer
On the other hand, if you are not permitted to enter Thailand due to the VISA ON ARRIVAL and VISA EXEMPTION RULE, then you have the option of obtaining visas from the Royal Thai Embassy in advance of your trip.
