Frequently Asked Questions

A visitor’s visa is between valid for between 1 and 6 months, but visa validation lengths vary. We can advise you on the correct visa to apply for and the corresponding duration of validity after your initial consultation.

Becoming a sponsor for a Thai national is achieved by submitting additional paperwork with your partner’s documents including financial, accommodation and relationship status.

If we are applying for a visitor visa then from receipt of documents to visa awarded, it takes approximately 2 weeks. If the applicant needs an interview at the embassy it is approximately 3 weeks before completion.
If we are applying for a settlement visa then from receipt of documents to visa awarded, it takes approximately 8 weeks. If the applicant needs an interview at the embassy it can take up to approximately 12 weeks before completion.

Everyone’s circumstances are different and no application is the same. Our responsibility to the client is to advise what correct documents are needed and to make sure that the presentation of the application meets a high standard, guaranteeing that the visa will be issued.

The embassies do work with an open mind and her previous or current employment is only a small part of the application. Key visa’s job is to portray the full application.

As technology is improving, moire and more people are using the internet from all walks of life and ages. A popular choice of communication is Skype which we find most of our clients use to contact their Thai girlfriends from the UK, Australia or Ireland. But as we have seen, Skype is not easy to obtain records from so you can chat for hours and after months of great service, have no records to show. This does not help when applying for a visa.

Please be aware that continuing using Skype is great but most people are not aware you can download a conversation log from Skype which is free. This logs all calls and chat in a printable form and allows you to keep all records.

I am constantly being told in my office “We use Skype but we cannot get records”, now you have no excuse. Look up Skype Log View and download it. It allows you to keep all your records which is great because with all visa applications, the more contact information we have, the more chance we have of getting you a visa.

Make sure before you download anything free you have virus checked it first.

Chat history is important for visas to UK, Australia, when you are applying for a visa to the UK or Australia then recording your chat history is one of the most important things you will ever do to get a visa accepted.

The reason is that most visas are given on the merits of the relationship so both the UK and Australian Embassies want to see that you have been keeping in touch during your times apart from each other showing an ongoing relationship whilst the foreigner partner is overseas and the great thing is it is FREE!!

Technology has overtaken the need to pay British Telecom and Telestra 1.50 Pounds or Dollars per minute as most ways to keep in contact are FREE but keeping the records is more important so as technology moves forward so your mind set should do also.

Keeping in touch with your Thai girlfriend or Thai partner should be recorded and backed up in case you have a need to obtain a visa in the future or even now as the relationship to the Embassy official is more important than most of the extra documents you will supply.

Free chat users like LINE, Whatsapp & Messenger are the most common and can be tracked using the correct software and making sure you do not lose any records, most of my clients use one of the above but do not realize that you can get records of these for free so I have given you below the link to the various companies to obtain your records.

LINE

Whatsapp

Facebook Messenger

Facebook don’t give you an easy option like the others, but this is the best way that I have found:

1. Go to m.facebook.com/messages. If you are logged in to Fb then this will open the mobile version of the messaging app on your PC.

2. Click on the conversation you wish to save. This will open the conversation in its own window.

3. Click on “See Older Messages” near the top of the screen. Here’s the worst part, especially for those who have years of one conversation with many thousands of individual msgs. Keep clicking on “See Older Messages” until you reach the point in the conversation where you want to start. If that is the first post in the conversation, you can spend several minutes clicking.

4. Hit CTRL/P on your keyboard. This will bring up the print dialog box.

5. Print your messages

So now there is no reason not to be able to supply reams and reams of useful text records.

This is an alarmingly common occurrence at the moment. We have seen numerous cases where the client has presumed that their visa finish date was not the ink stamp in their passport, but was the 90 day report date. Please be aware that your 90 day report date does not always align perfectly with your one year visa. In most cases your 90 day report date will run past your retirement visa date. For renewing any long-stay, one-year visas, you should always check the ink stamp in your passport and go by that date. For your 90 day report, go by the date on the white TM47 paper stapled into your passport. I would advise you to go to your immigration office and point out your mistake and normally they will allow you to pay the overstay and retain your visa.

This is not a mistake, it is a new visa rule that has recently been enforced. If you enter Thailand on a {VOA}, which is a 30 day free visa on arrival, and you wish to go on a Cambodian visa run or cross a border via land, you will now only receive 15 days when you re-enter. If you leave and then reenter Thailand via the airport (not across land), you shall be given 30 days.
This rule does not apply if your passport has a current visa was acquired outside Thailand, e.g. Non-Immigrant visa multiple entry. Please note: Not all nationalities are given 30 days on arrival so please check your visa status before you arrive. New enforced rules can be less of a headache if you arrive in Thailand with a visa in your passport.

This seems to be the trend now in Pattaya. The answer to your question is yes you can open a bank account on a 30 day visa on arrival but you will require a residency letter, obtainable from your local immigration office. This is a document with your photograph and your current address stamped by the immigration bureau. When you have the residency certificate you can go to most banks and open a bank account. When you go to the immigration bureau you need two passport sized photographs and something confirming your address in Thailand such as a rental agreement, hotel receipt, or home ownership information. The residency letter issued by the immigration bureau can be used for purchasing a motor vehicle or motorbike in your own name, obtaining a Thailand driving license or opening a new bank account.

The easiest solution is to go on a Cambodian visa run that will net you a 30 day extension. It is important that you have a visa run agent check your passport for eligibility before you book a visa run. You do not want to make that bus ride only to be denied the extension! In most of my articles I advise that those planning to stay more than 30 days in Thailand shouldn’t just bring suitcase and toothbrush. Obtain a visa from a Thai consulate in your own country before you arrive, it does saves you quite a lot of hassle.