Applying for an Indian tourist visa in Bangkok

Hello again.
A question re. flightticket and Visa: Do I need to show the flightticket when applying for a Tourist Visa at the Embassy in Bangkok? Or can I get the ticket while waiting the five days before getting tha Visa stamped in my passport?

Cheers,
Q.

We are gong to try to get a visa in Bangkok for India in a few weeks time. Mine is a question. Do you think we are safe to book a flight giving us 8 days in bangkok to get this sorted (6 of them working days) checked and there are no planned embassy holidays then

Surprisingly, they are very efficient with this service. Just make sure you give yourself at least 5 working days in case something comes up

One thing; there is this special day, maybe not a holiday, but it might affect opening hours:
"
NOVEMBER 12: Loi Krathong day
Loi Krathong is a religious event which happens every year on the full moon of the 12th lunar month (first full moon day of November). All Thai people buy or make a "KRATHONG". It is made of styrofoam surrounded by banana leaves, with flowers and a candle in the middle. Then in the evening, Thai people go to places where there is a river, a pound to launch their "KRATHONG".

Just make sure they are open. Take care and Vaya con Dios.

Cheers,
Q.

Here's a link about it:

http://www.thaiworldview.com/feast/kratong.htm

/Q.

Styrofoam is bad, bad, bad. Last year, there was an effort to make biodegradable floats here in BKK. Hopefully this trend continues. It's a fun evening, very visual, and, full of good vibes.

So let me get this right, it takes 5 working days to get a 6 month Indian Visa in Bangkok if travelling on a British passport, but how long does it take if just a 3 month visa will do? The same amount of time or less?

Also is it right that you dont need your passport until picking up the visa? So I could fill in my application form, go to Vietnam for say 10 days and then pick up the visa on my return before flying on to India.

Basically I am going to see my Uncle who lives in Vietnam for a bit, but my main holiday will be in India. My flight goes to Bangkok via Mumbai. I dont have time to get a visa in the UK and want to spend as little time as possible in Bangkok waiting for my visa, so that I have more time to spend in India.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I've only gotten a 6 month visa in BKK but I'm fairly certain it takes the same amount of time for a 3 month visa. It would stand to reason it is the same process. You bring your passport, photos, etc. Hand everything to the clerk. Wait a few minutes, pay your fees. Then you get your passport back and can do whatever you like while 5 days go by. I would check with the clerk about holding your visa while you are in VN. I don't think there would be any problem.

Ok first time post, lets try not to make a fool of myself..oh why should this place be any different.

Ok so here i am in Bangkok and I find my Thai visa is about to expire on nov 3rd. i need to get my application in for my visa for india and I tried a few travel agents who all have 2,900 as a price with 6 days now being quoted for turn around. Indian holiday is coming up on 28th so maybe that accounts for additional day.

Ok so 6 days is going to put me over my thai visa. i read in lonely planet that I may be able to slide on a day and not be asked to 500 bart overstay for 1 day. But thats really taking a bit of a chance. Im thinking I might have to go put the application in myself and then be able to take back my passport so i can go do a visa run while im waiting on the indian visa to come through. this kinda sucks as its going to cost at least 1000 bart to get to the boarder. Anyone see any way out of all this?

While we're at it, I did come across one travel agent that is part of a very reputable guest house that says he can get the 6 month visa for 1000 bart in 5 days if I pay 1,400 he can get it in 4 days. At first i thought he just didnt know what he was talking about, but on talking with him he claims he has some contact at the visa place that can get it through...hummm. you know if its too cheap to be true, it probably is a scam, but this guy has me baffled. What i dont want to do is hand my passport over to someone that then holds it ransom for a fortune or just messes up and cant get it back, all the time my Thai visa is expired and im racking up 500bart a day in fines.

500Baht per day fine for overstay is your cheapest route. Stop thinking so much and go Monday morning yourself to the visa office at the Glashaus on Sukhumvit. Submit your application and you will have it the next Monday at the latest, which is Nov 3. They do not hold your passport at the visa office. You bring it back with you to get the visa stamp in it after the waiting period. You can leave that day for India if the timing is right and avoid overstay. And, you may even get an overstay waived if someone is in a good mood.

yup your right. Ive had some time to think about it and thats the way Im going to tackle it. I was also dealing with an early case of Delhi belly, which was pretty distracting to say the least!

Spoke to someone today that says they have changed the overstay to 2 days grace then a 1000bart fine on the third day. As you say still cheaper and less hassle than doing a visa run.

thanks for the input.

Oh and related to this, I went back to the travel agent that said he could do it for 1000 bart, he wasnt there so I asked the person that was there without telling her that Id already been in. She said it was 7 days and 3000 bart! I cant believe this other guy didnt know, and I can only assume he was trying a scam. makes sense since I asked him twice what his name was and he avoided the question both times.

Hi thank you so much for this post. It has been very helpful and proberly saved me sometime.

Hi I posted on here a while back as I was going to get a new 6 month tourist visa in Bangkok in December. I didn't get there as the time I needed to go coincided with the trouble at Bangkok airport, so last minute I went to Sri Lanka. It was SUPER easy in Colombo- took 5 days, friendly and quick. We went very ealry in the morning to submit the visa, when it opened, and that was good as it was v quick. You can get passport photos done there when you go as you need a specific size- very easy. Picking up the visa 5 days later was a longer wait in a more chaotic centre across the road from where you put the visa in, but we both got ours back after about an hours wait. Recommended, and Sri Lanka was lovely!

Here's an update from my May 07 Post... A request for updated experiences... and an hot & sandy idea...

I got a 6 month visa for India (2nd back to back from BKK) no trouble on a 2 week trip to Thailand in Jun 07 - I was told I'd have interview to explain why, but didn't. IVAC were friendly and helpful...

What's the latest experience in the visa duration being issued from Bangkok?

Is this "3 months instead of 6 months if you've been in Thailand less than 2 months" being applied these days?

This thread could be a good way to update the unofficial duration policies based on recent experience...

I'm in Thailand now and have been here more than 2 months this time - so is Bangkok sure for 6 months?

Does anyone have experience with the Courier Service offered by IVAC? - details below...

Is this as reliable as doing it direct in BKK, but with 2 extra working days?

If this is reliable, you can do a visa run without every going to BKK, just fly direct to Phuket of Chiang Mai... 7 days straight to the beach is better than 5 days in BKK right?


http://www.ivac-th.com/courieracceptance.aspx

If you are unable to attend in person at the India Visa Application Centre in Bangkok , VFS has made special arrangements with GDA Couriers to accept visa applications and return your passport by courier. These centers are located in Chiangmai, Samutsakorn, Chonburi, Suratthani and Phuket.

Applications submitted by courier from these centers will reach the India Visa Application Center in Bangkok the next working day and will
immediately be forwarded to the Embassy of India.

I just realised I forgot to post about whether I got my visa ok... well I did book to go to Bangkok and I found the centre v helpful beforehand and responded to emails promptly. However, the expiration of my visa happened to coincide with the airport fiasco there so at the last minute I changed to Sri Lanka. It was a very easy service there- i picked up my 6 month visa in 5 days without any hassle.