Applying for entry visa in Bangkok

judecg

Hi, has anyone tried getting an entry (X) visa in Bangkok? I am an Australian citizen married to an Indian, currently living in Bombay. I am on an employment visa but it's expiring and I wont be working for a while (actually leaving India but need a visa to be here until we can get our plans organised). We've only been married since May so from these forums it looks unlikely I can get a PIO card. We thought the best thing was to go out and get an entry visa to last me until we leave. Any thoughts and experiences you can share? How long did it take to process? We're not sure how long to book a trip for. I have spent the last 10 years living in the US and dealing with awful US immigration so I get pretty nervous about these things Your help would be great.

Nick-H

I think it might be worth your while at least enquiring at FRRO about applying for the X visa there, before making a trip unless you were going to make that trip anyway.

judecg

Ah the fun FRRO. They as usual are pretty unhelpful and uninterested. But they said that absolutely they cannot transfer/switch my visa over simply because I am now married to an Indian. They said I have to leave and apply elsewhere. At this point we weren't sure what visa I could apply for... but it appears the X is the one. We just don't know how long it will take in Bangkok. Fingers crossed it is not a difficult process.

stevebenaulim

The problem you will find in Bangkok is, now its also outsoursed, so you will be dealing with Thais that only know a bit about tourist visas, to India.
To get into the Indian Embassy in Bangkok, you will need a letter of introduction from the outsoursing office.
Ive heard the Embassy officials in Bangkok are unhelpful.
Good luck anyway.

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judecg

An update.. my Thai friend in Bangkok called the Embassy there and was told it will take 5 days to process the entry visa for me (he gave my details). So... we are off there this Sunday. Fingers crossed. Of course... it's now a state of emergency there.. fun fun. We're giving ourselves extra time in case it takes longer than that. I'll let you all know what happens. This forum is really excellent btw. Thanks for all the help and info in various topics.

Scandojazzbuff

If you are looking for anything but a tourist visa, don't rely on the 5 day waiting period for a visa here in BKK. Thais are notorious for screwing up the simplest of things, but, for a 6 month tourist visa, it will be no problem.

The State of Emergency is something that we hear about, but, don't feel or see at all. The protests and fighting occur in an area that I personally never go to and that is away from most of the business and commercial centres. If it weren't for the media, you wouldn't know anything is happening. But, there is an outside chance things will get worse. There is no resolution in sight to this dilemma. Both sides offer nothing. If it gets bloodier, the army will be brought in. But, the army has supporters and allies on both sides. Will they split and fight each other? Unlikely, but not impossible.

judecg

Hmm... well we have more than 5 days for sure as we thought it might take longer. I'm not worried about what's going on there as far as our own safety goes. We were there for our honeymoon and stuff was happening but we had no idea. I hope people can resolve peacefully... it's sad.

judecg

Just wanted to give everyone an update on how this went, in case anyone wants to do the same/similar thing. So we came to the VFS (outsourcing) visa office on Monday. They were very helpful. Straight away told us we would have to go to the Embassy for an interview... and gave us the paperwork which would get us in. It's a 15 minute walk so we went directly there. Didn't have to wait too long for a meeting with the First Secretary. At first he questioned my husband in hindi... I wasn't sure what about. Turns out he was asking why my name wasn't in his passport. We had wanted to do it, but didn't have it done in Bombay because we heard it could take several months and we needed his passport for a foreign work visa application, so we couldn't send it off for that. The consular officer was suggesting that we get my name added in the passport and then apply for PIO but when we explained that there was a 1 year marriage requirement we didn't yet have, he immediately said 'no problem, we'll give you the X visa' and he also said my husband could get my name added to his passport right there within 24 hours.

I asked how long my visa would take and he said 5 days. We had to then take the papers he signed back to VFS to lodge and pay for. They stamped that it would be ready in 5 days - which was today. We went in at 4pm... along with many other people (wow is that place busy!... but I have to say very efficient, polite and friendly compared to the VFS for Canada in Bombay). I'm happy to say my passport was there with the X visa all ready to go. I know some people are not getting the tourist visas of the length they're hoping for from Bangkok... but I can only say my personal experiences there have been very positive. The extra service of getting my name in my husband's passport was something we didn't expect and it was nice not to get grilled or have anyone acting like our marriage was fishy. No questions about that at all! We gave ourselves extra time here just in case.. so now we can relax a bit and enjoy this lovely city. Hope all your visa issues work out as well!

Scandojazzbuff

Great. Welcome to Bangkok. Enjoy the food, the ambiance, and, the shopping. Still, a great place to live.

Nick-H

Thanks for the news, Jude.

Good news, too.

barbarae

I got my X visa for a year in Bangkok in March with exactly the same experience-- no hassle & most co-operative that theBKK embassy. I already had my name in my husbands passport. The visa officer gave us his mobile number so now coming up to the next visa vist as am,in limbo land re PIO

darkside_of_d_sun

My wife just got a 5 year multiple entry X Visa from Bangkok in October exactly the same was mentioned by Jude and Barbara. And the her name was endorsed on my passport within 24 hours as well. The only question asked by the counsel officer was why we didnt get it done in India, I guess our answer was satisfactory to him, I however thought it was pretty ridiculous !

Cheers,
Shamik

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