Question 1

Thailand Tourist Visas: who can apply?

Accepted Answer

Anyone coming as a tourist who cannot, or does not want to, use visa-exempt entry. In practice that means one of three situations: your passport is not on the exemption lists, the 30 days the exemption gives you is not enough, or your purpose falls into one of the specific categories below.

TR1 — ordinary tourism and leisure. This is what most people mean by "tourist visa".

TR2 — participants in the MICE industry, meaning meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, supported by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. Period of stay 60 days.

TR3 — recreational learning or training: scuba diving, boxing training, Thai massage training, Thai culinary courses. Period of stay 60 days. Longer or more formal study belongs under the education categories instead.

TR4 — visiting family residing in Thailand, for less than 60 days. A longer stay with family moves to the Non-Immigrant O categories.

TR5 — medical treatment lasting less than 60 days. Longer treatment also moves to Non-Immigrant O.

TR6 — football trial. Period of stay 60 days.

TR7 — Filipino holders of ordinary passports, for a stay of no longer than 59 days.

Question 2

Thailand Tourist Visas: what are the requirements?

Accepted Answer

TR1 and TR7 are issued either single entry, with three months' visa validity, or multiple entry, with six months' validity. Every other TR category is single entry with three months' validity.

The distinction that catches people out: visa validity is the window in which you may enter Thailand, not how long you may stay. A three-month single-entry TR1 does not mean three months in the country — it means you must arrive within three months, and your period of stay is set separately when you are admitted.

Unlike the Non-Immigrant categories, no baht threshold is published for TR. There is no 30,000 THB bank statement requirement here. What is asked for instead is evidence that the trip is real: a travel booking and proof of where you will be staying.

Approval is never automatic. The embassy or consulate may ask for an interview or further documents, and the fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Question 3

Thailand Tourist Visas: what documents do you need?

Accepted Answer

Common to every TR category: the biodata page of your passport or travel document, a photograph taken within the last six months, a document indicating your current location, a travel booking confirmation, and proof of accommodation in Thailand — a hotel booking, or an invitation letter from family or friends there.

TR1 needs nothing beyond that list.

TR2 adds a letter from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

TR3 adds a letter of acceptance from the institute or company organising the activity — the dive school, the Muaythai gym, the cookery course.

TR4 adds the personal details of your family in Thailand: ID card, or passport with the visa page or stay permit.

TR5 adds a letter of appointment from the hospital or medical centre.

TR6 adds a letter from the football club.

TR7 needs only the common list.

Question 4

Thailand Tourist Visas: what does it cost?

Accepted Answer

The application fee is set by each embassy and consulate in its own currency, so there is no single worldwide figure — check the fee page of the mission handling your application. The published structure distinguishes a single-entry tourist visa from a multiple-entry one, the latter costing more.

Payment is made inside the e-Visa system by Visa or Mastercard, and the fee is non-refundable whatever the outcome.

There is no financial threshold to budget for on top of the fee, which is what separates TR from the Non-Immigrant categories. The costs that do arise are ones you would have anyway: the flights and accommodation you have to evidence.

Two figures the Immigration Bureau does publish in baht, for once you are in Thailand rather than applying from abroad: extending a stay costs 1,900 THB, and a re-entry permit — which you need if you leave and come back without losing your permission to stay — costs 1,000 THB for a single entry or 3,800 THB for multiple. Approval and the length of any extension granted are at the officer's discretion.

Question 5

Thailand Tourist Visas: where do you apply?

Accepted Answer

Through Thailand's official e-Visa system at thaievisa.go.th, to the Thai embassy or consulate covering where you live.

Apply before you travel. A tourist visa cannot be obtained on arrival — the only at-the-border option is Visa on Arrival, which exists for four nationalities only and is a different thing entirely.

Allow time, but not too much. The mission may request an interview or additional documents, and since the visa's validity is a window for entry rather than a period of stay, applying too early can mean the window closes before you fly.

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