Visa

Hey everyone,

I promised to write a few words about my visa fun, so here goes:

"apricot, seat, escapement, balloon".

Also, it's a bit of a bugger getting a visa to anywhere outside the EU. At least, since I've only been outside the EU once, it seems like a bit of a bugger. I suspect it's actually much easier than once upon a time.

Hopefully this'll help anyone else in a similar situation though, who is confused. To be fair the Thai embassy website is fairly easy to understand.

Anyway, if I was just visiting for less than a month, I could turn up at the airport and get a tourist visa there. Since, however, I'm going for 6 months, I needed a more permanent solution. The other option is the "non-immigrant visa". This lasts for 3 months*. With this visa, you also have to choose one of a number of different options, again, the embassy site will give you more info on this. I originally opted for the "Educational" type visa, since, you know, I'm teaching and all that. Apparently this isn't it, so we're going for the default non-immigrant visa.

To stay for more than a month, you have to get proof of what you're doing while you're there. I have had a considerable wait for a letter of accreditation from the school in Bangkok. Either they don't want me much, or the massive wad of paper covered in thick, dense Thai lettering took some time to procure. I hope the latter, but suspect the former.

Anyway, I now have the letter, and have to get the visa from the Thai embassy. I could post it. However, sending my passport through the post over Christmas time seems a bit... suicidal. So I'm going to go and do it over the counter. Wish me luck!

That was dull!

Dom

*When it gets to April the 8th, I'm not sure what will happen - apparently the usual technique is to leave the country across one of the boarders, then come back in and get a new visa.