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My Girlfriend (Bulgarian) is going on a work vacation trip to India, Vietnam and Thailand.

The path she is taking is:

UK > India > Thailand (1 hour flight crossover, in same airport) > Vietnam > Thailand (staying for 5 days) > UK

She has applied for a tourist visa for Thailand. This only works as a single entry however. As you can see, she is technically landing in Thailand for a crossover flight. She then returns to Thailand after Vietnam to complete the work trip

My question is, will her 1 hour stay in Thailand "Use up" her one entry for Thailand visa - Thus making her apply for a new one within a week in a different country? Or will the immigration officers allow the Visa to be used the 2nd time, as she technically didn't enter the country?

Note - she does not have £5,000 in her bank account to apply for a multiple entry visa.

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  • £5,000 in her bank account to apply for a multiple entry visa. Say again? Not even a residence permit would cost that much there Jun 23, 2017 at 11:00
  • @HankyPanky To apply for a multi entry visa she needs £5,000 in her bank account. It doesn't cost that much, its just what she needs. "Original bank statement of the applicant showing a balance of at least £5000 (for 6 months) or a print out with official stamp of the bank". thaiembassyuk.org.uk/en/types-of-visa
    – Goralight
    Jun 23, 2017 at 11:07
  • Oh that makes sense, i thought it was supposed cost of that application. Sorry Jun 23, 2017 at 11:09

1 Answer 1

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UK > India > Thailand (1 hour flight crossover, in same airport) > Vietnam > Thailand (staying for 5 days) > UK

Sorry for being not very well informed about what is a crossover flight but that 1 hour stopover surely means its on the same flight booking (please cancel the ticket if not because 1 hour is just not enough to change flights on different bookings)

That means she is Transiting Thailand and for a short transit there is no visa required in Thailand

Foreigners, who travel via Thailand to other destinations from the same port of entry, are allowed to transit without a visa.

Reference

Here is some info from Timatic

TWOV (Transit Without Visa):

Visa required, except for Holders of onward tickets for a max. transit time of 12 hours through Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK). Passengers must have a connecting flight booked on the same ticket.

Personal Experience

I have travelled on Thai Airways to multiple countries on the same ticket. We used our single entry Thai visa on the first leg of our journey and on our way back we had a 6 hour transit at BKK, there were no immigration steps involved that would've required a new visa.

For the sake of completeness

Bulgarian Nationals can get Visa on Arrival in Thailand. Although in this case that will not be required

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  • A Crossover is a connecting / stopover flight. Sorry for the wrong choice of words, so is this ok then?
    – Goralight
    Jun 23, 2017 at 11:08
  • Yes, you don't require a visa for Airside transit in Thailand Jun 23, 2017 at 11:10
  • Is the reference accurate? As that is for Israel? Will she just be able to declare that she is there for a stopover flight and they will let her through or?
    – Goralight
    Jun 23, 2017 at 11:17
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    The Timatic one is as accurate as it gets. The other reference is still reasonable since it does not mention any nationality requirements but still comes from an authentic source. Nobody will even ask her what she is here for. She will have to run towards her gate for next flight without having to go through immigration. Just make sure its booked on the same ticket Jun 23, 2017 at 11:20
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    The real key is "does the traveler have to pass through immigration" in order to connect to the other flight. You are not legally inside the country until you clear immigration/customs. Most airports are designed so that you can go from one terminal to another before passing through immigration checkpoint.
    – Jon Grah
    Jun 24, 2017 at 6:33

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