Entry Requirements

Entry Requirements

Passports & Visas -- All visitors to Thailand must carry a valid passport with proof of onward passage (either a return or through ticket). Visa applications are not required if you are staying less than 30 days and are a national of one of 41 designated countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States (New Zealanders may stay up to 3 months).

The Immigration Division of the Royal Thai Police Department at 507 Soi Suan Phu (off Sathorn Tai Rd. South of Silom area and Sala Daeng BTS station) (tel. 02287-3101). The price of all visa extensions was just raised to 1,900B ($46), an increase of 400%, making 10-day extensions of 30-day visas uneconomical; it is best to always have a proper visa and exit the country by the date stamped in your passport (or make the proverbial "visa-run" over border-points with Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia). Visitors planning to stay for longer than a month can arrange 60-day tourist visas at embassies overseas for a cost of 1,900B ($46; renewable for an additional 30 days for another 1,900B ($46). If you overstay your visa, you will be charged 200B ($4.90) per day, payable when exiting the kingdom, but overstays are best avoided. Longer overstays are punishable by a 20,000B ($490) fine or a stay in immigration jail. For more information about visas, check this useful site: www.thaivisa.com.

Warning: Many small storefronts and travel agencies offer visa services, saying they will run your passport over the border and arrange a new visa; these companies are disreputable and have been known to supply bogus visas that land customers in jail. Don't let your passport travel without you (it is illegal).

Thai Embassies Overseas -- In the United States, contact the Royal Thai Embassy, 1024 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202/944-3600; fax 202/944-3611); The Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations, 351 E. 52nd St., New York, NY 10022 (tel. 212/754-2230; fax 212/754-2535); the Royal Thai Consulate-General, 801 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038 (tel. 213/937-1894; fax 213/937-5987); the Royal Thai Consulate General, 35 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 1834, Chicago, IL 60601 (tel. 312/236-2447; fax 312/236-1906). In Canada, contact the Royal Thai Embassy, 180 Island Park Dr., Ottawa, Ontario K1Y OA2 (tel. 613/722-4444; fax 613/722-6624); the Royal Thai Embassy, 106-736 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G4 (tel. 604/687-1143; fax 604/687-4434). In Australia, contact the Royal Thai Embassy, 111 Empire Circuit Yarralumla, ACT 2600 Canberra (tel. 02/6273-1149; fax 02/6273-1518); Royal Thai Consulate General, 2nd floor, 75-77 Pitt St., Sydney, NSW 2000 (tel. 02/9241-2120; fax 02/9247-8312). In New Zealand, contact the Royal Thai Embassy, 2 Cook St., Karori, P.O. Box 17226, Wellington (tel. 644/476-8618; fax 644/476-3677). In the United Kingdom, contact the Royal Thai Embassy, 29-30 Queens Gate, London (tel. 171/589-0173; fax 171/823-9695, enquiries@thaiconsul-uk.com).

Medical Requirements -- No inoculations or vaccinations are required unless you are coming from or passing through areas infected with yellow fever. Yellow fever certificates are required for those coming from 14 African and South American countries. Check at the consulate or embassy for up-to-date information about health certificates that may be required for entry.

A Note on Passports -- For an up-to-date country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go the "Foreign Entry Requirement" Web page of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov/foreignentryreqs.html.

Customs

What You Can Bring Into Thailand--It is prohibited by law to bring the following items into Thailand: narcotics, pornography, firearms and ammunition, and agricultural products. Tourists are allowed to enter the country with 1 liter of alcohol and 200 cigarettes (or 250g of cigars or smoking tobacco) per adult, duty free. Photographic equipment (one still, video, or movie camera, plus five rolls of still film or three rolls of 8mm or 16mm motion-picture film -- by the way, the film rule is not strictly enforced), and "professional instruments" (typewriter, personal computer, and so on) are allowed, provided they are taken out of the country on departure. Tourists are permitted to take gold out of the country without export duty, unless you are dealing in import/export related business.

What You Can Take Home from Thailand--Pay more attention to what you can in fact import to your home country, as Thai customs as you exit the kingdom are rather lax. One exception is the following rule about Thai cultural treasures.

Returning U.S. citizens who have been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty-free. You'll be charged a flat rate of 4% duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Be sure to have your receipts handy. On mailed gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go online at www.cbp.gov. (Click on "Travel," and then click on "Know Before You Go Online Brochure.") Or contact the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 202/354-1000) and request the pamphlet.

For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca). Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you're allowed to bring back duty-free one carton of cigarettes, 1 can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under $60 value"). All valuables should be declared on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The C$750 exemption can only be used once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

U.K. citizens returning from a non-EU country have a customs allowance of: 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% volume); 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs; 60cc (ml) perfume; 250cc (ml) of toilet water; and £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. People under 17 cannot have the tobacco or alcohol allowance. For more information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult their website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$400 or, for those under 18, A$200. Citizens can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 1,125 milliliters of alcohol. If you're returning with valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Citizens over 17 can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all 3 if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250g); plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer, or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export, listing the valuables you are taking out of the country; that way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

Export of Antiques or Art From Thailand -- The government wants to keep track of all pieces of art and antiquity that leave the kingdom, and so special permission is required for removing these items from the country. It is forbidden to take antique or authentic Buddha images, Bodhisattva images, or fragments thereof out of the country.

You will be required to submit the object, two 5-by-7-inch photographs of the front view of the object, your passport, and a photocopy of your passport notarized by your home embassy. The authorization process takes 8 days.

For further details contact the Fine Arts Department, Na Phra That Road, next to Thammasat University (tel. 02221-7811 or 02225-2652), open weekdays 9am to 4pm.

Please note: This is only an issue if the object in question is an antique, especially one that has been removed from a temple or palace, or a piece that has particular historic value to the kingdom. If you purchase a small Buddha image or reproduction, whether an amulet or a statue, you can just ship it or pack it in your bag. Any antique dealer will be able to notify you about which images require special permission.