In this article, I tell you how I got my Thai Tourist visa in Manila, Philippines.
What you need
To get yourself a single entry Thai tourist visa in Manila, you will need the following paperwork:
- Passport
- Flight ticket to Thailand
- Flight ticket out of Thailand
- Hotel reservation
- Bank statement from your home bank showing travel funds
- Two passport photos
At the time I went to apply for my single entry Thai tourist visa in Manila (Febuary 2017), there was no fee to apply.
The normal fee is 2,900 pesos.
When I applied for my Thai tourist visa the lady at the desk asked what I was doing in Thailand for so long.
As in my passport I already had 1x triple entry tourist visa and 2 single entry tourist visas in the past.
I simply told her that I travel around Thailand and I run an online business.
I also told her that I can show proof of my online income and that I was not working in Thailand illegally (as a teacher or jobs they are actually cracking down on).
She asked me to show them and I presented her with online earnings and client contacts. She was happy with that and processed my application with no further questions.
The entire process took around 35 minutes. I got there at 10:15am and there wasn’t much of a queue. You need to apply between 9:30 and 12pm.
You collect your passport 2 days later. For example, if you apply on a Monday you go collect your passport on a Wednesday. Collection time is 12pm-5pm.
How to get there
The Royal Thai Embassy in Manila is located in Makati and is exactly where it says on the map below:
It is located in a building on the ground floor, there will be a security guard waiting outside to let you in.
It’s best just to order an Uber from your hotel or Airbnb to the embassy.
Their website can be found here.
Final thoughts
Make sure you have all the paperwork I listed in the bullet points. I saw two people before me who did not bring their bank statement or their hotel booking and were told to go back and get them.
I had all the paperwork and just happened to decide that I’ll bring my client contacts in case they asked any questions.
As all my clients are outside of Thailand, the Embassy didn’t seem to care at that I work remotely online from Thailand.
As I landed back in Bangkok, the person waiting at immigration looked at my passport and asked me why I am coming to Thailand AGAIN, since I already have a bunch of visas already.
I simply told her the truth that I am here on holiday and run an online business from my laptop.
She asked when I was leaving, I give her a date and she had no more questions to ask. She stamped my passport and let me back into The Land of Smiles.
If you’re here as a digital nomad and have several visas already, I suggest having some form of proof that you earn money online or real contracts with clients to prove you’re not working in Thailand as a teacher, bar tender and so on.
