Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing E-Visas here in Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on our channel, or actually this was an email that came through to us. Quoting directly: "I was wondering if you have done a video on this topic recently or have information about it. The last few years I've gotten my non-O Immigrant Visa, my non-O, (I think I mean Non-Immigrant O Visa, but non-O Immigrant Visa - different between Immigrant Visa and non-Immigrant Visa but this is a non-O or this is an O Non-Immigrant Visa we are talking about) through the Royal Thai Consulate in LA. I have received a 1-year multiple-entry Visa several times since applying in 2019. Last month I did the same process through the E-visa website at the LA Consulate. What I received, and apparently the only choice, was a 3-month single entry non-O Marriage Visa. Do you have any videos regarding this? I'd like to see them. I'm wondering when this changed. Why did it change? I assume the reason is that they have to go to Immigration in-country and get a one-year Visa. I did that a couple of years ago and I got a one-year single entry visa after jumping through lots of hoops." 

Okay yeah, look this e-Visa stuff that's coming online, Electronic Travel Authorization, Thailand’s Immigration System, all of this, on top of the fact that after COVID we saw them basically digitize the Immigration system into the E-visa system. I know everybody especially all the so-called digital nomads, are welcoming this with open arms. The fact is, it is getting worse. It used to be possible some years back, primarily going through Honorary Consulates, but it was also possible to use a Consul-General or an Embassy to get a one-year multi-entry visa to Thailand. And as I have in other videos, it was similar to the DTV insofar as it was for one year but every time you came into the country, you got 90 days status, that's basically what you were looking at with that kind of Visa. It looks like that is being phased out, and I expected that would be the case. 

Look, at the end of the day, digitalization of any Immigration service does not end up auguring well for those who want to gain benefits thereby. The system always gets harder. In fact, a wiser man than myself, a mentor to me who actually is a Thai as well and sort of taught me the steps and sort of the way if you will the Dao of it, the Dao of Thainess if you will of becoming Thai, and he told me that years ago, like a dozen, 15 years ago, something like that. I remember thinking something about the US Immigration system, "Oh, this is going to be more complicated. That will mean more people may need to come to lawyers or something", and he just kind of looked up and said, “they never make Immigration systems easier, and it never gets better for anyone”.  I think e-Visas are a perfect example of this and I think what we are looking at moving forward is look the best you can hope for from an E-Visa is probably going to be 90 days and then extendability here in the Kingdom with Thai Immigration under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior.

What remains to be seen is exactly how this DTV is going to be handled. I have discussed that at length in other videos; I'm not going to get into great detail in this video. Suffice it to say, I think we're going to know come quarter 1, going into quarter 2 of 2025, just exactly what the real requirements if you will, if any, are associated with the DTV. That being said, yeah, I think it's safe to say Thai E-Visas have resulted in people being able to get less up-front lawful status than they were able to get in the past.