Hi Jip! I recommend you take a read of the following articles:
– https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/onward-travel/ You are very likely to be asked for onward travel if you are arriving by air. A flight ticket is universally accepted as proof however, some may accept bus/boat reservations. It is down to the discretion of the official. I’d always recommend making sure you have a ticket to avoid being caught out. You don’t necessarily need to book a flight though, see this article for details about onward ticketing websites.
– As for scams, check this post: https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/10-scams-to-avoid-in-south-east-asia/
– For visas, the situation of whether you can get visa on arrival will depend on your nationality. Make sure to double check everything on your own gov website to be sure of the process.
Have a great trip! 🙂

Sorry I forgot to ask my other question 😉

From the stories of other backpackers I heard that is easily to get scammed when buying your visas at the boarder. But if I read all information above, this is the only and best way? Just go with the flow at the boarder, think for how long you want to stay in the country and sometimes you need to plan your trip onward to another country? And the last question: is a flight back home from Bangkok to Amsterdam enough to show, for example in Vietnam, as an onward travel?

With kind regards,
Jip 🙂

Thank you for all the information. I have a question about the visas, because I already booked my flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok and also the flight back home from Bangkok 101 days later.
I will travel to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and then back to Thailand. Do you think I will need to show some proof of onward traveling to another country? Otherwise they probably think I will stay for those 101 days in Thailand. The problem is that I’m not sure of my route yet. I simply don’t know when, to where and which bus/train I will take to leave Bangkok/Thailand, yet. Do you maybe have an idea or experience with this?

Thank you on beforehand!

With kind regards,
Jip

Most nationalities do not need a visa for Hong Kong (I am from the UK so I know that I can fly to HK without a visa, but check as it depends on your nationality). Any more tips needed, just let me know! 🙂

Ok thank you very much for your tips and advice. Yes mostly overland I think but I don’t really know to be honest! So can I fly to Hong Kong without a visa? I am definitely going there first for a few days to see my sister and then moving on.
x

Hi Ellie,
I’m glad that the guide has been helpful to you!
Regarding your itinerary, do you plan to travel entirely overland or will you take budget airlines?
To avoid having to get a visa to China, I would maybe consider taking a flight to Hanoi and then travelling down Vietnam following this itinerary – https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/vietnam-itinerary/. You can then travel through Cambodia and then into Thailand. You can explore Central Thailand, then South Thailand then make your way South to Malaysia and then Indonesia! We have lots of itineraries on our website if you search in the top bar you can get some ideas. Also, our festival guide month by month will help you to pick out some events not to miss – https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/festivals-events-southeast-asia/
Best of luck! My one tip would be: try not to do too much in too short a time period. Slow travel is the best!

Hi Stephen,

You shouldn’t have any problems with this. You’ll get 30 days on your way in (for free), the fact that you’ll only use two of them doesn’t matter. When you come back via land, you’ll be given another 30 days for free (starting the day you enter). If on this second entry you want anything more than 30 days, you’ll have to visit an immigration office and pay for an extension, which will be for another 30 days. This extension, though, you will have to pay for (1900 baht if nothing’s changed by then. 60 USD more or less).

Hope this helps!

Hopefully you can help me.

We will be entering Thailand on the 22nd September 2018 for 2 days before flying straight out to Vietnam, then onto Camboida and Laos. We will then be coming back to Thailand via a land border for around 30 days.

How would this work with regards to visas as we will be in the country for two days and then 30 days after nearly 2 months out of the country.

I’m not totally sure, but I think that it can be a booked bus or train ticket. You will need it printed out from a well-known company I should imagine, so they know it’s the real thing!

Hi Nikki,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! Yes, everything I have read echoes the same. Do you know if it has to be a flight or could it be a bus/ train?

It’s a tricky question as it just depends if you get asked or not! On several occasions, I have been asked to show an onward ticket (leaving Thailand) by the airline when flying into Thailand from Europe. A few months ago, I got asked to show an onward ticket when flying from the UK to Thailand. However, a few months before that, flying from India to Nepal, and from India to Thailand, I was not asked. So it really just depends on who you get at the desk!

To avoid any problems we usually just buy the cheapest ticket that we can find on Air Asia or Skyscanner out of the country within 30 days. (Last time we booked a flight to Mandalay that cost about $25 USD.) There are also websites where you can buy a ‘temporary’ ticket for about $10 USD and then have it refunded, but personally, I have never done this so can’t vouch for its validity. You could also turn up at the airport early, see if you get asked and then buy a ticket then and there if you need one. (Although you will likely have to pay expensive fees at the airport to print it out as they often don’t accept the confirmation on your phone/tablet!)

Once you are travelling by land in Southeast Asia (crossing borders) you should be okay without showing onward tickets. (Even though the majority of Embassy websites say that onward tickets are required to enter a country, we have never been asked – in Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia or crossing back by land into Thailand for example.

Hope that helps a bit. Enjoy your travels!
https://southeastasiabackpacker.com/resources/cheap-flights1/

Hey Cheryl,
I think you would be better to just get visas on arrival to all of the countries that you plan to visit so that you can be more flexible with your travel plans. In Malaysia, you’ll get a 90-day visa on arrival. In Thailand and Laos, you’ll get 30 days and can extend another 30 days. For Vietnam, you’ll need to arrange a 30-day visa in advance online or you’ll only get 15 days. For Sri Lanka, you’ll also have to arrange a 30-day visa in advance. If you decide to go back to any country, then you will just get a new visa upon arrival. Hope that helps!

Hi Zach, it can be confusing!
For Thailand – you do not need to arrange a visa in advance, you get a 30-day visa-free entry upon arrival at the airport. If you cross into Laos next, you also do not need to arrange a visa in advance, you just get 30 days free-visa entry upon arrival at the airport.For Vietnam, it’s a little more difficult, but not too difficult… It depends on where you’re from. Most nationalities have to apply for an e-visa online which costs $25 USD and is valid for 30 days…. Apply here – https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/

I am going to Thailand first, then my loose plan is to cross through Laos to Vietnam. then from Vietnam into Cambodia, and then Cambodia back to Thailand. trying to figure out all this visa stuff is confusing. Can I just buy 30 day visas to all these places for the month of December and just go to them whenever I want? and not have to cross at a certain spot?

You need normal passport photos that can be taken at a booth or a photo centre in your home country before you travel. Or, there are many small shops that will take your photo and make it into a passport photo when you are in SE Asia. We always travel with some extras as you never know when you will need them for visas. No idea why they require two… Maybe they are needed for two different forms? Either way, just make copies of the same photo that you get done and you’ll be fine. No worries, organising visas is not that difficult. Many people will help you alonhg the way 🙂 Where are you going first?

I am confused. Do you go somewhere to have these photos taken? Why do you need two of the same photo? First time traveler to SE Asia. never had to get a visa before.

Often you’ll be able to send photos electronically when applying for an e-visa, but sometimes you will be required to carry them physically. If it sounds in any way like you’re being asked to do the latter, do it!
It’s a pretty good idea to carry a pack with you just in case anyway, as they can very often come in handy for other things (you need to provide a couple in order to get a sim card in some countries, for example).
It’s very unlikely that anyone would insist that it be the exact same photo as your passport or drivers licence, which might well be 10 years old, or more.
Most important of all, check the dimension requirements (which could very easily be different to those of passport photos in your own country), and any other instructions they give you (colour of the background, no hats/glasses etc.).
Hope this helps, and sorry for the delay in our response.

Did you get an answer to this? I’m confused about this as well.

Go to Laos only, every 3 months, know the system, like the back of my hand, lol

Thanks Chris, we hope it’s useful!

Hey Rajnesh, unfortunately, yes it might do, you will need full blank pages in your passport in order to get your visa to Thailand. It’s best to travel to Southeast Asia with at least 6 blank pages just incase!

You’re welcome!

Hey Andrew, sorry that we’re so late in replying to this message – let us know if you’re still a backpacker in Southeast Asia and if you need any visa help, we’ve got loads of up to date info for you!

Hey Komal, jobs for backpackers are readily available! Just put your backpack on, step outside and go! You’ve already got the job 😉

Hi Tristan, sorry that we didn’t reply back in 2014! We’ve revamped the website and we’re pretty sure that this is THE MOST UP TO DATE VISA GUIDE to South East Asia on the Internet! Any questions let us know…

thanks

You don’t need any longer that place is boring as hell

Apply for a single, double or triple entry tourist visa in your home country and that will give you 60 days on your first entry which you can extend to 90 days in Thailand at the Thai immigration office, then when the 1st 90 days is almost up head to one of the surrounding countries and cross the border, if you have multiple entry visa simply re enter Thailand and extend visa again to 90 days, if you didn’t get multiple entry visa in your home country than just apply for a tourist visa in one of the bordering countries on you visa run.

Which countries require you do so? I don’t want to be at the airport and not be let in because I don’t have a flight/train out of the country booked yet.

Any help would be appreciated, I am embarking on a 3month trip through SE Asia mid March.

“If my children are under 12 years old, do they need a Visa?

No, as long as they don’t have they own passport and are traveling with parent’s passport.”

What does it mean for a child to be “traveling with a parent’s passport?” Our 7-year old child does have a passport. The question is to buy a Visa or not to buy?

Same question for Vietnam…pay the extra for a child’s Visa or travel without? Thanks for the tips!

How can you live for a long time in Bangkok for example if only have a 30 days visa?

Thank you!