Indian passport holders are eligible for Thailand Visa on Arrival for a travel duration of less than 15 days.
Thailand Visa on Arrival (VOA) requirements have been clearly called out in the official Thailand embassy site :
Things to note –
1. The Thai embassy page linked above states 15 or 30 days validity for Thailand visa on arrival. The latest update is that it’s for 15 days only.
2. The site lists return flight ticket as mandatory and may be checked. Land border crossing is not accepted as a valid form of exit. A lot of non-Indian travelers do get Thailand Visa on arrival without a return ticket but Indians can’t take a chance. I had read in other blogs that they are strict when they check our documents, so I did book a cheap Nok Air ticket which had a Fly+Ride option into Laos. The flight was only until Udon Thani and then it was a coach.
This did not go unnoticed by the official at the visa counter. She asked me the flight number pointing to the coach mentioned on my itinerary. So this event proved that they are serious about the exit flight ticket and would not accept a bus ticket. My ticket was accepted though after an internal discussion among the officers.
3. Carry 2000 baht (fee as of Sep 27 2016) for the Visa on Arrival fee. USD is not accepted and the exchange counter near the VOA offers bad rates compared to the ones outside.
4. If you forget to carry your photographs with you for the VOA application form, Bangkok airport has a photo booth. However its unnecessary expense and not all airports have a photo booth, so ensure to carry photographs for Visa form.
5. Regarding accommodation proof and 10000 baht cash – On the first entry at Bangkok airport, they did not check the hotel bookings or for the cash. On the third entry though (at Phuket airport), I was asked for 1200 baht. I refused to pay more than the board put up right above my head, which said visa fees was 1000 baht.
So I was re-directed to a senior official who checked every single hotel booking to ensure I had stay proof for all days and also asked me to show 10000 baht. Since it was my final entry into Thailand, I did not have that much cash. I told him that I have the bank statements and a credit card. He said we needed to show cash then after some time he agreed (with a grin) and stamped our visas for 1000 baht fees. I am sure if I had entered Phuket airport with the Nok Air exit ticket (see the one mentioned in #1 above), he would not have approved the visa given I had raised an alarm for paying that 200 baht bribe. So it’s better to have all your papers right.
6. List of immigration checkpoints where you can get Thailand Visa on Arrival stamped: There are many lists online which vary from 24 to 32 checkpoints. To ensure you get the latest, am not going to list anything in this post. Refer to VFS site FAQ page for the list of checkpoints, am sure they will keep it up to date. And it will be authenticated information as well. This is also a great site to get information on required documentation for all types of Thailand Visa.
7. For any transit flights via Thailand (if you stay within the airport), you do not need a Thailand Visa.
For travel duration longer than 15 days, there are other Thailand Visa types. You can apply for single entry or multiple entry tourist visa for up to 30 days stay.
Tip: If you have planned multi-country travels and plan to re-enter Thailand multiple times, you can get Thailand Visa on arrival on each entry rather than applying for a multiple entry visa. It will work out much more economical to go with VOA on each entry (if each entry is within 15 days) rather than a multiple entry visa. 5 VOA stamping costs will equal the cost of a multiple entry visa.