Visa Process

Well that in itself was a huge ordeal…

I’ve applied for visas multiple times but I feel with COVID this has gotten five times more complicated and I’m not even exaggerating. I think everyone else, even on the Government side of things, is still trying to figure things out.

So I applied for a multiple entry. I have had this visa in the past. It can be granted for a 3 months or 6 months visa to be able to renew again at whichever one you received. So to apply, they make you do it all online which was pretty nice but hard not having a scanner. After submitting several documents including: visa application, flights, hotel confirmation (that alone took weeks of communicating back and forth to get), declaration letter, health questionnaire, invitation letter to Thailand, passport photos, recent bank stubs – it honestly seemed like it would never end. They accepted everything and sent me back a QR code for my appointment at the embassy online. They then informed me that I had to mail in everything that day like I never even applied online. Are you kidding? That’s what we used to do in the first place was just mail everything in before. So I did.

The Thai embassy contacted me a few weeks later and asked to see six months worth of pay stubs. Thankfully I have had a job for 6 months so I went and printed and submitted them all for them to reject them saying that wasn’t enough proof of me having a job. They needed a letter from my employer. Again, I’m like what? Anybody could just type that out and it be fake. Can’t fake out pay stubs??

After receiving all of them, they then told me I disqualified for the visa because I didn’t make enough money. Enough money? Of course I don’t make a lot. They informed me that I had to prove that I make $7,000 a month for 6 months straight. What a joke. I contacted some people in Thailand at the embassy and sure enough, laws have changed. They didn’t get to update their website yet, which they are now aware of. I told the embassy that normal everyday people in America don’t make that. My parents don’t make half that together combined. Thankfully they asked if I wanted the option to switch my visa to a single entry but then wouldn’t answer me back anytime after that. Normally they don’t care and once you apply and it’s wrong you just have to try back in 3 months.

Because the visa took so long and I was supposed to find out a while ago, the time was coming that I could be leaving in a little over 3 weeks. I got notice that my passport was mailed back but in that time I didn’t know if it was approved or denied. I went ahead and put in my two weeks notice not wanting to quit my job last minute and leave them all hanging. I didn’t feel like that would be the right thing to do, but then if I was denied I would be out of my CSM position. It was definitely a chance and a leap of faith trusting God in whatever the outcome would be.

The next day my passport arrived in the mail with a stamp of approval on it!