How to Apply for a Thailand Visa at the Thai Embassy in Taipei

Looking for a great new destination for a Thai visa run? Run out of ideas for a short trip to get another 60-day tourist visa? Spending time in Thailand but want more than the 30-day visa on arrival?

Travelling to a city that has a Thai embassy to apply for a two-month tourist visa is common practice among long-term expats, digital nomads, and anyone keen to spend a bit longer in the country without having to leave after a month.

Taipei might not be first on your list of destinations. I’m going to show you why I think it’s a great destination for a visa run. And check out this guide to Taipei for Digital Nomads.

Where is the Thailand embassy in Taiwan?

Thailand’s representative office in Taipei is not actually an embassy. It’s a Trade and Economic Office but it has powers to issue visas. This is probably the reason why few expats and travellers apply for visas there. There’s some uncertainty about this office’s ability to issue visas to non-Taiwanese. But let me clear up any misconceptions. Non-Taiwanese can apply for and receive a visa at this Trade and Economic Office.

Look for building number 206. At the reception on the ground floor, give your documents to the person at the counter. They will check everything is in order and give you a number.

I’ve seen many complaints and comments on forums and groups online about how disorganized the office is. On the contrary, I found it very professional and organized.

Once you have your number wait till you see it on the large electronic board. Your number will appear along with the counter you need to go to hand over your documents.

Then you pay the fee at a different counter in the same room.

It couldn’t be simpler. I was there for 25 minutes.

Go back at 4 pm on the same day to pick up your passport.

Thailand trade and economic office Taipei

How Long Does the Visa Application Process Take?

The website states that the visa process takes 3 days. But this timeframe appears to be only for some nationalities. My visa was processed on the same day. 4 hours after I left the office I returned to pick up my visa. I was no longer than 10 minutes in the office when I returned for the visa.

What You Need to Bring

The Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei is a bit more strict with the visa requirements compared to the embassies in Laos, Vietnam, or Myanmar, for example.

I was asked for proof of income as I’ve spent some time in Thailand. I was also asked for a printout of my flight into Thailand, which I’d forgotten to print. Showing the flight confirmation email or even PDF on your phone/tablet/laptop is not accepted. A paper copy is the only way.

I had to make a quick run down to the awesome Futureward coworking space to log into my bank account, download my bank statements and print them out. Then run back to the trade office before the 11.30am cut off point. I just made it.

These are the documents you should definitely have with you:

  • Passport with at least 6 months validity and a full-page free for the visa stamp
  • A printed copy of an up-to-date bank statement. Try to get the most recent statement possible. To-the-day is best. Obviously, if you’re looking for a 60-day tourist visa, you shouldn’t have any credits to your account from Thai companies or Thai individuals on your statement. That would send a warning signal to the authorities that you’re working illegally in the country.
  • A printed copy of your flights into Thailand
  • A printed copy of flights out of Thailand within 60 days of your intended arrival in the country. This is another very important document that this office seems to be interested in more than some of the other embassies I’ve been to. You could, of course, have a bus ticket out of the country but it’s safer to get a flight.
  • NT$1200 fee in cash only
  • One passport size photo.

Snap2Pass helps digital nomads and long-term travelers take passport and visa photos from anywhere, at any time. It guarantees regulations-compliant photos with just a smartphone. There’s a money-back guarantee if your photo is rejected by the passport or visa authorities.

Currently, the visa application form on the website of the Trade and Economic Office has the words “Embassy of Manila” on it !?!. Even the official stamp on the visa will mention the Embassy of Thailand in the Philippines. But don’t worry about it. I believe the Thailand Trade and Economic office can’t issue these documents so they have to do it under the name of another embassy.

Why go to Taipei for the Visa Run?

  • The visa process is a little more involved than other embassies but the turnaround is fast – Same day service, in fact.
  • Taipei is an amazing city with great food, friendly people, an excellent transports system, and beautiful people and scenery all around.
  • Flights can be just as cheap as flights to more common destinations in Asia
  • Taiwan offers visas on arrival for 90 days for most nationalities.
  • For digital nomads and entrepreneurs living in Thailand, Taipei is a great alternative to the typical short-trip destinations for the two-month visa run.

Getting to Taipei

Taipei is around 3 and a half hours from Bangkok by air. I use NokScoot airlines, a company I’d never heard of. It’s a budget airline based out of Thailand, flying from Don Mueang (DMK) airport. I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t vouch for other flights on their network but the large passenger jet (777-300) which flew us to Taipei was very comfortable. I had extra legroom on both legs of the trip. Again, I’m not sure if this was a one-off or a regular feature. The aircrew was pleasant and I have only good things to say about the actual flights. The flights are often very cheap. I paid less than US$130 for the return trip.

There are a few downsides, however. The scheduled times aren’t very convenient (for the cheapest flights). Leaving Thailand at 2 am and returning from Taipei at 9.40 am means you’ll miss a lot of sleep both ways. The worst part: you can’t check-in online which means a long queue for check-in 3 hours before the flight. This is inconvenient on the way to Taipei but on the return journey, you’ll need to check-in at 6.40 am. And without a valid boarding pass, you can’t go airside.

So your choices are to take a very early train to the airport (earliest from the central station leaves at 6 am and takes 50 minutes) or sleep at the airport. Sleeping at the airport without a boarding pass means sleeping in the very cold check-in area. Airside is quite comfortable and a pleasant place to spend the night (reclining seats and relaxation areas) but if you’re flying Nokscoot you’ll only get an hour or two in there. For more information on ‘airport’ accommodation check the sleeping in airports website.

Taipei’s airport does have pretty good Wifi everywhere unlike Bangkok’s Don Mueang DMK and Suvarnabhumi, BKK airports. So if you need to catch up on work it’s a good spot to spend a few hours while you wait for your flight.

60 day Thai visa in Taipei Guide
How to Get 60 day Thai visa in Taipei
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24 thoughts on “How to Apply for a Thailand Visa at the Thai Embassy in Taipei”

  1. good. for those who need it, there is a photoshop that can do passport photos for you. a little expensive at 500 NT$, but you’ll get 12 copies and the digital file too. 1 block west and 2.5 blocks south of the building the office is in.

    be careful if you’re a frequent Thailand traveler. they WILL ask for all your details, as mentioned in the article, so luckily i had my bank statement with me to prove i have plenty of money and am not employed illegally in Thailand. and while they approved my visa (i had just come from spending my 30 days visa free and planned to go basically straight back in a week), they did warn me they wouldn’t do it again if i returned.

    1. Great article ! Came here today. The office is now on the ground floor and you need to arrive between 9-1130 am!

    1. keith travel writer and blogger

      Hi Sarah,
      Thanks. I’m glad you found it useful.
      From my understanding, #5 is only necessary if you’re travelling to Thailand for “medical tourism”. If you are a regular tourist and you’re not travelling for medical treatment, then this is not required.
      Make sure you have everything else and if you’ve been in Thailand regularly in recent months, a bank statement is essential.
      Keith

  2. Due to The utter nonsense in this post I went to the Taiwan embassy because I happen to be in Taipei . 200 people crammed into a room that can easily hold 100 people and a two hour wait to submit your application. Absolutely filled with Taiwanese and a couple of hapless Westerners. Do not bother going here and ignore the nonsense above.

    1. keith travel writer and blogger

      Sounds like you had a bad day. Your experience was different to mine, obviously.
      Filled with Taiwanese? In Taiwan?… shocking.

  3. Nice post. I’m interested in going to Taipei to apply ED Visa. Is that possible??? Here, you only mention tourist visa.

    1. keith travel writer and blogger

      Hi Ricardo,
      It’s the same process for the ED visa. You need to apply at an embassy. Talk to the school and see if they can start the process and send the paperwork to immigration. You can do this outside of Thailand too. But to actually get the visa, you must present yourself at an embassy.

  4. Forget about applying for a business visa, Thailand doesn’t want you, they reject everyone! Was there, 20 people in front of me EVERYONE was rejected for the visa. They are wasting everyone’s time. Move your business away from Taiwan, forget them. Tired of it. Have applied more than 6 times for the visa, have all the documents in line and all they do is waste people’s time. Every person in line has the same experience. They stink! Forget Thailand.

  5. Thai Vietjet now fly to Taichung, only a short ride from Taipei by high speed rail. The flight times are sleep friendly and tickets are cheap.

  6. Hi,
    Thanks for this information.
    I am planning to visit Thailand for small trip.
    I am Indian National and Currently working in Tawian on work permit with valid ARC.
    I just have small query, the bank statement, that I need to submit here is the statement from Bank of Taiwan as I am residing here, or statement of India bank will work. As I transfer the amount to India bank every month as my parents stays there.

    1. keith travel writer and blogger

      Hi Sagar,
      Best to bring both statements. But as long as you can prove regular income, you should be okay. They just want to know that people are not going to Thailand to work.
      Enjoy Thailand!

  7. Can you apply for an Non Immigrant B and Non Immigrant O visa there? I currently work in Taiwan but my new job in Thailand starts in July. Not easy to find information about this on the internet..

    1. Thanks to this article I’m now in Taipei. Things have changed slightly though. First off there is a sign above the door overhang saying trade and economic office. Although the official online address is different, it is deffinatly on Civic Bld, a modern grey looking building. It’s approximately 30 minute walk from Taipei main railway/ bus stations.
      Secondly now when you walk in the building you hand your documents to the counter straight in front of you. After checking these they give you a number. One of five counters in the same room (no lift to the 12th floor) will show your number above and you go to it and hand in your documents again. Then onto a different counter in the same room/ reception area to pay.
      Third and maybe for some most important difference is I have to go back at 4pm the next day to pick up my passport so no same day service.
      I entered the building at 9.15am and left at 9.29am with my receipt to pick up my passport the next day.
      On a side note I followed the advice on this page and bought a cheap £15 flight from Phuket to Singapore (which I will throw away). Because my flight was into Bangkok this caused the woman some confusion. Once I explained the ticket she accepted it but I was worried for a minute. So I don’t think I’d risk a bus ticket.
      They had a good look at how many times I’ve been to Thailand. I have duel British and Australian passports so I’m lucky I can show a different one to which I just left Thailand.
      I have to say that thanks to this article I am experiencing a new city so many thanks.

      1. keith travel writer and blogger

        Hi David,
        Glad to see it worked out for you. Thanks for the updated information. I have edited the post to reflect that.
        By the way, if you are still in Taipei or thinking of spending more time there, check out my Taipei Digital Nomad guide. And if you can’t find a super cheap flight for future visa runs, check out OnwardTicket.

  8. Hey Keith, thanks for your wonderful post, it helped me a lot. I got my Thai visa some days ago in Taipei and there are some updates that I like to share to you.

    I can confirm the update of David, there’s also a number on the building “206“. I took some photos of the entrance that you can use if you want.

    In my case the bank statement was not required (had it ready tho), but my visa history isn’t very long.

    Although the lady who pre-checked my documents said everything was okay, her colleague didn’t accept my inbound flight copy, cause the ticket number was missing on the printout. You should take care that it’s on it. As you already said, they didn’t accept it on my phone.

    Luckily it’s super convent to print documents at 7-elevens in Taipei. Send it as PDF or image to [email protected] and recieve a qr-code that you can scan at an IBON terminal in their shops. It’s just 3 NT$ / page. Next 7-eleven is a few blocks away (10 mins walk)

  9. Hi. Thanks for the info. How about coming to Taipei with a completely new passport. Do I still need a bank statement?

    And when you come back to Thailand, they wanna see a flight out from Thailand after 60 days right ? So anyone used onwardticket.com already?

    1. keith travel writer and blogger

      Hey Karim,
      Bring a bank statement anyway. Always travel with one. Many immigration office officials just want to tick the box. I’ve entered Thailand many times without having an exit ticket but I recommend you always have something. Even a bus ticket out might work. Best to have a flight ticket in hand.

  10. Hi I’m traveling to Taiwan to apply for a Thai visa. Do you know if they will ask for a Taiwanese resident permit??

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