finy

Well I'm sure I can come up with something instead of needing to fly back home.

I always have the emergency travel visa as an option if I need more time.

Thanks for alerting me to the fact I'll need to pay close attention to the matter, but something will come up.

Since I'm going to Vietnam I guess the Sangkat letter won't apply, but there will be something I can do.

Maybe I could ask for it to be sent to UK embassy in Vietnam to pick up from there.

While your debating on where to go could you please explain how you are going to "prove your address" to the UK passport authorities ? you have no long term history anywhere (especially so if you go wandering around Vietnam) . I have been in Thailand 7 years and struggled to prove my address (still dont know if what I supplied has been accepted). I cannot see how you can do it if your travelling about.

I won't be sleeping on the beach

I guess I can rent an apartment and get a letter from landlord, or stay in a guest house and have proof that way.

You're very pessimistic and it sounds like you're saying people can't apply for a passport abroad unless they've lived somewhere for years.

We both know that isn't true.

At this time I would say go for number one. The only confirmed reports of people being turned away that have a tourist visa has been at the southern borders.

Some of the news also has gotten a bit confused because of the confusion of exempt entries and tourist visas. An article posted yesterday clearly was confusing the two.

I'll try to stay with option number 1 until the last minute, but I'll keep an eye on what is happening over the next few weeks.

I sort of agree with the guy who posted first in a way. I'm so sick and tired of feeling like I'm in limbo and I just want somewhere I can relax while applying for new passport, but at the same time I love where I'm staying on Samui.

Does anyone know if Sihonoukville is the same as Samui as far as a beach is concerned.

I just need a decent place with kitchen and internet access to work, so nothing fancy matters such as cinemas, night clubs, fancy foreign food stores, etc.

sihanoukville is the most dangerous place in SE Asia. Its the wild west and I would avoid it if I were you. Go to bali, lombok, gili islands. Its peak season there and NO RAIN. its the dry season. Beaches, clear water and turtles as opposed to crap beaches and danger in sihanoukville

Can't go to Bali because you only get a 2 month visa and you have to apply in person in Jakarta, but once I have new passport I'll be going to Bali for sure.

Been a few times already and I love it.

Hue is not a beach town. Does have a river though. That is unless they have moved it since 1971.

Haha I did realize this after looking at Google Maps, but tbf it's less than 10km to the beach.

I'm looking at a few other places on the coast though, plus Nha Trang further down south.

If you have any recommendations please let me know.

There are some decent places in Hue anyway, so I might start there and look around.

Double entry tourist, still on first entry.

Tbh I think I'm just going to head to Vietnam next month.

Can't be bothered with the hassle.

I'll come back to Samui another day.

I have 2 so hopefully everything should be okay.

Can anyone answer me these questions please if you know the answers?

1 - Is it safe to order the 3-month single entry Vietnam visa online and pick it up when arriving by air?

2 - Will I get any hassle trying to apply for an ordinary visa if I fly into Cambodia?

3 - Are Sihonoukville (Cambodia) and Hue (Vietnam) decent little towns with nice beaches?

Cheers

I'm a vagabond day trader and I visited both Sihonoukville (a couple of weeks ago) and Hue (a day trip from Da Nang in March). Just to give you an idea, Da Nang is my fall back option if I run into issues in Thailand. I'd be there right now if they had direct flights to Bangkok. (I happen to be in PP right now on my last visa run.)

I was pleased with Central Vietnam. The beaches I looked at were Da Nang down to Hoi An (south of Hue by maybe 120KM). I drove up the coast to Hue to look at ruins and noted some very nice looking coves along the way. Didn't check out the beaches up around Hue, but I imagine they'd be similar to Da Nang area. I found the water to be a little cold (this was in March so outside their tourist rush from Hanoi and Japan) but good waves for surfing. The internet was good at my hotel (The Northern) at least. The tourist infrastructure isn't as built up in Da Nang as it probably is in Hue , since that's more of a tourist draw (Guess that can be both good and bad.) The Da Nang riverfront was very pleasant in the evenings.

Sihonouville had nice beaches too, but not too much else. I didn't have any issues with internet there. It wasn't screaming fast, but it certainly exceeded my expectations for Cambodia (which are very low after trying to trade from a few hotels in Siem Reap). Prepare yourself for a long bus ride from Phnom Penh. Mini vans are probably the quickest option (about 4 hours).

Cambodia visa on arrival is a breeze. Just bring the needed passport sized photos and $20 USD(think it was 20) and you'll be good to go. I've flown in 3 separate times and never had the smallest issue.

Can't help you with the on line visa for Vietnam question. I always grab one from the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok. But I imagine if you are flying into HCM or Hanoi they will be familiar with processing those.

Good luck and let me know if there are any other questions I can help you with.

-tom

Thanks a lot for your help!

I will definitely consider the places you mentioned. It will probably just be better going from place to place like you did and choosing somewhere I like.

I used this company to get the letter for Vietnam visa: Vietnam visa pro. I paid 8 usd. They sent it to me the same day, even if I paid for normal service, which should take 2 business days. I highly recommend it.

Thanks, I'm definitely going to order one online once I've booked flights.

Heard stories of people applying for 3 month visa at BKK embassy and only getting 1 month in Vietnam because of a mistake so not worth the risk.

Not sure why you're adding what I said to what someone else said.

Anyway, I've decided to go to Vietnam so it's all over now.

 

The "on holiday replying to email" is often cited as an extreme example.
Let's be realistic. If you lease an apartment and have a motorcycle, big screen tv, etc....you are living here and working illegally.

 

And if you're an in and out worker who spends all of their time off the rig living in Thailand they're not a tourist. They're living here, but you don't see me kicking up a fuss about them because I don't really care, it doesn't affect me, and I'm not so petty.

 

 

Those individual IT consultants who work remotely (as in they can work from anywhere) for large corporations on 3-6 month contracts at between 150-200,000 baht a month you mean.    
 

 

Yes, these rich young entrepreneurs can work from anywhere.....except Thailand!

 
Not true!
 
They just can't work in Thailand long-term, but I bet most of them don't want to settle down long-term anyway.
 
Nothing wrong with doing 6 month stints in Bangkok, Bali, Saigon, Penang, etc.
 
Or they can get an education visa and work quietly from their bedroom provided they can get one, which most of the people who have been abusing the system over the last few years won't be able to do.

 

Not legally!!! Maybe Thailand will address the online single person operation Work Permit thing, but right now there is none.

 

Yeah they can't do it legally.

I'm not actually sure what is considered legal really. If you're on holiday and you reply to a few business emails are you breaking the law?

But it's up to Thailand and they can enforce the rules as they please.

 

 

 

 
Those individual IT consultants who work remotely (as in they can work from anywhere) for large corporations on 3-6 month contracts at between 150-200,000 baht a month you mean.    
 

 

Yes, these rich young entrepreneurs can work from anywhere.....except Thailand!

 

Not true!

 

They just can't work in Thailand long-term, but I bet most of them don't want to settle down long-term anyway.

 

Nothing wrong with doing 6 month stints in Bangkok, Bali, Saigon, Penang, etc.

 

Or they can get an education visa and work quietly from their bedroom provided they can get one, which most of the people who have been abusing the system over the last few years won't be able to do.

 

 

The problem with moving is you need to ship all your possessions (or dump them all and buy all new which is what I did last time)

 

You need to find somewhere to live and get internet connected....  so you have potentially significant downtime.

 

Being able to be mobile doesn't mean you don't want to find somewhere you like and settle there for a while.  

 

 

 

Yeah if you want to go down that route you don't have Thailand any more, but still Malaysia, Bali, Cambodia, and probably Vietnam at the moment.

Then South America, Central America, and if you're European anywhere in Europe.

 

I think it's also important to remember if you:

Ride a scooter without a helmet

Ride a scooter without an international license

Ride a scooter without a Thai license after a certain amount of months living in the country

Ride a scooter over the speed limit

Pay for sex

Etc...

Your opinion doesn't count for anything even though you might be living here legally, because ultimately you're still breaking Thai laws and that makes you a hypocrite.

 
Those individual IT consultants who work remotely (as in they can work from anywhere) for large corporations on 3-6 month contracts at between 150-200,000 baht a month you mean.    
 

 

Yes, these rich young entrepreneurs can work from anywhere.....except Thailand!

Not true!

They just can't work in Thailand long-term, but I bet most of them don't want to settle down long-term anyway.

Nothing wrong with doing 6 month stints in Bangkok, Bali, Saigon, Penang, etc.

Or they can get an education visa and work quietly from their bedroom provided they can get one, which most of the people who have been abusing the system over the last few years won't be able to do.

So will the sticker be a good idea for each blank page?

The only difference it will make is that I'll have to go to one country instead of having the choice of two, but it would still be nice to have the choice.

No, we can't do this.

option 2 and forget about Thailand for the time being, go beach and get a different experience with no gambling on a yes or no entry. In your case with all those stamps id say your not on good odds but then again CM isnt refusing people that ive heard..... yet

Sure...because even if you are allowed back in thai (unlikely) you will still face the same problem 3 months down the line..

Get out before the visa ends and good luck

I am in the same situation myself btw

I was going to leave after the 3 months anyway tbf, but maybe a clean passport with no mention of Thailand would be a good thing so better to leave.

(I know they check computers, but it might look good with no mention of Thailand at certain crossings)

Can anyone answer me these questions please if you know the answers?

1 - Is it safe to order the 3-month single entry Vietnam visa online and pick it up when arriving by air?

2 - Will I get any hassle trying to apply for an ordinary visa if I fly into Cambodia?

3 - Are Sihonoukville (Cambodia) and Hue (Vietnam) decent little towns with nice beaches?

Cheers

I have 2 blank pages in my passport and 2 half pages.

If I apply for a 30 day extension I would need them to stamp in one of my half pages.

I was even thinking about getting 2 sticky notes to cover my blank pages and asking a Thai friend to write something like 'please leave blank as I'm leaving Thailand in 30 days and need 2 blank pages for my onward travels'

Would they be okay with this, or do you think they would rip out the sticky note and ruin a blank page for the fun of it?

The answer will ultimately determine whether or not I'll go for the 30 days or just leave a month early.

Thank you

Once you apply for the new passport it doesn't matter how many pages you have left as they (apparently) cancel the old one immediately so even though you're cutting it fine you should be ok.

That must be for British people (and maybe other country )?

For Danish people we can use our passport onto the new one come, right now a friend of mine are waiting for hes new passport, but he is travel outside Thailand right now, He apply for new passport before leaving Thailand.

Our passport dont get cancel before we go to Embassy to pickup the new passport.

Yeah we can travel too, but need to pay 5000bht for emergency travel document at embassy.

Probably me just being overly cautious.

Once you apply for the new passport it doesn't matter how many pages you have left as they (apparently) cancel the old one immediately so even though you're cutting it fine you should be ok.

There's some true horror stories in the thread about people applying for British passports via the new 'Trendy' building in Bangkok. Some waiting for months.

Good luck anyway.

Cheers, I can understand people being cautious at the moment.

I think I'll be fine getting into Thailand with 3 months, Cambodia, or Vietnam.

Laos would be out because you need a lot of blank pages.

I will definitely take the number of blank pages I have into consideration though, because if I mess up I'll be stuck somewhere. For example, if I tried to get into CM and had to go back to Malaysia I'd be stuck there for 3 months until I got new passport.

 

I've attended packed conferences in Bangkok specifically for people who work online and live in Thailand. It's not uncommon at all and they don't have work permits. Thailand was on its way to becoming an online business startup hub, but now that's changing. They could make a lot of money by issuing freelancers special visas, but for some reason they're not interested. In fact, now I have no idea what they're interested in. I guess 50+ year old retirees spending their money on bar girls is preferred over young entrepreneurs. 

 

Young entrepreneurs?  How utterly comical.  Serious entrepreneurs with genuinely innovative ideas are not making visa runs and living in the shadows.  The people Thailand aims to get rid of are the nomads who don't even have the wherewithal or intelligence to find a legal way to stay.  They contribute nothing to Thai society, other than a few baht for rent and cheap noodles.   
 

 

You sound very out of touch with reality, but I'll give you a pass because you're probably a bit older than most.

Young people with $10-15K saved up can come to places like Thailand (they could) and work full-time on building their business while living on cheap noodle soup and studio apartments. It makes perfect sense and within a year or two they're usually making a decent income and they can run their business from anywhere in the world.

Anyway, yeah I also find it strange that they just don't show up at co-working spaces and arrest people if they're really serious about getting the online workers out.

Also, nobody in their right mind would pay 500Kbht for an elite card when building an online business. It's much easier to scale a business with money in the bank instead of tying it up for 5 years with a visa.

Think about it this way: if you're driving traffic to your site using paid ads you might find a profitable campaign where you put $1 in and $2 spits back out. Would you not want that 500kbht to throw into your profitable campaign rather than have it tied up in a 5 year visa?

Building a scalable business is about having money in liquid form ready to pump money in to get more out at a moment's notice.
 

It's taking months to get a new British passport right now, they have a massive backlog.

There's also issues about proving your address.

People have been forced onto overstay as you can NOT use the passport once you apply for it.

You're in the shit I'm afraid.

That doesn't even make sense:

Get 3 months in Thailand and apply for passport

Get a month + 3 month extra in Cambodia and apply for passport.

Even if it takes longer than 12 weeks I can still apply for an emergency travel document.

I just don't want to have 24 hours to turn around at Chiang Mai airport because I will have to pay more for a flight than it would cost me for 3-6 month business visa in Cambodia, plus I'll be stuck in Malaysia where you can get a box room for the price of a house on Samui.

It makes sense due to the fact that you only have 2 pages left in your passport ! Think about it.

Do you mind explaining because you've well and truly lost me?

2 pages + a few halves will be enough for either option I mentioned, but I can understand why you're being overly cautious.

It's taking months to get a new British passport right now, they have a massive backlog.

There's also issues about proving your address.

People have been forced onto overstay as you can NOT use the passport once you apply for it.

You're in the shit I'm afraid.

That doesn't even make sense:

Get 3 months in Thailand and apply for passport

Get a month + 3 month extra in Cambodia and apply for passport.

Even if it takes longer than 12 weeks I can still apply for an emergency travel document.

I just don't want to have 24 hours to turn around at Chiang Mai airport because I will have to pay more for a flight than it would cost me for 3-6 month business visa in Cambodia, plus I'll be stuck in Malaysia where you can get a box room for the price of a house on Samui.

At this time I would say go for number one. The only confirmed reports of people being turned away that have a tourist visa has been at the southern borders.

Some of the news also has gotten a bit confused because of the confusion of exempt entries and tourist visas. An article posted yesterday clearly was confusing the two.

I'll try to stay with option number 1 until the last minute, but I'll keep an eye on what is happening over the next few weeks.

I sort of agree with the guy who posted first in a way. I'm so sick and tired of feeling like I'm in limbo and I just want somewhere I can relax while applying for new passport, but at the same time I love where I'm staying on Samui.

Does anyone know if Sihonoukville is the same as Samui as far as a beach is concerned.

I just need a decent place with kitchen and internet access to work, so nothing fancy matters such as cinemas, night clubs, fancy foreign food stores, etc.