ultramarine

Would say that your chances of getting a second consecutive visa exempt entry are better using this type of service compared with just doing a border bounce by oneself?

Tbh I haven't checked. I will check later today. They requested more docs which I haven't sent because I'm already in Thailand. I've written it off. My mistake was leaving it far too late. Just 10 days before arrival. I got some bad advice on that score. I think they delete all applications after 14days IIRC.

I left a message with them. No answer. Maybe they don't do anything in Ottawa and everything is now done in Thailand. I don't know. It's a huge hassle now though. Yes the old days of the consulate on Isabella St. are now part of history.

I never got it. But it's also my fault though. I didn't allow enough time for the process. The new system will take a while to get used to. But it's almost more trouble than it's worth.

I hope it works out for you. Yes, I miss the old days of the METV. Application was simple and speedy in Toronto. Much better than online because the person there could tell you exactly what you needed when you dropped it off.

I just wanted to say I had a similar experience landing at Suvarnabhumi two days ago. The male IO shook his head as flipped through my passport showing all my previous years of METVs and visas from bordering countries. The grilling then commenced. I was very surprised because I thought the visa exempt entry was trouble-free. Not true it seems. I think he looked at my past history of staying between 4-6 months every winter and thought that the 45-day visa exemption was the wrong approach for me. He asked me if I had cash on hand, I said I had 2000 CAD. He asked where I was staying and if I had "friends" here. No request for anyone's phone number though. I'm not sure if he would have ultimately denied me entry, but when I mentioned that I tried to get a proper tourist visa, maybe that changed things. Thing is I tried to get a 60-day visa but couldn't get it and also lost the fee. ("No refunds") The E-Visa is a subject worthy of other threads of course. I wonder if this is a problem specific to the Thai embassy in Ottawa or with the E-visa system as a whole. Because I got no feedback from my email follow-up and phone message I left as my departure date approached. Finally, on the same day I was leaving, I finally got an email from them saying I was missing two documents when actually I had already submitted one of them (bank statement pdf). Although they had a point about the other one -- hotel reservation for first 7 days, where I had only given my hotel for the first 3 days. And they screwed up my phone number that my file was associated with. Totally wrong number and wrong area code. So why would they wait until the very last day before telling me there was something wrong with my application? It's beggars belief. What is going on with this E-visa system? Sorry for the long digression. Anyway, it was after I mentioned my failure to obtain an E-visa that his body language changed a bit. Maybe that worked in my favour. At least it would explain why I was trying to enter Thailand on a 45-day visa exemption. So anyway folks, be careful out there. Just when you thought that the post-covid period would mean things would be easier, they may not be.

Thanks for sharing this info. I really appreciate it. As you say, there is an argument for opting for the full year with a large deductible. Mister Prakan really is the go-to site for this stuff. Makes the decision process that much easier.

Thanks for the info. For a 1 year policy who would you recommend? I just want the basics to cover worst case scenarios. High deductible ok. I'm in good health with no preexisting conditions. Tbh in the past I've spent winters in Thailand with no insurance at all. I rarely see a doctor even in Canada.

Actually following your suggestion I did find a few comparison sites. Thanks for the nudge. Some plans were cheaper than the big names I had checked (equivalent to 19k thb and just 1500 thb deductible and 50 million thb coverage) but I don't know anything about those companies. Might have to find some user reviews to see if they are legit. So more work to do for me.

Not sure about this for Canada. Much more expensive to buy it at home although the coverage is definitely better. So 6 months would cost about $1200 CAD for maybe 2-3 million THB coverage whereas Pacific Cross costs about $600 CAD but with less coverage -- 500K THB IIRC.

Hi All, I was wondering if anyone could suggest any insurance companies that offer plans that last for just six months -- as in a "snowbird special". I see that Pacific Cross does offer a six month plan for about 15,000 THB for a 60 y.o. I'm considering it but wonder what the competition might be offering. Thanks.

Good to hear the play by play. I stayed at the Aura once before covid. Great hotel. Loved the restaurant with its big covered patio. A great place to watch the world go by.

Thanks. So it seems that this unlimited visa exemption via air could be for real as long as you stayed outside of Thailand for a while (like 7-14 days), rather than just an same day or an overnight border bounce. That's pretty amazing. Are there any cases where entry was refused after say, four or five visa exemption entries by air in the same year?

This thread addresses some of my questions about land vs air visa exemptions. It sounds like the land visa exemptions are strictly limited to two per calendar year but they are less likely to hassle you as long as you stick to the limit. But while the number of air visa exemptions are unlimited, you are more likely to be scrutinized and forced to produce evidence of a forward ticket and perhaps even 20K in cash, especially if the travel out of Thailand was obviously for a border bounce only for a day or two. Presumably the chances for getting hassled at the airport increases with each successive visa exemption. I'm thinking of flying to Cambodia after my 60 day TV+30 day extension runs out and then come back to Thailand after about spending a week in Siem Reap. It should be no problem getting back in but my question is: if I get a visa exemption, will this count against my total number of allowable visa exemptions per calendar year. I think not, since that limit of two applies to land entry only. Is this correct?