stevespiral

. I had to pay 40,000 Baht but I consider that a bargain as it now means I do not have the worry, travel and cost of frequent visa runs which I have had to do over the past few years.

As you say that you are living with your Laos Wife in Singapore. Why do you need a Thai Visa and how have you been doing frequent Visa Runs over the last few years?

Ok..... I see where this is going

Did you happen to notice when my profile on this board was last updated??? Obviously not. Yes I was living in Singapore with my Lao wife until late 2006, after which time we moved back to Thailand. Once again you are correct. HAVE A GOLD STAR...

does that answer you ??????

you' ve been ripped off and worst thing you seem to be happy with the fact

a year visa costs 5500 but does only allow you to stay 90 days, so visa run is for you every 3 month.

non 0-A gives you a year of allowed stay, this is the only one that does allow this and you'll have to visit immigration every 90 days.

the non O-A visa does require very few documents and is easy to obtain(need to be 50 years old).

I would recommend everyone to stay away of those false bargains, asking for a visa is an official act, copies of passeport, signatures, by doing this you certify the documents you submit are true, if not you can be sued for using illegal documents, entering the country based on false papers etc etc...

Yes you are correct, I do need to leave and Re-enter every 90 days, you are also correct that the price of a non-B is around 5,500 Baht, and you are correct a third time saying I am happy with the service..... I am self employed in Thailand, I do not have a company registered here and therefore paperwork for non-B was not easy to obtain for me.

I made a statement hoping that it may be of help to others, but I fully understand by your comments that helping others is concept that could well be alien to you.

I stated my situation clearly in the post, the lack of paperwork, and yes I understand that the legality of the transaction may be questionable..... Bit like bribing the police every time you get stopped on the road, or not paying tax when you sell you telecommunications company to Singapore.

I apologize for posting information which I hoped maybe helpful to others in a similar situation to myself.

Very interested here! What documents needed? Where do i go in Laos?

I have just posted a new topic, but maybe you can answer my query:

(I am 48 years old, UK Citizen, Thai GF - 3 years, with own house)

Is the following theoretically possible?

1. Enter Thailand on a 30 day entry stamp.

2. Marry the Thai girlfriend. (local Thai ceremony).

3. Register the marriage at District Office.

4. Apply at BKK Immigration for 1 year extension of stay

(including: satisfying the monthy/yearly income requirements, and any other necessities)

5. Annual visits to Immigration for further yearly extensions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Reach 50 years old, but not bother with the retirement visa option, as it requires a larger monthly income.

Can this all be achieved without ever having to leave the Kingdom?

To be honest I am not sure of the procedure in Thailand for marriage visas, sounds possible but maybe more expensive and for sure more trouble. I did not want to marry just to get a legal status in Thailand, as I didn't want the other problems a marriage can sometimes make (land ownership issues and family obligations to become their unofficial white sponsor). If you want to use the service I used, I have sent you a message with the bloke's phone number.... You will have to go to Laos to do the visa tho. It will buy you 1 year to decide on your options if nothing else. I did it with just my passport and no supporting docs... got a non imm B for 1 year.

Cheers, Steve

Hi All,

Thought some of you might like to know I have just managed to get a 1 year visa for Thailand from Laos without any documents. I had to pay 40,000 Baht but I consider that a bargain as it now means I do not have the worry, travel and cost of frequent visa runs which I have had to do over the past few years. I was also told it could have been done for about 15,000 if I had the relevant paperwork.

If anybody would like the contact details of the man that did it for me, I will be happy to help. All good for my Karma.

SteveSpiral - the whole point of it being a typo is that one knows how to spell the word but just mis-types it. That is a typo . . . completely separate issue to not knowing how to spell something.

That was my point?????

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

how long was you in the job??? Obviously not long enough to learn how to spell customs or smuggle !!!!

<deleted>

I think you must be a liar.

Hey Mr Perfect I think you mean how long WERE you in the job

I stand corrected, see that’s why you are an English teacher, you must get great satisfaction helping poor people like me getter a better understanding of my mother tongue.... Thanks for that

And may I just add good job sticking up for the racist illiterate probable liar.

Next time I post would it be ok if I e-mailed you first so that you can check my grammar????? Please.

Please correct me if I am wrong again, but aren’t you contradicting yourself by calling me perfect in a post pointing out my slight grammatical error??? Or was that a lame attempt on you behalf at being sarcastic??? you can do better than that surely.

By the way you spell "<deleted>" like this

No I don't, I spell <deleted> like this.... are you an english teacher

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

I think he's an English teacher in disguise!

Nah he is an ozzie customs official for sure..... Most of the ones I have met there would be proud of making so few spelling mistakes…. Probably took him 3 hours to compose the post…. Arrogant, thick, egotistical, dickheads.

My mate got pulled in to an office for 2 hours once at brisbane airport for having a cheeky sense of humour.

The immigration officer asked him “have you got a criminal record” to which he replied “no sorry I haven’t, I didn’t realise it was still a requirement to gain entry” must admit though the 2 hour wait put him off doing it again.

I'm an Aussie too but not a customs official.

If you ignoramuses had a close look at his supposed "spelling errors" you would notice that they are infact typos.

eg.

1. Cutoms. Ommited the 's'.

2. Saudages. 's' and 'd' are adjacent keys. Easy and common mistake.

3. Smoggle. 'o' and 'u' very close on keyboard.

4. Currupyion. 't' and 'y' are adjacent keys. Again a common error.

5. Customes. His only genuine spelling error.

Even the best typists make spelling errors and typos from time to time.

Now regarding the essence of his post....

He's clearly explaining that if you break the rules, don't get upset if you're caught. Nothing wrong with that.

The travellers were fined about 42K baht each. Not such a big deal for smuggling (yes, it's smuggling as they were not declared) restricted items into Thailand.

His post offered an interesting insight into the strange things that customs officers encounter in the course of their duty. ie. Live frogs, sausages.

Let's give these Newbies a chance to contribute rather than nitpicking a few spelling errors/typos.

My point being that if I worked as a Gynaecologist I would know how to spell it..... Surely an ex-customs officer would know there is no E in customs????? Not a typo.... I still believe he is a liar; there can be no other logical explanation.... Didn't you notice his racist stereotypical undertones??? Pomies are the Whinging because they are the only people who ever have dirty shoes and Germans with sausages.... I wonder did he ever catch any Americans trying to smuggle hamburgers or Swiss with cheese, French with bread. He is talking <deleted>.

Why do people do lie??? To try and add credibility to their stupid comments maybe.

I wonder if in the future there will be some posts about mental illness and he will claim to be a retard… now that is much more believable.

maybe a bit strong but i don't like racists... he probably saw the frog thing on the reality tv show about customs.

I don’t wish to sound negative, but I hope everybody reading this post uses the information carefully. Common sense is not always present amongst foreigners in Thailand and already (3am) 200+ people have read this post, which will be ten fold by noon.

No doubt tomorrow they will now receive 500 phone calls when they usually receive 20 from people asking all sorts of silly questions..... Let’s wait and see how quick the situation changes then.... I hope for all of you needing this service that they don't move the goal posts.... but we all know that there is a good chance...TIT

I also hope the person who was good enough to make this information general knowledge has already had their visa done.

GOOD ON YOU FOR BEING SO KIND HEARTED MANY WOULD HAVE KEPT IT SECRET FOR FEAR OF OVER ABUSE RESULTING THE SERVICE BEING WITHDRAWN OR TIGHTEND UP. Maybe myself included.

As I said I don’t want to sound negative but we have all seen it happen before, I hope common sense prevails.

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

how long was you in the job??? Obviously not long enough to learn how to spell customs or smuggle !!!!

<deleted>

I think you must be a liar.

As an ex Australian customes official your note your note regarding Austalian cutoms.

I ask this question - "What is it that people take so much offence when they are caught clearly breaking the laws of the country they are trying to visit???"

I have seen ot all - some examples

- Pommies whining and whinging when they are wearing filthy shoes and Oz customs officals take them away to be cleaned - all when the UK has a foot and mouth outbeak

- Germans with saudages hidden all over their bodies

- African with giant live frogs

.. and of course the inevitable tourists tring to smoggle in a few extra cartons of smokes eetc. etc.

I just don't understand the indignty of people when they are caught red handed breaking the law that's all - obviously the Thai examle is about corrupyion - the people caught were still pretty dumb though.

I

Are you sure you are an ex-Aussie customs official?

I think he's an English teacher in disguise!

Nah he is an ozzie customs official for sure..... Most of the ones I have met there would be proud of making so few spelling mistakes…. Probably took him 3 hours to compose the post…. Arrogant, thick, egotistical, dickheads.

My mate got pulled in to an office for 2 hours once at brisbane airport for having a cheeky sense of humour.

The immigration officer asked him “have you got a criminal record” to which he replied “no sorry I haven’t, I didn’t realise it was still a requirement to gain entry” must admit though the 2 hour wait put him off doing it again.

do her up the batty..... problem solved...

bet she didn't see that cummin

The often-repeated phrase "Why do Thai authorities shoot themselves in the foot" seen often in threads on Thaivisa is appropriate at this point.

It's precisely what we are doing in this thread. When a poster makes a thread detailing an apparent change at a border crossing and then is subject to ridicule and abuse by follow-on posts, we are essentially "shooting ourselves in the foot."

As I have already pointed out it is immigration policy worldwide to detain someone who is suspected of lying. The original post should have stopped at saying don't use agents as the border staff have issues with them....... OK great post thanks for the advice…. I agreed.

But no, the post continued to slag off the immigration officials for doing their job correctly...the question to ask is who was really in the wrong. I agree morally the agent was wrong not to tell the client and refuse his money (but then what do you expect, are they going to look a gift horse in the mouth), and after he was warned that there was a problem the person arrived in the agents car at the checkpoint in full view of the officials and then denied it even though it was blatantly obvious, how stupid is that??

And then he has the audacity to slag them off for making him admit to his lies before allowing him to enter (yes allowing him to enter, not turning him away)….. it is one thing to pre-warn people about the agent but it is wrong to imply to others who maybe don’t know that border crossing that the immigration are anything other than doing their job…. How is this misinformation helpful to anybody???? I have crossed that border myself over 30 times in the last 4 years and have never had a single problem even when I have been pissed out of my brain and in a right state. I think it is not very helpful to people who don’t know the border crossing options to scare them away from there, maybe the will read this post and decide to go to poi pet instead…. Now they are dishonest and deceitful as any body who has been there knows…. All in all not very clever and certainly not helpful.

But i have heard that people from Laos eat their first born if it is born on a tuesday

Well it made me laugh anyway!

Steve, I just speak reality the way some people go on about Laos on here is unbelieveable! I went down to BKK with my wife to sort out her UK Visa and we actually had about 4 or 5 girls who started talking to my wife and none of them could believe she was Laos because . . . . wait for it . . . . . 'she was pretty'!!!!?!? Obviously they all believed Lao women have two heads or are grossly disfigured!

I am living in singapore with my Laos wife and get the same here..... I love Laos and fail to understand why others don't, friendly hospitable people who don't only like you because you have money in your pocket.... must be the lack of Go-Go bars.. sad really they can't see their way past their private parts.

You have serous issues. Perhaps you are a sexpat but stoneage morality laws don't help anyone.

They dont prevent prostitution but they might inhibit real relationships.

Get Real

Read the post before making a fool of yourself, I never said that there was no prostitution in Laos. call me old fashioned but I cannot understand what is wrong with not wanting my kids to accept prostitution as normal moral behaviour and consider it as a viable career option as is so often the case in poor countries

Please explain how having prostitution behind closed doors might inhibit real relationships, I don't understand????

I never realized that rife prostitution in the street was the modern way.... maybe you should set up a Go-Go bar in you mum's spare bedroom and when she complains you can tell her that "this is the modern way of doing things, it’s quite normal, stop being so behind the times"

I'm now gonna go back to my cave

Back on topic..... Up2u why did you lie to the immigration when they asked if you used an agent if you didn't think you were doing anything wrong..... i have travelled a lot and every immigration official world wide would pull you if they knew you were not telling the truth. if you worked as an immigration officer and you suspected you were being lied to would you not do the same???? Force a confession from a liar by refusing entry, I’m sure they would use the same tactic in the UK. The end result was he let you in after making you tell the truth.... sounds like a decent bloke really.... most western immigration officers would give you more trouble than that.... Have you ever been to OZ....complete C&^TS there. Much worse than any in Asia a bunch of mini Hitler’s on a major ego trip.

But i have heard that people from Laos eat their first born if it is born on a tuesday

A tour guide in Laos told me the Lao ID card has a photo of the spouse on the rear of the husband’s card.

I figure that stops a lot of guys booking into hotels with their mia noys.

rubbish.... no photos on the back of any ID cards (male or female).... and as for hotels and girls, you simply check in and no questions are asked, as long as you choose the correct hotel.... just ask the girl which one.... common sense really.

Also bear in mind that you need a licence to be in a bedroom alone with a Lao woman. No idea what rigmarole this entails but apparently you need to be married or engaged to apply. Friends who have worked in Vientiane were followed around a lot and people have been deported for spending the night with a Lao girl (or boy), not a career enhancing event for expats working there.

The above reminded me of a piece I saved a while back:

RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAO CITIZENS:

"The Lao Government prohibits sexual contact between foreign citizens and Lao nationals except when the two parties have been married in accordance with Lao Family Law. Any foreigner who enters into a sexual relationship with a Lao national may be interrogated, detained, arrested, or jailed. Lao police have confiscated passports and imposed fines of up to $5000 on foreigners who enter into disapproved sexual relationships. The Lao party to the relationship may also be jailed without trial. Foreigners are not permitted to invite Lao nationals of the opposite sex to their hotel rooms; police may raid hotel rooms without notice or consent.

Foreign citizens intending to marry Lao nationals are required by Lao law to obtain prior permission from the Lao Government. The formal application process can take as long as a year. American citizens may obtain information about these requirements from the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane. The Lao Government will not issue a marriage certificate unless the correct procedures are followed. Any attempt to circumvent Lao regulations may result in arrest, imprisonment, a fine of $500-$5000, and deportation. Foreigners who cohabit with or enter into a close relationship with Lao nationals may be accused by Lao authorities of entering an illegal marriage and be subject to the same penalties.

Foreign citizens who wish to become engaged to a Lao national are required to obtain prior permission from the chief of the village where the Lao national resides. Failure to obtain prior permission can result in a fine of $500-$5000. Lao police frequently impose large fines on foreign citizens a few days after they hold an engagement ceremony with a Lao citizen based on the suspicion that the couple probably subsequently had sexual relations out of wedlock."

Source

At least it should save some visa runners a few baht on condoms, although I am sure those in desperate need will be serviced regardless of the above 'rules'.

No doubt where there's a willy there's a way...

All true and is the law. Basically you need to be seen as the law says otherwise your in trouble - you wouldn't go around blatantly drinking beer in Saudi so you don't go around blatantly with Lao girls for all to see. There is a lot of girls who work bars here and there is plenty of hotels that will ignore the 'rules' above.

Also many western guy think this law applies to them only it doesn't it applies to all - Chinese, Korean etc etc all have to abide by the same law.

It goes back to my previous post if you show respect to people you won't get a trouble.

technocracy you talk sense....... not a load of third hand stories heard in a bar and repeated as your own...... refreshing.

Also bear in mind that you need a licence to be in a bedroom alone with a Lao woman. No idea what rigmarole this entails but apparently you need to be married or engaged to apply. Friends who have worked in Vientiane were followed around a lot and people have been deported for spending the night with a Lao girl (or boy), not a career enhancing event for expats working there.

The above reminded me of a piece I saved a while back:

RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAO CITIZENS:

"The Lao Government prohibits sexual contact between foreign citizens and Lao nationals except when the two parties have been married in accordance with Lao Family Law. Any foreigner who enters into a sexual relationship with a Lao national may be interrogated, detained, arrested, or jailed. Lao police have confiscated passports and imposed fines of up to $5000 on foreigners who enter into disapproved sexual relationships. The Lao party to the relationship may also be jailed without trial. Foreigners are not permitted to invite Lao nationals of the opposite sex to their hotel rooms; police may raid hotel rooms without notice or consent.

Foreign citizens intending to marry Lao nationals are required by Lao law to obtain prior permission from the Lao Government. The formal application process can take as long as a year. American citizens may obtain information about these requirements from the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane. The Lao Government will not issue a marriage certificate unless the correct procedures are followed. Any attempt to circumvent Lao regulations may result in arrest, imprisonment, a fine of $500-$5000, and deportation. Foreigners who cohabit with or enter into a close relationship with Lao nationals may be accused by Lao authorities of entering an illegal marriage and be subject to the same penalties.

Foreign citizens who wish to become engaged to a Lao national are required to obtain prior permission from the chief of the village where the Lao national resides. Failure to obtain prior permission can result in a fine of $500-$5000. Lao police frequently impose large fines on foreign citizens a few days after they hold an engagement ceremony with a Lao citizen based on the suspicion that the couple probably subsequently had sexual relations out of wedlock."

Source

At least it should save some visa runners a few baht on condoms, although I am sure those in desperate need will be serviced regardless of the above 'rules'.

No doubt where there's a willy there's a way...

Crickey! What a bunch of <deleted>. I went to Lao once and bedded a Lao girl in my hotel room. Worrying to think I could have gone to jail for that.

I liked laos people, although i always give immigration officials a wide birth. They all looked rather miserable if you ask me. The only really pleasurable time I had was sitting on the edge of the Mekong River drinking lao beers and riding around the middle of nowhere on motor bikes with friends.

After my experience, I dont think I would visit Laos again. There's really not much to do.

<deleted>???? why because the lao government don't want people likeyou abuseing their nationals? or maybe you think that it is out of order that they have laws in place to stop sexpats blatantly shagging kids for a fiver and then paradeing around the streets hand in hand like they do in most asian countries. Laos has got it right, its still available but behind closed doors, which in my opinion is right. prostitution should not be on show for kids to see and accept as normal.

how many Laos citizens do you see in the sex trade worldwide compared to thais, flippers, indos or vietnamese???? point made.

but if your intentions are honourable the locals will bend over backwards to help you obtain a marrage licence. me and my wife never had a problem.

<snip>I have found Laos to be a lot more tourist friendly than Thailand, I don’t get scammed for money by the police and the immigration department in Vientiane are very polite and helpful and will assist you (without a bribe) to obtain both extensions and long term visas to stay in Laos <snip>

Mon 16 Oct 06, 10:54 a.m.

I don't know what those guys are talking about. You go to Laos Immigration window at the Nong Khai border, with your completed application, photo, passport and 1,500 baht, and you get your 15 day visa in 5 min. if you are not traveling during peak hours. If you need a month, you have to go to a Laos Consulate, but that is also quick & easy. The few times I have bee to the Laos Consulate in Khon Kaen, I was the only customer there!

MyFriendSame, could you describe what the long(er)-stay options are for Laos are, fees, procedures, etc.? Thanks, lah!

Aloha,

Rex

Hi Rex,

E-mail me directly and i will give you names and numbers of a couple of my Laos Friends who will help you get whatever visa or extention you want, but it might cost you a few nights out on the piss with them, cheap enough tho when a big bottle of beer is 20-40 baht.

Basically the best way to go if you intend on staying in laos a while is to get a work permit which will allow you stay for a year without leaving if you wish. All up it will cost you about 20,000 Baht and will allow you to work there to support yourself.

Cheers,

Steve

I think a lot of punters forget that Laos is a communist state. Personally I'd recommend staying away from Laos and Burma and conduct visa proceedings in Malaysia...with Cambodia as a second choice.

You are clueless.......... I bet you have never been to either Laos or Burma have you??? But yet you offer an opinion. For your information I have found Laos to be a lot more tourist friendly than Thailand, I don’t get scammed for money by the police and the immigration department in Vientiane are very polite and helpful and will assist you (without a bribe) to obtain both extensions and long term visas to stay in Laos (a thing of the past in Thailand). Malaysia is more expensive and a pain in the arse to travel to as the closest Thai embassy to the border is 2 hours traveling. I think you have been watching too much western propaganda on TV about communism…… but then that’s why “democratic” governments say what they do about communism to make SHEEP like you form unfounded opinions. Look how well communism works in Singapore, one of the best standards of living in Asia.

this will cheer up the yabba dealers....

BYE THEN...........

SamuiJens I also noticed your profile says you are 56 ish and your hobby is women???? you sound like an intelligent man with real strong morals.........