dalmatian

Hopefully my final input

Reading about the 12 months 4 entry O visa makes me think to try and get it in Penang. I notice though that most of the applicants for this are Single guys or foreigners married to Thais. (1) As I am married to a fellow English citizen and we both need visas is it worth trying in Penang or waiting till I we get back to UK in 3 or 4 months time. (2) Also as Foreigners do we need to provide any documentation to the embassy as part of the 4 entry application and (3) will I be putting down Tourism or Retired as my reason for visiting Thailand as it has been pointed out previously that maybe my mentioning of buying property is not a good one. I suppose finally (4) would a copy of my marriage certificate be beneficial as my wife is travelling on a passport in her maiden name and again as pointed out as she is of Indian parentage (British passport) she may be a further reason why we got rejected in Philippines.

Roger13, thanks for your speedy and informative replies.

After viewing the forum comments on Singapore I think it will be Penang for me. If that does not work then I will do the Cambodia trip and then in December when back in the UK I will try (do I want to) to get the 4 entry tourist visa as mentioned in the earlier replies to my topic.

What is noticeable though is that it does appear that there are no hard and fast rules to guide tourists through the intracies of obtaining Thai visas with confidence. If I knew that I would never get a visa in Philippines or perhaps Singapore then I wish somebody would do the decent thing and stop me wasting my time going there in the first place. If it's a lottery and to marry a Thai officials daughter is the only surefire way of getting a tourist visa then I just might forgo the ongoing headaches and stop bringing my money into an ungrateful country.

In response to ROGER13, thanks for question/thoughts, they do raise a few issues

(1) Maybe the Thai Embassy TREATED her as Indian?

Did you see a Notice in the Embassy saying that Indians, Pakistanis, Bangadeshis etc ... must apply for Thai Visas

only in their Home country.

Could there be any connection?

(Hope this is not the case although I see your line of thought. This could raise the R word and I would hate to think that is the case as she was born UK and has never visited India but who would know that.)

(2)You asked if anyone had similar experiences

could I ask you to expand on your experience?

You mention supporting your Visa Application

with details of Condo & Bank Account.

May I ask - was this in response to the Embassy

initial re-action or did you give this info - up front?

If upfront - maybe it was "Over Kill" ...

and prompted unsympathetic staff to look more

closely at your situation?

(In response: when giving in our applications I was asked initially for details of how I can afford to stay in Thailand, I had to leave a copy of my Thai Farmers Bank book with them. I was then called by the embassy the next day to be told that I had too many 60 day visas (2) already and I should go in on a 30 day visit. I then advised that I was retired and intending on buying a home at some stage in the next year. I was then advised that only when I had documentation to support the purchase should I then come back and they would give me a 60 day visa. I stated that I had paid rental for 6 months already on a condo in Jomtien but to no avail. It appeared quite ok for them to think I would just carry on going in on 30 day visas. Now may be putting Tourist down on the application form was wrong (same for my wife) ... should I be putting down that I am retired?

Also I am going to attempt to go to either Singapore or Penang at the end of August with a view to trying to give it another go at a 60 day visa. Can anybody tell me which one is better or if they are both reliable in obtaining the necessary visa.

In response to another comment on the Philippines in terms of going back the next day and trying somebody different, there is nobody different. I arrived to find one man serving the counter, nobody else behind the glass. No counter for applications or pick-up, just one man. When I spoke again with the embassy it was the same man I spoke with and again when picking up passports. The place was empty, I was probably the only person they had seen all day, if my experience is an example then that's probably why it is empty. Just a bad experience probably but certainly don't put P.I. down as a 60 day tourist visa run destination.

Chonabot,

Thanks for making life easy, I would have hated to have started a new topic by being married at 14 years, yes my wife is 34 years of age, I have only been married for 7 months. She is British but she is is of Indian parentage and everybody in Thailand and Philippines think she is Thai or Philippina, makes life a little easier.

It is getting late, 1.00 a.m Philippine time and I need a hot tea!!

I have read all the replies and I appreciate all the comments. I will say that as a person slightly pissed off with the inability to get a Thai visa I still love the Thai way of life but I don't want to be part of a way of life that says I am not right for Thailand. Now if I am single I would be deperate to stay in Thailand for what the #### does any other country offer. I did live in Philippines for 4 years between 89 and 93 and my god did I have a good time. You can live in the Philippines for a year for at least half the visa price that Thailand charges and you don't need to leave the country in that year. (Expensive in Philippines, it's just not true). I can appreciate all the comments, yes Singapore is expensive but what a beautiful place to be. Malaysia has it's silverhair offer and yes I fit the bill but Thailand is where I wanted to live because of the infrastructure etc but at what price. Vietnam may not be on the map yet but you bet it soon will be!. The reality is that Thailand is doing it's best to undermine the real potential of foreign longterm investment and I am that person. Yes marry that Thai girl and just accept everything that they throw at you but the point is do you want to live underneath an umbrella of corruption, bribery or misunderstanding or do you want to live in an open environment that says "hey we like you", "you are good for us".! If you can say what the heck then I can respect your needs but I for one need to feel that my residence is a positive move and not a move made out of need but out of common appreciatian and desire.

Apologise if I am getting moved sideways but even if I was single I would on principle be miffed at the way I have been treated. We will all carry on but at what cost, it should always be a question of choice, once you forget that you are leaving yourself open to whatever the future holds and it might not be so accomodating.

It's the day after I got refused and maybe the mind is more clear and less irritable. The only good thing is that I got my 600 pesos back for the rejection. I agree that there is no point going to Pattaya immigration so it looks like I will need to do the trip to the border next month but the cost will get annoying let alone the inconvenience of doing the day trip. I know that I can give my passport to the small room next to the immigration office in Pattaya but I would rather do things the correct way. I have only good intentions (don't laugh) in staying in Thailand as I have been here many times but as has been said previously on numerous e-mails the Thai goverment seems only to want short stay tourists and not long stayers. I know it could be a case of bad luck but this should not be the case, there should be hard and fast rules enabling me to be satisfied that I will receive a tourist visa if I meet the criteria. I don't understand the logic but after getting ripped off trying to bring in bona fide cargo (in April) and now an unreasonable rejection of a tourist visa I am slightly miffed.

Yes there are other options for retirement other than Thailand but it comes down to what you want to do in the country. For me it is a straight choice of feeling welcomed without provocation or hassle. If I were single then maybe it limits my choice but I have the right to believe that my money wil go to a country that welcomes me and my wife. I will bide my time and weigh up the pros and cons but that will also be spent checking on the options in Malaysia/Vietnam and Philippines where it appears they are more than happy to see me land in their country.

I have just been denied a 60 day tourist visa at the Thai Embassy in Manila, Philippines. For info I am British, 48 years of age and married to a British woman of 34 years. We have been living in Thailand since Jan 13, 2003 when we entered on 60 day visas. After the 60 days we left the country for a holiday in Philippines but entered back into Thailand on March 15 for a 30 day stay as we were leaving for UK in April. In UK we again got a 60 day visa (no problems there and entered Thailand 27 April) which we extended at Pattaya immigration for a further 30 days. We then took a trip to Philippines July 24 whereupon we have just found out that our application for a 60 day tourist visa has been denied. The reason given is that we have had too many 60 day visas issued already this year. Neither of us is working (luckily no need to) and our intention was to stay in Thailand and then get a retirement visa when I reach 50. I have explained this to the embassy staff who said when I decide to buy a house and can confirm this they will consider a 60 day visa at a later time. As part of my application I explained my future intentions and explained that we are happily staying longterm in a condo in Jomtien Beach and buying a house/condo may be something to do at a later date. I also left them my flight tickets back to Thailand as well as a copy of my Thai Farmers bank book showing 250,000 baht. This is apart from the 250,000 we have already spent and which I mentioned to the staff at the embassy

(1)I am interested to know if anybody else has had an experience such as mine (I certainly would not recommend the Philippines for a visa run) and also (2) would like to understand whether this rejection is likely to have a negative affect on any future applications for a 60 day tourist visa at any other embassys. I am very upset at this rejection and it has changed my view of Thailand as a longterm residential possibility. What with the recent topics about Thai visa fee increases and what Thaksin is trying to achieve and then now this rejection I am a little depressed and will consider my future more once I have returned to Thailand on Sunday 03 Aug. (3) Can I get any where by going to the Pattaya Immigration to plead my case.

Dalmatian

Thanks

All the info is very interesting and gives me food for thought. If I find out any costs etc I will add to this subject at a later date.

Thanks Lopburi3 for update.

In reply to your 2nd answer if the parents are registered as married and the child is a Thai citizen then presumably the child could go to a Thai school. I suppose the question is what are Thai schools like and what is the level of education offered, does anybody have experience or know of a good source of info to follow up on

I have a friend who would like to live in Pattaya, he has 2 children aged 7 and 3. He is over 50 and is wondering how much schooling costs are per year. Father is British and mother is Philippina. He has seen many adverts for English style schools but never a word on costs. Any ideas?

A second question is that if a child is born of non-Thai parents in Thailand would that give the child Thai citizenship aswell as their herditary citizenship. That one is for me as I am British, married to a Brit and approaching 50.