BritTim

This sort of confidently stated and totally incorrect information from the consular officials is the norm. People tend to assume that the Thai embassy should be a reliable source of information on all things Thai, but in reality they are horribly ignorant of anything except the services they provide themselves. Unfortunately, their almost total ignorance triggers the Dunning-Kruger effect.

How many visa exempt entries into Thailand have you had over, say, the last five years? It is known that once you hit six visa exempts, the immigration official used to receive an alert that you should be subjected to enhanced scrutiny to determine whether you are a regular tourist. (I do not know it this alert still exists, but suspect it likely does.) Against you will be that you have spent over 10 of the last 12 months in Thailand as a tourist. That might be a problem if the official decides you need extra scrutiny. If you return by air to Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang, the odds are that you will be OK. However, it would be safer to fly somewhere like Penang and enter Thailand by land. It would be good if you could get a tourist visa for your return, but the Thai embassy in Japan does not issue visas to foreign visitors. Although short notice, maybe it would be possible to get a tourist visa through the e-visa system. Another option would be to fly somewhere like Kuala Lumpur (appointment required) for a tourist visa before flying to Bangkok.

By Land, Laos. By air, maybe Hanoi Vietnam.

A run with an agency from Chiang Mai to a border with Laos is a reasonable option, depending on cost and the nature of the transport used. Notably, it can mean a cramped van with lots of sweaty, oversized Westerners. Although requiring some initiative on your part, it is possible to do the run more cheaply, albeit taking a couple of hours more, using public transport, and this can end up being more comfortable. If money is not the primary consideration, it may also be possible to negotiate a good price with a taxi to take you to the border, wait until you cross and return, and bring you back to Chiang Mai. If you want more details on what is required to do this border bounce under your own steam, ask. If you prefer a little holiday instead, you can fly from Chiang Mai to Hanoi on Air Asia for around 6,000 baht return, leaving December 11 and returning December 14. This will require a 30-day e-visa for Vietnam as US citizens do not receive visa exempt entry to Vietnam.

Yes, as of now, there is no appointment system in use in Savannakhet.

There is no direct link between the visa and the current permission to stay. The visa is not a re-entry permit.

For reference, the Thai embassy in Yangon is friendly and not busy. See Yangon Types of Visa (note this is two pages) and Yangon Non O visa (retirement) application. Flights on Air Asia are currently cheap, Myanmar visa required: https://evisa.moip.gov.mm/ (US$50). Hotel prices reasonable.

There are two ways people encounter problems when using Non Ed visas and extensions. The first is when they want to extend their permission to stay. This cannot be done with a border bounce. An extension is only possible at the local immigration office where officials may, or may not, try to establish if you are attending classes. The other is where you have an extension based on studying, in conjunction with a re-entry permit, and leave Thailand for a significant period (say a month) before returning. Airport immigration may then question how it is possible that you could miss classes for such a long period and still be enrolled. I suspect entering by land in this situation might be better, but (again) this is not a "border bounce" issue as it is usually understood.

If you are going from Bangkok, my suggestion is to get an overnight VIP bus to Mukdahan for the outbound trip. Although I hate long bus journeys, this connects so well with the international bus to Savannakhet (quite close to the consulate) that it is worth it. Flying to airports with onward van connections to Mukdahan will usually not allow you to arrive in Savannakhet early enough to apply the same day. For the return, Air Asia has a convenient Fly-Ride service from Mukdahan to Don Muang that you easily catch after picking up your passport the following afternoon. If you decide a short holiday, avoiding the long overnight bus, is a better option, my suggestion would be to fly to Ubon Ratchathani, stay there for a night or two, then take an early morning van to Mukdahan.

It is very sad that your mother was exposed to such a stressful experience. It is impossible that the squeaky clean officials at the airport could have been angling for bribes. They obviously suspected that your mother was working illegally in Thailand, or, perhaps they were considering denying entry on the basis explained in Section 12 (8) of the Immigration Act which reads: Seriously, I find it vexing when I read of attempts by officials to take advantage of vulnerable elderly people.

I think it is 99.999% that you would be OK without the 20k baht. However, it does seem prudent to have the cash, however improbable it might be that the officials would be out to get you. A little paranoia is healthy in cases like this.

Thanks. That is nearly identical to what I had saved years ago, except that the announcement fails to mention visa exemption. I guess there must have been a clarification at some point that visa on arrival and visa exemption should be treated in the same manner. Are we quite sure that a later announcement has not changed these regulations?

It is very frustrating that I cannot find an order with the latest regulations on this. About 10 years ago, I read from a source that I suppose I considered reliable at the time that the rules were: You may be correct that it is now a blanket 20,000 baht per person for tourist visa, visa on arrival or visa exemption (with the requirement having been dropped for transit visa and non immigrant visa) but I wish I could find the official order on this subject. Do you have a link?

It is technically a requirement for all foreigners entering Thailand. Section 12 (9) of the Immigration Act identifies failing to show the amount specified by the Minister (20,000 baht per person or 40,000 per family) as grounds for a denied entry. It applies whether entering with a visa, re-entry permit or visa exemption. It is a stupid requirement, but it exists.

You seem to have everything well thought out. I would just caution you on one point. Although Immigration is highly unlikely to ask to see the 20,000 baht equivalent on entry, not being is possession of it is technically a valid reason for a denied entry. It would be pretty ridiculous to ask to see it in your case, but they theoretically could.

I do not see why you should encounter a problem now at Ban Laem. However, your issue the last time was quite a surprise, not only to you but also to me.

He states that he has a (presumably unexpired) Non OA visa, and just wants to exit and re-enter (presumably before the visa expires) to get a fresh one-year permission to stay. It is unlikely that airport immigration will object to this.

This is where understanding the difference between a visa and a permission to stay greatly assists understanding. If you extend the 90-day permission to stay by a year, you are allowed to stay until the expiry of the new permission to stay. However, if you leave Thailand, the permission to stay is cancelled. (You can prevent this by getting a re-entry permit that keeps the permission to stay intact if you leave and re-enter Thailand.) If you cancel your existing permission to stay by leaving Thailand, and your multiple entry visa has not yet expired, you can use it to enter Thailand, receiving a fresh 90-day permission to stay.

Thai immigration at Poipet/Aranyaprathet was a rogue crossing in the past and, unless things have changed, are a law unto themselves. They also seem to have had personal contacts with officials at the Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports and have been known to create a situation where entering the country at all becomes difficult. At most land crossings, there are two separate cases. If you will be entering the neighbouring country with a border pass, Thai immigration will not allow you to leave if you would not be allowed back in. Simple. If you would be entering the other country with a visa or a visa exemption, Thai immigration may or may not warn you that you will not be allowed back in. In the event that you successfully enter the neighbouring country. If Thai immigration denies you re-entry to Thailand, you are sent back, your exit stamp from the other country is cancelled, and your status is exactly as it would have been if you had not tried to leave. You may or may not, in addition, receive a denied entry stamp in your passport (sometimes, being more friendly, Thai immigration makes the denied entry unofficial helping you avoid the consequences of recent denied entry stamps in your passport). It should be noted that almost no land crossings will deny you entry if you have a valid visa or if you are trying for one of the two permitted land based visa exemptions per calendar year. Poipet/Aranyaprathet is the notable exception.

Your point is valid. Certainly, if you plan to go ahead, it is folly to ask questions first. That removes any plausible claim you might make that you did not know the rules. That said, ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for a fraudulent application. "Fraudulent" is a strong word, but does apply if you are knowingly making an application that violates the rules. I do subscribe to the view that rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men. By all means go ahead, but be aware of the risks.

The only flaw in your logic is that (i) there is a declared rule that you can only apply for a visa at a US consulate while in the US; and (ii) people who have actually asked the embassy whether the e-visa system supersedes that rule have been told it does not, and applying for the visa when not in country is an invalid application. I appreciate why you would like to do this, and it may well work. I can foresee, for as long as it is seen as viable, it becoming a routine way of trying to circumvent the limitation of two cheap land in/outs per calendar year. I believe there will sooner or later be a crackdown.

The claim was "I had a current annual retirement visa extension with multiple re- entries." Taken at face value, this surely means he had a re-entry permit, not that he was requesting his third visa exemption. The word "current", I think, eliminates the possibility that he meant he had previously been in Thailand on a valid extension which lapsed before his trips.

Some people have successfully done it. However, officially, it is not allowed. The consular officials would be able to check if they have time, and are suspicious. I believe it is only a matter of time before they are very aware of some trying it, and begin to look for it. If you are found out, it may just mean a denied visa, or it could be more serious.

At last, maybe I can offer you some better news. Using the Thai e-visa site for a single Non O visa to visit your Thai wife (which will be processed by the UK embassy) does not require money in a Thai bank. They will accept evidence of funds in a UK bank just fine. The application may be a bit of a hassle (mainly due to the poor quality of the website) but it should be doable. Even a multiple entry Non O to visit your wife ought to be possible. Note that the application will ask for proof of health insurance. That is bogus, and you can ignore it.

Unfortunately not. If the account contains double the usual amount, Immigration will sometimes accept a joint account, but using the wife's account is never accepted. Further, for the conversion from tourist entry to Non O visa, you need to be able to show the money originated abroad. This means that, even if transferring the money from your wife's account to a newly opened account of your own, it could prove difficult establishing that the money originated overseas. Aggravating but, unless you are willing to get into the clutches of an agent, you need to work within these restrictions.