BritTim

Interesting feedback. Historically, entering via the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai has almost invariably been completely hassle free. This could be a significant change of policy.

Reports I have seen suggest a tightening of requirements in Savannakhet, but not necessarily in Vientiane. Savannakhet has had a severe problem with huge numbers of visa seekers on particular days as visa run companies can bring people there for visa applications without previous appointments (as in Vientiane). I speculate that Savannakhet might be trying to deter visa run companies. I wonder, actually, if Savannakhet might apply less strict requirements if you are applying for a tourist visa on a Friday. All this is speculation.

For sure, if you want to enter by air, you would be well advised to get a tourist visa rather than returning visa exempt. Which airport are to contemplating using for your return? If you want to use a visa exemption, as others have implied, doing so by land is safer. You might consider flying to Vientiane, crossing the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai, and returning via Udon Thani airport.

It would be a better option than either of the Bangkok airports, but there would still be a risk of a denied entry. If you had a flight out within a few days to the UK, your chances would be very good, but not 100%.

Try calling the embassy now, explaining the situation, and asking if they will issue you a transit visa the same day.

I am aware of the case you cite. The only common factor with the OP is that it involved the UK embassy. The embassy accused him on not being in the UK at the time of the application. That in no way affected any attempt to board a plane to come to Thailand. It is very possible that this is another screw up by the UK embassy, but IMHO it would be foolhardy to assume that. Unlike in the case you mention, if the embassy is correct, he will be prevented from flying to Thailand., with no timely way to appeal the decision.

There is reason to believe that he may, erroneously, have ended up on the blacklist. I believe he is correct to delve into this rather than ignoring it. Trying to fly to Thailand under the current circumstances would be very unwise. It would be gambling that this is just the Thai embassy in London erroneously believing he was blacklisted. Otherwise, as part of the standard procedures using the Advance Passenger Information System, his airline is going to be ordered by Thai Immigration not to board him. The airline will comply with this order. This issue would remain even if he succeeded in a visa application in, say, Saigon. A good lawyer can confirm whether or not he is on the blacklist, and help to get him removed if he is. Often using a lawyer cannot help. I do not understand why you see it as problematic in this instance.

Unless policies have changed again, there is zero chance of a tourist visa from the Thai embassy in Hong Kong unless you have a Hong Kong residence visa. (If you could get a tourist visa, you would almost certainly be safe entering Thailand through CNX.)

Any chance? Yes. Guaranteed entry visa exempt through an airport? No. If you must fly direct to a Thai airport to enter visa exempt, I recommend CNX. Better would be to fly to Vientiane and enter Thailand via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai. You could then fly to Bangkok from Udon Thani. As I am sure you appreciate, your immigration history (regardless of the reasons) does not look good.

Sure. The correct reply to you should have been that you are not eligible for a visa on arrival (which is for other nationalities) but are eligible for a visa exemption.

Do you have a relatively common name that could have caused the embassy to confuse you with someone else? This is probably a bureaucratic F up. They can be difficult to get resolved. If willing to spend a bit of money, get a good immigration lawyer in Bangkok involved on your behalf. Give them your name, date of birth and all your current and previous passport numbers. Ask them to check if you are on the blacklist, and when this occurred. Work with them to get you removed. I worry that an attempt to fly to Thailand to enter visa exempt might result in a DNB (do not board) instruction to your airline. The ideal way to sort this out (without employing a lawyer) is to fly to a neighbouring country and try to enter visa exempt by land. If denied at the border, you are in a position to argue your case and get errors corrected. You want all your old passports so you can potentially prove a case of mistaken identity.

If I did it myself, I would expect it to cost around 1,300 baht bearing in mind the bribe to be allowed same day return. You might possibly manage a little less.

I think it is available for most nationalities eligible to use the e-visa system. Possibly, it is not available for the Chinese. It is notable that the multiple entry Non O was not initially available through the e-visa system when first introduced. The original site was designed with China in mind.

Trust me, these people will find you. It is how they make their daily bread. A bigger issue is that those who want to do the in-out themselves without extra charges need to dodge these folks (who can be very convincing in their stories that you will have problems if you do not use their service).

Both the Bangkok airports have been known to be tough on those entering visa exempt. Some consider Don Muang stricter than Suvarnabhumi. Since you will have been out of Thailand for a month, and your history as a tourist is not extreme, I doubt you will have a problem, but it is not impossible. (If you have a visa, you should definitely be OK.)

Please report back on your experience applying for a tourist visa in KL. Over many years, the embassy there has fluctuated widely in how friendly it is towards those applying for tourist visas. I have seen no recent reports on the current situation there. If you must return visa exempt, which airport do you plan to fly into?

That might be a price quote that excludes the Cambodian visa-on-arrival and fee for same day return.

They will do so when the authorities on the other side will allow you to enter. Yes, if you want to cross the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai to enter Laos, and have already used your two allowed visa exempts by land, Thai Immigration will warn you of the consequences and stamp you out. That is because the Laos authorities will allow you to get a visa-on-arrival, and maroon yourself in Laos until you can find a way to leave. At Mae Sai, you need either a visa or a border pass to enter Myanmar. At the current time, visas to enter Myanmar at Mae Sai are unavailable. You need a border pass. As I mentioned, the Myanmar authorities will not allow you to enter on a border pass when you are not legally permitted to re-enter Thailand. If Thai immigration erroneously allows you to leave under these circumstances, you will not receive a fresh visa exempt entry when Myanmar denies you entry. Thailand will simply cancel your exit stamp (and probably arrest you if you are already on overstay). There have been many cases of foreigners wanting to make a quick trip across to Myanmar who were unable to do so because they had no Myanmar visa, were not eligible for visa exempt entry to Thailand, and had no re-entry permit on their existing permission to stay.

At the current time, there is no possible way he could leave at Mae Sai without a way to legally return to Thailand. Thai immigration are well aware that, without this, the Myanmar authorities will not grant him a border pass.

(Hoping you are not just some kind of clumsy troll...) 90-day address reporting exists because the authorities, in their wisdom, have decided they want to keep regular track of where those on lengthy permissions to stay are living. That is a separate matter from extending the time when you are legally allowed to stay in Thailand.

The "experts" on here do not know of any online service to facilitate staying indefinitely. If you are aware of some way that allows you to extend your existing permission to stay in Thailand via some kind of online application, please do explain.

A border bounce in Mae Sai qualifies as a land entry. If you have already received two visa exemptions by land in 2023, you will not be allowed to get another at Mae Sai. With your history, you may also find it difficult to find an embassy/consulate in the region who will issue you a tourist visa. You are running short of safe options.

You will get the visa exempt entry OK on your return from Japan. Do you plan on extending it? I do not have first hand knowledge on what "strict" means in Savannakhet. However, a reported important guideline appears to be exceeding 90 days in a 180 day period. You would have time to apply for an apointment to get a tourist visa in Vientiane. Worth considering also.

If your total stay in Thailand as a tourist over the last year is going to be 45 days on a visa exempt entry, you have nothing to worry about.

Yes. However, note that, since I wrote the post last week, there have been two reports (including one from a highly reliable source) that the issuing of tourist visas has become much stricter in Savannakhet. Thus, it is no longer certain that you would receive the visa if you are a long stay tourist.