TheSiemReaper

Just an update on this for anyone who is interested - the visa form has changed and isn't online. You can get a copy of the form free from inside the embassy but if you submit the one at the link above - you'll have to do what I did and fill in a new form. Annoyingly it's a minor change (a slightly different admin box) but they are very much sticklers for the copy they want. 

Thank you. :-)

I'm off to Vientiane tomorrow to sort out my ED-Visa and while I have all the paperwork ready - I don't know what form I am supposed to fill in to apply. Is it the same form as for a tourist visa? 

Thanks in advance for any help/advice. 

Life, I'm wondering if any of the posters here have been to Vientiane in the last 2-3 years. They no longer give the slightest monkey's about taking a Lao girl to your room. Nearly every hotel and guesthouse is "girl friendly". The Chinese came to town with megabucks and all the morality was chucked out the window. Don't spend so much as a second worrying about it.

You can leave anywhere on one passport and enter anywhere else on another. In general, when entering by air - they won't be looking for entry/exit stamps from a previous destination anyway. Mainly because many people won't have them (for example an EU national landing in Bangkok won't have a stamp in or out of the EU).

That sounds about right to me. Taxes are high on imported stuff. I paid about 50% on my last purchase of imported shoes too (we have a similar foot size). I'm not sure how you'd save money by travelling to Singapore unless you're planning to go by bus and then intending to sleep in a cardboard box under a bridge. Peculiarly packets under a value of $100 seem to attract no tax at all.

Don't go to the consulate - go to any travel agent in town, give them your passport and cash and they'll handle it all for you. (Takes 3 days).

As for where to stay? Street 172 - Silver River is popular enough and in a decent place for cheap eats and bars. If you want girly bars - anywhere between Streets 104 and 136 will do.

Don't wander about late at night on your own - take a tuk-tuk or a moto. Other than that, you'll have fun in PP.

So if i got my passport to a travel company before 10am Monday i could get it back Wednesday 4pm?

I'd aim to have it with them on Sunday evening around 6... but theoretically, yes.

Don't go to the consulate - go to any travel agent in town, give them your passport and cash and they'll handle it all for you. (Takes 3 days).

As for where to stay? Street 172 - Silver River is popular enough and in a decent place for cheap eats and bars. If you want girly bars - anywhere between Streets 104 and 136 will do.

Don't wander about late at night on your own - take a tuk-tuk or a moto. Other than that, you'll have fun in PP.

ANZ bank ATMs in ANZ branches allow withdrawals of 10 million Dong. Everywhere else offers much less.

Vietnamese women are not at all embarrassed to be with foreigners. It's the only place I've ever been in Asia where they were also keen to be a financial equal and would pay for food, drinks, etc. too. Yes, there are fewer "English speakers" in Vietnam but those who do speak English tend to speak it to a much higher standard than most Thais. The only issue I had was that they all seemed to want to get married after spending a week with you.

Stay away from the tourist traps of Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien and you'll find a city where no-one wants to cheat you at all. I have never lived anywhere with such low prices and honest people. Even my Chinese wife was stunned by their honesty (privately admitting that she didn't understand why they didn't cheat her as had the positions been reversed the Chinese would have cheated them).

I've lived in Cambodia, Vietnam and China as well as Thailand.

1. Cambodia - easiest visas in the region, beer and smokes cheapest in region, availability of Western products is good, electronics are cheapest in the region. The downsides are that good quality accommodation is expensive and electricity is hellishly expensive. English is spoken in most big cities and usually of a higher standard than in Thailand but out in the sticks... not a word of English to be found most of the time. The people are friendly but petty crime is the national sport and both street theft and burglary are as common as muck. Violent crime is comparatively rare though. No 90 day reporting or indeed any kind of reporting. Can start a business easily. Overstay is no big deal.

2. Vietnam - visas are a bit of a pain. Book business visa through company online for 3 months but arrive by air, renew twice (progressively more expensive) and then leave and fly back and start again. Friendly, honest people outside of tourist hotspots where they are vultures. Beer and smokers are cheaper than Thailand. Girly bars, for those who care, are very different to the rest of the region - you cannot take a girl out of the bar except at closing time (2 a.m. ish) and in most cases you will need to book her for another day and pay through the nose for her company in a short-time hotel. Having said that, Vietnamese girls like foreigners and there is zero shame in being with one - it's the only place in the region where girls regularly bought me drinks rather than the other way round. However... most tried to close getting married in the first week of dating. Accommodation is on a par with Thailand in terms of cost, electricity is also about the same. Street crime in tourist areas is rife. Violent crime is rare. 90 day reporting is required but often can managed by your landlord if you live in a decent building. Overstay will get you in a ton of trouble and banned from the country.

3. China - visas are easy but expensive (find a local broker). It is much more expensive than SE Asia for most things though beer and smokes are still cheaper than Thailand. Accommodation is cramped and often roach infested for much more money than here. Expat areas are few and far between. Women are the best on earth but there is a small but significant segment of the local population which is rude, dirty and generally unpleasant. English is rarely spoken anywhere. (Despite 400 million people learning English at the moment). Electricity is cheap. Internet is cheap and excellent. Petty crime is common and crimes often turn violent. Must report to police within 24 hours of entering the country, or if you check into any accommodation which is not a hotel. Overstay is expensive and will get you in a ton of trouble.

It was used very briefly following the fall as the VC mopped up in the South but it wasn't used much and is still, supposedly, in the same state as it was the day that Saigon fell. The intention was to demonstrate that they didn't need the trappings of wealth that the vanquished did. It's telling that when the palace was surrendered the VC that it was surrendered to is supposed to have said; "You cannot give, what does not belong to you."

Hong Kong places two stamps in your passport. One an arrival stamp. The second explaining you may not seek work during the 180 days you are in the country. Hong Kong also requires a full blank page before entering the country. (I have an older passport full of Hong Kong stamps to show you if you like). You will find this is the case pretty much everywhere and you will then be stranded in no man's land having left Thailand but denied entry to almost all other countries. Be very careful here - most of the advice above is abysmal and doesn't consider immigration rules. (BTW if you're not a UK citizen you are required to have 2 blank pages which must be on two opposite pages of your passport to enter the UK - lots of people get deported at their own expense each year for ****ing that up too).

You absolutely cannot renew your passport in Phnom Penh; trust me - I renewed my passport in Cambodia. You send the passport (via DHL) to the UK for renewal. It is not even delivered to the embassy when (if) it comes back. It took more than 3 months for them to turn mine round - and I was lucky, I had a fresh 1 year Cambodia visa in there, many others ended up overstaying by months waiting for it.

Cambodia will not let you in without a full blank page in your passport; irrespective of stamp size.

Nowhere will normally let you in without a full blank page in your passport - no matter the size of the stamp. If you have a single blank page left; you can normally get them to stamp in some remaining space on another page but without it - you are most likely to get deported. Sorry, but the best option is probably going back to the UK...

I don't see how you can misread an entry stamp, you know before entering how long you will be given 15,30,60,90 or a 1 year stamp.

its not a pick any stamp up and put it in the passport, yes the immigration officer can make a mistake,but all stamps should be checked at the time.

Surely before planing a trip to Thailand you work out how many days you are staying, have the correct visa and travel insurance, and a plan on re-entries etc.

A long term 1 year extension may be forgotten, but again its just bad planing, and not putting that renewal date in a diary, phone, computer.

Lots of people don't realize the date is on the stamp and do their own calculation on their head (30 days) and are off by 1 day (which is probably why they don't fine for one day) [i.e. 30 days means 30 nights -- when it actually only means 29 nights]

This. When I first came to Thailand - I came from China, where the 30 day period on your visa starts the day after you enter the country, whereas in Thailand it starts on day of entry. So, I was exactly 1 day over when I left Thailand to move to Cambodia. I paid the fine, said sorry and haven't done it again. I find it hard to fathom missing a visa date by a month but a day is pretty easy to do.

Is it best to get the early ? And somebody told me if you pay extra you can jump the queue is that correct.

You can pay to jump the queue but if someone grasses you up - you'll lose your money and be sent to the back of the line...

Can we get a NON O visa for thai kid or thai wife at Sianoukville ?

You might be able to get a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai or being the parent of a Thai from the embassy in PP. Not sure they will allow agents to submit the application.

This is correct. Agents will only handle tourist visas.

I went last week. Don't go to the embassy at all. Go to a travel agent with $49 and give them your passport. 3 days later (including the day you drop the passport off) you will have your visa. No form filling. No queuing. No photographs taken. Nothing. This costs a whacking $9 over doing it all yourself... Welcome to Cambodia, nobody stands in line if they can help it.

sounds right but dont you need a photo? and they might want to see a ticket out of Thailand but they will fake it for you for an extra $10

Nope. No photo. No ticket. At least not via the agent I used (Street 172, next to Dolce Vita Restaurant). No fake ticket for $10 either.

I went last week. Don't go to the embassy at all. Go to a travel agent with $49 and give them your passport. 3 days later (including the day you drop the passport off) you will have your visa. No form filling. No queuing. No photographs taken. Nothing. This costs a whacking $9 over doing it all yourself... Welcome to Cambodia, nobody stands in line if they can help it.

Great advice. Only sensible way to do it.

Yes it is, but is it 100% legal? Even if it wasn't, it would not stop me doing it if it was to my advantage.

100% legal. It's an agent. They just go and do all the things you would do yourself (except for bribing the Thai embassy to accept a mass of applications at once).

They're not keen on multiple SETV's in Phnom Penh at all. They will not do back-to-back multiple SETVs now at all (so if you did one in PP last time, go to Vientiane next time). They will only issue an SETV if you have no more than 3 back-to-back (from anywhere) in total too. (Just phoned a friend to confirm this).

Thanks. Is it possible to pay more to speed things up a day or two?

No. You could shave a single day from the process by going in person... at the cost of a whole day wasted in two halves in the Thai consulate...

Is it possible to pay more to have a quicker turnaround time?

So if i drop pp off early monday morning i can collect from agent wednesday?

Thanks

If you drop off early Monday morning (before 10 a.m.) - you can collect Wednesday evening (after 6 p.m.). No need to pay more.

If you want to be 100% certain of Wednesday - drop off Sunday evening (usually before about 8 p.m.).

Every travel agency in the city, pretty much, does it. Ask in your hotel for the closest one.

You seem very familiar with Cambodia. Little off topic but how would you advise people wanting to obtain setv from say Siem Reap or Sihanoukville for example to use similar agent arrangement. Cambodia is not my go but many people ask me

Yes, it's exactly the same process in SR and SHV though it does take a day or two longer (as the passport has to go to PP and come back) and costs a few dollars more. I did my first SETV in SR that way.

Thanks. Thought as much. Good to have conformation. Perhaps you could also advise people how to obtain longer term visa for Cambodia. Yes I realize another forum

Long term Cambodia visa as follows:

1. On arrival into Cambodia (not via an embassy or online or through a Thai agent - only on arrival) purchase an ordinary visa for $35, 1 photo and possibly a bribe of up to $5. Do not purchase a tourist visa. This is valid for 1 month.

2. To renew for a 1 year multiple entry - take $285 and your passport to a travel agent. Hand them over. Wait 1 week. 1 year multiple entry sorted.

3. To apply for a work permit - take $150 and your passport with a 1 year multiple entry visa to a travel agent. Wait 1 week. Work permit sorted.

Note: This is true for Westerners and ASEAN and Japan/Korea/China/Taiwan/etc. only. Those coming from other parts of the world (such as Africa or the Indian Sub-continent) may (and usually will) find that steps 2 and 3 cost a lot more money. Welcome to Cambodian racism. You may also need to use an agent who specializes in dealing with your nationality to get the result you need in these cases.