Essecola

If you buy a premium flex ticket on air asia it can have 2 date changes on it so u can use it as an onward ticket twice and either use it a 3rd time as an onward or actually fly with the ticket on the 3rd date booking. If you don't mind a ticket to KL it is about 3500 baht for such a ticket so works out to about 1170 per use - not so bad if you do end up using the 3rd booking too

Usually no problem to get a visa thru Jim. Onward ticket, hotel booking, passport, fee. Just google Thai public holidays and Malaysia public holidays beforehand and don't go when those public holidays are in the way. Unless you only want one more 30 day visa exempt stamp, they likely will ask extra questions and pressure u a bit when entering. There is info in other forum threads about other embassies and consulates where a tourist visa can be gotten.. Yangon, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City...

Sorry. My reply may not have been the best. It isn't possible to delete comments here..

But could be a good chance that with onward ticket copy and bank statements (maybe half of acct #'s whited out etc) the embassy may just issue you both 60 day visas! Hope u get it.

You should be able to work something out in Phnom Penh unless there are other stamps from Thailand in ur passports which it seems there arent besides the one u just got which isnt a tourist visa anyway. Go over to Lucky Motorcycle on Monivong Road and see what they say and if could sort out something for u?

There are agents all over Phnom Penh. Speak with a few. If nothing can work, consider heading over to Vientiane where you should have no problem getting 60 day visas without needing any of the onward ticket and bank statement stuff. The only thing is, direct flights to Vientiane are roughly $220 from Phnom Penh unless u want to sit on a bus which I wouldn't recommend.

I tick the 28 page box every time I renew my passport. They give a 52 page book to me every time. Because I am overseas. It seems to be something to "help" those who often asked for extra pages before. But it is actually not a help to me. For example when I leave the country I renewed the passport in they hold me up at the airport for 20 minutes asking "Why did you get a new passport?... you didn't need one.. this one had 'plenty' of pages still left in it".

The rule is since Sept 2015. I used to be able to get a 28 page book abroad.

12 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

As of the most recent information I could find, you can still choose between a 28-page or a 52-page US passport.  There is no difference in cost, and if I had to guess I'd think almost everyone gets the 52-page except maybe a few who are planning what they expect to be the one & only foreign trip of their lives.  It's not longer possible to get additional pages added to an existing passport.

Anyone renewing their US passport abroad gets a 52 page book now. You can't get a 28 page book overseas. Am 100% sure of this info as it was posted on the wall last time I renewed my passport. This rule has been in place for more than 18 months too. You can only get a 28 page book in the US itself.

That a boy. Had his onward ticket ready to show. Don't suppose they asked to see anything about where he lived or money in hand. I guess the 20000 baht in hand is only needed if you are attempting a 30 day exempt entry but not if u have a SETV?

12 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Agree, a sharp lesson has been learned. Without wishing to kick the guy when he is down, it is incumbent upon him to know the rules.

 

Insufficient cash and a one-way ticket into Thailand is not a smart move.

Agreed also. Gone are the "good ol' days" when ppl could just fly on in and get stamped in without a word eh gentlemen?  (in some cases stamped in exempt for the 20th time.. I met a French guy once who showed me his passport that looked like this. Obviously it was not a bloke I met in the last 2 years ?)

1 minute ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

You mean like people who don't meet the laid down entry requirements ?

Yes of course. But he sounds he genuinely didn't know this info beforehand. Am sure he will now..

You can renew your US passport for many reasons. Can tell them that some of the stamps in your current passport make your upcoming travel plans harder. Also, in the US u can get a 28 page book which fills up faster. When renewing overseas , people are forced to have a 52 page book. Filling the passport sooner and being able to renew it can be good for some travellers as once they have 3 or 4 single entry tourist visas and the red stamp gets put on the last one, then the book is ready for renewal and you can get a new tourist visa again once u have the new passport. Even some embassy staff will tell people they need to get a new passport if they have been rejected for a visa due to the warning stamp.

Some entry points to the country are more friendly than others. For example, Poipet is just about the worst choice. I wouldn't count any airport as a good entry point choice either as you risk exactly what just happened. Not having any place to walk back over to and being forced onto a plane somewhere.

If you have a tourist visa then the bridge from Laos should be ok. With onward ticket and 20000 baht in hand. And some document u can show them about where u will stay.

You could try this.. Fly to Kuala Lumpur from the states. Then get the $50 flight to Vientiane. It leaves every Tues, Thurs, and Sat morning. If you don't have any warning stamps on any of your tourist visas, the consulate in Vientiane will issue you a new one almost surely. Since you are in the states now why not get a new passport before coming back over? Could be a good idea. Just my 2 cents anyway. If you don't have any warning stamps then you should have no problem getting a new SETV and back to Thailand again. A new passport would open the door for you to get at least 2 or 3 more tourist visas after you come back over. 

Or perhaps just get a tourist visa from an embassy or consulate in the states if you can and fly into Bkk again with cash in hand and an onward ticket. They seem to like snaring unsuspecting ppl who arent carrying cash and onward ticket etc.

At time of entry I am always sure to have the 20000 baht in cash, onward ticket, and some document from where I live.. contract or last rent reciept or a hotel booking  And since I have been getting ongoing dental work I keep the receipts from the dental clinic with me. It at least shows some evidence of non work type of stuff and money spending etc. To be frank, if you have an SETV in your passport and have cash, plane ticket, and accomodation document with you, it's fairly unlikely you will get refused entry unless you say something weird to them if they interview you. I have never been interviewed entering the country ever in more than a decade of coming here. Once at the airport a male Imm. Officer asked me "what are you doing here?". So I told him. Last time I entered I was asked "where are you going?" and "you have visa?". Not the most unreasonable questions ever. And it wasn't an interview, just those 2 short questions.  Him asking me if I had a visa seems to suggest having the SETV satisfies 90% of whatever they may be concerned about anyway.

Even when I had the stupidity to go to the awful Poipet border for an exempt stamp last year, a male IO told me I wouldn't be allowed back in probably but I would have no problem there if I had an SETV. And that is Poipet which is about the worst border point to enter at. The mistake cost me a 2000 baht taxi ride down to Kamrieng (Ban Laem) where I was stamped in for 30 days, and an even more expensive taxi back to Bkk. I admire other travellers who are able to wade through all the confusion at a place like that and get into a minivan to Chantaburi or Bkk. I was just happy to see a green taxi sitting there and departed with him for Bkk immediately.

I would go to Vientiane or Phnom Penh for the next 60 day tourist visa as in Penang there may be the odd person gets a red stamp on the 2nd tourist visa even if it is their first one from that consulate. Please do count this as info I "heard" only. Hard to say what triggers the red stamp being put in a persons book if it isn't yet their 3rd 60 day visa. It could just be based on how the consulate staff feels that day (maybe their spouse called then a bad name before they went to work?) , then they look at your 2 exempt entries + the one 60 day visa and think ok I am giving this guy the red stamp. Vientiane or Phnom Penh seem safer for not getting a red stamp earlier than necessary. All the above just my opinion. If you do get another 60 day tourist visa you may be wise not to enter the Kingdom at an airport.

1 hour ago, ThaiWai said:

Why Bali?  I have not met one person who said it was not a dump.

 

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-beloved-travel-destinations-that-are-disgusting-hellholes/

Bali is ok if you stay in a decent place like Nusa Dua or Ulawatu. Lots of ppl seem to like Ubud too. When people say dump it is probably the main tourist area of Kuta being talked about. If you spend a little extra money to rent or hire a car Bali is not the most dumpy place. Really it is a huge place with nice villas and hotels all over the island but the only issue that popped out to me was transportation. The seafood I had at Jimbaran beach was as the best I had in years. 

There was a recent post by a woman on the FB page Thai Visa Advice about her experience getting an SETV in Bali. The Consulate is just a dwelling type of place with 1 guy there.. according to what she says. Post was done at 8:14am June 14. You can just do a within the group search for the word Bali and it should be the first post on the feed. Hope it may help.

The rule as far as I know is 2 visa exempt entries by land per calendar year. For example if a person came in by land border now and got a 30 day visa exempt stamp..they would have one more exempt entry available up to the end of 2017 and 2 more available in the calendar year of 2018 - Jan1-Dec31. If they wanted to stay a little longer they could get a tourist visa from a consulate or embassy nearby that would give them 60 days plus 30 more if extended at an immigration office later.

9 hours ago, JackThompson said:

'ED' visas have the most negative-stigma.  I would make the in/out to Laos across a Friendship Bridge, so you can walk back and get a Tourist Visa if there is a problem with the Exempt entry.  They are much friendlier there than at airports, based on the reports I've read.

 

No problem with more TR Visas - if at a different location than before, the stamp is less likely.  Also, the red-stamp wouldn't affect you getting another ED Visa after - you'd just need to get a new passport before the next TR Visa.  But given you only need 7 weeks, might as well try for the Exempt.

I keep hearing the ED visas have some negative aura around them. Guess they don't really differentiate between people at $600 language school programs and programs like mine where I will be at class 7-8 hours each day and need to pay over $20000 for the 6 month course itself. I suppose they would think I must be pulling the wool over someone's eyes and working illegally on my ED visa. If I were just studying to buy more time in the kingdom, then for the money I am spending, I may as well put $5000 back in my pocket and get an elite visa and not worry about any of the extra visa run and other nonsense (like being held up at airports) for 5 years.

It's good to know the information about the different rules I guess. I plan on using my second exempt entry later this year. Im doing a study program (non-language school diploma) which has 2 three month units and I am required to apply for a separate ED visa for each unit. But in between the 2 parts there is a 7 week break. I don't know any other way to fill in the time other than getting my 2nd exempt stamp of the year and extending it.  Unless I want to live in Cambodia for 7 weeks or fly home for 7 weeks of winter (I don't). Am guessing a normal tourist visa wouldn't look good book ended by 2 ED visas. And since that tourist visa would be my third then great chance it would have our dear friend Mr Red Warning Stamp on it as well. So rather will try a visa exempt by land to fill in the time between my course units.

JackThompson why couldn't you get a tourist visa in Vientiane? Just curious.

As well, there seems to be a lot of comments about not attempting exempt entries if possible which makes sense, but as far as I am aware a person should not have a problem entering twice per calendar year at a land border by 30 day exempt stamp now as a regulation like this was recently made.

Maybe it is just part of the thrill of being in this exotic country now. Going to get the next visa and the "not knowing" if you can get back in until u are past the checkpoint. Peace of mind can be boring sometimes.

Seems the info in Phnom Penh is inconsistent. I was there last month and the agency I spoke with insisted I would need to include a bank statement if I were to apply. Phnom Penh wasn't the only city on my itinerary anyway and I got a tourist visa later from a Thai embassy in another country. However some people reported other agents in PP only needing the flight ticket in order to get a tourist visa. (by the way.. "Tuk tuk, sir? You want tuk tuk?" )

What a surprise. I would have thought 1 or 2 of the local universities would be in the top 25. Maybe it should have been a list of univ's with the nicest looking uniforms.

Quite a big gaffe to not have found some cash to extend the visa a month ago, then could have gone on a border trip for another 30 days for not much ฿ more. Hope the story has a good ending.

Checking "his qualifications". Understandable if it is a $4000 per month job in Korea or China. But for the pathetic amount of money teachers get paid here it hardly seems worth the ridiculous expectations and hoops they need to jump through. How many "qualifications" does one need for the wonderful priveledge of working full time (plus a large chunk of evenings making lesson plans) for less than $900 per month? Total farce. Would never want to be an English teacher here.

30 minutes ago, Nurseynutcase said:

Just done a 90 day SETV at the Thai Embassy Phnom Penh.  They required an onward ticket out of LOS before they would grant a visa.

Also cost $40 (non-refundable if not granted)

 

However also did a 90 day SETV in Kuala Lumpur - no charge and no onward ticket required.

 

Hope this helps.

Did you get it from the embassy yourself or use an agent?