Tod Daniels

I probably get 7 - 10 messages from people stranded at the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border per week
These are people who thought "they'd save money" and bounce themselves because "back in the day it was fine" only to find out, this isn't back in the day and you don't save any money when you get denied entry back into thailand after trying to bounce out and back. 

I had one couple in a rented car, drive to the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border, stamp out of thailand, stamp in and back out of cambodia and then get denied entry to thailand. They had their exit stamp to cambodia cancelled and were told to fly back. Meaning they had to slog all the way to Siem Reap, fly back to bangkok, THEN get back to Aranyaprathet to pick up their rental car in the parking lot and drive back 😮 This is just one example of how "bouncing yourself at Poipet" doesn't save you money and I have story after story from people 

What was really sad though is that even "real tourists" (as opposed to the people just milking 30 day free entry w/30 day extensions to live here) get caught at that border too. I think I related a young french couple came to thailand, toured around, went to cambodia, spent a MONTH in that country seeing the sights, then tried to cross back into thailand by land at Poi Pet so they could fly back to France the following week. They were denied entry 😕 Had to go back to Siem Reap and fly in <- that one really made me see that there's no rhyme or reason to that renegade border crossing at all  
 

what is your nationality?

2 hours ago, New Guy said:

I cannot make the appointment in Savanaket and vIentene today, is the server down? I heard the agent I talked to say that the system in the Savanaket for non B has not opened yet, do you know when will the system open?

 

BOTH online appt systems (the one for Vientiane AND the one for Savannakhet) work fine
Vientiane is booked out until 14th of August
Online Appt System Vientiane
AND
The online appt booking for Savannakhet fills up in minutes once the new day (2 weeks out) opens up at 12AM every morning for booking
Online Appt System Savannakhet

So if you want an appt at Savannakhet, set your alarm for 11:59PM and refresh your pc screen every second until the bookings for Wednesday the 24th come up for booking.

They'll be booked out by the agents who have teams of people just sitting at pc's with data ready to enter to book them up

It really is a you snooze you lose situation 😕 
 

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

There was a chap on the forum a couple of months ago asking a related question.

 

UK citizen, temporarily working in the US for a few weeks.
He applied via the London Embassy, but flight details from the UK.

The Embassy requested flight details from the UK.

He was advised he should have applied through a US Consulate, stating his US address, but also advised to contact the London Embassy explaining his position and reason for uploading flights from the US. E-visa approved.

 

Make of that what you will.

 

 

I would class him as "lucky", and the consulate was right 😮 he should have applied thru the US,
 

there's no issue being a brit IN the US and applying for a visa using the eVisa system there

7 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I go to Jomtien (Pattaya) office.

Then that's the office you should go to so you can get the hand out listing the requirements for that particular office 😉 

I posted a general list which works at most places most of the time. Your mileage may vary 🙂

9 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

(1) incoming boarding passes need to be presented to IO with the e-visa. No boarding passes from e-visa issue country, an easy flag for deeper questioning

 

(2) e-visa issue date would be during a time your passport says you were stamped into Thailand, so there's the proof

you got your wires crossed by more than a bit

Since the advent of the eVisa system I would wager many hundreds of people using it applied for a visa while in their country, BUT because they didn't apply early enough it wasn't approved before they were booked to fly here 😕 

They flew in FREE stamp entry. THEN after they were here the visa was approved and they got the PDF eVisa emailed to them. (often within days after arriving) 

They were able to print the PDF bounce out and back by land or air to activate that visa entry without any issue at all

The eVisa PDF does not show ANY of the information (flight/date of travel, etc) you used when you applied for the visa at the consulate

Single entry visas are valid for 3 months from the date of issue and as long as the person exits/re-enters thailand before that date there's no issue getting stamped in on it

NOTE I am not saying these people did anything wrong (other than apply too close to their flight time to thailand) as they were in their country when they applied, and they did show proof of flight from their country TO thailand when they applied. It just was bad timing BUT it's happened to a LOT of people

In other only mildly related news
I just had a person apply for an eVisa online at the thai consulate Paris (hands down the WORST thai consulate in the EU to apply at with a 6 WEEK processing time) and they had submitted a flight from Germany to thailand as proof they're coming here. They were rejected because the flight did not originate in France. <- I posted this to point out that you need a flight originating from the country you're applying in 

8 hours ago, s_jess said:

I would also like to get a certificate of residence asap. I need to be elsewhere in Feb and Mar though. Is it possible to apply in Jan, get a certificate of residence and then leave, making sure to return within 90 days to do the extension?

I think you have your terminology mixed up and Pattaya57 caught it 👍

You want to apply for the 90 day Non-O visa inside the country THEN you want to get a RE-ENTRY PERMIT <- that lets you exit/re-enter during that 90 days, AND then you want to leave for a bit.

As long as you get the re-entry permit before you leave after getting the 90 day Non-O visa and come back BEFORE the 90 day stamp runs out you'll be fine and be able to get your yearly extension when you come back  

The thing is a single entry tourist visa or a single entry Non-Imm visa is valid for 3 months from the date of issue

That means you have 3 months to ENTER thailand and get stamped in on the visa (even if you showed up here the day the visa expires you'd still get stamped in for as long as you should on that visa)

There is no reason to wait until it's close to you traveling to apply for ANY single entry visa

NOW on the other hand if you're getting a 6 month METV (Multi-Entry Tourist Visa) you would want to get that one as close to when you're flying here as you can, because it's 6 month validity starts burning down the second they issue it and the faster you get here on it the closer you get to getting the 9 months of stay possible out of it

Just go to the Udon Immigration office with the documents/copies Dr Jack54 mentioned and apply for a 30 day extension, the reason is "tourism", you're here free stamp entry as a tourist. The extension is 1900baht 

Totally enforced, you don't show the proof of funds for the required time you don't get the visa and most times can't even get in the gate to try to apply

4 hours ago, mokwit said:

Kinda negates their "generosity" in not requiring a new TM30 if you reenter on a reentry permit. Any reports that TM30 is also required to file first TM47 after return from abroad?

There is no generosity anymore, with the TM 30 program and the tm-47 program cross-checking addresses you have to file a new tm30 every time you come into the country and in fact when you return home even if you stay someplace inside the country. If they register you in the TM 30 system you need to refile one when you go back home to you primary address

Also you have to get that address exactly right on the 90 online system, it has to be just like it's written on the TM 30

2 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

OP seems like very bad advice. Regardless of no fine, who wants a "overstay xxx days" stamp in their passport.

 

If your stamp expires on the weekend or holiday Monday, simply get the new stamp any day in the week before. New stamps start from expiry of old stamp so nothing to gain by waiting until last minute.

I think you mis-remembered what I wrote 😉

I meant it to let people know (those clueless ones who wait until the last minute for their extension 😛 )

IF their stamp expires on a day the immigration office is closed AND they go the very next day it's open they CAN get their extension without being fined for overstay.

How's that, better?

1 hour ago, Kalasin Jo said:

The IO told me TM47 in person not necessary next time when returning from outside Thailand.

That is ANCIENT news from the I/O and was accurate at the time
BUT
Since they updated the 90 day online system this last time AND had it cross check addresses with the TM30 system, they also made it that you have to apply in person for the 90 day report when it comes due the first time after you come back into the country. 

Many many people have had their 90 day online rejected with the "must report in person after returning from abroad" reason 

Doesn't matter in the least if you come in by air or land ALL the stamps are the same AN ENTRY STAMP,  😮 

what varies is the "visa class" and the duration of stay you're allowed 🙂

Works like this;

If you show up here without a visa and enter visa exempt for 30 days you get a entry stamp that has ผ.30 on it

If you show up here without a visa and enter visa waiver for 30 days (not the same as visa exempt) you get an entry stamp that has ผ.ผ.30 on it

If you show up here without a visa and are from one of the 5 countries that get a 90 day visa waiver (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru & South Korea) you get an entry stamp that says ผ.ผ.90

If you show up here with a tourist visa for 60 days you get an entry stamp that has a TR60 on it

If you show up here with a valid Non-Immigrant VISA you get an entry stamp that says Non-O, B, OA, OX etc under the visa class area 

if you show up here on a re-entry permit from an extension of stay you get an entry stamp that says Non-RE under the visa class are

18 hours ago, BenCrew said:

Having enquired with an agent, I know this is not the case. An agent that has contacts within Chon Buri would not be able to turn up at Chantaburi immigration for a residency cert for their client who has a Chon Buri visa stamp. 

A Chon Buri visa stamp = a Chon Buri address = a Chon Buri residency cert.

Didn't say anywhere that the agent would show up at Chanthaburi immigrations for a certificate of residence 

The agent would use chonburi to get the certificate of residence BUT many times they can get it with your REAL address (not the b/s chonburi one they used for the extension)

How do I know this? 
A friend in bangkok has an extension from an agent out of an immigration office in Nakhon Nowhere, he needed to get a certificate of residence to renew his d/l, he went to the agent, gave his real bangkok address, they got a hold of the office in Nakhon Nowhere and had a certificate of residence issued with his bangkok address on it 😮     

SO I will respectfully disagree with your comment 🙂

Your mileage may vary

15 hours ago, BenCrew said:

Out of curiosity, I'm sure there are quite a few expats who live outside Chon Buri but use Pattaya agents to help with the funding for an 'O' visa. Given that their visa would most probably be stamped 'Chon Buri', how would the person go about obtaining a residency certificate for a driving license for example, now that the UK, US, and AUS embassies have stopped dealing with them? 🤔

You wouldn't except thru the agent that got the extension for you. Most could get a certificate of residence for you with your real address on it. 

Just had an acquaintance get a new year extension on an OA visa and I can say with 100% accuracy that the mandatory 100K USD insurance (thru one of the 12 approved thai providers) has not decreased. 


The press blurb about it is quite ambiguous too and makes it seem like it's only from Sept to Dec this year 

Here's the link for the approved Thai providers for OA insurance
Non-OA Insurance Providerz
 

22 hours ago, bigt3116 said:

 

Sorry Tod, but my 2 year work permit was issued up here in the sticks of Issan.    🙂

I didn't say anything about a work permit in my reply 😉 Work permits are issued by the Ministry of Labor and even up in Nakhon Nowhere people can get 2 year work permits. 
I said EXTENSIONS OF STAYS are only issued for 2 years to BOI/IEAT company employees (and I meant that in Bangkok you get those at the Cham Churi Square OSSC office)