Khun Ed

52 minutes ago, yogavnture said:

not illegal to be a vagabond but maybe the thais are seeing it and not like it?

6 months of each year at the same address in Thailand. You could call it early retirement.

On 1/1/2020 at 5:40 PM, yogavnture said:

did they void it because of his behavior or because of his past entry abuse to the kingdom.  

Absolutely not. I received a Thai tourist visa from the same office 16 months earlier. I have been staying in Thailand, visiting other countries. i was in the UK only in August and have been leading the same nomadic life for the last 7 years. I have never had VOID on my tourist visa before. I was given a tourist visa in KL in August and didn't have to show a record of finances. My guess is there are jobsworths at Saigon. Thanks for the help. Maybe marriage is the unfortunate answer or to wait to the golden age of 50.

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

The void stamp will be noted if you try to apply for tourist visas elsewhere. You might be lucky, but your chances would not be good. In the short term, your best bet is to travel overland to Thailand, entering visa exempt at a land border. Avoid a route where you enter Thailand at Poipet/Aranyaprathet. You should then immediately apply for a replacement passport.

 

Whether the void stamp is totally unexpected depends on your history of tourist entries to Thailand generally, total tourist visas in your passport, and tourist visas previously applied for in Ho Chi Minh City. A void stamp is certainly not unprecedented when you have had a number of previous tourist visas (visible in your passport) especially if they were issued in HCMC. It is now much harder to get serial tourist visas in the region than was the case in the past.

Thanks Tim. I do have a past tourist visa stamp from HM from 13 months ago and several tourist visa stamps since including from a 6 week stay in UK.

I don't have anything to hide. Yes I have several years of coming in and out of Thailand. But no more than that. When I leave I often spend a month away so they know Im not working in thailand. My passport is a year and half old. I'm 2 years off retirement age so it's difficult if you have a GF in Thailand. A few years back I went into DM with out a visa and its was not a comfortable experience evern though I had done nothing wrong.

Im 48 and have been traveling around SE Asia for the last few years, spending a lot of time visiting my Thai GF in Thailand. I am from the UK and spent the summer in the UK. I was surprised when after spending 3 weeks in Vietnam the Thia consulate rejected my tourist visa, stamping VOID on the VISA in my PP.

On arrival I questioned why I had to get a financial statement as Im sure that was abolished a few years back for Tourist visas. She said if I only requested 30 days I wouldn't need to so I said ok Ill take 30 days. Her reply was go to Thailand without a visa. Not wanting to be interrogated at DM and pulled out of the queue I said no I'd like a tourist visa. She seemed taken a back but I got a bank statement printed in time before closing. On the time I was due to pick up the visa I was asked for an interview which was odd. Ten mins after the smiling, friendly interview I received a void stamp. I lost 3 flights (including one for my GF). Does anyone have experience of this and advice. Is my passport now well and truly screwed. Will I be able to get a tourist visa somewhere else (with one VOID stamp on the previous attempt) ? Thanks in advance for any answers.

8 minutes ago, Martyp said:

So it sounds like there really is no answer to the OP's question. No one knows what the stamp and writing really means. He can attempt another entry or not. The worst that can happen is that he is turned back and he loses whatever money he spent trying to come back. If he is lucky he will get some clarification about his status. 

You are right. To recap I stupidly overstayed about half a day. Which I only realised last night. DM now waves people who have a 1 day OS straight through. A return flight to KL would not be the end of the world if I am not permitted. I just received this update from Assist Thai visa Services in Chiang Mai which is quite promising:

"

Crazy Update In proceedings.  A lawyer who looked over the image said infact I overstayed 8 hours (which is true) and the words written in the passport simply states the fact I had an overstay of 24 hours. My GF says otherwise and so did the girls at the AirAsia counter - they said i would have 24 hours left in the country if i returned. Does anyone read Thai?

5 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

The Ed visa is another sham of yours. You don't seem to want to do it for honest academic pursuits, but as a way to beat the system. As already mentioned your best honest options are putting B500,000 to get an Elite Visa (which might not work with your record) or waiting three years for a retirement visa. Since you aren't sure about marriage, I can't see why you don't see what's holding you in Thailand. 

Sorry but I question why this dialogue keeps going on forever. Time to end.

yes you're not constructive please leave the conversation

25 minutes ago, Martyp said:

You are the very definition of the type of traveler Thai Immigration doesn’t want in Thailand. You’ve pretty much admitted that you are not a tourist. You’ve asked about marrying your girlfriend or getting an ED visa as another way to enter the country. It may not seem fair but it is the system you are confronted with today. 

 

I am a retiree and recently married my Thai girlfriend so I am not against marriage. I think few people would suggest you get married for this reason alone. You haven’t asked her up until now so if you go this route make sure it is for the right reasons. Plus you will have to meet the financial requirements and Thai Immigration will come to your residence to check that you are really married.

 

Someone suggested that retiree such as myself should not be criticizing your predicament. However when people “abuse” the Immigration laws it can lead to changes in the law that affect all of us. So I can’t really support getting an ED visa unless you really have a burning desire to learn something. It shouldn’t be used to skirt tourist visa problems. Plus Thai Immigration will check to see if you are at a legitimate school and are actually learning something. That is, are you using the ED visa properly. At best it may only get you an extra year or so.

 

I have followed Thai visa forums for a while and the only sure way for someone of your age to come and/or stay long term is the Thai Elite program. It is expensive up front but costs about $230/month. In my own case I am probably paying $1000/month less than if I rented in the US so $230/month looks pretty good. But I can totally understand why someone would not want to pay 500,000 baht for a 5 year commitment 

 

The Thai immigration system is more and more computerized. I don’t know if your specific 24 hour restriction was entered but it is likely you are flagged in the system for closer scrutiny. A new passport won’t help you. They can follow you passport to passport. I don’t see how a lawyer inside or outside Thailand can help your situation but it is your money. As you say, just showing up and testing the system hoping to get lucky is an expensive experiment from the UK.

 

They have financial requirements for expats married to Thais and for people over 50 years of age. It would be nice if they extended financial requirements to people of all ages.

 

Good luck.

Thanks. Yes you are right. I am now 47. 3 more years and life becomes a lot easier to stay in Thailand. I am lucky to have time to be able to pursue an educational course in the same way a retiree would for a hobby. I have a residual income from businesses abroad I worked hard to acomplish years ago. I am far from rich due to bad investments. But my income would pass the tests. My next doubt is how to return to Thailand to set up the Ed course (marriage still not 100% sure about despite 3 years) Some kind posters have offered solutions that may work.

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

Tourist visa for several years continuosly? You're lucky they didn't do this a few years back.

If you read all the posts we covered that ground.

2 hours ago, buick said:

i haven't read all the pages but have you considered getting a new passport while you are in the UK and then returning with a new SETV via a land border ?

 

edit:  then you can consider marriage ?  or another alternative while here in the kingdom.

Yes that is a good option. thanks

Do you mean the poster who said that he had a 14 day warning written on a peice of paper in his passport? (if not let me know) Ive been chatting with him since (24 hours is more serious).  I have already said Im not going to risk trying a border with this in my passport.  And I think you are in the minority who thinks '24 hours written in passport mans nothing! Yes I have used my 2 visa exempts. I am now having a long holiday in KL. Thanks

2 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

Lawyers will simply take your money and be of little help in this, except to point out that the 24 hour comment isn't an issue, other than possibly in relation to that particular visa. 

 

The UK embassy won't be able to help, and in any event their advice is frequently inconsistent with immigration practice on the ground here. Furthermore, any visa application you make in the UK after this week has to go through the new e-visa system - I think I read this involves getting a decision from Bangkok rather than at a local level. The whole system is as yet untested, but it might be best to try and procure visas regionally in the short term if you want to try a bit longer on tourist visas and have things to take care of in Thailand. 

 

If you're back in the UK, a new passport would erase visible evidence of the visa history and the 24 hour remark, which would at least avoid higher level scrutiny at embassies and border points.

Thanks Ive been thinking the same.

1 hour ago, freedomnow said:

Haha, whatever....well you know what they say....if you believe you can, you can...if you believe you cannot, then you cannot...stuff that gets writen in passport gets ignored on entry with a visa.

 

Just some IO off-the-cuff crap that has never been another thing to deal with on TV to navigate living here.

 

GOOD
BYE

you really think if I enter Thailand in 2 months on a thai visa they will ignore what's been written?

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What the....

Many people have spent time effort in trying to help. Personally I have suggested things from border runs to marriage (which you said was an option). Gave reference to other threads. 

Then many helpful posts from many members. Think it was BritTim beat to punch suggesting next entry from home trip. Home country to KL then 1000baht AirAsia to Vientiane. etc etc

There are more questions than answers because your trying to get around things. Long term. 

Then you spit dummy about many people trying to assist. 

You have been extremely lucky in past. Personally I hope not so lucky future with attitude.

Read the post again. I said there had abeen a FEW good comments. Like those you mentioned especially and yours previously. Get over yourself. If you read every comment like I have, most are good intentioned . A few are helpful like the above you mentioned. Im thankful for those.

Now is time to hit Mont Kiara and drink my sorrows down

To be honest there are only a few posts that help on here and thanks to those. I cannot re-neter Thailand.

Until when? How? There are more questions than answers. Thanks to the constructive

9 minutes ago, Yeahbutwhytho said:

What do you mean? You got a 24 hours, you can't even get denied you have a scribble

It maybe a scribble to you but to Thai's it's clear!

5 hours ago, BritTim said:

No! Thai embassies/consulates are a terrible source of advice on how to deal with Thai immigration. Trust them only on the services they provide themselves.

 

In the short term, you can continue to use tourist visas, but will need to enter Thailand by land. One reasonable routing is a ticket to Kuala Lumpur, then Air Asia to Vientiane, cross to Nong Khai, and onward travel via Udon airport.

Now I have this 24 hour statement warning in my passport it's probably unlikely I'd be allowed in at any entrance. I will go back to the UK for a while and see what lawyers say. I have ben offered a 90 day business visa which is then converted to a marriage visa - no prices given yet. Also considering Ed visa.

59 minutes ago, tfc said:

In regards to comparisons between staying in Thailand on tourist visas and whether the same could be done in my own country Australia I can only offer anecdotal examples of friends that essentially live here simply because they have the ample amounts of either investments and/or external sources of income to do so.  It may not be the "official" thing to do from certain legal perspectives in Australia however the financial perspective wins here, as can be observed from properties, once upon a time public sector companies and at times freeways being bought by overseas investors.  This is just my observation of the landscape and I'm attempting to keep it objective without putting in my own opinion either way as to whether the aforementioned specifics are good, bad, right or wrong. 

 

At a smaller more individual level, if people are bringing money from outside of Australia and not working here (ie. in the context of the definition of work being that their income is coming from Australian people and/or companies as opposed to managing businesses outside Australia that are bringing money here.  I have not known anyone to have any issues at all and on the contrary are, perhaps "informally," quite welcome here and encounter little to no hassle.  In my experience its always been the latter but there are probably exceptions. 

 

Permanent residency and citizenship, though Australia has strict criteria, is also possible at a far higher percentage of success if those criteria are met.  Once again anecdotal but the people I know who are able to show that they either have a sufficiently large flow of external income that does not look as if it will cease until death from what I have seen do not experience the strictness that those that cannot do.  The "welcome" may not be on the level of a salesman with their foot in your door but in the "jumping through the hoops" of criteria there has always been an eager helping hand to boost them through the hoop.

59 minutes ago, tfc said:

Yes. If I wanted to splash the cash there is the Elite visa which offers you a much easier stay. Although due to bad investmens that's a splash too far right now.

 

 

 

43 minutes ago, Yeahbutwhytho said:

So you had a tourist visa, correct? Then what did he stamp for your 'max 24 hours in the country' - did it have a 30 day 'in' stamp 

A scribble on your passport is not an entry pass? This story makes no sense 

Follow the story from page 1. I was on my way to Kl to get a tourist visa. I did not have an overstay. She wrote that on my way out. See image. The officer was not friendly before he saw my pp

7 minutes ago, lovesthespicy said:

Were you flying out of a airport or a landborder? If airport which one?

 

 

Hua Hin.

38 minutes ago, tabarin said:

Grow some balls and just come back with a visa, you will most likely be fine. Certainly if not via airport.

Oh yeah! spend a fortune on flights just to be turned awaya again!!!!!!!

If you mean just from Malaysia. The last visa trip I did i went through DM and the officer almost had a heart attack and said 'no more visa trips'

The big issue for me was am I on some kind of black list? What are my options. Can I apply for a tourist visa in the UK so I can come back in a few month to get an ed visa or a marriage cert?