Caldera

5 hours ago, Ebumbu said:

Good info. And how did you enter the country with this method? By land, by air? Which port? Thanks! 

Flying in with such a history would be high-risk nowadays. As I'm not in a hurry when traveling, there's no need for me to take that risk. For that reason, I have used "friendly" land borders for the most part.

Would that be the same Thais who are already up to their ears in credit card debt?

6 hours ago, Langkawee said:

Visa does not guarantee entry. Take note, he will be deported back to his home country if flying in from Hanoi and denied entry. Vietam refuses to accept Thai rejects unlike Malaysia. 

Since you quoted my post, I didn't make any recommendation with regards to choosing where to re-enter Thailand. That's obviously a separate issue, but not really a big deal at this time.

It's plain wrong that "Vietnam refuses to accept Thai rejects". Vietnam simply does not cancel its exit stamps in this scenario (unlike some other countries), so the real question is whether or not such a "Thailand reject" is eligible for re-entry to Vietnam. A potential pitfall with this is that someone who had entered Vietnam visa exempt isn't eligible for another visa exempt entry that soon.

4 minutes ago, mosan said:

That doesn't mean that it's a good idea to recommend to this guy to keep on pushing the system. You may just have been lucky and overlook by the immigrations officers on this end.  The prudent thing for him to do is to quit while he is ahead.  

Cannot say I disagree with you, considering the current climate. As I've mentioned in other threads, I will reduce my time spent in Thailand from 9-10 months per year to 4-5 months per year, starting from next year.

47 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

For what type of visa?  HCMC has easy access and is one of the few in area that issues for marriage without financials so that likely accounts for a fair number of visitors.

 

Seems you received tourist visa from another post.

Correct. If most of those applicants were there for a visa based on marriage, it certainly makes sense that they went to HCMC instead of Hanoi.

Interesting that they are so busy. In Hanoi last week, I saw very few other applicants (three when applying and none when I picked up my passport the next day).

7 hours ago, phuketrichard said:

 

They are still stamped in so my question is do they count as"tourists"

TONS of malay's come up to Betong/Hat Yai 2-3 x/month

That's why they feature high on the list of nationalities that come to visit Thailand. I'm quite sure each and every entry is counted.

I can say from personal and recent experience that your friend shouldn't have any problem applying for a tourist visa in Hanoi. They just need to make sure they have everything they ask for.

That is assuming that Vientiane just rejected their application and didn't put any remark or voided visa in their passport 

2 hours ago, kevinmartyn said:

I really cannot see a single benifit of this visa and the cost outweighs any advantage over other types of visas in Thailand

If you don't qualify for any other long-term visa/extension, from a purely financial point of view it actually isn't bad value. Questions are, however, can you trust those criminals and what will Thailand look like 5 years down the road under their rule? That's where they are losing me.

Too bad he cannot pardon any state crimes he has committed. Maybe he should make a deal (cough, cough) with New York's governor before it's too late.

3 hours ago, natway09 said:

I would have the 24,000 Bht fine ready  (wink wink) & go direct to the airport 4 hours before departure. Be well groomed & polite.

Do not go to any Immigration Office. They are entitled to lock u up

There's no need to pay more than the official 20,000 baht. Other than this, that's good advice. As they cannot speak any English, I'm not sure how far being polite will go, there's no real exit interview where they try to establish the reasons for the overstay.

They'll run it through their system, collect the fine and blacklist the overstayer, then stamp them out. That's it.

1 hour ago, Suradit69 said:

Yes, shift the blame from her to them.  

Her overstay is on her and that will be dealt with when she leaves. I have no desire/intention to "blame" her, now that she has decided to rectify her wrongdoing.

Thailand having as many overstayers as they have as well as countless other issues due to a complete lack of professional policing is a related, unresolved matter. Blame for that doesn't need to be shifted: It is, quite naturally, the inept plod and those who oversee Thailand's police farce who are to blame for this.

I hope that clarifies things.

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Up to you. Its your first ed visa I would choose school that allowed other consulate. Example Saigon. Penang is s...hole

In fairness, the school probably recommends the consulate that is currently (!) the least likely to cause trouble, not the city that is most fun for a holiday.

9 hours ago, daveAustin said:

I'd impress on her to book flight asap and don't do anything to catch the eye of the police, such as riding a bike without a helmet.

That's good advice, generally speaking, but after she has managed to stay on overstay for 2 years undetected by the inept plod, it might come a bit late? ????

How many people will refrain from drinking just because this muppet tells them so? Deciding how much alcohol to drink is one of precious few personal freedoms Thais still have under his rule.

Some mark the Buddhist Lent (not just the end of it) by not imbibing anyway, without his inane prodding, others won't.

1 minute ago, CrossBones said:

I can extend a single entry work visa in Thailand? I am confused!

Others are in a better position to expand on that than myself, but yes, many foreigners who work in Thailand get one year extensions based on their work permit and other supporting documents at their local immigration office.

4 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

just curious, do you have any idea why they were denied? Have they been spending too much time here or first time arrivals? Are they young and scruffy? 

I think it's fair to say that they don't hassle any first time arrivals at DMK. Never heard or read of that.

The reason seems to be that they want those who have a work permit to apply for extensions at immigration instead of using business visa forever.

In many countries, Thai consulates only issue multi-entry business visa to people who visit Thailand for business as opposed to those who are working there.

1 hour ago, whitemouse said:

What you are asking is this country following rule of law. It has never been that, and it very likely won't be, at least during our lifetime. 

That is Thailand, we know it, and love it nevertheless, what's strange, we have Westerners here defending this lawlessness and corruption. Why do they do it? Is it just taking out their misery on others, feeling some relief from their sadness, when they see others not having it too easy?

Exactly. Thai officials bending the rules or asking for tea money is one thing, Western expats who haven't been through the big Thai brain washer since childhood defending those criminals quite another thing. The former is to be expected and part of the Thailand package, the latter is mind-boggling. Sad creatures they are.

Not yet, as of now it seems to be a decent and law-abiding point of entry.

16 hours ago, BritTim said:

I very much fear that Immigration at some airports and land crossings will start implementing a 180-day rule on Non O visa entries, holding that Non O visas from consulates are meant only for visits, that you are abusing the visa system, and you need an extension approved by Immigration to stay longer.

That's bound to happen. Eventually, they will run out of people on tourist visa to hassle.