Caldera

Did you have previous SETVs in your passport, or was this one the first you applied for? I'm asking because your "history" seems (or seemed) to matter quite a bit in Penang.

58 minutes ago, jayci said:

How days visa exempt do NZ passport holders get at land border crossings?
I'm considering crossing at O'smach.

30 days, which can be extended within Thailand at an immigration office by another 30 days. You can enter visa exempt at a land border twice per calendar year.

Based on recent reports, I think you are taking a risk, having 3 SETVs in your passport already. That might make you a target for the "void without prejudice" stamp.

As for re-entering Thailand from Cambodia, any land border except for Poipet should be fine. Personally, I like Koh Kong (Hat Lek on the Thai side) and have never had any issues when entering Thailand there.

While I'm not married and have no plans to get married, I must say that I find the process for an extension based on marriage as per reports here and elsewhere unnecessarily intrusive and - depending on the immigration office - sometimes outright denigrating to the applicant and his wife.

For this reason, even if it were an alternative for me (at least on paper), I would have a hard time to submit myself to that nonsense. Photos taken in the bedroom, clothes in the wardrobe being checked, neighbors being questioned about my marriage? Count me out!

I'm not of retirement age yet, but I could cope with the new requirements. As things stand now, my plan to go for the retirement extension as soon as I qualify age-wise remains unchanged.

14 hours ago, rogerpilly said:

Do I need to carry some cash to re enter Thailand?

In case you are asked, you need to have it. Since nobody can tell you if they will want to see it, better play it safe and carry the cash.

I'd make things much simpler. I'd replace the retirement visa by a generic "long stay for leisure" visa. No minimum age, but the foreigner has to post a bond for the duration of their stay that could match the current 800,000 baht. No yearly immigration visits, no silly 90 days reporting. Just report when you actually move to another residence.

That should free up valuable police resources that can be used to investigate those who violate the terms of their visa, while all the others should be left alone as much as possible.

Unfortunately, it will also require a professional police force. So most current police officers, immigration or otherwise, will need to be gone. Otherwise they'll just keep accepting bribes from those who shouldn't be allowed to stay, while making life difficult for others. No change in the visa rules alone can address this.

Amazing Thailand - in most countries his ambitions would have ended at the village clown level, here he was able to rise through the ranks all the way up to four star general. I really can't wait to see how many people will vote for this imbecile and his cronies.

3 hours ago, Caliguy said:

Another update from their facebook.

 

Important Update !

Please be informed that the official website for the Visa Application Appointment System (will be activated online from 30 January 2019 onwards) is http://thaivisavientiane.com

The Embassy will no longer use http://thaivisavientiane.org

Too dumb to get even the most basic things done without last-minute hiccups. Oh joy.

19 hours ago, elviajero said:

As a start explain how someone denied entry under 12.9 for not have 20K baht on them is unlawful.

You still don't get it; I'm not claiming that each and every denial is unlawful, but you need to look at each individual case. If someone is asked to show 20,000 baht and cannot do as asked, the denial is lawful. But that's a big IF, as the interaction doesn't always seem to follow that pattern - when someone offers to show the money and they're unwilling to even look at it, clearly listing 12.9 as the sole reason or as one of the reasons for denial is dishonest.

3 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Cambodia seems to be one step ahead of Thailand. 

Nope. Thailand has had that since quite a while.

21 hours ago, elviajero said:

Wow! Corruption within immigration. If we only knew! Your kind seem unable to separate genuine corruption with immigration doing their job!

My point is that when you are dealing with an agency where corruption and ineptitude are rampant, making a blanket claim such as "their denials are lawful!" is nothing more than a bad joke.

50 minutes ago, Lovethailandelite said:

Now confirmed as the exact same system London switches too in April.

 

 

Interestingly though, since the last announcement I saw, "end of 2020" for being rolled out worldwide has now become "in 3 years". That sounds somewhat more realistic.

4 hours ago, elviajero said:

There is no more chance of getting denied at the airport than a land border.

I'll bite. Please provide us with the rejection rates per point of entry (airports, land borders, ports), let's say for 2018, broken down by visa type. That surely is the data you've looked at before making that statement.

Taking into account that actual accomplishments usually don't measure up to what's pompously announced and that this will be the very first version/iteration of the new system, my personal guess (and we're all guessing here!) is that the only check of real substance that will be done at the pre-approval stage is that the applicant hasn't been blacklisted. Consulates haven't been able to check that thus far and that really needs to be fixed.

Once issued, the details of the visa will then be available within that shared database, so immigration will have access and can verify that a visa presented on entry is genuine. That alone should make it impossible to just fake the visa stamp / sticker - obviously a huge improvement.

Anything beyond that might or might not come - later. I have to chuckle when I read what some people have dreamed up on here. That would be ambitious even for countries whose officials are much more switched, diligent and honest.

23 minutes ago, james.d said:

Bangkok to Saigon on AirAsia return for 1800 Thb? How is that as I looked early this morning and it was 3640 Thb with no checked baggage.

You can't just book it at that price on any given day. Wait until there's a promotion, then book suitable dates that the promotional offer is valid for.