CangguSurfer

1 hour ago, kanook said:

Why don't you go back on a retirement extension?

Fact is, I was going back and forth on whether or not to renew it for the last several months, decided not to, and planned to leave the Kingdom when it expires next month.

I had a change of heart a few weeks ago but it's too late to get funds back into my Thai bank account and get them "seasoned" in time. 

I was thinking of getting an SETV to allow enough time for this to occur (and still am considering it) but there's a school that interests me greatly that offers an ED Visa and that sounded more appealing.

I thought the real challenge was going to be getting an approval from the Thai Ministry of Education (which I got the other day), not realizing the real challenge would be with a Consulate.

Even if I end up getting denied the ED visa by a consulate (which would really suck), I still want to attend the school and so I may try for the SETV until I can get the bank account seasoned for a new Non-O extension, or maybe just try and get back to back SETV's.

1 hour ago, Hackney35 said:

Why anyone would want to pay that amount of money to live in Thailand is beyond me!

All these type threads have too many old people with retirement visas getting on the morale high ground cos they are old and can get an easy visa if they have small income (pension) from home every month flowing in.

 We should be trying to help each other against the ridiculous ever changing immigration system not turning against each other. 

Finally!  A voice of reason.  Thanks for making a positive comment, and not an unfounded snarky remark.

To set the record straight, I am applying for an ED Visa for an accredited school.  The school has a stellar record of getting approval letters from the Ministry of Education for all applicants.  If they approve an applicant, that should be reason enough for the Consulate to grant the Visa IMO. 

I am NOT applying for the ED Visa simply to stay in the Kingdom but without it, I will need to find another way to stay here.  

So again, I’d really appreciate some constructive advice.

So, I am applying for a ED Visa at end of this month, and have been told by my school that there is now a serious problem getting them approved by the Laos Consulates.  In the last few weeks, many students are being rejected according to the school.  They say they will be trying to figure out alternative consulates that are being more receptive, and will be back in touch with me next week.

Apparently, the problem is that the Laos consulates are being overwhelmed with ED VIsa requests, and all visa requests in general simply because it is the closest and most popular location for foreigners who are already in Thailand and wish to extend their stay here.  So, my understanding is that it is not anything related specifically to a general crackdown on ED Visas themselves.

They did tell me that Hong Kong and Myanmar consulates are no longer viable options.  Even if I were to return to my home country (USA), their experience has been that certain consulates are very difficult (like Washington DC), so I'm really in a quandary on what to do.

I'm beginning to think that the ED Visa may not have been the wisest choice for extending my stay here for the next 9 months, and may go back to my original idea of just applying for a 60 day Tourist VIsa (extending it locally to 90 days), and repeating that a few times once my "retirement" visa expires at the end of this month.

It would really be helpful if any recent applicants for ED Visas at ANY consulates could share their experience, or if some of the wiser ThaiVisa members (like @ubonjoe) might offer some advice on how to deal with all of this in the most efficient and least problematic way.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who would benefit from this advice.

On 8/21/2019 at 5:41 AM, stament said:

Seems like a school set-up to take advantage of people's visa needs. I wonder how many students are really interested in self defence if it weren't the the visa being offered. I suspect very few would go here and would go elsewhere for those who are genuinely interested.

 

 

I don't think anyone is under the false impression that this is not so.  Probably the same is true for most who elect a language school.  All that matters is that it is sanctioned by the Ministry of Education (which it is).

17 hours ago, dcnx said:

You can get two visas per passport. For example, four years would cost you two passports.

Sorry, I don't follow your rationale.  Why would you need two passports?  The school has a successful history of students receiving two or more visa extensions, so no need for that.  Furthermore, I'm assuming you suggest getting a new passport to hide previous visa, but that history would still be on Immigration's computer database, so I don;t see how that strategy would really help.  But, maybe I'm wrong.  Explain if I am, please.

15 hours ago, elviajero said:

Immigration will give someone 7 days to leave the country if an extension application is denied.

 

So you apply for an extension knowing it will be denied to get an extra 7 days. 

Ohhh!  You mean I could do that at a local Imm office without having to leave the country?  Would I possibly be penalized for doing that, if 7 days later, I applied for a visa outside of Thailand?'

You guys are really giving me a crash course in the finer point of Thai Immigration...and I truly appreciate it!

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You have heard or read old out of date info. You can get appointments for a non immigrant visa application as little as a week in advance now.

I suggest you register and check the availability of appointments now at. https://thaivisavientiane.com/#

Just checked and there are 4 appointments available on Wednesday (72 for Friday and  62 for next Tuesday).

 

Hi @ubonjoe.  Thanks for your reply!  Yes, I just noticed that.  The thing is, the school director informed me that the letter from Board of Ministry that I need to apply for ED Visa might not come until just a few days before my current Visa's expiry, or even after that date.  So, I just want a backup plan to avoid an overstay on my current visa.

What I was thinking was to schedule the appointment and book a flight to Udon Thani for the date my current visa expires, and if I get the letter in time, I'm OK.

If the letter doesn't come, then I'd just take the flight to Udon Thani, cross the bridge, turn around and come back into Thailand with a Visa Exempt stamp.  That would give me 30 days to reschedule the ED Visa appointment.

Does that sound like a workable plan?  Is there some risk that I might be denied VEE by just turning around and coming back in, or because my passport contains two long-term visas (METV and Non-O Retirement)?  I'll have bank statement, 20k baht in cash, letter from school stating I'm currently applying for ED Visa, etc. 

Just don't want to have hassles trying to get back in to Thailand.

17 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Yes.

 

As for doing more than 2 times by air it can be risky as have been a few recent reports of those being told to sign statements they do not have required funds for entry and put on a new flight to where they came from (local area countries) to obtain a visa or go elsewhere.

I've heard those reports on Thai Visa too.  Do you think it might be prudent to have have copy of my Thai bank statement with me (and 20,000 baht in cash) just in case I run into this...or is the fact I have a Thai bank account going to raise red flags as far as coming into Thailand "strictly for the purpose of tourism" as the rules for visa-exempt entry state.

I'm only planning on coming in "visa-exempt this one time if necessary, but just don't want to face any crazy situation with airport Imm officers, if I can avoid it.

9 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

The 7 days is provided if a visa extension is not allowed.

 

Visa exempt should be fine if you have been on an extension of stay for last year.  It can be a problem after several in same year.

I was just reading up on this on the Thai Immigration website, and it says:

Holders of normal passports of the following countries (USA) are granted visa-free travel to Thailand for a period of up to 30 days. The exemption is granted at most twice in a calendar year when entering over land or via a sea border but there is no limitation when entering by air. 

Just out of curiosity does that really mean, you could re-enter every month as visa-exempt if you do it by air?  I was under the impression that, at most, you could only enter Thailand two times on a SETV (and assumed same would be true with visa-exempt.

Not planning on doing that, just curious if this is true or not.

So...just so I'm clear:  I just would fly out of Thailand on date before my present visa expires, then fly back and get Visa-Exempt status at the airport in Thailand where I enter?  That's all that's involved?

3 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

I don't either - was supposed to be "and". 

What is a 7 day stay?  I mean, what kind of visa is that?

14 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

...Otherwise you would need to exit and return with either a tourist visa or visa exempt stamp. ...  

Is a visa exempt entry just a matter of flying out of Thailand (or crossing border over border) and then just coming back into Thailand as "visa-exempt" for up to 30 days?  Literally just out and then back in with no hassles?  What's the procedure; do you just get the visa-exempt stamp when you enter back into Thailand?

That might be my best bet if I run into a time-crunch with the new visa paperwork form the Ministry of Tourism.  30 days would give me plenty of time to get the appointment at Vientiane and make travel plans.  

I just don't want to try this and find out I can't get back into Thailand as visa-exempt for some reason I didn't think about.  In other words, is it fairly certain I can get visa-exempt entry if I've never done that before?

7 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Do you have an extension of stay from immigration for retirement or an actual multi entry non immigrant O-A visa (which is often called retirement)?  If you have the visa and still valid a new entry gets you a new one year stay.  If you have an extension of stay you can apply for another aqd if unable to meet conditions get a 7 day stay.  Otherwise you would need to exit and return with either a tourist visa or visa exempt stamp.  

I have an extension of stay.  I dont know what you mean by "...apply for another aqd if unable to meet conditions get a 7 day stay."

There's a possibility that my Non-O retirement visa will expire before I get Ministry of Education approval paperwork for school which I will be applying for a ED Visa.  The paperwork should arrive on time BUT since I have to make an appointment several weeks before my intended application date for Vientiane Consulate, I'm afraid if the paperwork arrives late I will have to reschedule the appointment at Vientiane, and that carries a 10 day penalty to reschedule, thus I could be beyond expiration date of Non-O retirement visa by up to a couple of weeks.

Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.

33 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

Since you are talking to H2H directly why not ask them for references re your question? They must know who has tried recently and should be willing to put you in touch.

Well I have talked with them but not getting clear answers due to language barrier (or maybe they just don't want to say), so hoping somebody on here can help with their own experiences at Vientiane lately.  It sounds like things are changing there lately and so I'm just trying to get a handle on what to expect from people who have actually been through the process at the Consulate (and also at airport/land crossings).

Some of the things I've heard lately are hard to interpret.  For instance,

• UPDATE 6.8: for Tourist Visa, Consular Officer will review your visa history and in case you have a history of previous Tourist visa your application will be denied. In some cases Vientiane is asking for proof of funds, Book Bank with balance THB 20,000.- up OR print out from your Bank account from home country value USD 700.-up. Onward air ticket is not required.
• Non ED (only one in one year & cover letter must only indicate your specific level & show bank balance THB 20,000.-), Non O Single Entry (but no retirement) if married to Thai or support Thai Child (no back to back application accepted anymore, in some cases Show money THB 200,000 (USD 6472)- in Thai Bank Account).

I don't know what this means "history of previous tourist visa"...Since "visa" is written as singular, not plural, does this mean "one previous visa"?? Does it pertain only to another tourist visa, or could it be grounds for denying the ED Visa?

I don't know if financial requirement is for 20,000 baht in a THAI bank account or if it can be in a US bank account?  200,000 baht, I assume refers only to "married/support Thai child, but cold it also be for ED Visa? 

Kind of hard to interpret the way these things are written, and both things do not show up on the Vientiane Consulate website.

Bottom line, I just want to minimize change of a screw-up at the Consulate.

EXPERIENCES AT VIENTIANE CONSULATE LATELY in regard to applying for ED VISA from HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT?

So, I am in the process of getting ED Visa from Hand-To-Hand.  Currently waiting for Ministry of Education approval, and then plan to head to Vientiane Laos consulate to submit application by end of September (when my current visa expires.

I've been reading a lot of negative experiences at the Vientiane Consulate (people being denied Visas) even with proper paperwork.  I'm being very careful to have all documentation I might need (including bank statements from my Thai Bank and also my US bank, even an outbound ticket at the end of the "school year").

I'm just wondering if anyone has applied for an ED visa for H2H Combat lately at Vientiane, and what your experiences were.

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

1. Yes

2. Possible.

3. That would depend upon the officer when you enter the country. 

 

Your extension would still be valid if you got a tourist visa.

The officer when enter the country may ask what you want to use when you enter the country. Be sure and put the re-entry permit number on the TM6 arrival card. The officer might want to use the tourist visa if the 60 days it allows is longer than what you would get from the re-entry permit.

 

You would have to leave and re-enter the country to use the visa. You could do a border hop at Mae Sai to use the visa.

Thanks again! ????

On 6/5/2019 at 10:39 AM, ubonjoe said:

You could get 4 without a problem. Three in Vientiane should not be a problem but get the 3rd one after you one after getting a visa somewhere else such as Savannakhet.

 

That would be a good plan. No problem to get a single entry tourist visa after the METV.

 

No problem to get a tourist visa after being on extensions based upon retirement.

Just one more question, if you don't mind. 

My understanding of a Single-Entry Tourist Visa (which is what I would be seeking, to replace my "retirement extension" when it expires Sep 30) is that "...Single-Entry Tourist Visa is valid for entering Thailand once within 3 months from the date of application.

I am planning a leisure trip to Bali (where there is a Thai Consulate) next month, and it would be nice to get the SETV out of the way.  I wonder if I can do this:

1. Get a re-entry permit for my retirement extension.
2. Travel to Bali, and apply for SETV (but not have it de-activate my retirement extension.
3. Return to Thailand under my retirement Extension, and have it remain in effect until its' expiration, when I would want the SETV to go into effect.

I'm just not sure if getting the SETV stamped in my passport would de-activate my "retirement visa" or cause confusion with IMM officials at the airport when I return to Thailand (even though I would have the re-entry permit for the retirement visa.) 

And then the question would be "how would I activate the SETV once my retirement extension expires.  Could I do this locally at Chiang Mai IMM office, or would I have to fly out and re-enter to activate it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You could get 4 without a problem. Three in Vientiane should not be a problem but get the 3rd one after you one after getting a visa somewhere else such as Savannakhet.

 

That would be a good plan. No problem to get a single entry tourist visa after the METV.

 

No problem to get a tourist visa after being on extensions based upon retirement.

Thanks!  You seem to be the go-to guy for straight, concise answers!  Most appreciated.

On 2/26/2015 at 6:52 AM, ubonjoe said:

There is no limit on how many tourist visas you can get. Some embassies and consulates set there own limit on how many you can get from them. For example Vientiane count the ones you get back to back from them and have a limit of 3 but with financial and address proof you can get more.

You should be able to do most of your trips by getting visa exempt entries if you are entering by air and spending time outside the country between trips. Just always be able to show financial proof. Having the equivalent of 20k bath in cash with you would be good to have with you in case you a pulled aside for questioning.

Wondering if somebody can give me an update on this as of 2019.  I currently have a "retirement extension" that will expire end of September.  I want to stay in Thailand one more year but no longer want to do it with the retirement visa.  I am considering either an ED visa which I know I can get for sure, but am also considering the idea of of back to back 60 day tourist visas (or even a METV from my home country) since the Ed visa would prevent me from traveling away from Chinag Mai (class attendance requirements).

So, what are the chances (in 2019-2020) that I can get four (4) back-to-back visas for the year by visiting embassies in adjoining countries?  If four is unlikely, how long do I have to be outside of the Kingdom before I can get another visa?

What about traveling back to my home country to get a new 6 month METV, extending it to 9 months, and then after it expires, getting one 60 day tourist visa that I can extend to 90 days?

Also, what effect will there be applying for a tourist visa when I have already been granted a retirement visa; will that cause an issue?  

Sorry to ask such an in-depth question and I know a lot of this depends on the particular embassy/consulate, but info on Google is very sketchy and dated.  Thanks in advance!

14 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

I previously blocked "Wavehunter" and now  I'll block "Caggusurfer" (probably the same person) because they really don't have a grasp of what they are trying to talk about. They seem to want to troll for argument sake. I usually suspect drifters who frequently move must move on because they overstay their welcome. 

Robbok on the other hand knowledge is focused on bodybuilding and fitness, which is OK. He doesn't profess to be a medical scientist but looks at the logic and sources. 

This reminds me of Greek Mythology:

"A little learning is a dang'rous thing;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.

 

 Those who profess to know everything should be suspected. 

 

Definition of an Internet Troll:  A person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion, whether for the troll's amusement or a specific gain.

Wow! Sorry buddy, I wasn't aware this thread was your personal domain and you consider me an unwelcome "drifter".  You sound like an unhappy and unstable person.  Life is too short.  Perhaps you should try and make a better life for yourself instead of posting hateful stuff like this!

1 hour ago, robblok said:

I have shown links where they discredit the sugar is addictive part. So that is far from a fact that sugar is addictive. The link shows that the methods used on RATS not humans were questionable. Plus no human studies. So how can you state that sugar is addictive without backing up of human tests ?

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6

 

I think that too much added sugar can certainly be damaging if not for insulin sensitivity but that can be said for all carbs. Too much of something is never a good thing. So I agree that too much sugar is bad for you. 

Indeed there is little present evidence to support sugar addiction in humans but it is by no means a settled matter, and there is still much ongoing research so, at best, it's a very controversial topic, and the outcome could go either way.

However, there is much empirical evidence to support that consuming too much added sugar over long periods of time can affect the natural balance of hormones that drive critical functions in the human body; specifically insulin and leptin.  For me, this is the main reason I consider sugar toxic according to my definition, and also why it can eventually become toxic according to your definition.

There still no definitive evidence to confirm or deny an absolute link between excessive consumption of sugar and diabetes.  Nonetheless, I don't know about you, but to me, there's enough evidence to support the idea that insulin resistance and leptin resistance are linked with excessive sugar consumption, so I will err on the side of caution and respect the WHO guidelines.

13 minutes ago, robblok said:

In normal dosage.. yes. Not saying that you should take spoon fulls of sugar as it could give an insulin spike. But normal dosage not too bad. Guzzling cans of coca cola .. bad idea. I mean in excess I believe sugar is bad.

 

I don't believe sugar to be any more harmful than other stuff in normal dosage. 

 

The bad things I see about sugar are (empty calories, and could spike your blood sugar real fast). Both not good but certainly not toxic. 

 

I cut most of the sugar, never even had sugar in my tea. Only sugar I sometimes get is from a blackcurrant syrup that I take with a bottle of soda (the stuff they sell in 711) once every few days. 

 

I believe in a balanced diet of mainly unprocessed food. I also believe it won't kill you if you add sugar to your tea if you should like it. I doubt it is toxic at all in normal dosage. 

 

I get ticked off by alarmist who overstate their point and use animal studies at higher dosages then normal to prove their case. 

 

 

 

Well, first off, my definition of toxic is actually quite broader than yours.  You say, "it means poison harmful something that could kill you.".  I say that any substance you ingest that has a repeatable negative effect that can lead to a chronic impaired state is "toxic"

If you do not believe that sugar is addictive and which will lead to greater and greater use, then I guess I can see why you think it won't eventually lead to death, but there is a lot of research in the last ten years or so that is making a strong case that sugar is indeed addictive.

You make a good case that many people do not exceed a tolerable amount of sugar in their diet, but many people do, and for them, irregardless of whether or not addiction is the cause of their increased consumption, the hormonal changes associated with excessive sugar are very real.

Do you agree or not with my original posted comment that consuming too much added sugar over long periods of time also can affect the natural balance of hormones that drive critical functions in the body?