Stevey

Thanks for take time to answer. Yes later I realised the E-visa is set up for people outside Thailand. I tried again and entered my girlfriends address and it said apply at a Thai embassy outside Thailand. That’s what I’m doing , Savannaket in the morning as Vientiane is an appointment only basis and I’m told by people here in TV that Sav is walk-in. ????

???? Thanks

Brilliant stuff, my poor dog is not well so time is of the essence, don’t spare the horses @theoldgit

Hi im due to exit Thailand on 16th and was planning to get a 2mTR visa at Vientiane. I did ask advice which was gratefully received but was not told to book an appointment for a visa. I just did some Googling and have booked an ‘ Online Appointment ‘ for Tuesday as it is the only one available. Are these appointments so strict ? Last time I did any of these visa runs it was a case of put the passport in and come back next day and don’t come on a Friday. I was going to go today but I’m unwell ????. Now it looks like I’m going to have to arrive Friday and stay waiting for the weekend and Monday , 4 nights !! I don’t wanna fly around to get back in but four nights away just so I can come back over the land border is over the top , is there a visa service I can lean on ?

Hi I’m required to leave Thailand on the 16th of December, so need to leave about now to obtain a two-month tourist Visa from Thai embassy Vientiane Lao. I was going to be leaving for the friendship bridge today, but I was wondering if I can get an E-Visa for Thailand so I can walk across the bridge and come back with a Thai E-Visa rather than submit to that Thai Embassy in Vientiane. Just filling in the paperwork on the website, and it’s asking me for proof of income and all of the types of paperwork like proof of address in the UK , which I don’t remember being asked for when I have applied for a Visa from the UK 2 years ago, does the website think I want a 6 months Visa? I remember filling in the website for 2months Tourist visa 2 years ago and got to payment with out needing to provide bank statements. Many Thanks as always and come on the trolls !

As an engineer you can’t begin to know how much confidence is instilled to know how needed I am when I read this thread. To see that men are sent out into the world with not a clue how it works. I think with the upcoming recession about to kick off I’m gonna be ok , like that last one.

For those interested That’s หนึ่งคิว/ ‘Neung Cue‘ 1Cubic meter - of water. Same หนึ่งคิว/ ‘Neung Cue‘ is also the measurement you buy concrete in. For those not interested continue with the scowl.

I’ve been to Laos across the land border a couple of times and needed the proof of vaccination, which I haven’t got for a recent 72 hour test. On both occasions I was asked by the Lao IO’s for vaccine paraphernalia, but never on return to Thailand. Another reason why I would never go to Lao voluntarily. On both occasions on the same day of travel, I went to my local hospital in PhonPhiSai NongKhai and requested one of these tests. I can speak Thai and it was still difficult to get the point across, but I got there in the end. The first time disappointingly they tried to double charge me. I did the AKT Rapid test and prior to being given the paperwork of results. I was given a Chitty and asked to go and pay the fee at the payment window in the hospital. Luckily for me, the woman working at the window queried the fact that they had the charge listed twice so it was 500 Bart not 250 Bart. They will have seen this when they printed it off the computer and handed it to me. They were just belligerently trying to make me pay more than I needed to. Now educated the second time when I went back I told them the cost. I think the moral of the story here is everybody should stay safe bang pots and pans for the NHS get vaccinated with this juice and save 250 Baht and hassle of tests. ????

Thanks.

Thanks for getting back to me. The advice from @ubonjoe and yourself has been a godsend. When the experienced IO at NongKhai said my best option is obtain a TR in Lao she said fly because of my used up entry’s. I still feel I’ll have some resistance at the border so I’m gonna get NongKhai on board prior to attempting to leave Thailand, what can go wrong will go wrong. And yes I’ve lost two pages to those stupid full page visas already ???? Thanks for the advice on the E-visa I’ll keep this thread alive with the progress for educational purposes. My next task is to research obtaining an Ed Visa and see which is significantly cheapest and less hassle. Thanks all especially @Toby1947and @marin with out whose help is be stuck up the creek.

So just to confirm what I’m understanding from your advice the two land crossings per year is a Thai rule meaning that I can only enter Thailand via land border in any calendar year but I can exit Thailand and obtain a Lao visa at the Lao side immigration OR @Lemsta69obtain an Evisa from https://laoevisa.gov.la/info , having had two Lao 30 day visas already. Then obtain a TR visa at Thai consulate Vientiane then cross the land border at NongKhai again ? If this is indeed the case then it will make life infinitely easier.

Hi Lads and thanks for the advice so far. I've just been going thru the post and noticed you saying that I maybe able to leave at the land border @ubonjoe ? I can see that if I get the Tourist Visa at Vientiane I can just waltz back over and NongKhai so that’s a relief. But am I allowed to leave Thailand across that land border into Lao again ?

I think you misunderstood my ramblings about the issue about being denied the extension a few days ago at Nong Khai when my entry visa exemption from Lao was going expire the next day. The 30 year old new staff decided that they were going to fine my girlfriend for not presenting at the office herself and informing them I stay there. We have always just had me being the house book and ID card but the new guy decided that now she personally has to come with me when I make an extension using her address. They fined her/me 800baht. This was the reason for not not giving me the extension I was entitled to. They want to use the exemption as a bargaining chip to guarantee the measly 800baht would be received. Very inconvenient as my girlfriend help her sister and father on the farm plus the risk of maybe having a problem on the ultimate day and not being able to get to Nong Khai possibly could easily have occurred. They are well out of order. They could have just said there is a fine to pay on the day I arrived. The situation has really tarnished the image of that office for me after nearly 4 of use. For four years I have just either called in at some point within a day or two of arriving or sometimes my girlfriend has called the office and they updated what ever system if any they have. As I’ve rambled on so far I’ll add this, when I entered from Lao after using the last of two entries I now have been told I wrote on my entry T? Card my intentioned address and the IO at the border queried it. I gave him the house book and he took the details and waves my off into the evening. I know it’s a stretch but felt Nong Khai immigration had been informed where I was staying and that was that. I’d they had been open I would have swung by and gave them the book as usual.

Sorry Dec 15 my current stamp ends, had to pack a lot into that post. I would never overstay intentionally too much to lose. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could fly from Udon Thani to Laos, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. I may have to go all the way to Udon Thani- Don Muang -Lao- Don Muang - Uson Thani plus hotels and visa which is absolutely crazy ????. To journey to get from literally this side of the Mekong river to the other side of the Mekong river and back again is so immense it’s crazy. I will be well up for paying my way out of this. Why did I think that I could get two extensions onto an entry stamp? I can only thing I’ve got confused because it’s been so easy just to walk into NongKhai and keep extending all these months.

Ah ubonjoe ! apologies for my late check back. I’ve stayed here for 2 years coming this Feb 1st 2023 Just getting Covid extensions off of my original 45day Covid Visa exemption at Swampy on the 1st Feb 2021 ( had an amazing run) then 4&1/2 months the ever so friendly Nong Office told me it was over and I had go across the bridge at NongKhai to stay here. I did this thinking I was gonna go home then. But I actually did that 2 month Covid visa exemption and then went over the bridge and got my first Lao 30 day visa and re entered at nong khai. Then is when my mistake was… I’d heard about the new 45days entry stamps and decided to test it instead of going to immigration and extending my then current visa exemption. I had people telling me I could only cross two times a year but I didn’t care because I believed I could extend I visa at NongKhai immigration two more times ( don’t know where I got that from). So here I am now I’ve done to land border crossings in the last two months and I have extended the 30 day visa exemption I got at the last border crossing. so it is my understanding from the staff, that’s my main choices are signing to get married as they said or Vientiane Laos to obtain a 60 day tourist Visa. I do have somebody local to me who is a Visa agent of sorts, that’s been recommended to me by a friend, could I possibly get some kind of education Visa? I’m not sure about the pros and cons of being married. I am 48 coming this December. Will being married help me doing things ? maybe I can enter on a marriage Visa in the future? many thanks to all with advice even the trolls. So my current exemption is up about Nov 15 2022 much ???? love

I am actually 47 and the IO suggested that and my girlfriend mentioned it last night too.

Until 31Jan 2031 and go UK , obviously not on visa exemptions as I have now been educated to the fact that that is not possible.

The Friendliness part came in when yesterday, day before my visa exemption 45days at the NongKhai -Lao border expired I rocked up to an empty immigration and produced my particulars along with, as I have done on every occasion in 4 years, my girlfriends house book and ID card. At this new new people who looked like they had just left Uni got involved and denied me my extension which I was entitled to. It was a hot day and had been over an hours ride on the bike and wasn’t in the mood for them at all. I was cutting things fine by arriving a day early but the ‘ Kids ‘ said come back tomorrow with you girlfriend and we’ll give you the visa then. I protested saying I wanted to get the visa extension over with today and I’ll bring the girlfriend over tomorrow. The girl was not having it and I left. Next day and last day of my visa I arrived and all was sorted. It was then I found out about me having to obtain another visa from an outside country like Lao Thai consulate. I obviously now realise that taking my two available land border trips in succession was stupid and it has caused me to now need to leave via Udon Thani and do a Vientiane tourist visa run at great expense and zero interest. Anyway I believe the reason for getting my girlfriend to attend after for four years producing the house book was enough was so they could fine us for her not reporting me to immigration as is the rule. I explained as I came in 45days ago the IO took the house book and filled in a document with the address and I went home so I believed Immigration had been informed…..? Either way in my opinion I saw a change in attitude and the friendly atmosphere I have experienced over the last 4 years since the old guy retired has IMO been replaced by an air of ‘ what problem can we get this guy on ‘ I feel like if I could get some visa such as Education for instance that would prevent the whole travel scenario that would be worth it.

Well Thanks for putting me straight. I suppose I’ve just been softened up by these Covid extensions being so easy. I’ve stayed here since 1st February 2021 and entered on a 45visa exemption so haven’t done too bad. I was just wrongly positive that you could extend a visa exemption 2 or 3 times in succession. Don’t know what I was thinking. They must have thought I was crazy in the immigration office when I said could they extend an extension ????.

Anybody had any dealings with immigration of late where the tone has changed ? in particular NongKhai… who were the friendliest immigration I’ve dealt with. Went there today half the staff are changed and we’re quite combative not the usual friendly office I’ve dealt with on many occasions. And said “ Just now we are seeing a lot of problems with foreigners “ ( I today found this was Chinese). 45 days ago, I crossed over from Lao back to Thailand on a one hour duration visa run , I went to extend that Visa today, and they said it couldn’t be extended any more times other than today, and I was going to have to go to Laos and get another Visa next time in 30 days but via plane, because I’ve used up my to land border crossings this year because I was naive to the two land crossings per year. And also because I was under the impression I can extend a Visa exemption stamp about three times or at least two at the local immigration office. They have said no to this and I’ve told me my only option is to now fly to Laos and apply for a tourist Visa at Vientiane and come back again, probably by plane because my land border crossings have been used up, but does that mean only to go into low not to come back from Laos into Thailand? So my real question is, are they correct in saying that I can’t extend the Visa exemption that I got at a land entry .45 days ago more than one time I did today? Most annoying and time-consuming because I’ve got to stay more than one month until 31 January 2023 so I have no choice now if they are correct I have to drive all the way down from The Mekong to Udon Thani , get a plane to Vientiane stay overnight in Vientiane until my Tourist Visa is put in my passport, and then potentially have to fly back to Udon then come all the way back up here to PhonPhiSai again. It’s a small absolute nightmare and obviously expensive. Any advice appreciated, could I possibly get an education Visa to save me all that hassle?

Fantastic info ????Thanks for that.

Thanks for the input and well done on get the lady in question her just deserves.

Hi Thanks for the reply’s. Looks like Our man was right on the Cusp of 2016 I think he was just out of the old pension though. He had an Army pension and from what I’m reading she will be entitled to it. A paper trail to follow. I will post an update as the process proceeds.

Actually on reflection I mean the retiree in question retired from the Army 20 or more years ago but his old age pension kicked in around 2016, I remember him talking about he’d just got it. Am I understanding correctly that the widow is entitled to a percentage of NI contributions if he had been in receipt of ‘The old pension’ prior to April 2016 even if for a short period ?