Fixit89

Hello all! I am asking for a friend who only has one tourist visa in Thailand and stayed only about 4-5 months more or less he said this year. So one setv and 2 visa exempts (us citizen).

ive laid this out to him :

Laos is a no go due to the q’s , and appointments etc.

I was reccomended to Vietnam my last go around , but I later found out that the consulates there have a history of denying people and voiding visas for normal folks for unexplained reasons. So, I couldnt reccomend Hanoi or hcmc at all for anyone!

Basically I’m looking for a consulate that has a low rate of denials , and or reasons to void a visa. I know that they are obviously clamping down on foreigners lately, so I’m unsure as to where I should point my friend.

where is the best to go as of late 2019 and as per history at the consulate?

if anyone has any pointers as to where he should go, please recommend to me!

thank you all here at TV!

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A 30 day extension of a 30 day visa exempt entry is allowed. That has been in the rules since 2104.

.

Thanks ubon. I have been here since 2014 and that has always been the rule since I remembered . 

Yeah I have a hotel confirmations and employment letter from USA if I’m ever asked so no problems .

Someone mentioned there is no extension possible if I don’t have a visa ? 

I am visa exempt entry (USA) , we get 30 days in the country. Am I allowed to get an extension on this ? I thought the answer was always yes and I can get 30 days from CW. Who has the right information?

thanks 

Nice thanks . I have already exhausted my land border runs for the year

trust me I hate CW also but I guess I got to get it done !

has as anyone ever been denied an extension for visa exempt ? As per my history in Thailand last few months I think I will be okay but was just curious !

I have had 2 back to back visa exempt entries in the past months. One time staying out of the country for a few weeks then the other time recently for less than 2 weeks. 

For the first entry i stayed in thailand for 3 weeks before leaving if that helps any.

Would there by any any reason they wouldn’t give me a 30 day extension at chaengwattana? Otherwise I can just fly home within a few weeks from now 

thanks all

52 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It makes no difference whether you enter at Nong Khai or Mai Sai.

You should be aware that you are only allowed two visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year. If you are going to be hanging around Thailand for a while on tourist entries, you should avoid using visa exempt entries. In particular, the visa exempt entry by land is extremely useful for emergency use.

Plan to pick up a tourist visa during your travels. Use the land border of your choice (only avoiding Poipet/Aranyaprathet).

Hi Brit Tim these will be my last months in Thailand as planned per late 2018z So I could say that I am lucky that I will only have to use my other land border entry next time and my final time ever for the remainder of this year .

Can you reccomend any friendly land border crossings from Myanmar ? 

I know you mentioned Chong mek before for Laos but don’t think I will make it that far south of Laos near Pakse .

. Or how does the land border entry near Koh Rong in Cambodia fare ?

Hello everyone .

i have used the Nong Khai border and it was pleasantly easy and straight forward . This was my first land border crossing in 5 years.

I can only stay for 30 days, so before my 30 day mark I plan to go abroad for a week and a few days. I will return once again by Land into Thailand. Is it okay if I use the same route ie: Nong Khai friendship Bridge ? 

It works out in my schedule that I will take travel through Laos or Myanmar as my last destination, so the border crossing makes sense . Was thinking that going through Nong Khai again might create a fuss ? Since it is back to back. 

Or should I change it up and cross in Myawaddy near Mae sot thailand?

any and all information is greatly appreciated . Thank you !

Thank you everyone for your responses .

moderators would you mind closing /locking this thread please? I have solved my problems thanks to TV. 

Much appreciated , god bless to everyone who contributed

Oddly enough I spend loads of money in thailand as I have a successful business in the USA . But how could the visa office know that? unless I showed them my business bank account attached to my my name and not personal account and an emloyment letter of our enterprise stating what I do. It’s a darn shame if you ask me

wish I gave them my employment letter I wonder what difference it would have made ! I always keep that with me even when I had my METV for cases like being questioned at the airport.  I always keep 20,000b on me , that’s not much for me to carry around anyways.

have a nice Saturday everyone , thank you again

18 minutes ago, BritTim said:

As long as you do not use the wrong entry points, neither the voided visa nor your history of stay in Thailand will prevent getting a visa exempt entry entering by land. The voided visa is not noted in any online system. Once you have a new passport in the future, there will be no residual evidence that it ever happened.

BritTim! Behind your posts there is obviously a background and wealth of information. Thank you very much! In my mind it wouldn’t make any sense that the voided visa would be in any online system. Due to the fact that it was probably voided at last minute. Void means cancelled/not approved , not “your not allowed into Thailand.” If I did go to the airport yes that would be my point where they would say “ hey you got a voided visa we don’t want you!” But I never made it to that point .. thanks to you guys here at TV! I think people are misconstrued in their ideations here. 

Im looking at Cambodia because currently as you noted no direct flights from hchm to Vientiane. So I might as well take a long vacation somewhere first 

I never thought about pakse , I used to go out with a girl from there . Although that time has long passed. Maybe I should make a trip out there!

seeems like a good land border as you noted (thanks again) 

Thank you Brit Tim ! I am going to skip getting a new visa , pack my stuff in my apartment and head home . It’s a sad ending . I’ll spend my last songkran here and say my goodbyes. Asta la vista  . With that void in my visa do you think that is in “the system” ? And will be looked upon ? When I enter ?

cheers 

49 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

First of all, I hope you have zero problems. Fact is consulates and embassies outside of thailand can issue visas. They are not connected to imm officers. For example you could have a valid tourist visa and be refused entry by io (especially at airports)

I like this comment . My girlfriend has a close friend she rang up for me at immigration at DMK . She said it a gamble when you are being issued vissues outside of Thailand . It is actually out of their discretion (the embassy out of Thailand) to issue the visa or not according to thai laws . So it has nothing to do with immigration officers outside of Thailand correct. There is no connection between the officers in HCMC consulate and DMK airport for example

no guarantee I will get accepted by the airport and most certainly she told me to re apply for a visa somewhere else.

i will just get a new passport enter by land and nothing but greatness will happen. Can we all agree here ?

18 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Last year, it was long-odds of denial.  Recently?  I would not consider it with his stay-history.

 

With some recent denials, they didn't even let the person denied show money, ticket, where they were going to stay, etc - straight to the detention-jail, with the next contact being the airline people selling a rip-off priced last-minute ticket straight back where they came from.

He states that I should get a new passport , and with a new passport I could get a new SETV. Would this be feasible ? Does the IO really have info that will scrutizinize me from further entry from an air border with a new passport ? I find that highly u likely . Even if it was just visa exempts ?

thank you again everyone for the containued support . Your long posts and valuable information really boosts me up!

that being said , I already want to go to Cambodia for vacation . So I might as well stay there for 2 weeks . Get a new passport and go back to Thailand  via the Nong Khao Laos bridge . 

The unfortunate thing is that I would need to leave around or before songkran time after my 30 days is expired. I went to hcmc to get my visa because I avoid extensions like the plague . Changwattana is dreadful for me especially after this many years. 

9 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

How do you get a new passport when the current one already has lots of pages?

I don’t like my current picture in my passport . I think that is okay. What do you think?

3 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

How rude. They take the money and deny visa. If OP does not have any connection with Thailand like GF or child, it is better to forget about Thailand and spend money where there are no issues. I made a mistake 14 years ago and stuck here but I plan to spend only 6-months in Thailand. 

Yeah I actually have a girlfriend and an apartment that ends next month . So , for this news I will be leaving Thailand forever after songkran and end of April. Super disappointed 

Thank you everyone for the continued responses , as I am deeply grateful for you all..

at this point I have thought to go to phonm penh Cambodia and get a new passport at the US embassy . The processing time is 10 Days via there website. I am OK with this. Now , I know this does not clear the system for immigration but it does clear the IO ideation that I may have been staying in Thailand too long or not. For example with a new passport there is nothing to check, and a simple visa exempt stamp would be so easy on my eyes . Am I right ?

regarding another poster , you are correct I have not been denied entry into Thailand . And yes I could go apply for another visa , and I could potentially risk going by air into the DMK or BKK airports. But I do not wish to risk the potential embarrassment at this point of what may or may not happen..

also right now now I am weighing my options as the land border at Laos to Nong Khai seems very good , but even better with a clean passport ! Zero potential for risk. Am I right again?

i know that there is not any risk involved right now on a visa exEmpt theough a land border but why risk it right ? Can someone clear my mind and portentially save my time? Maybe I don’t have to get a new passport in Cambodia and just head for the land in Laos and get back to my “home” in Thailand ? Thoughts?

24 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Stricter Immigration procedures at airports than land border crossings.

You'll only get a 30 day Visa exempt entry, which you can extend for another 30 days at Immigration.

 

Long term if you want to continue staying in Thailand, you need to find an alternative to TV's.

True . Thank you. And How unfortunate .

Any other land crossings aside from Nong Khai / Laos ? 

Would getting a new passport reset reset everything for me ? I’m willing to get a new one just so I can fly back in . Waiting for some experts to reply back. Thank you all 

19 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Was just about to ask your recent history. You mention back to back metvs and also setv but indicated 2017. Now mention most of 2018 spent in Thailand. Personally, NO WAY would I risk flight into bkk for VE entry. A refusal could be BAD. You could be flown to where you boarded... Saigon/Hanoi....Could be refused entry there (without current visa for Vietnam) Then flown back to USA. BritTim gave good advice. Try and get to loas. Visa exempt crossing from somewhere like Vientiane.

Point well noted. Thank you for your continued support and replies. Much appreciated 

so I will pose the question. Why is a land border safer than an air border (aside from BKK) ? No one has ever been denied at a land border from a void stamp?

I’m guessing a void stamp is better than a red stamp or something ? Please make me feel better with more of your kind and helpful comments.

thank you everyone 

7 minutes ago, BritTim said:

You have my sympathy. I would recommend entering by land. Perhaps, you could fly to Vientiane, and cross the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai.

 

Did you have this experience in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi?

Thank you to both of you very much for your responses. I’m very saddened by this and reading through the forums it seems that in HCMC this has been known to happen! If I only knew I would have went to Singapore or something. What a shame !

What if I got a new passport in a different country? Or is that taking it a step too far? I’m willing to do anything besides being held at an airport and embarrassed (omg) . 

I also believe that in this past year 2018 I have spent more time in thailand than USA , but I was on an METV(shouldn’t make a difference) ugh . In the past 5 years I’ve stayed longer in Thailand rather than USA 

Hello all, I have had 2 back to back METVs along with one stand alone SETV issued in USA as well back early in 2017 I think . I am am an American . This was denied in Vietnam . Received my passport back with a VOID stamp on my tourist visa . I do not work in thailand and would have been happy to supply them with proof of employment in USA . The consulate said they could not give anymore information to me regarding as to why it was voided . Not helpful at all.  

Where do do I go from here ? What are my options ? Can I go to Bangkok airport and get a visa exempt or do I risk getting denied entry? Of course I have 20,000 b in cash always in my pocket so no problem . Or should I go to do a land crossing?

any information would be helpful, thank you very much everyone