Briggsy

Update from me the OP again.

I have been in the UK for 4 months now. I have previously been able to check my DTAC balance and validity (loads of balance and validity) but now it looks like my roaming has been turned off so I can't check my balance from the UK. I messaged a friend in Thailand and got her to add 20 Baht to my number to see if that would reactivate the roaming to see the balance but I still can't see the balance. 

Any ideas or have I lost the number through lack of use?

I could even post my sim to a friend in Thailand and have them use it every now and then as a last resort. I may be visiting Thailand again in a few months.

46 minutes ago, pantsonfire said:

Some STA agent

Balderdash! 

On 10/27/2019 at 3:33 PM, pantsonfire said:

also when going to laos i need to get a return flight for the visa.  Any ideas on what i can show for this?

For the Laos visa?? Who told you that? I have entered Laos many times and each time I have received a visa on arrival and never had to show a return flight to receive my Laos visa on arrival.

3 hours ago, pantsonfire said:

Is this shared taxi quite obvious?  Another thing is not having been to Laos can i pay by Baht?  As not sure how much Kip i need to carry

Yes, the taxi drivers will ask you when you clear Laos immigration. They hang around the shuttle bus ticket office. Yes, pay in baht, absolutely fine.

13 hours ago, pantsonfire said:

My journey is from London -> KL -> Vientiane -> Land Border Crossing -> Udon Thani -> Bangkok

Or alternative is London -> Transit Bkk -> Vientiane -> Land Border Crossing -> Udon Thani -> Bangkok

 

So after Thai Border I will take taxi to Udon Thani Airport to fly to Bangkok.

The thing iam kind of iffy about is from Vientiane immigration take taxi to friendship bridge, then from friendship bridge take the shuttle bus across land border get off and board again during laos immigration?  Is there a time schedule for the shuttle bus?  Planning to get everything out of the way ASAP

 

My Itinerary

 

- Depart LHR 11.10 Transit in BKK for 3 hours then take Flight 9.30am to Vientiane and arrive 10.40am (Thai Airways and Thai Smile so operated same airline)

- Depart Udon Thani 4.25pm - Arrive Bkk 5.30pm

 

Opinions?

 

 

@BritTim 's answer is good but I can match and raise it. From Vientiane airport, take a taxi direct to the Friendship bridge. Clear Laos exit immigration. Don't buy a shuttle bus ticket. Take a share taxi from the Laos side direct to Udon. There will be others going. It will cost you 300 Baht per person max and they will drop you wherever you want in Udon. By doing this you won't have to wait for the shuttle bus, you won't have to lug your luggage around and you will go through the car checkpoint into Thailand as opposed to the pedestrian checkpoint which bus passengers have to use. Much quicker and less hassle.

2 hours ago, pantsonfire said:

Looking to travel from KL to Vientiene

You can fly direct for buttons.

13 minutes ago, pantsonfire said:

Does anyone have a guide on how to do the Friendly Bridge Crossing?

 

I have found this guide https://harnessinglife.com/border-crossing-from-vientiane-to-thailand/

 

But iam looking for a more convenient way or is bus the only way?

You don't need to use the international bus. Where are you coming from? Where are you going to?

Fly Phnom Penh to Vientiane direct. Enter visa exempt at Nong Khai. No problem.

@MattDM

Pretty much the same that happened to me on an METV arriving from the UK.

16 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Umm, think your being bit selective there. Certainly at airports there is more screening. A METV gives your up to 6 +months + Your permitted 2 border crossings per calendar yr. Which are rarely challenged and can be extended at imm by 30. The threads on tvf represent tiny fraction of entries every day. However yes the mood has changed significantly. Esp airports. 

I have stayed 9 months / year in Thailand for years. I was recently denied entry with a fresh METV at Suwannaphum and returned to the UK. (for breaking the non-announced, non-existent 180-day rule)

The OP wishes to stay 9 months a year every year. He needs to avoid all TV's including METV's. As he has Thai kids, he should go for non-O visas with or without extension, up to his circumstances.

2 x land border visa exempt. Extend one of them gives you till March.

6 minutes ago, acenase said:

Can't see how anyone who goes back to their home country for 3 months and comes back would ever have a problem.

I went back to the UK for one month, picked up an METV in the UK. I flew to Thailand directly from the UK and was denied entry. Clearly my one month is not the OP's 3 months but the stated reason for denial was "over 50% of time in Thailand". So, the OP is at risk of denial.

3 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

How long had you been back in the UK for? I think the 3 months should count in my favour.

I had been back in the UK for 1 month. Therefore your 3 months certainly puts you in a better position than me.

4 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

An alternative would be to fly into Chiang Mai airport which would definitely be less of a hassle but it's not clear if that would be any safer than Suvarnabhumi. 

Yes, all the reports on here indicate Chiang Mai as a far better option than Suvannaphum. 

@edwardandtubs

If you are denied entry, you will be sent back on the carrier you arrived on, most probably to the destination you came from. If that is the UK, total extra incurred costs could easily top £1000 and maybe reach £1500 if you decide to have another bash coming in through Laos. 

If you go fly UK to Laos, then fly Udon to Bangkok, extra costs are probably £250.

Calculate the probability and roll the dice.

p.s. my history sounds very similar to yours and I was denied entry coming from the UK on an METV.

Just now, Northpoint said:

I just wonder if it would be easiest to disregard my valid re-entry visa and apply for a tourist visa here in Australia, which would allow me to stay for the duration of my trip.  I would have no problem with that, as long as it does not create any hassles or confusion with Thai Immigration officials on arrival. 

I was going to suggest that option (but didn't).

If you do this, make sure you put the number of the (new) tourist visa on the landing card (TM 6) and not the number of the re-entry permit nor leave it blank. You may still be asked for confirmation that this is what you wish to do when you arrive and also possibly by the embassy/consulate when you apply for it.

Just now, Northpoint said:

We will be staying in our condominium in Jomtien, not far from Chonburi Immigration in Soi 5. Cheers

Any of the vans doing the run to the border in Chantaburi. The cost is fixed at 2500 Baht. Leave at 6 am, back by around 2 pm. Lunch included. The vans go every day.

Yes, as previous poster states, border run and visa exempt entry is easiest. Where in Thailand will you be on the day or one or two days before your extension expires.

6 minutes ago, lemonwaterjoe said:

 

Why?

Self-evident.

@matador007

Out of interest, why are you confused?

This is a thread about a non-Thai parent of a half-Thai child wanting to relinquish the child's Thai nationality but being blocked by a hostile, estranged Thai parent. The other thread was about a non-Thai parent of a half-Thai child wanting to relinquish the child's Thai nationality but being blocked by a hostile, estranged Thai parent.

There was another thread less than a year ago not dissimilar to this. It was a HK passport holder (mother) with teenage daughter (Thai / HK) living in HK. The estranged Thai father would not consent to the daughter relinquishing Thai citizenship and had retained the key documents. This meant the daughter could effectively not live in mainland China as a Chinese person as dual nationality is not permitted for Chinese nationals. Dig around, you might find it.

1 minute ago, Max69xl said:

It's still only for Long Stay O-A Visa,

not for Non-imm O, with retirement extension. You can find the article in The Nation if you google it.

Yes, I am aware of that.

The OP, @DaRoadrunner  used the vague terminology, "retirement visa", so we can only assume he is referring to future changes to the "retirement extension". That is why I placed my sentence in a conditional tense.

4 hours ago, a977 said:

They may be influential in getting laws passed but that is where the buck stops. You can implement all the laws you want, Ah but enforcing them that is another thing

I am confident that if a law was passed requiring health insurance for the "retirement extension", that, one way or another, it would have an effect, almost certainly adding extra cost, extra paperwork and possibly extra inconvenience on extension holders.