Canadian Snowbird

I'll be happy to spare you any further sob stories when you get a real life that goes beyond criticising other people's posts.

Read my post again and maybe you will understand. My complaint is having to risk one's life spending 6 to 7 hours in a van on Thailand's hwy's while doing a border run. That should be simple enough for the average person who has ever done one to understand.

Too bad Thailand wouldn't change the METV and get rid of the border runs. They had a good idea going during the covid period years with the special tourist visa ... good for 90 days, then another 90 days by way of extension at the local immigration office. That would be a huge improvement for us snowbirds from northern countries trying to escape winter for 5 to 6 months then returning to our home countries each year. I for one am sick and tired of putting my life on the line spending 6 to 7 hours in those commuter vans to do a border bounce to Cambodia and back twice each winter.

Your guess on that one is as good as any other. I just received an email from the embassy saying I no longer need to resubmit on the 4 items they asked me to submit 34 days ago, 43 days after my original submission .... and my METV application is still pending. All I can do is shake my head.

It means no approval yet. Pending means they still haven't gotten around to it.

Good to hear and thanks for the update. I'm still waiting for mine so that makes me hopeful it may finally come through in the next week. Not sure what the problem has been, but they've sure messed things up for some of us.

I'm in Thailand now. I was able to enter on a "visa exempt" (yes I finally got it correct this time). No problems entering, but still no METV yet or any response from the Thai embassy in Ottawa. It will result in an added trip for me outside of the country, in one form or another. I've spoken to others who were able to get their visas quickly through the consulate in Vancouver, so whatever the problem is, outside of the ludicrous information they request, it is specific to those processing the visa applications at the Thai Embassy in Ottawa ... short staffed, or just unable to cope with the volume of applications or information requirements I guess. For applicants, however, it means added frustrations and added costs. So much for TAT's promotions to come spend more time in Thailand.

I guess geography is not your strong point if you think that Canada is part of the USA. LOL

A little late for that now. My flight leaves in less than 60 hours.

Its semantics to me; and ignorance is bliss if it helps me ignore the always correct crowd always looking for the opportunity to put others down. Have a nice day.

I'm in Kingston, which is closer to Ottawa. I used the Toronto consulate about 6 years ago and they sent my passport back through the wrong courier company and barely got it in time for that trip, so haven't been back since.

Semantics. Some seasoned travellers are accustomed to having a visa in hand before departure and don't pay much attention to what its called for arriving without one.

You have it correct, Onerak has it wrong. You've obviously already arrived from Canada on a "visa-on-arrival", so he obviously has that wrong too. Apparently, maximum of 2 border runs per calendar year too, so depending on your length of stay, you may want to consider doing one of those border runs this calendar year.

They probably won't respond either. Your application will just eventually expire or they will reject. What a nightmare.

Previous travel stamps aren't at issue. I left early April 1, 2020 when the pandemic hit and haven't been back since. I could be wrong, but I think its more a case of either insufficient staff being overwhelmed or just not giving a sh** about the applicants.

Yup, it's making me wonder if they are intentionally trying to deter tourists from returning, or if the new online process was just really poorly thought out and is unintentionally deterring "snowbirds" like myself from returning for the full winter. Either scenario is just poor public relations and will not help their tourism to recover.

I've been trying for the past 3 weeks to get a Multi-Entry Tourist Visa (METV) without success. The Embassy does not answer the phone, and does not respond to voice messages or emails. When I started the process, their website said 9 business days, it now says over 20 business days from a complete application, but you don't know if your application is complete when they are not responding. My flight is scheduled to leave in just over 60 hours from now. It's become pretty obvious I will not have the METV by departure time. My options: 1. Scrap my plans to spend the winter in Thailand and eat the cost of refund on my flight, the visa application fee, and condo deposit. 2. Re-schedule my flights, eat the added cost of flight change, push my departure back 5 to 6 weeks with no guarantee of getting an METV plus eat the cost of rent on my condo for the period before I get there. 3. Leave on my scheduled flight anyway and "hope" for a visa on arrival. I would then need to leave the country twice plus extensions to cover the 168 days I would be there; i.e. 2 more visa on arrivals. I'm 68 but I don't think getting a retirement visa while in Thailand would be an option if I'm unwilling to get a Thai bank account and transfer 800,000 baht to Thailand. It looks to me like option 1 would be the cheapest option, but will make for a very unhappy winter.

Thailand is not going to help recover their tourism industry with their new process and requirements for single and multiple entry tourist visas. The information requirements are confusing and really over the top. All they are doing is creating more work for themselves and more frustration for the visa applicants. I'm about ready to ditch Thailand as my winter destination and go elsewhere.

Welcome to the post covid tourist visa requirements for Thailand. I'm 1 week from my flights; have been trying to get a multi-entry tourist visa for over 2 weeks now and still waiting. At the Ottawa Thai embassy they don't answer their phone, and they don't respond to voice messages or to emails. The information they require is confusing and way over the top, meaning really unnecessary. All they are doing is creating more work for themselves and for the applicants, plus a great deal of frustration in the process. If they want their tourism industry to recover, they're going about it all the wrong way because I'm about ready to give up on spending the winter there and changing my plans for this and future years. Any good golfing locales in Malasia, Indonesia, Cambodia or Vietnam?

Thank you to all for the responses. It looks like I have the response I was seeking and it shouldn't be an issue.

Given the responses, I guess I will rephrase my question then ... has anyone used a foreign debit card at an atm in Thailand recently, and if so, were there any additional charges by the Thai banks other than the usual 220 baht ding fee?

Thanks for the quick response, but it's not a charge by my credit union in Canada, it was a specific charge added by the Thai banks at a time when tourism was being decimated by the pandemic. Setting up a Thai bank account is an option, but never needed it before spending 5 to 5.5 months each winter.

During the pandemic I believe I read articles on this forum that the Thai banks had added an additional 5% charge on top of the 220 baht ding fee, meaning a 15,000 baht atm withdrawl would now cost 220 plus 750 baht. Is this still the case? I'm finally planning on returning to Thailand for the winter after a 2.5 year absence, and if this is the case, will need to figure out a different means to access money during my stay.

On the contrary, the Thai embassy in Canada is not issuing visa's like it was prior to covid. It has to be applied for online; just a newer version of Thailand Pass. Some of us snowbirds from northern countries who like to escape the winter for 5 to 6 months are not exactly happy with the level of uncertainty that the online system provides.