uyenlaam

Congrats! What visa were you on? For me I didn't have any visa and the IOs were asking for proof of stay. No cash fund showing needed though.

Quick update for anyone interested: I didn’t have to find out if it’s possible to extend a visa waiver because the MoE approval letter for my ED visa came back on Thursday, which I will bring to immigration to apply for an ED visa on Monday. This means I will still have 15 days left on my stamp for the visa application process. It was a bit confusing as my school initially said they had spoken to an immigration officer and got back the info that visa waivers could be extended. Yet the next day the school director emailed me saying I would have to leave. All in all the entire experience hasn’t been completely pleasant.

In that announcement ผ.ผ.30 was not mentioned, however it was in an older one. Attached photo is from the older one. So I think I will just bite it and go to IT Square Laksi tomorrow to clarify.

My apologies, with this logic it is actually 30 days and not 29. You know what, I think I will do this before booking a visa service. In Bangkok would that be IT Square Laksi or Chaengwattana? Anyway thank you for the advice. I will keep everyone updated.

I have read the announcement. However my stamp says "ผ.ผ.30" which I understand is a visa waiver, and therefore not eligible for an extension. I've also confirmed this fact with several visa agents. If it works differently, please let me know.

Hey Joe, that was the result google gave me:

Thanks a lot for the reply. Yes, I'm from Vietnam and we have a bilateral agreement with Thailand. I should've done more research on this though, now time is a little tight. I will try to get an agent do my covid extension now. I'm already in contact with Thaivisacentre, but if you have any reccomendation for a reliable agent that would be great help too.

Hey, sorry for the confusion. I was perplexed as well. I have Vietnamese passport and initially with everything I read online + my school's advice, I assumed upon arrival in Thailand, I would be granted visa exemption. At the airport I was stamped in from 8/8 to 6/9 (29 days). The stamp was in Thai and I couldn't read it well. As this was my first time entering Thailand without a visa, I thought that was the visa exempt. But now after clarifying with the school admin and visa agents, I realize the stamp reads "ผ.ผ.30" (visa waiver), not "ผ.30" (visa exempt). And I've been told visa waivers cannot be extended. So now my choices are the ones mentioned in the original post, or if you could suggest another way to go about this, I would greatly appreciate it. I've updated my post for clarification.

I have Vietnamese passport and initially with everything I read online + my school's advice, I assumed upon arrival in Thailand, I would be granted visa exemption. At the airport I was stamped in from 8/8 to 6/9 (29 days). The stamp was in Thai and I couldn't read it well. As this was my first time entering Thailand without a visa, I thought that was the visa exempt. But now after clarifying with the school admin and visa agents, I realize the stamp reads "ผ.ผ.30" (visa waiver), not "ผ.30" (visa exempt). And I've been told visa waivers cannot be extended. I need to stay in Thailand to apply for an ED visa, which could take a month. What can I do here? 1. Try to get a covid extension and later convert that to an ED visa. The covid visa scheme is supposed to end on Aug 24. If I apply on that last possible date, it would mean I would be 15 days into my visa waiver. Will the IO bat an eye on this? 2. (Unfavourable but) Leave Thailand, apply for ED visa in home country then go back in on that visa. 3. Stay the entire length of the visa waiver and do a visa run. I really would like to avoid this option if possible.

When I was on ED visa I filed my TM30 with each apartment I was renting. To update everyone on whether they check the hotel reservations, they do write down information of your supposed stays and perhaps even look them up. Due to circumstances I ended up entering on visa exempt, NOT tourist visa. There were no calls involved in my case, but I assume all my info is now logged. I was granted 29 days in visa exemption. This was at Don Muang airport.

Thanks for the reply. I’ve got my own apartment but the IOs shouldn’t know that. Edit: to clarify, I am planning to come back on a TR visa after a year of ED visa.

Was just wondering: if Immigration Officers happen to ask for proof of accommodation and you show them a printed booking confirmation that was paid for online - then canceled immediately, would they check with the hotel if your booking is legitimate? Provided that you already have the equivalent of 20k baht and the itinerary of a flight out on you.

You would be correct - there are flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Chiang Mai. I however am departing from Hanoi. I was pondering the possibility of the HAN-SGN-CNX route for a moment but after the comments on this thread I think that would be overkill.

Full disclosure, I'm a Vietnamese citizen. Afaik, Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang are the only airports with direct flights from Vietnam. You guys are the best! I'm betting on my chance to enter Thailand without any problems.

Thanks for the suggestions but I think being a 23-year-old from a third world country it would be a tad bit difficult to convince them haha