MKAsok

No that is not right. After the normal 30 day extension of a tourist visa you will not receive more than one 7 day extension.

Thanks Lop. The 7 day extension will cover me fine until I can get back to the Thai Embassy in London. Do you need to give any particular reason? I.E. Can I just turn up and say my flight doesn't leave for another 3 days, please can I have a 7 day extension? Is this a good enough resaon? Any idea of cost?

Thanks to everyone for all the valuable info.

I just spoke to a guy called Ali at NJ Books. He reckons it's no problem to arrive on the 25th and leave on the 27th. If he can't get the visa in on the 25th, for pick up on the 26th, he says he can do it all in one day on the 26th. He's quoted total 190 rin (1900 bht) for transport to/from airport, visa and his fee (non-expedited) & 210 rin for the same if it needs to be done in 1 day on the 26th. Does this sound about right?

With regard to the additional visa extension in BKK. Am I right in thinking then I can just go down to Lumphini when my 30 day extention expires and they'll give me a 15 day extention (producing no documententation), while they're 'thinking about it.' Bearing in mind I'll be leaving around 3-4 days after this anyway, it sounds like a good solution. Does anyone know the precise details of how this works? I mean, is it good enough to just turn up and say, "I can't leave because my flight's not for another few days," or do you have to give some kind of medical/emergency reason.

Will turn in report on my Penang trip when I return.

Thanks again.

Check the AirAsia schedule.

There may only be one flight a day now.

Thanks Astral, but there's definitely a flight at 17.05. 299 bht as well!

But he will be coming from the airport.

Also I would rather have my destiny in my own hands rather than some agent. If my application goes wrong then I only have me to blame , not someone else.

Only my opinion.

It's a fair point. I guess I'm just lazy/hate dealing with immigration, and for the sake of 200 bht or whatever it is, well...

Thanks all. So the one day visa thing is a myth? There is no way an application can be submitted in the morning and picked up the same afternoon?

email NJ Books or Parvez Book store and see if they can do the expidited service at a premium charge

Thanks Fred. I don't suppose you have an e-mail for Parvez? I have NJ's.

mk

Thanks all. So the one day visa thing is a myth? There is no way an application can be submitted in the morning and picked up the same afternoon?

Hello

I'm a habitual lurker here, but this is my first post, so apologies in advance if the question's been answered before, it's posted in the wrong place etc etc. I've read through a good many posts regarding the Penang run, but can't seem to establish a definitive answer on whether or not a TV can be got in a day. Not to say I'm going to attempt this, I just want to make sure I leave enough time.

Here's my basic plan:

Leave Air Asia 07.25 flight from BKK on 25th July and arrive 10.05 Penang. Assuming the worst, and I can't make it to an agent in time for them to get the app in that morning, can the agent get my application in the next morning and pick up the visa the same afternoon i.e. do the whole thing on the 26th? Since I plan to leave on the 10.35 flight back to BKK on the 27th, I can't obviously wait until the afternoon of the 27th to get my passport back. I guess I could leave on the 17.05 flight, but I'm thinking this might be cutting it a bit fine. Also, I've checked already, but does anyone know of any public holidays/peak season hel_l I might have missed occuring around this time?

This is my first trip to Penang, so any advice on hotels, agents, stuff to do/see etc. would be appreciated. I'm thinking from what I've read in the posts, either the Hotel Continental or the Mingood at this stage, although the Bayview Georgetown looks okay. Anyone care to comment on these or agent preference? I've heard both Jim and NJ Books are okay.

Ah, just a couple more things. My TV (with the extention) will run out a few days before I'm due to go back to the UK for a couple of weeks in October. Does anyone know if immigration in BKK can sort out a few days extention? I'd rather not have an overstay in my passport, and obviously doing a border/visa run for the sake of a few days is pretty ludicrous. Also, anyone know the latest on back to backs? As I said, I'm going to be back in London for at least a couple of weeks, so I'm guessing/assuming the back to back issue may not affect me (will apply for new TV at Thai Embassy London before I leave), but you never can be too sure eh?

Thanks in advance for any replies and keep up the good work all.