edwardandtubs

58 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

No, this is not what happened here.

 

You wrote "the requirement to show £5000 in a UK account remains"

 

The phishing email the OP received asked for documents evidencing GBP 10,000

This doesn't necessarily prove a scam. If the rule is £5000 in one account, they may have an unpublished rule that if you use multiple accounts, the combined total needs to be higher. Or, like I said, someone in the embassy may just be getting confused, as seems to happen very often.

This "phishing email" comes from official email addresses.

Of course it might be a scam but there's defintely not enough evidence here to get the UK police involved as others have suggested.

30 minutes ago, BritTim said:

That, plus it was asking for the information to go to an email address distinct from that used by the e-visa system.

 

It is bad enough that the message contained no indication that they knew who they were communicating with, or identifying who was sending the message. That is highly unprofessional. Doing the same while asking for the information to a separate email address to that normally used would not make sense.

I've searched my inbox and emails from years ago came across as extremely unprofessional but were certainly not scams. I seen one that started Dear Sir/Madame and others that didn't answer the question but just pasted generic information. This is what we must expect from the real Thai embassy.

12 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

No.

Please expand.

There doesn't seem to be much evidence that this is a scam. Last time I applied for an METV was through a consulate in the UK and I had to show a UK bank statement with £5000 in for the past 6 months. If you look closely at the official website, this appears to have changed a little bit:

"5. Financial evidence, e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings, sponsorship letter (current balance not less than 200,000 THB for the past 6 months).    
          - Your recent official UK/Ireland bank statement shows your name, address, and a minimum closing balance of £5,000 (Do not send the screenshot) , proof of earnings (payslips) or sponsorship letter from your sponsor with official ID and their Bank Statements."

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/tourist-multiple-entries-visa

But the requirement to show £5000 in a UK account remains. The OP only showed £4000 in his UK account, so this could explain why they requested more financial evidence.

My impression of dealing with the London embassy by email is that they get confused very easily leading to serious misunderstandings. Could this be what has happened here?

I just wasted 10 minutes reading through this thread and only learned that the OP is the victim of phishing scam. Wouldn't it be a good idea to change the title of the thread to stop others wasting their time? You obviously don't need £10,000 for a tourist visa.

On 8/18/2023 at 8:02 AM, Toby1947 said:

Take a Tuk Tuk to Homepro in Nong Khai. Small office in a row of shops almost next door, they run a minibus service to Udon airport 180 baht.

Why do it that way when you can walk 100 metres out of immigration and get a van direct to the airport for 200 baht?

On 8/18/2023 at 4:28 AM, BritTim said:

I am not up to date on current prices. What I can tell you is that the price depends greatly on the condition of the car that takes you, your negotiating skills, and whether you can dodge the experienced operators who bombard you at the exit from Immigration and find a driver away from the main scrum who is happy to quote you a locals price. I would guess you might get a price of about 350 baht, but not sure.

That sounds a bit far-fetched. The shared van costs 200 baht (there's a woman selling tickets at the place you mentioned a short walk from immigration and I saw her selling to locals for the same price) so I can't see why anyone would wait for that van if they could just pair up and do it cheaper in a private car.

5 minutes ago, garet said:

No, in the US he wouldn't have been shot, he would've been been tackled and cuffed by two or 3 officers immediately, or if there was only one officer, he would've been tasered, then cuffed.

You clearly have some immature biases about the US.

Exactly. Same in the UK and most countries. There were opportunities after he swung his skateboard to just walk forward and restrain him but they did nothing. Must be a "VIP".

9 hours ago, Tod Daniels said:

 If you can't get the tourist visa and have to fly in go to Chiang Mai or Phuket.. <- Those two have the least denial of entry of any international airports in thailand.

 

 

I thought Phuket wasn't a good choice, or at least there were some stories on this forum a few years ago of problems.

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

As long as you request a (denied) extension before your current permission to stay ends, it is 100% normal to be given the seven days to leave the country. Note that this is not a regular extension. It is an order to leave that, short of a critical medical issue, must be complied with.

But presumably the one day grace period at the airport still applies? My plan is to buy a very early morning ticket so technically an overstay of a couple of hours but they usually don't fine for this at the airport.

Is it possible to get this 7 day "extension" a week in advance or do you have to go on the day your permission to stay expires?

5 hours ago, wildpuppet72 said:

Don't buy cheese from lazada everything is over priced that are imported special in lazada 

The scam is that someone walks around Villa Market or Foodland taking photos of imported items that might cost about 100 baht and sells them on Lazada for 500 baht. When some idiot buys they just go to the supermarket, buy it and then send it.

Is Phuket still an unfriendly airport for visa exempt entry for those with history? I know it was a few years back but can't find recent reports.

On 5/8/2023 at 12:50 AM, BritTim said:

 

Vientiane should be OK, and that would be my second choice if you decide against ending your time in Thailand early.

Thank you, BritTim. I'm thinking of doing exactly this but I'm concerned about this thread:

This was almost four years ago so does it seem that Vientiane have move on from this and my SETV + 3 visa exempts with extensions won't be an issue? The experience of @underthesky suggests they have.

21 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

I was questioned there too, but I've been in Thailand since 2020 on covid extensions and visa exemption stamps

Did you get any of those visa exemption stamps at an airport?

I was questioned in a very minimal way at the Nong Khai border about where I was going. I just said I was off to Phuket and the IO was happy with that.

15 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

A friend of mine paid 15k baht at shakedown few months ago visa exempt entry Oz to BKK.

He had volunteer visa in pp perhaps was good excuse for io. 

That's scary but difficult to know what to make of it without more detail on his history. I suppose once you start paying bribes for dodgy visas you're opening yourself up for more financial demands. Fortunately, I've always done everything above board.

10 hours ago, JayClay said:

If you're going to Penang, why not take the train? That way you're crossing via land and therefore should have no problem getting a visa exempt stamp.

Already used both visa exempt land entries this year.

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

You might well be questioned, but I do not think you would be denied entry.

Hopefully the officers at Don Mueang are a bit more relaxed than they were during all the bad stories of a few years ago.

4 hours ago, zzzzz said:

DO not show condo lease or bank ( Thai) statements
real tourists dont have those
the return ticket to the uk should be within the 30 day ur coming into thailand for

Penang is one of my favorite cites in SE Asia ( Georgetown) 
great food and lots to see

I think it's better just to be honest and say the condo has been a base which I store my stuff in and come back to occasionally.

I went to Georgetown once on a holiday that had nothing to do with visa issues and really liked it. This time I think I'll explore the beaches more.

Cheap flights to Penang are available. Would it be a big risk to fly there for 3 days and fly back for a visa exempt? I'd have lots of documents to show such as return flight to the UK, condo lease until the end of June, bank statements showing plenty of funds and confirmation of UK employment. I would expect to be questioned at the airport but is it likely they would deny me the extra week?

On 5/23/2023 at 9:13 AM, ibjoe said:

 

 

Comments on any other Thai local airlines?

VietJet Air was good. They sent me a pdf booking confirmation in Vietnamese but replied swiftly when I emailed them.

2 hours ago, Badger18 said:

Flying out, getting an SETV and then flying back seems like a lot more hassle and nearly as much cost as sacking off your return flight to the UK and booking a new one from Hanoi or maybe Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. I think you still get 15 days visa exempt in Vietnam, so in your shoes I think I'd just have a 10 day holiday there.

 

You're also adding to your visa history if you do the bounce and increasing the risk of problems down the line.

I've taken holidays in all those countries before so I'd rather go somewhere new like Turkey and there would be no difference in cost. I came to Thailand on a single ticket so I don't have to worry about cancelling a flight. If I thought a visa run to Hanoi would work though I'd definitely go for that. I've done it before with no problems and it was only two days with a nice bit of sightseeing and noodle eating but that was a few years ago and it seems like a risk now.

4 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

SETV application on Wed 17 May means pick up on Fri 19 May. I'd be booking the 17th asap as 18th would mean passport pickup Mon 22nd adding 3 days to your Laos trip

 

If change plan, it says you can cancel appointment if more than 24 hrs before. A no show gets you a 1 month ban from new appointment

Good advice, I'll do that. I'm thinking the SETV visa run to Hanoi on 14 May will be the best option though. Anyone seen any reports of them refusing applications for those with a bit of history?

4 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

For info, I just made an appointment in Vientiane for a SETV and first appointment available was 17 May so at least 10 days in advance booking is required

 

Thanks for that. It puts me in a bind. My circumstances are I came to Thailand in September on an SETV and have been here on 30 day extensions and 45 day visa exempts since. My current stamp expires on 14 May so I could get that extended by 30 days. The problem is I'm going back to the UK in late June and that would leave a 10 day gap. So it seems I have a few options and would be interested in everyone's thoughts.

1) Book an appointment at Vientiane for 17 May or as soon as possible thereafter and get an SETV. For me this would involve about a week in Laos, which is alright as I've been on holiday there before and quite liked it but is quite a lot of hassle just to fill that 10 day gap. Big negative is that if my application is refused it's difficult to get back into Thailand as I've used my two land visa exempts this year.

2) Extend the current visa exempt and do a quick in-out by air (maybe a couple of days in Hanoi) in mid June coming back visa exempt. I'd get questioned coming back at the airport but I'd also have a return ticket to the UK, proof of UK employment, proof of funds and proof of accommodation in Thailand so I think that should satisfy the immigration officer. Of course I could also get an SETV in Hanoi but don't think that would be necessary.

3) Go to Hanoi 14 May for a quick SETV visa run.

4) Get the current visa exempt extended until mid June and then have a nice holiday in Turkey. This is very tempting and for this reason I don't want to spend too much time, money and hassle on a visa run just for the extra 10 days in Thailand.

5) Any other suggestions?