DODDY

Just a quick update , i just returned from savannakhet had no problems getting the visa today , copy of marriage cert , wifes ID card and house book , copy of my passport and laos entry stamp.

Got in the line around 07:30 and was 20th in line, by 09:00 there was about 300 waiting.

Kept an eye on the 19 people ahead of me and there was 10 refused whatever visa they were trying to get and sent away.

All in all it wasnt as bad as i expected had a nice tuk tuk driver i used for the 2 days showed me around and advised waiting till 14:30 for picking up passport the next day as the que will be gone and he was correct.

For your visa on arrival make sure your 35 us dollars are spotless thats the only hassle i had during the whole trip plus a comment of NOT GOOD to me when thai immigration looked through my new visa going back in to Thailand god knows what she was reffering too.

To sum up wasnt as bad as i thought it would be got the visa hassle free and good for another year might try HCMC next year if the rules dont change again

I’m planning on going to Savannahket early August , take the wife and kids and put in my Documents for NON IMM O multi on a Friday pick up passport on Monday.
Would I be correct in thinking that it’ll be very quiet on a Friday morning as they’ll be shut for the weekend , then quiet again picking up passport again on the Monday afternoon.
The kids have always wanted to go to Laos and as long as hotel has a pool it’ll be a nice quiet long weekend away minus the long lines ?


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So could you do one non-O SE and one METV per 12 months, or as you speculate would you get problems going with the Embassy advice? ( as well

I think thats the way forward for me for the next few years until the next round of clampdowns/rule changes,

In my opinion i trust the Embassy advice but the problem lies with the IO you get on the day that doesnt differentiate from an METV and VE end of the day they see it as tourism, what constitutes tourism is the big grey area  , but a print out of the above stating the METV is for visiting family too in my travel bag may come in handy.

I always have eticket of flight out and print out of savings account , birth certs , marriage certs should surely get me through if problems arise.

Would love to know what the IO sees on the computer when they scan your passport , that could be a big part in it and it shows that i never stay long , and this worry over nothing.

Seems to be a small percent who have taken the p*ss out the system for years are being caught out then the forums are full of the scare stories , that spreads through the net like wildfire and gets everyone paranoid, and rightly so 

The visa exemption would be hassle free and was thinking of that, but after ive read of these forums and its put me right off as people are being pulled aside for a couple of stamps per year!!!

I do have 2 UK passports both valid but the biometrics now would link them together if i changed passports every arrival.

Im actually thinking about getting a NON IMM O single entry 2 or 3 times a year and those other visits with visa exemption stamps x6 and that would give a mixture of stamps and having some NON IMM O stamps would make it less likely to be pulled . in my opinion 

Thanks for you reply ,

its just annoying i dont seem to fit in to any of the boxes for a visa , seems the e-visa website has just been thrown together without any proper testing and given to UK and a few other countries to test , surely a smaller country with less travellers etc should have been used for testing the site and once its all in working order then roll it out to more countries.

That would be the logical way to do it !!!

Still cant get my head round why a multiple entry NON IMM O cant be issued from your home country providing you can provide all the relevant documentation.

Do you think its here to stay or will London start to issue them again , surely they must be getting feedback from lots of people regarding problems with no multi being issued and the website being unworkable and far from user friendly

It seems the METV for visits to family for up to 60 days from London on e-visa website , is no longer offering this as a Multi anymore you can only select single entry now , so thats changed from last Friday when i last looked at

Im an oil worker who visits Thailand 9 times per year for 19 days per time.

ive had a multi entry non imm  O visa for the last 9 years issued from London based on wife and kids.

Im under 50 years.

I discovered that London dont do the multi entry non imm O visa so i decided to send them an email about what visa would be suitable for my circumstances now that my normal visa isnt available now , bearing in mind that im under 50 years old and getting an extension in Thailand isnt an option because i have to return to work after 19 days and it says ill need at least 30 days to process this visa.

Heres the reply i received 

Dear Sir/Madam,

Unfortunately now the system is not allowed to issue 1 year multiple entries so you must apply single entry visa and extend your visa when you arrived in Thailand with immigration officer.

Extension of Stay

Those who wish to stay longer or may wish to change their type of visa must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau (http://www.immigration.go.th). The extension of stay as well as the change of certain type of visa is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

In case if you would like long stay issue  from London, you must apply as non-immigrant 1 year O-A visa Requirement please check from the link below

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84508-Non-Immigrant-visas.html#7

Or you can apply as a tourist multiple entries for 6 months stay but you must leave the country every 60 days

The interesting thing is the last line of reply about applying for METV i havent considered that an option because once you get a few of those in your passport then i think it will cause problems when arriving in Thailand once you have a few METV back to back , would i be correct in thinking this ?

Another option is single entry NON IMM O , but i would need 9 of them per year and passport will be with embassy more than it would be with me.

Im keeping an eye on Savanahket for doing it there but have a feeling but the time my visa runs out , new rules will be in place 

Would you readers advice an METV issued from london twice a year suitable as i can prove i work etc , or would only raise eyebrows at IO desk?

kind Regards Dod

After reading all the posts I found this site after a basic search and would welcome any advice given . I to am an offshore worker 4 and

4 and been living in Pranburi for about three years and last time off work I came down with a bad stomach Infection couldnt travel to work 7 extra days in bed recovering with doctors line and visit to Immigration sub office .

The problem is Im going back in 10 days for 26 days but only have 20 days left with TVs so its 50/50 and a gamble at the airport but if they count the days then big ponpem.

I will get to the point I have a Second passport only 2 TVs inside from 18 months ago , Is it traceable if I bent the rules slightly and left my normal passport at work by accident and arrive with my old one with only 2 tvs from way back , Or would this give a red flag and arouse suspicion .

The passports have different serial numbers , place of issues , and registered to different addresses as job takes my everywhere , I know people will say go to hong kong etc for a week and relax but the wife is 8 months pregnant and well you know need to be there ,or am I taking a big risk.

Any advice or previous experience would be appreciated

PS excellent website