calbts2

Yangon is still a very good option although it has been about a year since I got my last tourist visa there. Think they only wanted to see a plane ticket into Thailand and not out. No bank statements required. Very helpful staff there and was never crowded unlike the madhouse at Vientiane.

Yeah it all sounds absurd since I already have the visa. Those agents in effect said I need to cancel my existing Non-O and apply for a new one in order to get my dependents on my visa? I will try and contact the Penang embassy directly on Monday and see what they say.

I was leaning on Penang because I am out of full visa pages in my Passport and I need at least one for Laos whereas Malaysia I don't.

But I am much more comfortable going to Vientiane. Looks like I need to get a new passport ASAP.

 I just called an one agent in Penang and he told me that in order to get Non-O visas for my wife and her child I need to have a bank letter or income affidavit because of money laundering. I find this odd since I already have a Non-O Retirement extension obtained in Bangkok and would be out of the country with a re-entry permit. Anybody else heard about this at Penang? Does Vientiane have this requirement?

Another agent in Penang said I cannot get them dependent visas off of my existing Non-O Retirement extension. I would have to apply for a new retirement Non-0 entirely at the  embassy and piggyback my dependents that way. I am now completely confused.

Thanks Joe.

She is Fillipina. Would she have to get the Non-O in Manila or could she get in Penang/Vientiene?

Thanks for your help.

I just got my one year Non-O extension Based on Retirement in Changwattana. I now need to get my Non-Thai wife(we just got married in Thailand) and her child 90 Day Non-O Dependent Visas and then piggyback those onto my extension back in Bangkok. Where is better - Vientiene or Penang? Anyone have recent experience? Documents required?

Thanks

31 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

I am from Texas. Just be aware that American Airlines or any airline based in America will not allow you to fly to Bangkok on a one way ticket without a visa.  They do not allow you to fly to Bangkok and get a visa exempt 30 day admission without a return flight within 30 days of arrival  so look at ubonjoe's advice. 

You don't need an international drivers license. Thailand has three easy physical tests to pass and Thailand will give you the same drivers license like you have in Texas. Meaning if you have a car and motorcycle license in Texas you get same in Thailand. The tests are easy to pass and they have an English video before the tests telling you how to pass the tests. Just make sure you wear long pants when you show up to get your thailand drivers license. They don't allow shorts above the knee to be worn at the drivers license office in Bangkok. Good luck. Sorry for the flooding in Houston.  

 

I just flew round trip Bangkok to SFO and back on Visa exempt. I have 3 years of ED and tourist visas along with a few recent Visa exempts. I was not even questioned at all about my visa status checking in at SFO. I even had a "pay later at the airline office" reservation for Thai Air ready but it was not needed.

I did not however fly on an any American based airlines.

I try to avoid flying any airline based in the US, China, or India as from my travel experience - those carriers are some of the worst in the world..but that is another subject altogether.

My method not be the best for you but it is certainly less hassle and cheaper than getting background checks, paying for US Medical tests, etc. in getting a NON-O-A in the US.

The easiest and cheapest way to do this for an American in Bangkok is as follows:

1. Enter on visa exempt.

2. Go to US Embassy and pay $50 for income affidavit.

3. Go to Changwattana and convert Visa exempt to 90 day non-O...2000 baht.

4. Go back to Changwattana and get stamp after 2 weeks.

5. Within last 30 days of your permission to stay go back to Changwattana and apply for one year extension...1900 baht. Also of note...when getting your 90 day O-Visa, immigration makes a photocopy and certifies your income affidavit so you do not need to go back to your Embassy and pay to get a new one if you bring your copy when applying for extension.

6. Return to immigration and get your one year extension stamp.

I am going through this process right now...total costs $50 + 3900 baht.

No doctor or police reports needed.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

It is actually better than Vientiene mainly because it is usually never crowded and the staff who work there are very nice and helpful. My last run to Vientiene was a pain in that I had to wait almost 3 hours to collect my passport whereas in Yangon you can pick up right at 1:30 without waiting.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I got the stamp in Vientiene last week but I had 6 SETVs in my passport. I laughed it off since this was my last SETV as I turn 50 in 3 months and I need a new passport anyway with only 3 blank pages left.

I can tell you submit monday collect tuesday is one of the busiest. Was there last week and many visa companies there. Submitted application at about 11am on Monday and that was quick and took 5 minutes. At that time no line. But Tuesday did not collect until 4 pm as I was in the high 500's.

Thanks Joe.

(together with reference documents showing the source of said monthly pension) - does this mean Chang wattana wants to see additional documents aside from the actual notarized affidavit? I am a US citizen tuning 50 in 3 months and going to do this exact same visa exempt to Non-O conversion process and would rather do the affidavit than deposit 800, 000 baht in a bank account.

Actually yes. I got a SETV in Yangon in late January, came back to Bangkok for a week or so, left Thailand for over a month and acquired a re-entry permit at Changwattana before I left.

When I returned to Don Muang (which is notoriously not one of the friendlier entry points) last month the IO at first could not understand why I used a re-entry permit and was out of Thailand on it for so long. But she was not confrontational or questioning - it was more bewilderment. I just calmly told her that I try to avoid coming by Visa Exempt as much as possible and she stamped me in no problems.

On 4/21/2017 at 7:44 PM, Psimbo said:

I think you will find you will not get an re-entry permit based on a tourist visa. Once you get the Non- Imm O and retirement permit you can then apply for a re-entry permit (single B1900, multiple 3800).

Not true. I have done this many times no problems. Here is what they look like. And single entries are 1000 baht not 1900.

No it is not a waste of time. If you have all the right paperwork it is not a problem.

See this :

Also can go to Yangon. Cheap airfares from Bangkok and hassle free unlike the recent add-on documentation required now at Savannakhet and Penang. Check out my recent report.

Cheesyd I also turn 50 in August and my recommendation is just ride it out on SETV's until then. I made the unfortunate mistake of going on an ED Visa in 2014 right after I got divorced and right before they did that ED visa crackdown. I paid for a one year course and although I enjoyed the classes, I loathed getting the extensions. Going to Changwattana for the ED extensions was a total nightmare and I am sure the situation has not changed much from then. It went from 3 month extensions to 2 month and the wait times were 4-5 hours at least. I regret ever going that route. I think the school that I went to no longer even offers ED visas as these new rules decimated that segment of their business.

Just go to Laos and get one or two more and you are there. (Unless they change the visa rules again before then)

Thank ubonjoe for replying.
 
Yes, exactly - it is the same thing:
 
For this visa, you have to apply for a new one each year, and also what you are doing is applying to extend your temporary stay.
 
 
This website's posting system is strange. You get a short amount of time in which to post or edit (editing only available for a short period) and if you exceed this, then you cannot post the message and you also get logged-out and have to log in again to attempt to post your message again.
 
Regards,
 
Robert333
 

No I would not agree. Plenty of decently priced hotels not far from Embassy

With respect, this is a really badly posed question. You are asking where the "best" locations are to apply for a tourist visa. You give no


information whatsoever as to your likes or dislikes as to tourism. You say you want to do it after having been in Thailand, so one would initially presume you were asking "where is easy in the nearby region?"
 
And then when people tell you the usual suspects of the easiest consulates in the region (which is pretty much Vientiane, Penang, Savannahket as the top three, followed by Phnom Penh, Vietnam, etc) you go, oh, I've been to all those places, and I didn't like Vientiane (which right now is the easiest as Penang and Savannahket have started asking for bank and flights) much. Well, THAT is the "easiest" if your aim is the visa.

Hong Kong is also certainly easy, I got my last one there and no questions and no additional documents like flights or bank required.
 
Yangon is meant to be easy, and Myanmar is a fascinating country, but who knows if it would be for you? I have visited it several times and loved it from the point of view of a less-developed destination that has not had so many tourists, but would you like the place? Who knows?

But then in your response you are now considering Sydney, so there seems to be no particular limitation?
 
I mean what are we meant to say? Why not go to Japan, I've never been but that would be top of my list of somewhere I think would be really interesting that I personally haven't been to. But you give no details of what you like or what your priorities are, so...

I'd also consider India, if you have never been, it is an absolutely amazing country and there are several Thai consulates there. Or why not go trekking in Nepal in the Himalayas, I spent three months there doing that and it was amazing. I also recently cycled around Sri Lanka (a short flight from Bangkok on Cathay Pacific or several other airlines) and there is an embassy in Colombo. Tehran? I've spent three months in Iran and it was amazing, the people are the most hospitable in the world. Air Asia flies via KL. Istanbul has a consulate and is one of the most amazing cities in the world, and isn't any further than Sydney. China? Amazing country, and full of Thai consulates.
 
But you give absolutely no indication as to your likes or dislikes or preferences so what are we meant to say?

With these new supposed issues at Vientiene and the new requirement at Penang and Savannakhet..it looks like Yangon is currently the best place to get a SETV.

I was just there last month. Now probably one of the most hassle free and easy going places to get a SETV in the region. Only extra documents are flight ticket into Thailand and short handwritten itinerary.

I just got an SETV from Yangon this week:

In my opinion, a very good alternative to Penang. My passport is nearly full and my recent Thailand visa history goes back almost 10 years - Marriage/ED/Tourist/Visa Exempts. You should have no problem as long as you provide what they want.