asdfrules

15 hours ago, belfast3 said:

I do travel in tracksuit bottoms and a hoody for comfort on the long flight.

I recommend wearing a tuxedo.  Doesn't matter how suspicious your travel history is, if you're wearing a tuxedo, they let you in.

Last week immigration told me "next time you make T30".  They still gave me my SETV extension.  Chaegnwattana in BKK.

I always put N/A.  They probably don't even know what that means and they never ask.

Thanks guys!

What are the chances they'll give me a visa exempt entry at the Nong Khai border without hassle?

• I have 4 SETVs in my passport.  Pretty much all consecutive and extended.
• The current SETV has the stamp "He travels here too often. Don't give him another visa"
• When my the current stay expires, I want to go to Vientiane for few days, then come back by without visa for 30 days.

Update:  I got the extension yesterday.  They told me next time I will need the TM30.

Update from the OP.  I got the 30 day extension on my SETV yesterday.  The lady told me that next time I will need the TM30.

Thanks ubonjoe.  You're my hero.

Last time I got a visa, they put a stamp on it that says "He come Thailann too mutt!  Neck time cannot visa!" 

It was the 4th consecutive tourist visa in the passport.

Am I likely to have problems getting an extension at Cheangwattana?

OP here.  Appreciate the discussion.

I'll go to extend 1 week before it expires.  If they hassle me about a TM30, I'll book a hotel that I won't use for 1 night, then go back to CW and apply again.

What a freaking hassle.  In all my travels, I've never seen any BS like this.  Poorly thought out, randomly enforced, easily bypassed, and probably not effective in whatever they are trying to accomplish.  I'm really looking forward moving somewhere more welcoming soon.

So if I do need to book a hotel, how does that work in regards to the TM30?  Do I get a copy of it and present it at immigration?

Thanks guys.

10 hours ago, sanook 1 said:

No problem, i did same this year with red stamp also, no questions asked. 

You did both extension and a then a visa exempt entry by land?

I'm on my 4th (and last) consecutive SETV.  Never done a TM30.  Never been asked.  But I've been reading up on this, and it looks like I was supposed to be doing the TM30 this whole time.  Now maybe my apartment filed the TM30 like a year ago when I started renting, I have no idea.  I know they did copy my passport and there are a lot of foreigners in the building.  But if they did file it, it was just that once.

I will be extending my current visa in a couple weeks at Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok...

Do they require and enforce TM30 at CW?  Often?  Occasionally?

How is it that they've never bugged me about this before?  Am I lucky?

My current tourist visa has the "red" stamp that says I visit Thailand too much.

Can I still get a 30 day extension with that red stamp?  (Immigration in Bangkok)

And after that, can I enter visa exempt for 30 days?  Probably at Nong Khai?  My last visa exempt entry was almost 2 years ago in a different passport.

Canadian.

Current visa is the 4th consecutive TV in my passport.

Current year is 2019.

Thanks!

Thanks for the feedback guys!  I love this forum.

I kinda want to to the ED visa but I think I already maxed that out in 2012 with 5 years of study.  Maybe I can just pretend I'm new and nobody will notice?

Otherwise I think I'll end up moving around more.  Harder to get apartments in most countries for 3 months, as opposed to 1 year, but oh well.  The change of scenery will be nice.

Here is what my dreaded red stamp looks like ↓

Last week I got the dreaded blue "red stamp" on my SETV in Vientiane.  It's noteworthy because I didn't have that many visa in the passport.   So I'll give details here for the record.  Also one question.

Details about my visa application

I'm Canadian in my 30s.

Applied for SETV in VTE.

I was dressed nicely, but they didn't look or speak to me.

Below are the total of 4 SETVs in my passport (before applying).  These are pretty much back-to-back:

1 from HCMC

2 from Vientiane

1 from Savannakhet

My previous passport had 1 from VTE and 1 from HCMC in 2017.

The passport was issued to me in Bangkok about 2 years ago, which might not help, if they even notice that.

The stamp says something like "This guy comes to Thailand a lot. Maybe don't give him another visa."

Things are changing

So this is a bit of a surprise, as people here usually say you can usually get at least 3 or 4 visas from VTE before getting a red stamp.  I only had 2, then got the stamp on the 3rd.  Things are changing.

Also note, when I was applying for that 1 visa from Savannakhet in Nov 2018, I was given a verbal red stamp "You go Thailand too much.  You not coming back here for Visa".

Questions:

1. Does the new passport trick still work?
2. What about a next entering by land, without a visa, and extending in Bangkok?  I have 0 visa exempt entries in the passport, all of 2018 and 2019.

Or I might just leave Thailand forever.  Other countries are looking nice, without the visa headache.

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Numbers 1 to 4 means 1, 2, 3, and 4. In other words all of them are not needed.

Right.  I'm such an idiot.  I read that about 10 times, and still I saw "Numbers 1 and 4".

Thank you so much for everything you do.  We'd be lost without you.  (Apparently I'm lost either way ????

Joe I appreciate the help, and I'm sorry, I'm confused with your response.  It feels like we are looking at different lists. This is the list of 4 items, as written in the first post:

1) bank statement
2) air tickets (inbound and outbound)
3) travel plans
4) accommodation

You are saying numbers 1 and 4 are NOT being asked for: bank statement and accommodation.  I crossed those two out.

That leaves numbers 2 and 3 (air tickets and travel plans).  Since you did not mention these, I am assuming that means they ARE required.  I was asking about these in my second post.

Thank you so much Joe!

Inbound flight ticket required, really?  So we just can't use the land crossing anymore?  This must be a mistake.  I'll be crossing by land.  I don't have an inbound flight ticket.

The onward flight out of Thailand.  Pretty sure this wasn't required last year.  So it's a new thing?  I don't know yet where I'll go next, so maybe I need to just get any cheap ticket and then not use it.

Regarding "Travel Plans".   Still not sure what they want.  I'm hoping that they just meant an "onward flight" on the old website, and changed the wording on the new website to "flight tickets". 

Going to Vientiane for a SETV next week.  I've done this before, but it's hard to keep up with all the changes.  Especially when the consulate has 2 websites which show different requirements.  They show some requirements that haven't seen discussed here and I have some questions about that.  I'm Canadian going for a 5th consecutive tourist visa in the passport.  I've already booked an appointment at the consulate on the new website.

1) Is a bank statement needed?

Bank statements are not actually needed right?  They haven't asked me for this in the past.
The old website says "financial evidence" but does not explain more than that.

The new website says a bank statement with 10,000 THB per person.

Everywhere else I've read it's 20,000 but not required at Vientiane.
I'll prepare it anyway.

2) Are any air tickets needed?

I thought we didn't need to show an onward flight.
But the new website says "a confirmed air ticket to Thailand and to another country"

3) Do we need to show some sort of travel plans?

The old website says "travel plans" without explaining further.

It's shown on the website only in Thai.  I used google translate.

Do we need to show any travel plans?  And if so, exactly what do they want to see?

4) Do we need proof of accommodation?

The old website says "proof of reservation and accommodation".

Never been asked before.  Is this ever required?

I'll print a hotel booking for 4 or 5 nights, but that's all I got.

Other requirements for Thai Visa SETV

For reference if anyone needs this info.  Not including any of the above questions.

    - Completed application form
    - 2 photos (3.5 x 4.5 white background)
    - Passport valid for 6 months
    - Photocopies of passport (copy machine at consulate, upstairs building on the left)
    - 1000 THB fee

I'll chime in with my last experience in Savannakhet.  I got a verbal warning as I was submitting the application.  He looked at my passport.  This is what I had in the passport:

1 SETV from HCMC

2 SETV from Vientiane

0 SETV from Savannakhet

He asked me what I'm doing in Thailand (I said self-study), he sneered, then told me "I giving you visa this time but not coming back here again!"

So probably I should have told him that I'm doing lots of tourism and spending lots of money on tourist things.  Maybe that's why he didn't like me.

I'm in a similar situation and been doing the SETVs for about 2 years.  Listen to JackThompson, he's helped me immensely in the past by answering my questions.  Jack knows his shxt.  And read the post he linked.  It's pretty much what I've been doing and it should work fine for you too.

There are a few concerns I have with how long this method will last.  I think I've read about changes coming up that may cause the new passport trick to stop working at some point.  Something about updating computer systems so immigration will be more aware of your entry history.  And then there is the recent news of immigration and consulates sharing data.  Not sure if that will change things.  I'm foggy on these, perhaps someone could clear this up.

Also concerning is the fact that I got a verbal warning on my last visa run in Savannakhet.  He said "you not come here again!"  When he said that to me, only had 3 SETVs in my passport, and they were all from other consulates (VTE, HCMC, VTE).  Savannakhet is supposed to be the friendliest consulate.  Perhaps this was a one off.  Perhaps he didn't like the way I looked.

3 hours ago, zydeco said:

Unfortunately, you also have Duterte, which means Thailand is still better. If you think there is anti-Farang sentiment, here. Wait until the Philippines goes full China and drives every American/European into the sea.

Duterte, really?  I haven't noticed any anti-western sentiment coming from him.  Pretty sure I'll stay away from narcotics there tho ????  Not that I've been paying super close attention the politics there lately.

Philippines I can stay there 3 years without a single visa run.  In Thailand, every 3 months I avoid arrival by airports and force a smile and suck up to officers at land crossing.  I think if I can avoid that hassle and stress of that, I will feel pretty good.

The thing that turns me off of the Elite thing is the time frame.  5 years is too long.  I don't plan that far ahead.  If they had Elite pass at the same rate of 100,000 THB for 1 year, that is an option I'd likely consider!

3 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Can't speak to HCMC, but I would try Cebu (warmer, like here) or Bagio (cooler but rainy) for the PI.  Both have malls, decent housing and such - and generally safe. 

Good advice I think.  I looked at both Cebu and Bagio while I was staying in Manila for a few months.  Ended up being to lazy to relocate for the short time I had.  But deff would consider either city for a longer stay.