Can I elect to enter obtaining a "visa on arrival" with a fresh Non O multiple entry?

[atyclb]

Is it possible to request a VOA despite having a fresh unused Non O mult visa and after 30 days leave and re-enter using the Non O ?

[puchooay]

Why would you want to?

 

[Crossy]

Possibly, it depends upon the IO, but why would you want to, your ME visa has a fixed "enter before" date and multiple entries.

[atyclb]

perhaps to start the clock on the ME after gaining an additional 30 days using a VOA ?

[puchooay]

The clock has already started. You have an enter before date. That doesn't change just because you enter 30 days later. You have a multi entry. Enter as many times as you like in that 12 months period. Nothing gained by your method.

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, atyclb said:

perhaps to start the clock on the ME after gaining an additional 30 days using a VOA ?

The 12 months starts from the date the visa was issued not entry to the country.

[elviajero]

I can't think of one reason or advantage you would want to do that.

[onera1961]

27 minutes ago, elviajero said:

I can't think of one reason or advantage you would want to do that.

May be he wanted to test TV members' reactions to his imaginary advantage

Edited May 8, 2018 by onera1961

[Pattaya46]

> "Is it possible to request a VOA despite having a fresh unused Non O multi visa and after 30 days leave and re-enter using the Non O ? "

 

Getting a new Visa automatically cancel any other visa...

... but I see that you say "30 days", so your are in fact not speaking of a VOA. 

 

The Visa Exemption in this case is up to the officer. No certainty.

[atyclb]

5 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

> "Is it possible to request a VOA despite having a fresh unused Non O multi visa and after 30 days leave and re-enter using the Non O ? "

 

Getting a new Visa automatically cancel any other visa...

... but I see that you say "30 days", so your are in fact not speaking of a VOA. 

 

The Visa Exemption in this case is up to the officer. No certainty.

 

isn't the tourist visa on arrival 30 days?

[pearciderman]

3 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

isn't the tourist visa on arrival 30 days?

 

no

[Pattaya46]

3 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

isn't the tourist visa on arrival 30 days?

 

Are you from one of countries listed there: http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/visa-on-arrival.php ?

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, atyclb said:

isn't the tourist visa on arrival 30 days?

A visa on arrival is only for 15 days after paying a 2000 baht fee and is only for those from certain countris.

You would get a 30 day visa exempt entry. A tourist visa on arrival does not exist.

[atyclb]

18 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

 

Are you from one of countries listed there: http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/visa-on-arrival.php ?

 

 

no just confused it with free voa.  have usa passport

[elviajero]

56 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Getting a new Visa automatically cancel any other visa...

Not automatically. It’s possible, with good reason, to hold two valid visas, but usually embassies/consulates will cancel existing visas before issuing a new one.

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, elviajero said:

It’s possible, with good reason, to hold two valid visas

Is this really true? I have encountered people with a legitimate need, for instance, for two transit visas when using Bangkok (Savannakhet plus Don Muang) to transit on to final destinations. I had believed it impossible, getting a re-entry permit sometimes being an alternative, but no real solution when the entries are too far apart.

[elviajero]

50 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Is this really true? I have encountered people with a legitimate need, for instance, for two transit visas when using Bangkok (Savannakhet plus Don Muang) to transit on to final destinations. I had believed it impossible, getting a re-entry permit sometimes being an alternative, but no real solution when the entries are too far apart.

Not in the example you give. As far as I know you can’t apply for two visas at the same time. I was referring to someone not having an existing visa cancelled when receiving a new visa. An example being; someone with a PE visa applying for a Non ‘B’ so they could work. In that situation both visas could be held concurrently.

 

Also, I was clarifying that a visa is not automatically cancelled. It must be actually cancelled, and until it’s cancelled it remains valid for use.

[puchooay]

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

Not in the example you give. As far as I know you can’t apply for two visas at the same time. I was referring to someone not having an existing visa cancelled when receiving a new visa. An example being; someone with a PE visa applying for a Non ‘B’ so they could work. In that situation both visas could be held concurrently.

 

Also, I was clarifying that a visa is not automatically cancelled. It must be actually cancelled, and until it’s cancelled it remains valid for use.

What is a PE visa, please? 

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, puchooay said:

What is a PE visa, please? 

It means Privileged Elite and is issued for those with a Thai Elite membership.

[puchooay]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It means Privileged Elite and is issued for those with a Thai Elite membership.

Live and learn. Thanks Joe. 

 

Could you not just apply for a work permit on a PE? 

 

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, puchooay said:

Could you not just apply for a work permit on a PE? 

No you cannot since it is not a non immigrant visa. You have to get a non-b visa.

[onera1961]

11 hours ago, atyclb said:

no just confused it with free voa.  have usa passport

For the last time, you don't get a visa on arrival (except citizens of selected countries). You get a visa exemption entry. That means you are granted 30-days to stay in Thailand without a visa. After 30-day you must leave the country or seek an extension for another 30-day. If you get an extension for an additional 30-day, you must leave the country after 60-days. If you want to make Thailand your home because you feel you are entitled to do so, you can resort to many techniques thoroughly discussed in this forum over the years. 

There is no FREE visa on arrival.

Edited May 9, 2018 by onera1961

[Fat Prophet]

I tried to enter Thailand at the Bangkok airport requesting a 30 day "Visa exempt entry" while also holding a valid Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit. My problem was that my Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit both expired on the day immediately following my entry into Thailand, so if I entered Thailand on the Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit, my allowed stay would have only been 1 day. I was hoping that Immigration would give me a 30 day Visa exempt entry to give me more time to renew my Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit, as the following day was a Saturday (and Sunday was Christmas). Three or 4 Immigration officers at the airport looked at my passport (together, not in series) and all flatly refused to give me a Visa exempt entry, saying that I could only enter Thailand on the Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit. The response was "You should have planned ahead and renewed your Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit before you left Thailand (scolding me). You can renew your Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit anytime you want, but after tomorrow you will start paying overstay fees for each day you are in Thailand until you renew your Non-O Visa or leave." With no choice I did what they insisted that I do.

 

As it turned out, my plane arrived at 5:40 am, and I was able to get home, fill out the forms, go to the bank and get the required bank account deposit letter and get to immigration at Jomtien Soi 5 before 1:00 pm (getting the necessary photocopies at the shop next to the immigration office as my printer was having problems), and had my new Non-O visa the same day that I arrived back in Thailand. I got the Multiple Re-entry Permit the following week. Not the way I had planned or wanted to spend my first morning back in Thailand, especially having been on a plane for more than 17 hours, but it was not the "end of the world" either. It seems that immigration could be a bit more understanding/cooperative in unusual situations like this, but TIT..... So, getting a 30 day Visa exempt entry when you are holding a valid Non-O visa, even one that it about to expire imminently, is not an option. 

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

I tried to enter Thailand at the Bangkok airport requesting a 30 day "Visa exempt entry" while also holding a valid Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit.

To avoid confusion you did not have a valid non-o visa. You had a extension of stay issued by immigration and a multiple re-entry permit.

The OP is asking about using a multiple entry non-o visa issued by a embassy or consulate.

[onera1961]

59 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

valid Non-O Visa and Multiple Re-entry Permit

For the last time, it is not a visa if extended inside Thailand at the immigration office. It is an extension of stay.

[Fat Prophet]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

To avoid confusion you did not have a valid non-o visa. You had a extension of stay issued by immigration and a multiple re-entry permit.

The OP is asking about using a multiple entry non-o visa issued by a embassy or consulate.

OK. I see the distinction. I think my case is analogous as to the conclusion.

 

I think that I do hold a valid Non-Immigrant "O" Visa ("Non-O Visa"), whose period of validity has been extended by the extension of stay (actually, now several), which is not a visa or separate "permission". My permission to enter and remain in Thailand is still based on my holding a valid (albeit extended) Non-0 Visa "issued by a (sic) embassy or consulate". Indeed, with the issuance of every new extension of stay, I am required to provide photocopies of my original Non-O Visa and all extensions of stay to "trace" the new extension of stay back to the Non-O Visa on a continuous uninterrupted basis. And, in my case, there was at least a logical reason to try to get a visa exempt entry rather than use my valid entry visa, as the visa (as extended) was about to expire. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Fat Prophet

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

I think that I do hold a valid Non-Immigrant "O" Visa ("Non-O Visa"), whose period of validity has been extended by the extension of stay (actually, now several), which is not a visa or separate "permission".

Your non-o visa expired long ago. You have been extending the 90 day permit to stay it allowed not the visa itself.

The only reason you show copies of the visa is to prove you originally entered the country using a non immigrant visa which is required to apply for the extension of stay.

[Fat Prophet]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Your non-o visa expired long ago. You have been extending the 90 day permit to stay it allowed not the visa itself.

The only reason you show copies of the visa is to prove you originally entered the country using a non immigrant visa which is a required to apply for the extension.

From the Thai Immigration website (https://www.thaiimmigration.net/thai-retirement-visa.html):

Processing of Visa Application

There are at least two ways on how to get a visa to retire in Thailand:

1. Application outside Thailand.

   [Deleted]

2. Application inside Thailand

   Getting a 1 year visa extension inside Thailand based on retirement requires an initial application for a Non-Immigrant O visa. The Non-Immigrant O visa is usually applied at the Thai Embassy in the applicant’s home country, but it can also be obtained inside Thailand. However, the applicant must already meet the financial requirement if they wish to go with the latter.

   In addition, applicants of Non-immigrant O visa extension in Thailand must provide evidence of their address in Thailand. Processing of visa extension is done at the immigration office in the same area, or usually the one nearest to their location in case there is none in their city or province.

Renewal of Extension

Once the applicant has obtained a one year extension of stay based on retirement, the extension can be renewed every year within Thailand. The renewal application must be done prior to the expiration of the current visa. The procedure for renewal is the same as for the initial application, and therefore this should be an easier task for retirees who are able to obtain an extension before. (emphasis added.)

As I said, I think (at least according to the Thai Immigration website) I hold a valid (albeit extended) Non-O Visa.

[puchooay]

3 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

From the Thai Immigration website (https://www.thaiimmigration.net/thai-retirement-visa.html):

Processing of Visa Application

There are at least two ways on how to get a visa to retire in Thailand:

1. Application outside Thailand.

   [Deleted]

2. Application inside Thailand

   Getting a 1 year visa extension inside Thailand based on retirement requires an initial application for a Non-Immigrant O visa. The Non-Immigrant O visa is usually applied at the Thai Embassy in the applicant’s home country, but it can also be obtained inside Thailand. However, the applicant must already meet the financial requirement if they wish to go with the latter.

   In addition, applicants of Non-immigrant O visa extension in Thailand must provide evidence of their address in Thailand. Processing of visa extension is done at the immigration office in the same area, or usually the one nearest to their location in case there is none in their city or province.

Renewal of Extension

Once the applicant has obtained a one year extension of stay based on retirement, the extension can be renewed every year within Thailand. The renewal application must be done prior to the expiration of the current visa. The procedure for renewal is the same as for the initial application, and therefore this should be an easier task for retirees who are able to obtain an extension before. (emphasis added.)

As I said, I think (at least according to the Thai Immigration website) I hold a valid (albeit extended) Non-O Visa.

Read your passport. Does it say "non o visa extended to.... (date)" or does it say" permission to stay extented to... (date)"? 

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, Fat Prophet said:

From the Thai Immigration website (https://www.thaiimmigration.net/thai-retirement-visa.html):

That is not a official immigration website it is one created by a law firm.

Look at the bottom of the page and you will see this "THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE THAI IMMIGRATION NOR CONNECTED TO ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES".

This is the real immigration website. https://www.immigration.go.th/index