Couple of questions regarding new visas

[bigbaldfalung]

Hi all!

 

My family and I are New Zealanders, we have been on education visas so far, and we are single entry so we've been doing renewals at the local immigration office, we've never done a border run.

 

My two questions are:

 

1. If I leave Thailand to obtain a new visa at a Thai embassy (I'm thinking Singapore, but wherever), AND I also have a re-entry permit in my passport (obtained before I left Thailand), will the immigration official at BKK be able to let me in on the re-entry permit without activating the new visa? I'm envisaging a situation where he/she will see the re-entry permit, see the new visa, furrow his/her brow, and then proceed to engage me in a conversation which will be difficult at best.

 

2. As I said, I've never done a border run because we've always been single-entry, but lots of friends have. After I come back into Thailand with my new visa (although not activated due to using the re-entry permit to come back in), will I be able to activate the new visa at a land crossing (I'm thinking Mae Sai/Myanmar)?

 

Hope that makes sense... please let me know if anything needs further explanation. Thanks!

 

BBF

[ubonjoe]

My first question is why you would want to do it that way?

1. What kind of visa do expect to get?

    Immigration would probably use the re-entry permit if you asked them to use or if it gave you a longer entry than the visa.

2. As long as the visa remained valid which would be for the 3 months from the date it is issued for a single entry visa you could do a border hop to use the visa.

 

[Peterw42]

I think it would come down to what you put on the TM6 arrival card under Visa number, if you quote the re-entry permit or the new visa.

[overherebc]

Blank out important personal info and post a photo of your visa/visas and it will be easier for people to give advice.

[bigbaldfalung]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

My first question is why you would want to do it that way?

1. What kind of visa do expect to get?

    Immigration would probably use the re-entry permit if you asked them to use or if it gave you a longer entry than the visa.

2. As long as the visa remained valid which would be for the 3 months from the date it is issued for a single entry visa you could do a border hop to use the visa.

 

So... as I'm sure you know, a new visa can be activated any time within 90 days of receiving it. I want to get the most out of our visas by not leaving early, and I also want to travel to get the new visas by myself, but I don't want to be out of sync with my family. I could just come in on the new visa and then do the border run with the family later, but then I would be out of sync with my family -- my visa would expire a few days before theirs. We also have family visiting around that time, and our visa expires just after New Years, so I was hoping to get the new visa earlier (like early December) to avoid waiting in Singapore through the Christmas/New Years season.

 

We're planning on getting education visas for our dekdek (they're studying here), plus "guardian" visas for us. To be honest, I'm pretty comfortable with the actual visa application, I don't foresee any problems there (which of course means there will be problems...  ?  ).

 

Thanks!

[bigbaldfalung]

4 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

I think it would come down to what you put on the TM6 arrival card under Visa number, if you quote the re-entry permit or the new visa.

That's a great point, I didn't think about that... thanks!

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, bigbaldfalung said:

So... as I'm sure you know, a new visa can be activated any time within 90 days of receiving it. I want to get the most out of our visas by not leaving early, and I also want to travel to get the new visas by myself, but I don't want to be out of sync with my family. I could just come in on the new visa and then do the border run with the family later, but then I would be out of sync with my family -- my visa would expire a few days before theirs. We also have family visiting around that time, and our visa expires just after New Years, so I was hoping to get the new visa earlier (like early December) to avoid waiting in Singapore through the Christmas/New Years season.

We're planning on getting education visas for our dekdek (they're studying here), plus "guardian" visas for us. To be honest, I'm pretty comfortable with the actual visa application, I don't foresee any problems there (which of course means there will be problems...

If you are planning on applying for your family's visas without them being with you that will not happen at any nearby location. They have to be there to apply for the visas and the embassy or consulate will look for entry stamps for the country where they are located.

I know what you mean by a guardian visa but they do not really exist. You apparently are wanting to get non-o visas and extensions of stay based upon being a parent of a child attending school. I assume you are aware that 500k baht must be in a Thai bank for 30 days for the first extension and then 90 days after that on the date you apply for the extensions at immigration. Only one parent can get an extension per child which means you both would need the 500k baht in the bank.

Not sure why your children would need new non-ed visas if they are already on extensions based upon attending school,

[bigbaldfalung]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If you are planning on applying for your family's visas without them being with you that will not happen at any nearby location. They have to be there to apply for the visas and the embassy or consulate will look for entry stamps for the country where they are located.

I know what you mean by a guardian visa but they do not really exist. You apparently are wanting to get non-o visas and extensions of stay based upon being a parent of a child attending school. I assume you are aware that 500k baht must be in a Thai bank for 30 days for the first extension and then 90 days after that on the date you apply for the extensions at immigration. Only one parent can get an extension per child which means you both would need the 500k baht in the bank.

Not sure why your children would need new non-ed visas if they are already on extensions based upon attending school,

So, point by point... The embassy in Singapore allows someone to apply on behalf of someone else: http://www.thaiembassy.sg/visa-matters-/-consular/instructions-for-visa-application -- They want a letter of authorisation, I'm planning on contacting them to ask what the requirements are for children, who obviously can't sign a letter.

 

And you're right about guardian visas, which is why I put them in "scare quotes". We have been scrounging for the last couple of months and now have ourselves an account each, with 500k each in them.

 

Me and my wife have currently got the ed visas but we're switching to our children having them instead of us. I've done some research and like I said I'm fairly comfortable with that part of the process.

 

All good questions though!  ?

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, bigbaldfalung said:

They want a letter of authorisation, I'm planning on contacting them to ask what the requirements are for children, who obviously can't sign a letter.

 

I think you be told that they will need to be in Singapore to apply for the visas.

The basic rule is that you cannot apply for a visa at a embassy or consulate for Thailand while in Thailand. You have to be outside the country. That is why they will check for a entry stamp for Singapore.

For example the embassy in Vientiane requires a copy of the Lao visa/entry stamp when applying for a visa there.

[elviajero]

8 hours ago, bigbaldfalung said:

So... as I'm sure you know, a new visa can be activated any time within 90 days of receiving it.

It's 3 months not 90 days.

[elviajero]

8 hours ago, bigbaldfalung said:

8 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I think it would come down to what you put on the TM6 arrival card under Visa number, if you quote the re-entry permit or the new visa.

That's a great point, I didn't think about that... thanks!

Even if you put the re-entry permit on the TM.6 the IO will likely spot the new unused visa in your passport.

The IO could;

1. Do what you ask and stamp you in using the re-entry permit.
2. Cancel the re-entry permit and insist you use the visa.
3. Use the re-entry permit and cancel the visa.

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, bigbaldfalung said:

The embassy in Singapore allows someone to apply on behalf of someone else:

That is possible, but not for someone that is currently in Thailand when they apply. If the consular staff see that your family member is still in Thailand they will not issue the visa. Singapore is probably the last place to apply as they a sticklers for the rules.

 

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website;

5. To apply for a visa, a foreigner must possess a valid passport or travel document that is recognised by the Royal Thai Government and comply with the conditions set forth in the Immigration Act of Thailand B.E.2522 (1979) and its relevant regulations.  In addition, the visa applicant must be outside of Thailand at the time of application.  The applicant will be issued with a type of visa in accordance to his or her purpose of visit.  For more information on types of visas and general requirements for each type of visa, please see Types of Visa and Issuance of Visa.

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15405-General-information.html

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, bigbaldfalung said:

Me and my wife have currently got the ed visas but we're switching to our children having them instead of us. I've done some research and like I said I'm fairly comfortable with that part of the process.

Has your research included speaking to your local immigration office? You can only get guide information from the internet. Each office has a certain amount of autonomy and they each often process applications differently.

 

If your children already have non 'O' or 'ED' visas there should be nothing stopping the immigration office (discretional) issuing them extensions of stay based on their education.

 

Once your children have extensions of stay there should be nothing stopping the immigration office issuing you and your wife executions as their parents using the non immigrant visas you already have. They could/might insist you leave the country and get new category 'O' non-immigrant visas, which you will might only get once your children have been issued with their extensions. I would recommend you forget going to Singapore and use the Thai embassy in Vientiane to apply for non 'O' visas.

 

Even if you are successful in getting visa for your wife/children whilst they stay in Thailand. You would risk the visas being cancelled the first time they leave the country if the IO spots the unused visa and realises what you've done. I would also say that it would be irresponsible to leave any family member in Thailand without their passport. If (unlikely but possible) they are asked to produce their passports while your out of the country they could be detained until the passports are presented.