5 hours ago, mstevens said:

Wow, this is going to cause a lot of worry and anxiety for many, and it must play havoc with the visa run companies. I wonder if other embassies and consulates in the region will see an increase in visa applicants in what could be a spillover from people who would have otherwise used Vientiane?

I would think that this is a load of crap and it is typical of Thai mind games. Over egging the actual reasons trying to make it look like Thailand is the place that people want to come to because of the dwindling numbers

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Please God don't make this destroy the wonderful, quiet, easy, peaceful, pleasant Muk-Sav border crossing & visa processing.

Spotlight comments like that....will.

But some cannot show the financial requirememts at savana to get a TV (hand-to-mouth) and so must go Vient....also they can reject at the window prior to paying at Savana. if they don't like the look of the inside of your passport....= stuffed to gills with TVs

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Please God don't make this destroy the wonderful, quiet, easy, peaceful, pleasant Muk-Sav border crossing & visa processing.

I was about to mention Mukdahan. But now I better don't do. ????

..go to Savanaket..

 

At least you can turn up for an appointment time & guarantee being seen. As apposed to sitting in a queue all day hoping your ticket number is called out.

Just can't please some people !!!!

2 hours ago, bender92 said:

Plan ahead. No problem.

There's always one ready with the smug reply.

 

50 minutes ago, taxin said:

Could this delay be due to the recent changes to the retirement visa, with the embassy now seeing its 1st influx of applications from people who don’t have 400/800 baht in the bank ?

No, not at all.

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Please God don't make this destroy the wonderful, quiet, easy, peaceful, pleasant Muk-Sav border crossing & visa processing.

Your post will help to make it happen ! 555

There's an agent here that has some sort of connect at Vientiane consulate and is able to legit book people on any date. The bookings appear on the booking site and all, with the requested date and correct name.

19 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

..go to Savanaket..

 

Savannakhet is more strict, you need to show onward ticket within 60 days and Bank Statement for Tourist Visa, in case of Non Immigrant visa you have to address your documents to Royal Thai Consulate Savannakhet.

The Thai Embassy in London will only accept visa applications online from the 1st of April, If approved you have to make a appointment to go to the Embassy to have the visa put into your passport.

The visa fees are also going up From £125 to £150 for a non 'O' multiple entry with all other visas rising pro rata.

More efficient?!? How so?

 

a) I used to have unlimited border crossings, just get my passport stamped

 

b) Then they changed it to 2 a year and then purchasing a visa for 1000 baht for each crossing. This took 2 days and the embassy doesn't issue visas on weekends.

 

c) Now it's a 2 week wait.

 

More efficient?!? How so?

 

 

30 minutes ago, visarunner said:

Savannakhet is more strict, you need to show onward ticket within 60 days and Bank Statement for Tourist Visa, in case of Non Immigrant visa you have to address your documents to Royal Thai Consulate Savannakhet.

Onward ticket isnt required for TV at Savanakhet and bank statements are not always required either 

37 minutes ago, visarunner said:

No, not at all.

Sorry to inform you, but YES it has very much to do with this.

Is it possible (from the online application request) to work out how many available slots there are per day ?

  Somedays there would be 600 + TV applications and if they have limited them to 400 per day , that would explain why the bookins are full

I think the Thai Embassy in Vientiane just became Americanized!

 

(i.e., We are required to help you, but we really do not want to be bothered. So we will change the long established rules (1979), and Outreach Schedules to make it as inconvenient as possible.)

13 minutes ago, KenKadz said:

I think the Thai Embassy in Vientiane just became Americanized!

 

(i.e., We are required to help you, but we really do not want to be bothered. So we will change the long established rules (1979), and Outreach Schedules to make it as inconvenient as possible.)

Just modernised , not "Americanised" .

good, that lining up in the street got old quick..

31 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Just modernised , not "Americanised" .

Same thing. Meanwhile, I dont have to worry about it till Jan 21, 2020 when my current Extension expires

Just now, Nyezhov said:

Same thing. Meanwhile, I dont have to worry about it till Jan 21, 2020 when my current Extension expires

OR October when you will have to decide to have the 800k or 65k p/month or.

Their reasoning that the number of applicants has grown a lot is ridiculous. For each visa, they collect a princely 1000 (tourist) or 2000 (non immigrant) baht. You'd think they could hire some extra consular officers to cope with the increase in applications.

It could well be a trick from the TAL (tourism authority lao)

to decrease their stock of Laobeer. Instead of seeing these

runners skipping strolling through the stalls that Laos offers.

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

Is it possible (from the online application request) to work out how many available slots there are per day ?

  Somedays there would be 600 + TV applications and if they have limited them to 400 per day , that would explain why the bookins are full

after the 20th March they reduced to actual 250 bookings....

13 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Their reasoning that the number of applicants has grown a lot is ridiculous. For each visa, they collect a princely 1000 (tourist) or 2000 (non immigrant) baht. You'd think they could hire some extra consular officers to cope with the increase in applications.

what they loose due to this is peanuts against the offer they do to lure the Indians and Chinese. Not forget FREE Visa on arrival from November to April, each valued at THB 2,000.-. This leave me speechless, but further comments are sensitive..... BTW I also enjoy the statistics from TAT. 

8 hours ago, mstevens said:

Wow, this is going to cause a lot of worry and anxiety for many, and it must play havoc with the visa run companies. I wonder if other embassies and consulates in the region will see an increase in visa applicants in what could be a spillover from people who would have otherwise used Vientiane?

I am a twenty year vetran of Thailand as at 1 Jan this year, I spent about 6 months a year in the Kingdom from 1999 until 2008, and then stayed permanently until 2015 on a retirement visa. This situation along with the many other issued recently reported goes to the welcome now extended by Thailand.

 

When I stayed in Nongkhai for a period I simply crossed the border went to my hotel and the agent handled everything else. The next day or so I headed back to Nongkhai. I am not necessarily supporting this system, but it is a far cry from the kaotic situation you have reported today.

 

For the past four years I have been doing the six months again. I have a ex gf and a thai son who I support and see regularly. He has his Australian citizenship.

 

I have always been anti those who knocked the Thai systems, I found the systems to be nagivable and probably still are with a greater level of difficulty and expense. 

 

Sadly the way things are now, it is the feeling of being no longer welcome that is more concerning.

 

I am not ready to give up yet, but I am looking. Last month on my way back I went to Malaysia and Indonesia. Quite a different feeling there. Similar to the Thailand I remembered twenty years ago. As I walked into the immigartion hall in Denpassar to face enourmouse queues a man in a uniform came up to me and said "express service sir". I was on in a cab on the way to my hotel within 5 minutes.

 

Just saying

1 hour ago, ginjag said:

Sorry to inform you, but YES it has very much to do with this.

How would you know ?

7 minutes ago, tukadadoll said:

Last month on my way back I went to Malaysia and Indonesia. Quite a different feeling there. 

Don't confuse feelings with visa requirements. Indonesia retirement visa requirements are risible and Malaysia has higher hurdles than Thailand and seemingly changed the deal on people.

4 hours ago, visarunner said:

as part of a visa run company, this is not possible. The slots are handled online. There are also holidays on 8th and not announced by Embassy that 11th and 12th is a voting day , so no slot available, even visa run companies can not go. 

We update our website daily. 

After we have confirmed our appointment with the Vientiane Embassy do we then have to either email or phone your company to book our trip? 

 

Your website is not very clear on this

Make of this situation what you will but I think the reality is it's just another example of the complete and absolute lack of grey matter from the fools who are running the show here.???? 

9 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

The cynic in me thinks that, should the price be right, an 'opening' will magically appear.

 

 

 

 

Dream on......