Savannakhet Thai Consulate absolutely thronged with people

[JaiLai]

no - this is absolutely not true - savannkhet is a very nice big town (second biggest in laos after VTE), direct on the mekhong-river! go there for the sunset with some beer laos and of course the best eggs in the world...(balut or kai luuk).
rent a motorbike and drive in to the backyards towards the vietnamese border! there is also a very beautiful lake not far from savannakhet.
also shopping and dining - good experience - the best way is - drive in with your own vehicle!!!
for accomodations you have the choice in some very comfortable hotels/motels/guesthouses for a very fair price!

Totally true - super boring


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[lovesthespicy]

I'm planning a trip in two weeks. Not looking forward to it.

[JaiLai]

1 hour ago, lovesthespicy said:

I'm planning a trip in two weeks. Not looking forward to it.

Pls report back, the more info we have the better.

 

Good luck, hope it's not too bad.

[SteveK]

Plenty to do in Savannakhet, but the nightlife is quiet and there are very, very few prostitutes. Try Macchiato De Coffee for a very good steak, visit the casino, get a massage, play tennis, go swimming at the pool, or just walk along the banks of the Mekhong. Maybe just chill with a few beer Lao, I understand why some people say it's boring but just make the most of it for the short time that you are there. I much prefer it to Milton Keynes.

Edited June 9, 2019 by SteveK

[elliss]

On 6/4/2019 at 3:44 AM, bamboozled said:

What exactly is fueling all this? The problem getting income letter verification perhaps?

 

Survanak , was always known as an easy option , for expats requiring  visas.

   Now it is too well known.   Thx social media..

 

 

 

 

[nightfox]

7 hours ago, SteveK said:

Plenty to do in Savannakhet, but the nightlife is quiet and there are very, very few prostitutes. Try Macchiato De Coffee for a very good steak, visit the casino, get a massage, play tennis, go swimming at the pool, or just walk along the banks of the Mekhong. Maybe just chill with a few beer Lao, I understand why some people say it's boring but just make the most of it for the short time that you are there. I much prefer it to Milton Keynes.

One mans boredom is another mans excitement. For me Savannakhet is just like another small Issan city, same food, same language, same atmosphere and same boredom.

Edited June 9, 2019 by nightfox

[tingtongtourist]

9 hours ago, elliss said:

 

Survanak , was always known as an easy option , for expats requiring  visas.

   Now it is too well known.   Thx social media..

 

 

 

 

Thats why im always against people saying "to much" on social media. 

Of course its all just EGO and guys wanna proove they are the seasoned traveller and they know it all..

Mix that with the local greed and willingness to destroy their surroundings for the tourist $..

Its why many of these places have been ruined by mass exposure and "lonely planet" rubbish

[utalkin2me]

On 6/7/2019 at 10:53 AM, nightfox said:

Good to know, but I think I will just stick to doing in and out boarder runs every 90 days instead of extending it for another 60 days as I haven't been in a Thai immigration office in over 5 years as I'm sure I will be fined for not reporting my address, not worth it paying almost 4,000bht in fines and fees when it only cost me $30 for a Lao visa and 240 bht return bus fare to Mukdahan as I live in Kalasin.

The way I understand it, happy to be corrected by the way, is you report your address upon entry. That is good for 90 days. When you leave and return, you report it again. This precludes the need to report at immigration. In other words, you are not doing anything wrong. 

[elliss]

15 hours ago, nightfox said:

One mans boredom is another mans excitement. For me Savannakhet is just like another small Issan city, same food, same language, same atmosphere and same boredom.

 

  May I suggest , you have a  kindle , boredom reaches new lows.

   Give me the boring Issan life , exiting  more..

 

 

 

[elliss]

On 6/4/2019 at 9:15 PM, KhaoYai said:

60 day extension on a Non O ME? I wasn't aware of that - good news for those on one then.

 

 Better than the 800k , ransom . 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by elliss

[recom273]

60 day extension on a Non O ME? I wasn't aware of that - good news for those on one then.

My local office interprets the 60 day extension as discretionary, they say the real purpose of it is to allow funds to season.

I applied successfully one time, two years later, when the UK passport application was moved to Trendy, I really needed 60 days on a 90 day visa, time to attend an interview and wait for the new passport - it was denied. The reason was because I had one two years previous.


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[BritTim]

4 hours ago, recom273 said:

My local office interprets the 60 day extension as discretionary, they say the real purpose of it is to allow funds to season.

I applied successfully one time, two years later, when the UK passport application was moved to Trendy, I really needed 60 days on a 90 day visa, time to attend an interview and wait for the new passport - it was denied. The reason was because I had one two years previous.

 

This is unusual. Normally, the only reason for refusing a 60-day extension is because you have continuous one-year extensions since your 60-day extension, and are trying to get a second 60-day extension since your initial entry using a visa. At which office did you encounter this?

[ubonjoe]

7 hours ago, recom273 said:

I applied successfully one time, two years later, when the UK passport application was moved to Trendy, I really needed 60 days on a 90 day visa, time to attend an interview and wait for the new passport - it was denied. The reason was because I had one two years previous.

Only one 60 day extension per entry is allowed and a entry from a re-entry permit is not a new entry since you do not get a new permit to stay date. To get another 60 day extension you would have enter the country using a visa issued by a embassy or consulate.

[Isaanbiker]

Thanks for this nas_y report. I was there a couple of times, and it was always okay. Well, only one lane inside the consulate, which is smaller than the old one was, makes it to an unpleasant event. 

 

I loved the "Took off my David star" part, as it's a great description of what it is. 

 

  The appointment will be implemented soon, as they can hardly compete with so many foreigners daily.

 

It makes sense to have the form filled out before you even go there. It speeds up the process a bit. Here's the application form. 

SVK-VisaForm.PDF

[HTC]

I am in Savannakhet now.

Just dropped of my passport and application for non o multiple based on marriage.

I was expecting a long queue so I arrived at 06:30. Only me present.

More people started arriving on the first bus from Thailand at about 07:30 - 08:00.

When the doors opened at 09:00 there was about 20 - 30 applicants in the queue. I left at 09:10.

After talking to the guy that helps prepare documents at the coffee shop opposite, he mentioned that on Mondays and Thursdays there can be up to 400 applicants by his estimation.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are quite (Friday because most people don't want to stay the weekend)

Will be back to pick up my visa if granted tomorrow afternoon.

[JaiLai]

I am in Savannakhet now.

Just dropped of my passport and application for non o multiple based on marriage.

I was expecting a long queue so I arrived at 06:30. Only me present.

More people started arriving on the first bus from Thailand at about 07:30 - 08:00.

When the doors opened at 09:00 there was about 20 - 30 applicants in the queue. I left at 09:10.

After talking to the guy that helps prepare documents at the coffee shop opposite, he mentioned that on Mondays and Thursdays there can be up to 400 applicants by his estimation.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are quite (Friday because most people don't want to stay the weekend)

Will be back to pick up my visa if granted tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for the update.


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[recom273]

8 hours ago, BritTim said:

This is unusual. Normally, the only reason for refusing a 60-day extension is because you have continuous one-year extensions since your 60-day extension, and are trying to get a second 60-day extension since your initial entry using a visa. At which office did you encounter this?

This in Hat Yai, they are a power unto themselves - for instance, I cannot wall in and request a certificate of residence, first I need to go to the vehicle license office and request a letter for immigration to issue a certificate. When I showed them my ME-O from Savannakhet they nearly ripped it out, they said it wasn’t possible and that really, despite my frequent visits to Malaysia that I was living here, I should be on extension with multiple reentry permit.

 

I have no fight left in me, Im now on a 12 month extension.

 

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Only one 60 day extension per entry is allowed and a entry from a re-entry permit is not a new entry since you do not get a new permit to stay date. To get another 60 day extension you would have enter the country using a visa issued by a embassy or consulate.

Yes, I did, Both were requested on a 90 day SE-Non-O. One was successful one was denied due to a previous application. They said “one per passport” and explained the purpose for the 60 day is to give you extra time to season cash for an extension, not to be given to save me returning to a Malay consulate. 

 

Just telling it as it is, not all offices are the same - in Hat Yai, although there are a westerners here, I would presume that most of their business is with Burmese and Cambodian factory workers.

[lunlek]

On 6/11/2019 at 10:43 AM, HTC said:

I am in Savannakhet now.

Just dropped of my passport and application for non o multiple based on marriage.

I was expecting a long queue so I arrived at 06:30. Only me present.

More people started arriving on the first bus from Thailand at about 07:30 - 08:00.

When the doors opened at 09:00 there was about 20 - 30 applicants in the queue. I left at 09:10.

After talking to the guy that helps prepare documents at the coffee shop opposite, he mentioned that on Mondays and Thursdays there can be up to 400 applicants by his estimation.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are quite (Friday because most people don't want to stay the weekend)

Will be back to pick up my visa if granted tomorrow afternoon.

HI did u got yr Visa ?? hows the Q on wed when u collet yr passport ?? Tks 

 

[JAG]

On 6/11/2019 at 8:42 AM, Isaanbiker said:

It makes sense to have the form filled out before you even go there. It speeds up the process a bit. Here's the application form. 

I've been there several times, and I think just about every time the person in front of me has a weekform missing, incomplete or wrong! The last time, in March, the queues were a bit longer, but manageable. Lots of people trying for Tourist Visas. It's hard to say, but there didn't seem to be many more blokes like me  going for non immigrant O...

Edited June 14, 2019 by JAG

[HTC]

HI did u got yr Visa ?? hows the Q on wed when u collet yr passport ?? Tks 
 

I did receive a new visa. The queue for collection on Wednesday was small.

I do not know what the queue for applicants was like in the morning.

[Number 6]

Wow

 

Excepting married people really makes you wonder who would tolerate the hassles. Men absolutely addicted to Thailand. Absolute inability to change course. Hilarious.

 

[sanemax]

On 6/11/2019 at 9:43 AM, HTC said:

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are quite (Friday because most people don't want to stay the weekend)

 

People who go on Mondays and Thursdays are probably working 

[connda]

Goodness OP.  That looks exactly like my first and only trip to Vientiane about 11 years ago. Crushing chaos at the gates. Lines on top of lines.  Sullen IOs.  What fun!!!

[connda]

On 6/4/2019 at 2:49 AM, wisperone said:

Paradise.

They paved paradise 
And put up a parking lot 
With a pink hotel, a boutique 
And a swinging hot spot 
Don't it always seem to go 

You don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved Paradise...put up a parking lot.
-Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell   

[zoolander]

Only one 60 day extension per entry is allowed and a entry from a re-entry permit is not a new entry since you do not get a new permit to stay date. To get another 60 day extension you would have enter the country using a visa issued by a embassy or consulate.

Could you please confirm what paperwork is required for a 60 day extension

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[ubonjoe]

52 minutes ago, zoolander said:

Could you please confirm what paperwork is required for a 60 day extension

Marriage certificate plus a copy, copies of your wife's house book registry and ID card. Your wife must be with you when you do the application.

[JeffersLos]

Are there any new photo reports of people at the Savannaket embassy? 

[HTC]

Are there any new photo reports of people at the Savannaket embassy? 

Saw another thread quoting about 400 people submitting applications yesterday.

Tuesdays, Wednesday's and Fridays (if you are prepared to stay over the weekend) are the quiet days. Other days have all the visa run vans in attendance.

[thatmanagain]

On 6/25/2019 at 1:24 PM, JeffersLos said:

Are there any new photo reports of people at the Savannaket embassy? 

Yes, here:

 

 

[clarky cat]

This is from yesterday (Thursday 27th June), arrived at 9:20, left at 14:10 with ticket number 250, horrendous