Savannakhet Thai Consulate absolutely thronged with people

[thai006]

my sawanakhet  is coming to be a nightmare really , where do you think is easy to do non O 90 days having Thai Kids without financial 

[BritTim]

18 minutes ago, thai006 said:

my sawanakhet  is coming to be a nightmare really , where do you think is easy to do non O 90 days having Thai Kids without financial 

I believe Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Vientiane and Yangon are all options for a single entry Non O to visit your Thai child with no financial proof.

[mstevens]

3 hours ago, clarky cat said:

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

 

 

Posts like this with both details of the time you had to wait as well as a photo showing the queue are very useful, thanks for posting.

[Happy Grumpy]

3 hours ago, clarky cat said:

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

 

Aren't the application times supposed to be 9am-11am?

 

But they were left serving people at 14:10?

 

3+ hours after they should have been.

 

 

Well, I wonder if they'll copy Vientiane and start doing appointment only, book in advance, limited number only.

 

 

[clarky cat]

4 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Aren't the application times supposed to be 9am-11am?

 

But they were left serving people at 14:10?

 

3+ hours after they should have been.

 

 

Well, I wonder if they'll copy Vientiane and start doing appointment only, book in advance, limited number only.

 

 

yes they left it open until everyone finished, 1 counter open

 

I guess being number 250 in the queue they've made at least half a million baht in 1 day so would be stupid to close it. there was about another 50 that eventually started queuing behind me

[Denim]

Reminds me of the French embassy in London where I once had to apply for a visa for my Thai wife.

Queue around the block and people waiting over an hour in the pouring rain.

 

What would happen at Savannah if the skies opened and it came down in buckets. Be sure to have an umbrella.

[JayBird]

Sorry if this has been discussed:

Is there an option to bypass the queue, or have someone else queue for you?

Not sure I'd manage a full days queue in the sun.

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

Reminds me of the French embassy in London where I once had to apply for a visa for my Thai wife.

Queue around the block and people waiting over an hour in the pouring rain.

 

What would happen at Savannah if the skies opened and it came down in buckets. Be sure to have an umbrella.

Could happen any time now we're into the monsoon months. Hope that part of town isn't prone to flooding. 

[johnny1966]

I was there this week. The one window one staff member taking applications policy baffles me, particularly now that the pick up queue now has to wait until the processing queue is done, even if processing runs 3+ hours over the scheduled time.

[geronimo]

On 6/4/2019 at 9:44 AM, bamboozled said:

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

Upping the requirements for log stayers is the cause, They don;t have 800k to leave in a Thai bank, and going outside to get a new visa is the best option.

[keemapoot]

10 minutes ago, geronimo said:

On 6/4/2019 at 9:44 AM, bamboozled said:

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

Upping the requirements for log stayers is the cause, They don;t have 800k to leave in a Thai bank, and going outside to get a new visa is the best option.

Yeah, that's probably true for most, but some of us have decided to live here less than full time and (even though we have homes, etc.), but do not want to run afoul of tourist visa or exempt entry issues, so seek multiple entry visas for that too. It's no longer necessary to extend every year so the visa makes more sense.

[ubonjoe]

51 minutes ago, geronimo said:

Upping the requirements for log stayers is the cause, They don;t have 800k to leave in a Thai bank, and going outside to get a new visa is the best option.

It has nothing to do with that.

It is due to the Vientiane embassy starting to require appointment and a visa run company starting to do runs to Savannakhet due to problems with people being able to get appointments.

The only days there are long lines are on Mondays and Thursdays when the vans are there.

[Will27]

Was lucky enough to get mine done only staying 1 night this month.

I reckon they will probably bring in appointments like Vientane now.

 

Will probably give HCMC a crack next year.

[Mitkof Island]

I was just there about July 1st. Maybe about forty people in line at most. Handed in my paper work and was out within twenty minutes. Came back next day about 2pm to get my visa took about twenty minutes. I could not believe how easy it was.

[Mitkof Island]

On 6/9/2019 at 6:41 PM, tingtongtourist said:

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

Agree Lonely Planet and Travelfish.org have helped ruin much of southeast Asia. I keep my places i hang secret.

[lamyai3]

6 hours ago, Mitkof Island said:

I was just there about July 1st. Maybe about forty people in line at most. Handed in my paper work and was out within twenty minutes. Came back next day about 2pm to get my visa took about twenty minutes. I could not believe how easy it was.

July 1st was a Monday, which along with Thursday is to be avoided due to the visa companies using those days. But you said "about July 1st", so presumably you might have meant July 2nd or 3rd? 

[Mitkof Island]

1 hour ago, lamyai3 said:

July 1st was a Monday, which along with Thursday is to be avoided due to the visa companies using those days. But you said "about July 1st", so presumably you might have meant July 2nd or 3rd? 

Yes maybe the 2th. Had all my paperwork ready as with the border while everyone else was fumbling around and lost getting turned away to the back of the line. I was dressed better than many common slobs and was treated very nicely. The easiest visa i ever got but than again i had my s@@t together.

[lamyai3]

2 minutes ago, Mitkof Island said:

Yes maybe the 2th. Had all my paperwork ready as with the border while everyone else was fumbling around and lost getting turned away to the back of the line. I was dressed better than many common slobs and was treated very nicely. The easiest visa i ever got but than again i had my s@@t together.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the best days, Fridays are quiet also though this would require a Monday collection. As they're closed for holiday today, Tuesday will be busy this week. 

[Will27]

39 minutes ago, Mitkof Island said:

Yes maybe the 2th. Had all my paperwork ready as with the border while everyone else was fumbling around and lost getting turned away to the back of the line. I was dressed better than many common slobs and was treated very nicely. The easiest visa i ever got but than again i had my s@@t together.

Having your paperwork in order is the key.

 

Pretty sure your dress standard has anything to do with it.

Especially considering you only go to a booth.

 

As far as treated nicely. 

They usually just ask to see a copy of the original marriage certificate and

the fee.

[LivinLOS]

Clearly, the push is to get people to comply with the intended process, gain a single visa, meet the demands of immigrant, and extend incountry. 

[Isaanbiker]

On 6/4/2019 at 2:28 AM, Essecola said:

The visa run companies totally ruining it for people who always just went and did their own trips and applications. Whoever goes to Savannakhet to get a visa because Vientiane is full, should enjoy doing that for the likely short time it will last before Savannakhet starts requiring an appointment as well. What will the visa run companies start doing next, hauling people across two borders over to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City? Or over to Yangon? This visa stuff could not be more nutty even if someone started making parts of the story up.

Not working. You can't drive into Vietnam from Laos with a Thai car.

 

[lkv]

8 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

Clearly, the push is to get people to comply with the intended process, gain a single visa, meet the demands of immigrant, and extend incountry. 

I think very soon, single entry non O's may look like single entry non B's.

 

A bit offtopic,  but i think relevant in the grand scheme of things, to show the perception of Immigration about single entry non Immigrant visas.

[LivinLOS]

2 hours ago, lkv said:

I think very soon, single entry non O's may look like single entry non B's.

 

A bit offtopic,  but i think relevant in the grand scheme of things, to show the perception of Immigration about single entry non Immigrant visas.

Given the UK has moved to not issuing multiple entry non imms any longer, and demanding an after tax 1500 a month income too, the writing is very definitely on the wall.. 

If your someone who travels too much to be able to extend incountry (due to under review) and your also not resident in the UK, your basically SOL for non imms now, even if your married, long term Thai resident, etc etc etc.. 

[Essecola]

Yeah, well, neither consulate in Laos should be thronged too much after this month now that it's been reported Vientiane will give one tourist visa per year and Savannakhet will give a tourist stamp only if u havent been in the country much recently. It's not so nice trying to go to Thailand anymore. Philippines ans Vietnam are not so nice either. What a shame. Guess the whole going around southeast Asia thing is fading unless you want to go once for a short time or stay somewhere that's dirty and unpleasant.

[Essecola]

Maybe the next questions that will pop up re Vientiane are, oh is that one stamp in the past 12 months or the past calendar year. Got to be a good little visa fetcher after all. Getting into vans with a smile on your face and jumping through all the hoops nice and politely.

[OJAS]

On 7/29/2019 at 7:28 AM, Mitkof Island said:

I was dressed better than many common slobs and was treated very nicely.

Standing for hours in a lengthy queue (as pictured in the OP) sporting a tuxedo jacket and dicky-bow tie in a tropical climate would probably have limited appeal as far as I was concerned.

[Caldera]

6 hours ago, Essecola said:

Maybe the next questions that will pop up re Vientiane are, oh is that one stamp in the past 12 months or the past calendar year.

You bet! That's a very relevant question.

[Leaver]

On 6/4/2019 at 3:36 AM, JeffersLos said:

A lady I met said that because of Vientiane only doing it by apointment now, and it's fully booked for the next 2 months

And how long before Savanaket is also booked out 2 months in advance, and the next consulate, and the next consulate, and so on?

 

Eventually, it will become unmanageable, and then big changes will be announced. 

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, Leaver said:

And how long before Savanaket is also booked out 2 months in advance, and the next consulate, and the next consulate, and so on?

The info you quoted is out of date. Appointments for tourist visas are available in about 2 to 3 weeks in advance now.

For non immigrant visas it is less than a week to get an appointment.

Savannakhet does not have a appointment system.

[Leaver]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

The info you quoted is out of date. Appointments for tourist visas are available in about 2 to 3 weeks in advance now.

For non immigrant visas it is less than a week to get an appointment.

Savannakhet does not have a appointment system.

As we approach the end of the year, when the new laws have been in place for a full year, then we will truly see the full extent of how many people are reverting back to tourist visas.  It's at that point, I think you will see certain consulates and land boarders being overwhelmed, as shown in the OP's photos. 

 

As far as Savannaket not having an appointment system, how many people in the the OP's photos do you think went to Savannaket, instead of Vientiane, because there is no appointment system there?

 

Based on the OP's photo's, how long do you give it before Savannaket has an appointment system?