Non O (Multi Entry) no longer issued at Royal Thai Embassy in London - new financial requirements for Single Entry Tourist Visas (SETV)

[Tanoshi]

22 minutes ago, BritTim said:

You may well be right. I personally do not regard someone living quietly with their longtime Thai partners in rural Thailand in a house they own (so no rent) and growing many of their own vegetables to be "bad guys" just because they are living off limited incomes.

Well neither would I, but let's flip the coin.

Only last week a group of us were talking about the impact on expats when/if the E-visa system is rolled out to all Thai Embassies/Consulates within the next 3 years as planned.

 

Of 15 expats 8 had extensions, 7 used the Non Imm O ME.

Of those 7, 3 are actually divorced, 2 are separated.

1 fits into the category you mention above, but can't currently meet the financial requirements for a marriage extension due to the exchange rates.

1 is a frequent traveller, with his Thai wife and spends a total of 7 months in Thailand. This year he plans to get the Non Imm O SE from the UK then apply for the marriage extension and an ME re-entry permit.

He has the available funds and no qualms about the changes.

 

What however is your opinion of the 5 mentioned above, who do no harm to anyone, but are obtaining the Visa under false pretences with no financial proof. What would Immigrations opinion of the same 5 be.

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by Tanoshi

[Jumbo1968]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the only reason it is not on the online application site is due to it being based around the Beijing embassy requirements and the London embassy was not able to get it changed. 

There a still many embassies and consulate are still issuing multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage.

Agreed Joe but I was visiting my Thai son using the Multi Non O spending the majority of my time here but at the same time going too the U.K. for a few weeks before the 90 Days.

As I said in a previous post I don’t currently have the funds to leave in Thailand indefinitely, at 67 years age trawling Asia looking for the appropriate Visa due a new system being introduced is not for me.

It looks like I will be ‘driven’ too using an Agent which is frowned upon on this forum, the new system is ‘driving’ people too using Agents.

[Greenwich Boy]

UK passport. Over 50. Flight to and out of Thailand booked. Stay is over 60 days but less than 90. Just my winter break, no family involved. SETV used to work fine but now the flight out proof within 60 days is a pain. I nearly always fly somewhere but do not book it until I get to Thailand.

Have I read the London Embassy page correctly that I can get a SE non o that will be valid for 90 days if I have 10k Stg in the bank for 3 months? No flight, hotels required? Many Thanks

[cornishcarlos]

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

They're not trying to stop the genuine guys who regularly visit their Thai wives. If they can afford the regular trips, they shouldn't have an issue putting 400K in a Thai bank and getting an extension + ME re-entry permit

 

If you had read a few of the early replies, mainly from genuine off shore workers, you would realise that it's not possible to obtain an extension with the work rosters we do !! That is why a Non Imm O was the visa to use...

[Tanoshi]

16 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the only reason it is not on the online application site is due to it being based around the Beijing embassy requirements and the London embassy was not able to get it changed. 

The Embassies cannot change the parameters of the E-Visa site.

As the E-Visa system is rolled out in other Countries, the choice of Visas will remain the same.

The Embassies can only change the local requirements on their site.

 

16 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

There a still many embassies and consulate are still issuing multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage.

Only because they don't as yet use the E-Visa application system.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Tanoshi

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

The Embassies cannot change the parameters of the E-Visa site.

They could request it be changed to match their local requirements. I think that might be why the launch of it was delayed.

It is a case of one size does not fit all.

[Tanoshi]

19 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

The ‘ bad guys’ stay under the radar, probably don’t even have a Visa etc know the ‘right’ people but as usual the ‘good guys’ suffer the consequences.

The criminal element, I agree.

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They could request it be changed to match their local requirements. I think that might be why the launch of it was delayed.

They may have, but it's a global system.

Make one change and it applies to anybody regardless of where you apply from.

 

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It is a case of one size does not fit all.

Or from Immigrations point of view, one size will fit all.

[Tanoshi]

11 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

If you had read a few of the early replies, mainly from genuine off shore workers, you would realise that it's not possible to obtain an extension with the work rosters we do !! That is why a Non Imm O was the visa to use...

For the moment they can obtain the Non Imm O ME from other Embassies.

They rarely go back to their home Countries on their leave anyway.

I only know 2 as such, but they constantly boast of the tax free salaries they receive.

That being the case, they should be able to afford the Elite Visa.

 

It's always a case of you can please some of the people all of the time, or you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

[cornishcarlos]

6 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

For the moment they can obtain the Non Imm O ME from other Embassies.

 

Which is fine for most I would imagine... But should they phase them out completely, it would cause issues.

I think it was the correct visa for this use.

If it's not available purely because the Beijing embassy was the first to go online and didn't have it as an option, then the system needs a re-think !!

 

[Tanoshi]

7 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

I think it was the correct visa for this use.

Agreed, unfortunately most expats don't use it for this reason.

 

8 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

If it's not available purely because the Beijing embassy was the first to go online and didn't have it as an option, then the system needs a re-think !!

It a global system.

Whether your Chinese, French, or English and regardless of wherever you are you'll be taken to the same site, same information, same choices, the only difference being the language.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, Tanoshi said:

What however is your opinion of the 5 mentioned above, who do no harm to anyone, but are obtaining the Visa under false pretences with no financial proof. What would Immigrations opinion of the same 5 be.

Personally, if I was in immigration, such people would not really worry me as long as they really were causing no trouble. However, I do recognise that most would regards them as cheats and be incensed by their actions. I can well believe they will, in the future, be required to pay off agents for extensions rather than using multiple entry Non O visas from consulates. It is a matter of opinion whether that will be a good result.

[lkv]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the only reason it is not on the online application site is due to it being based around the Beijing embassy requirements and the London embassy was not able to get it changed. 

There a still many embassies and consulate are still issuing multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage.

I think Embassies do what they are being told. They don't make their own decisions. Putting online systems and e-visa aside, there were numerous examples in the past of people being told: we cannot give you a multiple, we will give you a single, you go extend in Thailand. And multiples were in the "menu", but they simply weren't giving them. Why? Directives from the top.

 

In regards to many embassies still issuing multi non O, there were many embassies also a few years ago issuing multi non B, or multi non ED, and we saw what happened there.

 

I don't want to sound like I am creating a doom and gloom scenario, but the trend looks pretty clear to me over the last years. Get single, extend in Thailand.

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by lkv

[lkv]

1 minute ago, lkv said:

I don't want to sound like I am creating a doom and gloom scenario, but the trend looks pretty clear to me over the last years. Get single, extend in Thailand.

 

And if I am to speculate why, it's a money thing. They need foreign direct investment, since they are sort of bleeding at the moment, and 800K stuck for 5 months in an account and 400K for the rest of 7 months sounds like it fits the definition of foreign direct investment.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

They're not trying to stop the genuine guys who regularly visit their Thai wives. If they can afford the regular trips, they shouldn't have an issue putting 400K in a Thai bank and getting an extension + ME re-entry permit.

The very process of obtaining an extension based om marriage, with  the one month approval waiting time, doesn't fit well with someone working a rotation in say the Middle East. They really need something obtained quickly, a day or two. A retirement Extension OK for those over 50.

[losworld]

On 6/20/2019 at 11:53 AM, Captain_Bob said:

Tourist visa rules keep tightening, mostly due to a minority of individuals who keep trying to abuse every loophole and crack in the system to stay long-term for purposes other than tourism. A few bad apples f * cking it up for everyone else. 

Hardly the issue the numbers are small and there are more effective ways to do it.  How long have you lived in Thailand or do you even live here? Do you have a grasp of how things really work?  

[lamyai3]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the only reason it is not on the online application site is due to it being based around the Beijing embassy requirements and the London embassy was not able to get it changed. 

There a still many embassies and consulate are still issuing multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage.

I was wondering the same thing. People might be assuming motives that don't exist regarding a deliberate removing of the multi entry non-o option. If this was never offered by Beijing and the e-visa system was set up thusly, it's quite plausible that in transplanting the website to London and Paris, they overlooked that those embassies had different visa options available. 

[lamyai3]

3 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

What however is your opinion of the 5 mentioned above, who do no harm to anyone, but are obtaining the Visa under false pretences with no financial proof. What would Immigrations opinion of the same 5 be.

Bad guys, who pose a threat to Thailand's national security. 

[wobalt]

No financial proof is shown on their website for the non-o.
Ho Chi Minh City is here: http://www.thaiembassy.org/hochiminh/en/services/2886/46902-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O"---Accompanying-Th.html
Savannakhet is in Thai: http://www.thaisavannakhet.com/savannakhet/th/consulate-service/inspect/

AFAIK financial proof was never requested in Germany as well





Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

The very process of obtaining an extension based om marriage, with  the one month approval waiting time, doesn't fit well with someone working a rotation in say the Middle East. They really need something obtained quickly, a day or two. A retirement Extension OK for those over 50.

Appreciate that, but alternatives are available, but sometimes they just can't be bothered with an alternative. 

 

One of my (ex) neighbours works 4 on, 4 off. He always used Visa exempts because he said he couldn't get the Non Imm O ME unless he went back to the UK and that took time.

Last year he was stopped at entry and warned to get the appropriate Visa for his purpose of stay.

He ignored the warning and next time was refused entry.

He then flew to Lao and entered by land. He asked me what options he had and I told him to go to Savannakhet (closest) and obtain the Non Imm O ME while he was here on leave.

His response was he wasn't wasting 2 days.

 

Their house now lies empty, I believe he moved his wife and family to another Country.

How can you help such folk when 2 days out of a year is to much of a burden.

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

His response was he wasn't wasting 2 days.

I used to work in Saudi and I really felt the same way when on R&R in Thailand!????

[lkv]

21 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Appreciate that, but alternatives are available, but sometimes they just can't be bothered with an alternative. 

 

One of my (ex) neighbours works 4 on, 4 off. He always used Visa exempts because he said he couldn't get the Non Imm O ME unless he went back to the UK and that took time.

Last year he was stopped at entry and warned to get the appropriate Visa for his purpose of stay.

He ignored the warning and next time was refused entry.

He then flew to Lao and entered by land. He asked me what options he had and I told him to go to Savannakhet (closest) and obtain the Non Imm O ME while he was here on leave.

His response was he wasn't wasting 2 days.

 

Their house now lies empty, I believe he moved his wife and family to another Country.

How can you help such folk when 2 days out of a year is to much of a burden.

He most likely made the right decision when he did. If he was still here and asking for options, you might soon tell him: "Unfortunately whenever you apply for a visa, you have to be a resident of that country, so to see your wife you'd have to fly back to the UK and apply for a visa there. Unfortunately, all you can get there is a single entry non O, but you can extend here in Thailand, takes a little longer than 2 days and a little money stashed in Thailand doing nothing, got to take a few pics with your wife here and there, draw a map, do some TM30's, only minor things, but oh well what can you do."

Edited June 28, 2019 by lkv

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, lkv said:

He most likely made the right decision when he did. If he was still here and asking for options, you might soon tell him: "Unfortunately whenever you apply for a visa, you have to be a resident of that country, so to see your wife you'd have to fly back to the UK and apply for a visa there. Unfortunately, all you can get there is a single entry non O, but you can extend here in Thailand, takes a little longer than 2 days and a little money stashed in Thailand doing nothing, got to take a few pics with your wife here and there, draw a map, do some TM30's, only minor things, but oh well what can you do. Never mind the oil platform for a month".

As I stated before It's a case of, you can please some of the people all of the time, or you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

No matter what kind of Visa or Extension options they choose, someone will always complain about the 'hoops and hurdle'.

`Damn Thai Immigration, I actually had to do something today`.

[cornishcarlos]

14 minutes ago, lkv said:

Unfortunately whenever you apply for a visa, you have to be a resident of that country

 

No, you can still get ME Non Imm O visas in Savvanakhet and HCMC.. 

[lkv]

Just now, Tanoshi said:

No matter what kind of Visa or Extension options they choose, someone will always complain about the 'hoops and hurdle'.

`Damn Thai Immigration, I actually had to do something today`.

Your statement is true, however it does not change the fact that Immigration has become a pain in the ass. For most.

 

No matter how you sugar coat it, the scenario above, as stretched as it may sound, is not pleasant.

[lkv]

4 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

No, you can still get ME Non Imm O visas in Savvanakhet and HCMC.. 

Yes correct. For the time being. Before you could get them mostly anywhere, now you can get them "here and there", tomorrow only "there", the day after tomorrow...tourist visa ????

Edited June 28, 2019 by lkv

[lkv]

And another BIG change that I think most don't comment on much, but it has been mentioned in this thread, apart from removal of the multiple non O, is the residency requirement to apply for a single entry tourist visa in London.

 

So I, as an EU citizen, cannot even get an SETV in London anymore, unless I reside in the UK. Before, all I would need was the application form, pic and money. So that's one option less.

 

Which makes me wonder what's next.

Edited June 28, 2019 by lkv

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, lkv said:

And another BIG change that I think most don't comment on much, but it has been mentioned in this thread, apart from removal of the multiple non O, is the residency requirement to apply for a single entry tourist visa in London.

 

So I, as an EU citizen, cannot get even an SETV in London anymore, unless I reside in the UK. Before all I would you need was the application form, pic and money. So that's one option less.

 

Which makes me wonder what's next.

As an EU citizen you currently have automatic right of residency in the UK.

[lkv]

9 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

As an EU citizen you currently have automatic right of residency in the UK.

Yes, but I cannot fly to London, get an SETV tomorrow, and say fly from London to Bangkok the next day.

 

I have to prove to them I reside in the UK, so I actually have to live there.

 

=========

For Single Entry (stay up to 60 days) 

 

A current passport with validity not less than 6 months and at least 2 blank pages. Applicants must fill in online visa application with their given name(s) and surname as appear in their passports.

 

Printout of visa application form submitted online, with bar code

 

Travel booking confirmation

 

Proof of accommodation in Thailand e.g. hotel booking, invitation letter from family or friend in ThailandFinancial evidence e.g. bank statements, proof of earnings, sponsorship letter

 

Confirmation of legal residence in the UK or Ireland (if applicants are not nationals of these countries) e.g. long stay visa, residence permit, BRP card

======

 

So before, that was a requirement for METV, which they have now extended to SETV.

 

If the Embassies in the region follow suit, tourist visa runs in the region will become history. 

Edited June 28, 2019 by lkv

[Tanoshi]

6 minutes ago, lkv said:

Yes, but I cannot fly to London, get an SETV tomorrow, and say fly from London to Bangkok the next day.

 

I have to prove to them I reside in the UK, so I actually have to live there.

Your referring to this I assume;

• Confirmation of legal residence in the UK or Ireland (if applicants are not nationals of these countries) e.g. long stay visa, residence permit, BRP card

 

I think you'll find an EU passport is sufficient evidence of residency status.