Denied Tourist Visa at Both Vientienne and Savannakhet - Told 3-6 Months Max Stay in Thailand Rules Now in Effect

[overherebc]

8 minutes ago, transam said:

What hotel are you in at Sav, for your Internet..?

Don't ask searching questions.

????????????

[transam]

2 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Don't ask searching questions.

????????????

Weeeeeell, you know me.....????....................????

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, SteveK said:

There can't be many, if any other countries in the world so aggressively trying to keep tourists with money to spend out.

There can't be many, if any countries in the world that allow foreigners to relocate lock stock and barrel on the back of tourist visa, visa-exempt entries and extensions thereof either.

 

In fact, just because there are so very few other countries that allow this, the fact that Thailand is kicking them out or blocking their re-entry must really must be a real PITA.

 

For them I mean.

[LivinLOS]

16 minutes ago, ExFarang said:

Very few foreigners in Vientienne generally now as most people that used to go there were doing visa runs but dried up now. Spoke to several shop owners about this and they agreed Thai embassy strictness has affected their business negatively.

ha ha.. Tells you all you need to know about the appeals of Laos.. Its economy hangs on the amount of visa runners Thailand accepts ????????

[Thian]

After reading all this every day i'm really getting nervous to get a new non-o marriage based...i do have insurances, money, time, everything fine but still it gives stress.

[overherebc]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

Weeeeeell, you know me.....????....................????

????????

PS.

Still not running. ????????

[transam]

Just now, overherebc said:

????????

PS.

Still not running. ????????

Gawd, I will have to pop round...........????

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

India is better for 'medical stuff'.

I recommend the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan for ingrown toenails.

[bbi1]

2 hours ago, SteveK said:

There can't be many, if any other countries in the world so aggressively trying to keep tourists with money to spend out.

Thailand doesn't want tourist dollars. They are richer than the Arab oil countries lol.

 

Seriously, can't wait for Thailand real estate and economy to crash more than 50% soon.

[bbi1]

2 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

"And for those aforementioned O/Non-O people, your time is short, they are coming for you soon. The insurance requirement is just the beginning."

 

please enlighten me i must have missed the memo

 

 

Be patient my friend. It's coming shortly to the over 50's soon on their retirement visas ????

[GeorgeCross]

11 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Be patient my friend. It's coming shortly to the over 50's soon on their retirement visas ????

 

yep any day now... any day...

 

yawn.

 

actually a 50% real estate crash would be awesome (but about as likely as snow over dubai). go grab some bargains

 

[fforest1]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

That means that they will believe that you are working in Thailand on a tourist visa, which probably 97% of all people living on those do.

 

I will bet you a tidy sum of money its more like 97% on tourist visas ARE NOT WORKING....

[fforest1]

18 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

Thailand doesn't want tourist dollars. They are richer than the Arab oil countries lol.

 

 

Thailand wants tourist dollars alot just not from Whitey......

[bbi1]

1 minute ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

yep any day now... any day...

 

yawn.

 

actually a 50% real estate crash would be awesome (but about as likely as snow over dubai). go grab some bargains

 

It's coming soon. None of the visas are safe these days. Wait for the flood of reports later of retirement visa holders being denied entry and/or extensions for some reason. The new health insurance requirement is the 1st step of things changing.

[ExFarang]

1 hour ago, khaoniao said:

Were you denied instantly on the day of applying in Vientiane or did they take you to do an interview on the pickup day?

In Vientienne they accepted my passport and when I came back the next day I was told no tourist visa for me because I had already reached 6 months in Thailand and that was the limit now. No denial stamp or anything like that was put in my passport. Just verbally denied.

 

In Savannakhet, the worker looked at my passport and right away in less than 30 seconds said his boss the consular officer would not approve any tourist visa where the applicant has reached 3 months of stay in Thailand. That's why I phrased it in the title Max 3-6 months because I was told different time limits at each embassy. They did not accept my passport at Savannakhet. No denial stamp or anything. Again. Just verbally denied. 

[bbi1]

4 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

I will bet you a tidy sum of money its more like 97% on tourist visas ARE NOT WORKING....

I would agree with you there. Only a tiny percentage who is breaking the law and they should be deported and banned from coming back.

[GeorgeCross]

Just now, bbi1 said:

It's coming soon. None of the visas are safe these days. Wait for the flood of reports later of retirement visa holders being denied entry and/or extensions for some reason. The new health insurance requirement is the 1st step of things changing.

 

and you are basing this prediction on what? tea leaves? gut instinct? bar stool banter?

 

please, evidence, or can the sky is falling BS

 

 

[fforest1]

2 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

and you are basing this prediction on what? tea leaves? gut instinct? bar stool banter?

 

please, evidence, or can the sky is falling BS

 

 

Sir whats the last time a visa was made more easy?.....

[Jano22]

15 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

It's coming soon. None of the visas are safe these days. Wait for the flood of reports later of retirement visa holders being denied entry and/or extensions for some reason. The new health insurance requirement is the 1st step of things changing.

But living in a foreign country WITHOUT health insurance is safe ?

[ExFarang]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

If you are continuosly live in Thailand on tourist visa? Yes, then you are right. They not welcome you no more. That´s only out of the simple reason you can not comprehend that a tourist visa has that name because it´s created for the purpose of tourism. Not for stay indefinately in Thailand on, bacause they will assume that you can not take care of yourself without working. That means that they will believe that you are working in Thailand on a tourist visa, which probably 97% of all people living on those do.

All other people are still welcome to Thailand. (For your information 6 month and over, can never be considered or referred to as a short term stay. If you are her eon short term stay on tourist visas as they are intended to be used for, then you have no problem as long as you live up to the requirements.)

Hi. Can you point me to any official statement by the Thai government asserting this rule? I can't find what you are claiming anywhere officially. I mean, they clearly state on the Visa that it is good for 60 days, so Thai's apparently do understand the concept of setting 'stated' limits. Why do you think they refuse to make this clear? You state it as something obvious but if it's so obvious then why can't they delineate it properly? I mean if I overstayed 1 day then they have no problem enforcing that with a fine. Is it just a matter of selective enforcement based on the consular officers / IO's mood?

 

BTW, where are you drawing that statistic that "you are working in Thailand on a tourist visa, which probably 97% of all people living on those do." Where are you getting that number from? Out of thin air, or...?

 

Funny you mention that though as I brought that up with the worker at Savannakhet that I know that's probably what his boss thinks... and that it is an absurd conception. I said it jokingly and he agreed. But I asked him what "job" could I possibly have in Thailand?

 

There is no money to be made in Thailand. Thailand is only for spending money, not making money.  Want to know how to move to Thailand and become a Millionaire? Move here with 10 Million...

 

What am I going to be? An English teacher? Making 1K USD a month? LOL. No thanks. I literally told him all this and he 100% agreed it was "crazy"... His words. "Baa" he said. That's Thai for crazy. I haven't spent any time in Thailand for years but years back when I did spend more time there I literally never met one single person working there except when I first came there some 20 something told me he was an English teacher in some remote village and when he told me how much he made I laughed hysterically. That was 15 years ago, before they cracked down on language schools.

 

Ever seen a Farang taxi driver, or construction worker, or anything else? Because I never have so I don't know where you pull this magic 97% number out of your @ss.

 

The only people I have EVER seen possibly working (but who never admit to) are bar managers where they are friends with the bar owners but in that case the Thai need to clean their own house because everybody knows bar owners pay the police "tea money" so if anyone knows about illegal Farang workers they know exactly where to find them. 

 

But in reality I know many bar owners and they have always maintained that they are forbidden from even picking up a beer from the Thai bartender and handing it to me even when they are sitting right next to me.

 

So again, where are the news reports of any Farang ever working in Thailand except the odd English teacher in some backwater Providence? Because I've never seen it firsthand. Ever. 

 

What I do see is lots and lots of Indians running restaurants, or selling clothes and knickknacks or harrasing me for a custom suit with no Thai workers anywhere in sight. Never once a Westerner.

 

BTW, I am retirement age and as I said I provided a bank statement with a healthy bank balance so your "argument" is meaningless in any case. I just don't want to apply for a retirement visa because as I stated (which for some odd reason you refuse to accept) I don't live in Thailand, and have no desire to. Thus, a tourist... Whether you can come to terms with that or not.

 

 

[illiterate]

I think you are right when you say they do not care. They never have though. Why should they?

 

I think you are right and wrong when you day things are changing. Things are changing a bit, but if you look at the changes calmly, you will notice a pattern. He changes are counteracting abuses! Too many foreigners staying here on ED visas and not getting an education - crackdown. And the list goes on like that. 

 

Another way to state that above paragraph, is that there are a few changes happening, but it is the result of our own actions and abuses. You can't throw rocks around all day and start complaining when a few windows break. 

[ExFarang]

1 hour ago, SteveK said:

Go to Macchiato de Coffee and have one of their imported steaks with peppercorn sauce, very nice they are.

Funny you say that. That's where I posted from. You spying on me bro? Haha Had the blueberry pancakes tho

[FarFlungFalang]

2 hours ago, ExFarang said:

You would have to be more specific. Got maybe 1 hour of sleep on the VIP (haha ok) bus from Viet to SK so I am exhausted. 

Well one quote says you haven't been to Thailand for 3 years and the other quote says 1 1/2 months.

[fforest1]

8 minutes ago, ExFarang said:

 

 

What I do see is lots and lots of Indians running restaurants, or selling clothes and knickknacks or harrasing me for a custom suit with no Thai workers anywhere in sight. Never once a Westerner.

 

 

 

 

This is true....I have never seen a Thai working in a Indian restaurant and I have never seen a farang restaurant with out a Thai working there....

[mduras01]

3 hours ago, SteveK said:

There can't be many, if any other countries in the world so aggressively trying to keep tourists with money to spend out.

The US comes to mind. As does all of Europe. As does the Middle East. Been to all, lived in all. 
 

Medical care in private hospitals in Thailand is not that cheap—especially when you are here for half a year or more. It is clear immigration is just calling the bluff.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, transam said:

Gawd, I will have to pop round...........????

Wait til I hide the bodies.

????????????????????

[RickG16]

As usual, we only hear about the people who get denied. Can this be seen as indicative of the bigger picture? I wonder how many people have got their SETV successfully in Laos over the past few days.

[ExFarang]

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

You seem to like busses. There are busses from Savannakhet to Vietnam (and there's a Vietnamese consulate in Savannakhet in case you need a visa for Vietnam), where you could try to apply for a Thai tourist visa. You aren't stuck, but you probably cannot stay in Laos for much longer (two more weeks?).

Hi. I appreciate the advice. I know you are trying to help so I sincerely thank you. But no way I am going to fly to another country to roll the dice with another Thai embassy. They simply are not reliable or professional. Plenty of other countries...

 

And I didn't mean stuck as in 'stranded', just not sure where to go next. I got a Lao extension from my original visa which expires monday- which is when I would have gotten my Thai visa back if they had any concept of consistency.

 

BTW, what a difference in professionalism and ease... In Laos you actually get to tell them how many days you want to extend for. They make it very easy. Of course Lao is boring as hell. But the people are very, very nice. I feel genuinely bad the US bombed them so badly during the Vietnam war. You would think if anyone would hold a grudge against Americans it would be them but they don't. Oddly enough those sorties originated from our 'allies' the Thais land - from U-Tapao. Ironic that Thais seem so hostile to Americans where the ones who have legitimate greivences- the Lao people, are as friendly as can be. Makes you think.

[scubascuba3]

It's coming soon. None of the visas are safe these days. Wait for the flood of reports later of retirement visa holders being denied entry and/or extensions for some reason. The new health insurance requirement is the 1st step of things changing.

Not really, they had to get the Non Imm O-A for something

[scubascuba3]

But living in a foreign country WITHOUT health insurance is safe ?

This health insurance risk is overstated by the thai govt. Millions of Thais use the system and don't or can't pay for it. The farang cost is relatively small I'm sure