20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

He had been back in Oz for months so I would have suggested to him visa exempt entry no problem.

 

The one issue is that he had obtained one of the notorious "volunteer visas" from agent in Pattaya. 

That may have been an excuse for the io to try extortion.

 

If I had read his account on AseanNow, I would have dismissed it as fake.

 

The concern is that I know the guy very well and it's true.

Even more surprised that he was able to hand over 15k baht and get a visa exempt stamp.

Occured at BKK airport on a Sunday evening..

Wow, sorry to hear that about your friend... Personally I would not return with a passport with previous dodgy visa in it, I'd get a new one (even if they can see some history on their screen).

Did he just hand all that cash to the I/O right there, or he had to call his visa agent to do the deal?

On 5/7/2023 at 9:21 AM, underthesky said:

First I had 9 months on a Special Tourist Visa. Then 1 month out. Then a SETV for 3 months followed by a visa exemption for 2.5 months (no nights spent outside of Thailand between those two stays; no questions asked at the Nong Khai border for that VE). At the end of last month I did a quick visa run to Vientiane and got my latest SETV.

 

However, I was questioned while entering at the Nong Khai border on that most recent entry about why I had been in Thailand so long. The officer asked where I going, had I family here, and what I was doing in Thailand. When I said I was here for tourism, the officer said I couldn't be when I had been in the country so long. He then asked for extra details about the address I was going to stay at before stamping me in.

 

As I was getting my passport, I could hear the farang in the line to my left being asked where he was going to (a somewhat daft question, as this info gets put on the arrival card). I wasn't around to know if he got the same grief as I did though.

I was questioned there too, but I've been in Thailand since 2020 on covid extensions and visa exemption stamps

21 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

I was questioned there too, but I've been in Thailand since 2020 on covid extensions and visa exemption stamps

Did you get any of those visa exemption stamps at an airport?

 

I was questioned in a very minimal way at the Nong Khai border about where I was going. I just said I was off to Phuket and the IO was happy with that.

19 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

Did you get any of those visa exemption stamps at an airport?

 

I was questioned in a very minimal way at the Nong Khai border about where I was going. I just said I was off to Phuket and the IO was happy with that.

How does this post match up with your OP.

What are you asking about? 

Or just fishing. 

On 5/8/2023 at 12:50 AM, BritTim said:

 

Vientiane should be OK, and that would be my second choice if you decide against ending your time in Thailand early.

Thank you, BritTim. I'm thinking of doing exactly this but I'm concerned about this thread:

 

 

This was almost four years ago so does it seem that Vientiane have move on from this and my SETV + 3 visa exempts with extensions won't be an issue? The experience of @underthesky suggests they have.

 

 

52 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

Thank you, BritTim. I'm thinking of doing exactly this but I'm concerned about this thread:

 

 

This was almost four years ago so does it seem that Vientiane have move on from this and my SETV + 3 visa exempts with extensions won't be an issue? The experience of @underthesky suggests they have.

I can offer no guarantees, but this is what I remember.

 

At one time, Vientiane was happy to issue pretty much unlimited tourist visas. They subsequently tightened up a bit, but were always willing to give you one if you did not already have two issued by them visible in your current passport. As other embassies/consulates in the region tightened their requirements, the queues became horrendous (similar to Savannakhet a couple of months ago). This was before the appointment system. For a while, they tightened their requirements further in an attempt to deter crowds of applicants from overwhelming them. After the appointment system was established, I think they reverted to the two tourist visas from them guideline.

 

Over the years, Vientiane has been mostly friendly. However, they have been under pressure at times to be stricter, and (as I explained) have also at one time needed to be strict to deter being overwhelmed by hordes of long stay tourists.

 

Good luck!

On 5/7/2023 at 5:40 AM, Pattaya57 said:

For info, I just made an appointment in Vientiane for a SETV and first appointment available was 17 May so at least 10 days in advance booking is required

 

How did it go, with your SETV?