Addendum ; Used the 60 day border crossing / visa exempt as recommended. Now back in Laos (Savannakhet) as of late August - crossing over the border, again friendly i.o. checked my pp on the way out of Thailand, and said I should have no problem applying for a tourist visa. Applied online for the first time & got refused a tourist visa with no reason / explanation offered, & of course they kept my fee. Although I could stay in Laos for 3 Months & goto Vietnam overland, taking me into New Year, my priority is to get back to store property / possessions (my car is @ the border) - and make arrangements for someone to take care of a child I support full time. The Laotian employees at the Thai embassy are only following direction on criteria, but upon talking to them, and without trying to sound like an unhinged conspiracist, did get a sense of the flag waving Nationalism en ce moment, coming into play. Why bother letting people have 2 border bounces legally then ultimately penalise them for using them ? I say bounces - I spent at least a few weeks in other Countries between using the granted visa exemptions . I could have applied for a visa last time, and kept the remaining exemption for such a situation, or at least if rejected would have had knowledge / my affairs and a plan in place already. All left me feeling temporarily stumped, which has never happened in my 30 Years of history here. My intentions are honourable - I lay low, make merit and spend money - not doing anything illegal. I have been advised that to get back to Thailand to clear my affairs, I should apply for a Transit visa showing a flight to a 3rd Country within 30 days, & I "may" be approved, but no guarantee, which I found a bit strange, to say the least, considering I did feel their empathy concerning my circumstances. Once back, I can get everything squared away, & would be happy to leave again until New Year if it resets my 2 border bounce allowance. I was contemplating buying a throw away ticket to Vietnam with a booked itinerary, but find a lot of conflicting information about pros/cons of such tickets, so may buy a real one way to London with a date change to submit, as I'll be using it anyway, at some point. My ultimate plan was to celebrate a last Xmas with my daughter, get everything in good order, and head back to UK around March for work - I also have friends flying in next Month for a jolly up. Has anyone ever successfully used these $20 - 24hr to 14 day self cancelling onward tickets for a visa application or are they risky ? Is the embassy in SVK just being unfriendly - is it likely I'll be refused a Transit visa, or would I be better off trying at Vientiane for a tourist / transit visa with a real flight booked ? Will my recent rejection cast an unfavourable light on a new application ? Google is definitely not your friend in these situations. Need to make a firm decision next couple of days.. Good day, everyone. Thanks for any helpful insight / learned opinions on such matters.
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