How Long Can I Reside On A Voa After Non-imm O Expires

[tuktukracer]

Hi there. In November my non-immigrant O visa ran out and I therefore had to do a border run, which I did on Nov. 27th. So that's one VOA stamp in my passport. I have to leave the country again on Dec. 27th. So, i plan on doing another poipet border run. This will take me to 2 VOA stamps and I will then have to exit again on Jan 26th. My question is, can I do another border run in January, which if possible will be my 3rd VOA stamp. I plan to go home at the end of February, so this 3rd VOA would take me right up until this time. Heard conflicting info about VOAs - some people are telling me it's a max of 60 days, while others say 90 and was wondering if coming off of a non-immigrant O visa in Nov. had any bearing on things. Thanks for any info.

[ballbreaker]

Can use VOA for total of 90 days in six month period.

[Sophon]

Can use VOA for total of 90 days in six month period.

Except that what we are talking about here are Visa exempt entries not VOA (Visa on arrival) which is something completely different.

Sophon

[TonyLeung]

what do you mean sophon? he is talking about VOA as far as i can tell.

[lopburi3]

Visa on arrival (VOA) is a 15 day visa sold to people on arrival of selected nationality (usually places where obtaining a Thai tourist visa would be difficult). It is not the 30 day visa exempt stamp that most people are familiar with and that is limited to 90 days in a six month period.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

what do you mean sophon? he is talking about VOA as far as i can tell.

[gharknes]

Hi there. In November my non-immigrant O visa ran out and I therefore had to do a border run, which I did on Nov. 27th. So that's one VOA stamp in my passport. I have to leave the country again on Dec. 27th. So, i plan on doing another poipet border run. This will take me to 2 VOA stamps and I will then have to exit again on Jan 26th. My question is, can I do another border run in January, which if possible will be my 3rd VOA stamp. I plan to go home at the end of February, so this 3rd VOA would take me right up until this time. Heard conflicting info about VOAs - some people are telling me it's a max of 60 days, while others say 90 and was wondering if coming off of a non-immigrant O visa in Nov. had any bearing on things. Thanks for any info.

Did you need an air ticket to obtain these 30 day stamps ? I'm in the same position next month

Edited December 23, 2007 by gharknes

[lopburi3]

You need to have 10k baht and a ticket out - it may not be checked however.

[gharknes]

well I just learned that the 200baht you pay in cambodia is for a bus ticket which you never get but it represents a return trip to cambodia, not sure about the 10,000bahy you're talking about, never heard of that one, perhaps you could explain

[kiakaha]

I suggest a thread explaining to people the difference in correct terminology between Visa, Permit of Stay Stamp ,Visa Waiver and Visa On Arrival. It really ain't that tricky to get it right.

[gharknes]

I asked the op a specific question about air ticket, I've lived here for almost 3 years on Type 0 ME visas the last one expired in Octobber, but i now wish to stay a little bit longer becaue it suits me to do so, so I need to do 2 or 3 30 day border runs, when I did these before I just did a simple border run out and in every 30 days but this was nearly 4 years ago.

[PhilHarries]

I asked the op a specific question about air ticket, I've lived here for almost 3 years on Type 0 ME visas the last one expired in Octobber, but i now wish to stay a little bit longer becaue it suits me to do so, so I need to do 2 or 3 30 day border runs, when I did these before I just did a simple border run out and in every 30 days but this was nearly 4 years ago.

You are supposed to have an onward or return air ticket dated within the 30 days you are stamped in for when entering on a visa exemption stamp. I personally have never been asked to show it but apparently it is being asked for at land border crossing points (e.g. Aranyaprathet/Poipet) but not at the airports. There are reports that you can get away with a coach or train ticket out of country but I have no direct experience of this.

I also went through a period of 30 day border runs and never had an onward/return ticket but that was back '02 to '04 well before last October's revamp of the rules.

[tuktukracer]

Thanks for the input. Just did my 2nd border run without any issues. I confirmed with the immigration officer that I could indeed get another stamp for 30 days after the current one expires end of Jan. Going back through my two passports, I have been to PoiPet a total of 22 times and never (not even recently) have been asked to provide proof of travel arrangements to exit the country before the stamp expires, nor have I been asked to provide any proof of money. So these 30 days stamps aren't called Visa On Arrival? I think a lot of people are confused about this.

[lopburi3]

You should point out, from information in first post, that perhaps not all your border visits have been without a visa (or was the non immigrant O visa just a single entry?). If you are just making a new visa entry transportation out would not be a normal question. It is when you use the visa exempt entry that it is frequently checked - if that has not happened to you it may be because of the high season for tourists (to keep the queues moving) as well as your good looks/luck.