Changing From Non B To Tourist

[khazaddoom]

I've been working at the same school for 4 years on successive 1yr non imm visas. The new teaching licenses are causing problems so my school is switching to an agency. I'll need to get a tourist visa or an on entry. I'd prefer the tourist visa as my daughter is nearly 2 and she has a british passport so dragging her along on monthly visa runs wouldn't be much fun. If I've been here since 2003 do I still need a return plane ticket?

Really stressed out after 4 years of easy visas. Any help?

[lopburi3]

You should not need a ticket if you apply for a tourist visa and enter using that. Vientiane is currently the best place to obtain but you should not have a problem at KL, Singapore, Penang or other location having been here on what I assume were one year extensions of stay (non immigrant visas only allow 90 day stays). If you need more than one tourist visa Vientiane is currently providing two entry on request.

[khazaddoom]

Cheers for the advic. I've extended my non imm in Bangkok for the last 4 years. How much is a 6 month tourist visa(2 entry) can I get 30 day visas after that?

[khazaddoom]

Cheers for the advice. I've extended my non imm in Bangkok for the last 4 years. How much is a 6 month tourist visa(2 entry)? Can I get 30 day visas after that?

[thaiclan]

Are you British? Why don't you just get a new non-O from consulate in UK??

Cheers for the advic. I've extended my non imm in Bangkok for the last 4 years. How much is a 6 month tourist visa(2 entry) can I get 30 day visas after that?

[lopburi3]

It will be twice the cost of a single entry and each 60 day stay can be extended 30 days at Immigration - but the visa will likely be only valid 3 months so the first extension will likely be a little less than 30 full days. You are allowed up to 90 days in a six month period of visa exempt entry so you could use those after the visa entries.

[khazaddoom]

Are you British? Why don't you just get a new non-O from consulate in UK??

Yes, I am. But I haven't been back for 5 years. I can't afford it. Just need to keep working here somehow or in Laos.

[thaiclan]

my previous reply didnt show up...? having computer probs here!

But, if you are British you can visit a neighbouring country within your budget, Fed Ex your passport to the consulate. Total time 5 to 7 days. You do however need an address in the UK for the consulate to send you passport with visa to and your contact in the UK send it back to you. Fed Ex or similar of course!

[Lite Beer]

my previous reply didnt show up...? having computer probs here!

But, if you are British you can visit a neighbouring country within your budget, Fed Ex your passport to the consulate. Total time 5 to 7 days. You do however need an address in the UK for the consulate to send you passport with visa to and your contact in the UK send it back to you. Fed Ex or similar of course!

Not recomended. Dodgy at best.

[thaiclan]

Why is it dodgy? I telephoned the consulate and was recommended to do this. They even sent me the forms with the relevant article if a person was to use this route. The only thing possibly "dodgy" was if you wasn't going to use a Fed Ex or DHL.........

Why would there be a written article in the rules and regulations if it was not legal/acceptable??

And tehrefore why would you tell the OP soemthing was dodgy when you have no firs thand experience about it?

This route is perfectly legal for UK subjects, any age, any marital stauts.

Not recomended. Dodgy at best.

[Lite Beer]

It is a bit of a grey area as to whether it is legal or not.

Why would any one want to be stuck in an Asian country without a passport for a couple of weeks?

In most countries it is a legal requirement to keep your passport with you at all times.

This subject has come up many times and the advise from most members is , Don't do it.

[thaiclan]

I have this over and over again. It is a legal requirement for your passport to be in your posession but many government services (customs and consulates and embassies) urge you to send in your passports via the postal routes. I can't be sure but the term "in your possession" must legally translate to "don't give it away and not know where it is".

I heard for the first 3 years of living in Thailand all the usual spill about the only way I could get a non-o is to go back to the UK and get it. I kept saying "surely surely there must be an easier way, as I also here that soemone like me can't get a non o as it is (not married to a Thai, I'm age 31 etc ).

So rather than listen to my fellow Pattayarites I decided to find out the definitive.

I contacted the consulate, and as I stated they even have forms with dedicated articlles pertaining to this route. It is completely legal. The ONLY thing the consulate will not do is send the passport and new visa out of the country, thus you must have an address in the UK which they can send to and then the address send on to you. Both times for me it has been fast and effective and only a little extra fee of the Fed Ex bill. Far cheaper than flying back to UK and staying there for a few days.

I stayed in Singapore whilst waiting for my passports and if the post had gone awry it is not difficult to go to the British embassy and tell them what happened to secure a new one.

It is a bit of a grey area as to whether it is legal or not.

Why would any one want to be stuck in an Asian country without a passport for a couple of weeks?

In most countries it is a legal requirement to keep your passport with you at all times.

This subject has come up many times and the advise from most members is , Don't do it.

[thaiclan]

Feel free to PM me if you want me to email you the forms I received from consulate.

As a side point I sent my visa app and passport off on a Saturday and received it back with new visa the following Friday.

[khazaddoom]

Feel free to PM me if you want me to email you the forms I received from consulate.

As a side point I sent my visa app and passport off on a Saturday and received it back with new visa the following Friday.

Thanks loads. My email is

Send me the forms please.

[lopburi3]

No Thai Consulate has told you it is OK to mail your passport for a Thai visa from Cambodia or Malaysia or any other local country. And you could be in serious trouble if found without your passport in a foreign country; and any visa obtained in this manner is not likely to be accepted by Immigration if they notice it. There is a reason the Consulate advised the passport would be mailed to a UK address. Ignore at your own risk.

If you have two passports it may make this a viable option. With one passport it is Russian Roulette.

[thaiclan]

That is simply not true! The directions are it is perfectly acceptable to mail in your passport from abroad. The consulate (in the UK) has NO problem with this whatsoever as it is still in your responsibility. However they will not post BACK to you to an international address. I received this information via telephone and then again in a reply to an email so I could have back up in case I was receiving innacurate information.

Since then my visas have been obtained this route as have all my friends and family. This is only from the British consulate that I have this advice. My question to you is why would they have articles pertaining to this route if it wasn't acceptable?

Another bemoan I have with some members of TV is their stubborness regarding anything that can be done in a way they either haven't thought of or wasn't able to manage. I have never had a problem getting a multiple entry O for the past 6 years, yet I do not work in the Kingdom, am not over the age of retirement, have never had to show bank funds and am not married or partnered with a Thai. I am here perfectly legally with the correct visa obtained in the correct way.

As I mentioned before anyone is free to PM me for the relevant forms I was sent from my consulate regarding posting a visa request in from abroad.

No Thai Consulate has told you it is OK to mail your passport for a Thai visa from Cambodia or Malaysia or any other local country. And you could be in serious trouble if found without your passport in a foreign country; and any visa obtained in this manner is not likely to be accepted by Immigration if they notice it. There is a reason the Consulate advised the passport would be mailed to a UK address. Ignore at your own risk.

If you have two passports it may make this a viable option. With one passport it is Russian Roulette.

[lopburi3]

It most assuredly is true. The problem is not for the Consulate. The problem is for you (or the persons you are trying to do this) if you/they are found without a passport while in a foreign country.

[thaiclan]

Yes it wouldn't be advisable to be required to show your passport whilst waiting the 5 to 7 days in a foreign country, although technically it is still in your possession as the registered mail belongs to yourself. But, as an alternative to actually flying back to the UK, and as long as you are not the type of person to be involved in crime (a photocopy is adequate for other proof of ID you may need) then this route is highly attractive, and as I said before entirely legal and acceptable to obtain a multiple O from the UK

It most assuredly is true. The problem is not for the Consulate. The problem is for you (or the persons you are trying to do this) if you/they are found without a passport while in a foreign country.

[thaiclan]

It most assuredly is true. The problem is not for the Consulate. The problem is for you (or the persons you are trying to do this) if you/they are found without a passport while in a foreign country.

Lopburi this is the form heading and instructions....

APPLYING FOR A VISA WHEN RESIDING OUTSIDE THE EUROPEAN UNION

Persons residing outside the European Union (EU) who wish to apply to this consulate for a visa to visit Thailand for whatever purpose must submit their

application only through a person residing in the UK. That person, residing in the UK and acting on behalf of the applicant, can then submit the application to this consulate by post or in person. When the visa is issued we will return the passport to the person who submitted it on behalf of the applicant subject to the

correct return postage being included. That person is responsible for forwarding the passport to the applicant wherever they may be residing. We do not accept any applications for visas direct from persons residing outside the EU.

Furthermore this Consulate will not issue a visa to anyone whose passport shows

they have not exited Thailand prior to submitting their application.

[lopburi3]

You will note that the Consulate is not saying you will not have a problem - only that they will only check that you are not in Thailand then they stamp the passport. This method should never be used by anyone having only one passport and who is in a country where a passport is required of them.

[thaiclan]

You will note that the Consulate is not saying you will not have a problem - only that they will only check that you are not in Thailand then they stamp the passport. This method should never be used by anyone having only one passport and who is in a country where a passport is required of them.

Why? Surely it is preferential for all those poor buggers opting instead to do a continuous 30 day exit? There is nothing ilegal about it, you are perfectly entitled to seek a visa from outside the EU as long as you have an address in the UK of someone who will vouch on your behalf.

After reading what a lot of other people in Thailand do - overstay - 30day visa runs - I do not know why TV do not post this advice as an option.

[lopburi3]

We don't advise anyone to overstay either. We are not going to recommend people do things that can put them in jail.

[thaiclan]

We don't advise anyone to overstay either. We are not going to recommend people do things that can put them in jail.

OK you obviously completely disagree with this route - even though the UK consulate advise it. How pray can you end up in jail??

[thaiclan]

As a passport holder I have to be in possession and be responsible for my passport at all times. That does not limit me to not being able to post it, leave it at an office, leave it with my friend as long as I am responsible. Passport is required to enter a country but you are not required to carry it at all times only to show it upon request. Usually this can be done with a photocopy of the details that can then be checked against a computer. If the worst came to the worst and you were involved in a crime then you are still in possession of your passport and it will take you hoewever many days to retrieve it - same as if you locked it in a bank secure box which was closed over a public holiday.

If the passport gets lost in the post (highly unlikey with Fed Ex or DHL but nothing is impossible) then you are in the same boat as if you lost your passport by any other mean.

[lopburi3]

They do not advise it - read the words - they say they will not have a problem taking your money and stamping a visa into your passport - they do not say it will not come back to bite you. What do you think will happen when Malaysian police check your ID and find no passport? They will ask for an Embassy receipt if you say you are getting a visa. You will not have that either. They you mention you mailed your passport out (so some terrorist can use it to enter Malaysia?). You are talking very dicey moves and probably the inside of a jail cell.

[thaiclan]

They do not advise it - read the words - they say they will not have a problem taking your money and stamping a visa into your passport - they do not say it will not come back to bite you. What do you think will happen when Malaysian police check your ID and find no passport? They will ask for an Embassy receipt if you say you are getting a visa. You will not have that either. They you mention you mailed your passport out (so some terrorist can use it to enter Malaysia?). You are talking very dicey moves and probably the inside of a jail cell.

Why on earth are you writing your own script on this one?? I had a very lengthy first hand account of how to get mine and my child visa wiothout returning to the UK. I was given a wealth of information on how to do this, and there is no ilegality involved.

Are there ulterior motives at work here. It is very simple to get a multiple non O from the UK without visiting that country. Why on earth would you want to make that simple advice so difficult by trying to instill fear and nonsense into the readers. Do you operate a visa company or something...?

In none of my correspondence with the consulate do they recommend not to do it, or that it may be less than advisable. They simply state they do not want the responsibilty of passports therefore limit their postal service to the UK only.

[lopburi3]

I post here with no connection to anyone or any business. What I post is my best assessment and if you want to ignore that it is fine with me. But do not advise others to make actions that may result in serious problems for them.

[thaiclan]

Okay this is stalemate. If anyone wants to obtain a visa whilst residing outside of the EU please feel free to PM me for the forms and original email advice. Anyone else who agrees with Lopburi perhaps you could buy him a beer and soothe his nerves and half empty outlook.

Seriously Lopburi if a TV user sends you in the advice they received from the consulate, you have to ask yourself why your opinions override this to the extent that you wont even hold it as a possible option.......

I thought the whole point of TV was to get reasonable and varied information from the Thai expat population, yet your remarks are based on your opinions without ever considering another option. What is the use of the on the Visa section of TV??