Some good news on the Visa front, today I went to the Royal Thai Consulate in Sydney armed with all the appropriate paperwork to apply for a 1 year multiple entry Non-immigrant B Visa. I handed over all my documentation and then asked what educational quals he wanted me to copy for inclusion in the application? He responded "don't need due to the political situation in Thailand we are making it easier to get business Visas" I then offered my old work permit, his response? Same as before.

Will I get the multiple entry without a copy of the passport/ID card of my employer? No problem.

I guess I will have to wait until Monday 5th Jan for the result but he indicated that it would be approved no problem.

It would appear from the above exchange that the Thai Immigration department is under some pressure to approve as many Visa applications as possible in order to get some more foreign exchange into the country. Good news for us I think.

Cheers all, Happy new Year!!

good news indeed,report back.

good news indeed,report back.

No worries, I will keep you informed as to the outcome.

More friendly than they were a few years back.

Beware of a scam which was being run in Sydney and Perth consulates some years ago regarding multi-entry non-Imm B visas.

Fees were being collected for multi-entry ($225 compared to $90 for single entry). The visa was marked as multi-entry but the expiry date was only 90 days from issue.

Check the visa details closely before leaving the consulate.

Hi all, I am very happy to report that I picked up my Non-B, 1 year, multi entry Visa today and yes it was stamped "must enter before 29 December 2009". Needless to say I was very happy with the ease of obtaining the Visa I wanted. Clearly the Thai powers that be are bending the rules to encourage more farangs to enter the Kingdom with their spending money. (I hope to be taking more out than I take in).

Happy new year all.