Just a quick warning to anyone on a Penang Visa run - contrary to at least one of the posts on this forum the consulate only accepts Malaysian Ringgit not US dollar. I was there on Monday morning armed with a Penang visa run report informing me that the price for a Type B non immigrant visa was $20.00 - after cashing my Ringgits into US dollars, taking a Taxi to the embassy and queuing for 1/2 an hour (the consulate opened 30 mins late at 9.30) I was sent away to get local currency; BTW it's 200 Malaysian Ringgit for a Type B non immigrant.

On a postive note if you want to make the Penang run a bit more of a holiday with your wife or girlfriend I can recommend the Eastern Oriental Hotel - not cheap at 300 Ringgit a night (3K+ baht) but well worth it for a lovely hotel in a great position in Georgetown.

Are you sure your not getting confused with Cambodia,?which use $ for visa's,I have never seen a thread on here saying to use them in Penang.

I've just returned from a trip to Penang to obtain a non-immigrant B visa. If anybody needs to go in the near future the following may be useful.

1. I flew out on Wednesday evening and back on Friday evening on Air Asia spending two nights in Penang. Both the outward and return flights were delayed by at least an hour. This didn't affect me but it's something to bear in mind for those taking the early morning flight scheduled to land in Penang at 10:05 who want to make the visa application the same morning.

2. I stayed at The Oriental an adequate clean Hotel 69 MR per night.

3. I obtained my visa through an Agent Ravi Sharma Travel Leith street tel 04 2632145. e-mail [email protected]. Just round the corner from the Oriental. Total cost 220 MR. (200 MR visa fee and 20 MR commission). I handed the visa application to him 9.am Thursday morning and it was returned at 3pm the next day. I asked him if it was possible to obtain the visa the same day for a fee he said it was possible with ????? airline (I forget the name) but not with Air Asia.

4. Taxi fare from the airport to the hotel was a fixed 28 MR. On the way back I flagged a taxi down from the street he refused touse his metre though his price of 25 MR was still cheaper than the fare from the airport to Georgetown.

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In my report I did state MR which is Malaysia Ringett. Are you sure it wasn't your printer?

On a postive note if you want to make the Penang run a bit more of a holiday with your wife or girlfriend I can recommend the Eastern Oriental Hotel - not cheap at 300 Ringgit a night (3K+ baht) but well worth it for a lovely hotel in a great position in Georgetown.

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On a "positive" note? Who's picking up your bills??

I've just returned from a trip to Penang to obtain a non-immigrant B visa. If anybody needs to go in the near future the following may be useful.

1. I flew out on Wednesday evening and back on Friday evening on Air Asia spending two nights in Penang. Both the outward and return flights were delayed by at least an hour. This didn't affect me but it's something to bear in mind for those taking the early morning flight scheduled to land in Penang at 10:05 who want to make the visa application the same morning.

2. I stayed at The Oriental an adequate clean Hotel 69 MR per night.

3. I obtained my visa through an Agent Ravi Sharma Travel Leith street tel 04 2632145. e-mail [email protected]. Just round the corner from the Oriental. Total cost 220 MR. (200 MR visa fee and 20 MR commission). I handed the visa application to him 9.am Thursday morning and it was returned at 3pm the next day. I asked him if it was possible to obtain the visa the same day for a fee he said it was possible with ????? airline (I forget the name) but not with Air Asia.

4. Taxi fare from the airport to the hotel was a fixed 28 MR. On the way back I flagged a taxi down from the street he refused touse his metre though his price of 25 MR was still cheaper than the fare from the airport to Georgetown.

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In my report I did state MR which is Malaysia Ringett. Are you sure it wasn't your printer?

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Here's where I found it:

Visas take two working days to process and please remember you have to be aware of both Thai and Malaysian holidays. Several agents in town will arrange your visa for a couple of hundred baht or you can go up to the embassy yourself. Up to you. Tourist Visas are $17.50  for a single entry. $37.50 for a double entry. Non Immigrant Visas are $20.00. The main street for tourists on a budget in George town is called Chulia Street, a short walk from the ferry station and lined with budget hotels and restaurants. The Swiss hotel is both cheap and clean, as are numerous others. Many run by Bangladeshi's.

 On reflection it was in a report in the main 'Visa Run' section - I suppose that I was unlucky and read the one missleading report on the site!

alex_uk

Looks like the poster was converting to us dollars to give an idea of price.Certainly confusing,as most people quote prices of things in local currency

the last time I went, they charged 99 ringgit per tourist visa.