It is illegal to hand one's passport to an agent in Thailand to take to another country for you in order to obtain a Thai visa or extension, so we are reminded this day by another popular expat site.

If this is true, would it be any different, legality-wise, exiting as far as Poipet, and then letting the visa/bus company complete the work at the Thai Embassy in Pnom Penh, while you wait 2 nights for them to return your passport and visa in Poipet? Thanks.

If you want to do that legally, hire some crooks in Poipet.

They will do the whole thingy in the TE in PP and bring it back to you.

I just don't see the advantage of it........waiting in a sh'thole like Poipet for 2 nights and paying a ridiculously high amount to those scambodian agents.

It is indeed illegal for your passport to go abroad without you for the purposes of obtaining a visa. However, if the owner of the passport has legally crossed the border into Cambodia at Poipet, employing an agent to obtain a visa for him from the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh is perfectly legal. 2 nights in Poipet would not be my personal choice

It is only legal if the Embassy officially allows it - I suspect they do not and this whole operation is thus shaky and any visa obtained using it could be invalid. I have also seen reports of someone in that Embassy doing one day service through a hole in the wall. Corruption and legal are not the same - as many people/corporations are finding out; long after the fact.

It is only legal if the Embassy officially allows it - I suspect they do not and this whole operation is thus shaky and any visa obtained using it could be invalid.

How is this operation fundamentally any different than service offered by the multitude of visa agents in Penang?

The Consulate in Penang allows such operation. It is official practice. But from what we have had reported from PP the visa service (at least locally) seems to be a behind closed door operation and likely not sanctioned by Chief of Mission.

It is illegal to hand one's passport to an agent in Thailand to take to another country for you in order to obtain a Thai visa or extension, so we are reminded this day by another popular expat site.

If this is true, would it be any different, legality-wise, exiting as far as Poipet, and then letting the visa/bus company complete the work at the Thai Embassy in Pnom Penh, while you wait 2 nights for them to return your passport and visa in Poipet? Thanks.

Thanks very much, guys, for your thoughtful answers. Much appreciated.