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Posted

Hi guys, first post here! Need some help and information please!

I am a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport currently training Muay Thai boxing in Phuket, earlier this year i came to Thailand for my first time in April, i spent 20 days in Koh Samui, i then went to Australia for 3 months and then came back to Thailand to train on July 29th 2009 directly from Australia with no visas arranged. I got the standard 30 day tourist visa on arrival.

Since then i have made two visa runs prior to the expiry of my 30 day tourist visas. All my visa runs were done by air, my first one was a weekend spent in Singapore and my second one was also a weekend in Kuala Lumpur. Every time i came back to Phuket i was granted another 30 day tourist visa.

The last tourist visa i received ends this October on the 26th. However my last flight out of Thailand back to Canada is not until the 9th of November.

So i decided to spend a weekend in Ho Chi Minh between the 22nd and 25th of October in order to get another 30 day tourist visa.

Will i be ok when i get back from Vietnam? I ask this because this will be my 5th reentry to Thailand within 7 months and i want to be sure ahead of time whether there are any limits imposed on genuine visa runs. I don't want to spend a nice weekend in Ho Chi Minh only to come back to Phuket and be told that i cannot reenter Thailand while all my luggage is still at the Muay Thai boxing camp i train at.

And yes i have read as much as possible before posting this topic, and to be honest was left more confused then when i first started. No one at my camp seems to be too sure about my situation. And NO i haven't gone to Phuket Immigration yet to ask, i will if i still feel my questions are unanswered, however i was hoping to avoid an unnecessary drive to Phuket town and thought i would post here first and get some help from you guys.

And yes next time i will apply for a 3 or 6 month visa in order to avoid all these hassles.

Any help and info will be greatly appreciated guys! Thanks ahead!

Posted

There is no restriction on the number of times you can enter the country by air using visa exempt entry. 4 back to backs visa exempt entries at land crossing would however trigger a report to immigration for investigation.

Posted
There is no restriction on the number of times you can enter the country by air using visa exempt entry. 4 back to backs visa exempt entries at land crossing would however trigger a report to immigration for investigation.

Hey Thaiphoon thanks for the quick reply!

What do you mean when you say visa exempt entry?

Posted

Visa exempt entry is the stamp you get from immigration when you arrive in country with no visa. You get 30 days if arriving by air, or 15 days at land crossing.

Posted
There is no restriction on the number of times you can enter the country by air using visa exempt entry. 4 back to backs visa exempt entries at land crossing would however trigger a report to immigration for investigation.

Hey Thaiphoon thanks for the quick reply!

What do you mean when you say visa exempt entry?

That what you called "Visa on arrival" in your post.

This is wrong terminology, you have gotten "visa exempt stamps".

"Visa on arrival is only for some nationalities and only gives 15 days.

The countries are:

1. Bhutan : Kingdom of Bhutan

2. China : People’s Republic of China

3. Cyprus : Republic of Cyprus

4. Czech : Czech Republic

5. Estonia : Republic of Estonia

6. Hungary : Republic of Hungary

7. India : Republic of India

8. Kazakhstan : Republic of Kazakhstan

9. Latvia : Republic of Latvia

10. Liechtenstein : Principality of Liechtenstein

11. Lithuania : Republic of Lithuania

12. Maldives : Republic of Maldives

13. Mauritius : Republic of Mauritius

14. Oman : Sultanate of Oman

15. Poland : Republic of Poland

16. Russian Federation

17. Saudi Arabia : Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

18. Slovakia : Slovak Republic

19. Slovenia : Republic of Slovenia

20. Taiwan

21. Ukraine

smiley-char124.gif

Posted

Hi folks,

I have a question on this topic. We have a group of volunteers who will be flying into BKK, and all are elligible for the aforementioned visa exemption stamp (US/Canada/Aussies). From BKK, we will be flying into Ubon and transiting across the Chong Mek crossing for a 10-day service project in Pakse, Laos. From all info I've seen, this is possible.

Upon completion of the project, we will be returning to BKK for return flights home. My question is - will we have any problem crossing back in Thailand provided that we arrive during operating hours at the border crossing? i have read a little about "re-entry permits" but it does not seem that these will be necessary considering that no visa was initially issued.

Thanks for your help!

Posted

Thanks for the quick reply!

Just a couple more quick pieces of info that would be extraordinarily helpful:

- I had a Vietnamese friend who told me that they had crossed in Chong Mek a few weeks ago, and saw a sign that said that as of Nov 28, 2008, all foreigners were requested to apply in advance for visas. Any idea what this could have meant?

- On the off-chance that something did happen and we were stuck, could we send someone up to Vientiane with all the passports to get new tourist visas put in them?

Sorry for the paranoia. We've just got quite a bit riding on this trip so want to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Posted
Thanks for the quick reply!

........could we send someone up to Vientiane with all the passports to get new tourist visas put in them?

Definitely NO.

The person must exit Thailand to apply for a new visa.

Posted
Thanks for the quick reply!

........could we send someone up to Vientiane with all the passports to get new tourist visas put in them?

Definitely NO.

The person must exit Thailand to apply for a new visa.

To clairfy, those people would already be outside of Thailand (in Pakse), but we'd send the passports up with a single person along with completed applications, pictures, $$$ etc.

Thanks.

Posted
Thanks for the quick reply!

........could we send someone up to Vientiane with all the passports to get new tourist visas put in them?

Definitely NO.

The person must exit Thailand to apply for a new visa.

To clairfy, those people would already be outside of Thailand (in Pakse), but we'd send the passports up with a single person along with completed applications, pictures, $$ etc.

Thanks.

Basically, yes you can asap that you are in Lao.

During my last visa application, I did not have to show my face... but I was staying in the car just in front of the consulate.

Do you (or your friends) have someone that you can really trust... that's the point!

In case of any trouble, Pakse is very far away from Vientiane.

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