hiii everyone,

i (us citizen) have been in thailand since late 2008 on tourist visas (6 so far, mostly from cambodia) and a variety of entry stamps.

but the ngo i volunteer with is giving me the documentation to get a volunteer visa.

assuming all my documentation for it is correct, will i have any issues getting this visa within southeast asia due to my prior tourist visas?

are there any embassies in particular to avoid?

id love to go to kota bharu so i could take a vacation at perhentian at the same time, but everything i hear says thats a bad one.

will i have to make a trip out of the region - ie perth - to do this?

thanks for any advice!

You should be OK. But if you want more certainty, I would apply for the work permit before you go abroad. Labour won't give you a work permit till you have the relevant visa, but will give you a WP3 form. This indicates that you will get the work permit once you have the relevant visa and should make it easier to get a non-O visa.

Perth can no longer issue vsas

Perth is indeed closed, but the OP should be OK in the region. Only when he wants a multiple non-O would he be better of in Australia. In the region it is very likely only a single non-O will be issued.

Perth can no longer issue vsas

Perth no longer issue visa as it is shut down. I think most of the business to go through Perth now handled by the embassie in canberra

thanks everyone for the great information. i had no idea about perth closing- maybe i should read thaivisa more often!