Hi, just want to make sure I have this right otherwise I will end up with a mess.

I'm 58, US citizen.

My son is coming over to visit mid-Dec and want to make sure I'm in the country when he gets here and not stranded outside of it waiting for a visa. I also plan to start a TEFL course on Jan 2nd (three weeks in total). My son is supposed to arrive on the 17th of Dec and fly out the 30th. I have to head for Phuket on the 30th or 31st for the class.

I entered Thailand on October 6th with a tourist single entry visa I picked up in Shanghai at the Thai consulate. I got it late Sept and it states that I must enter before Dec 27th. He said that it was for 60 days but there is nothing about that on the visa itself.

Q1: Should it have said 60 days on it?

Q2: So, is the normal thing to do to get out of the country early Dec (before the 5th) and apply for a new 60 day visa? I take it that if I stay here I'll only get a 30 day extension and then will have to fly out which would be hard with the class timing.

Q3: anything I should be aware of to not run into a snafu when I go outside of the country to make sure I get another 60 days not 30? I was planning to go either to Malaysia or, remote possibility, Italy.

Q4: I also entered Thailand for one week in September before heading over to Shanghai. That time was a standard 30-day I picked up at the airport. Will that harm my chance of getting a 60-day extension or the next extension so that I can job hunt for academic or TEFL jobs after the class period?

Thanks

Thanks

The visa never has anything but issue and use before date on it. With a US passport and a tourist visa to stay is always 60 days. So yes you must leave Dec 5 or before unless you want to extend and obtain a new tourist visa. It should not be hard to obtain in Laos or Malaysia but would avoid Cambodia at the moment. That will allow a new stay of 60 days that you can extend 30 days. Being over 50 years of age you might be able to obtain a non immigrant O visa if you say you are thinking of retirement and that would allow a 90 day stay (but no extension).

The visa never has anything but issue and use before date on it. With a US passport and a tourist visa to stay is always 60 days. So yes you must leave Dec 5 or before unless you want to extend and obtain a new tourist visa. It should not be hard to obtain in Laos or Malaysia but would avoid Cambodia at the moment. That will allow a new stay of 60 days that you can extend 30 days. Being over 50 years of age you might be able to obtain a non immigrant O visa if you say you are thinking of retirement and that would allow a 90 day stay (but no extension).

Thank you. Does the O visa allow you to exit to Malaysia and renter again with another O or tourist?also, I would prefer Laos but I usually hear about Malaysia as being the place to go - along with Singapore. Have you had first hand exp with Laos for the Thai visa?

I am on retirement extensions of stay for last decade but Savannakhet is currently excellent and Vientiane should not be a problem for you (more than 3 tourist visas can be a red flag there). You might have a hard time getting a second non immigrant O visa in the area as the expectation is you intend to extend your stay using that.