livinthailandos Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I thought it would be helpful to point out to people who are trying to get a non immigrant b visa and think about coming to Singapore to get it. Keep in mind I had my company invition letter along with all required documents plus copies of work permit ( note I have had b visas before but each one good for 1 year I did get my b visa but they told me they would only give me 3 months then I'd be required to get another b visa again after 3 months. On a side note while there someone was trying to get a tourist visa and they only gave them 60 days period. After 60 days they told them they have to leave thailand Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 A tourist visa is always 60 days for most nationalities so likely a misunderstanding. They either have to leave or extend 30 days at an immigration office (perhaps they did not provide that information). How long was your work permit valid? Sometimes that has a lot to do with how long a visa they will issue so might be helpful for others. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxman71 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have never found the Singapore Thai consulate very helpful or friendly. And the queues can get quite long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randytimm Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) I have never found the Singapore Thai consulate very helpful or friendly. And the queues can get quite long. they are never friendly or helpful and there the woman with a glasses that will sometime come and check on the people in the queue of the paper work and she make u feel like u some kind of beggar going there to beg for food , and the muslim woman by the counter she will flip through your passport and if u have lot of custom stamp of thailand , she will tell u that u will not get a visa cuz there this rule that u are only allow 90days out of 180 days in thailand and then she will go to the back of the counter and ask her boss and then come back and tell u u are reject right on the spot and when u tell her that rule of 180 out 0f 90days have already been scrap she will ask u who tell u that , so try to avoid singapore thai embassy at all cost , the way they behave is like they are so superior and they can do whatever they wanna depending on their mood of the day and the best part is they get to enjoy the singapore and thailand holiday of both country Edited January 10, 2012 by randytimm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Thank you for your report, livinthailandos. It is the first one I got for my list of "Latest reports of getting a visa in the region" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squigy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I agree with Randytimm. Avoid Singapore like the plague. These Embassy guys like to act as though they are above everybody else and take great joy in refusing/rejecting visa's. They are arrogant Singaporeans who have been hired by the Embassy to perform "police' like activities and treat just about all clients as criminals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinteln Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) I agree with Randytimm. Avoid Singapore like the plague. These Embassy guys like to act as though they are above everybody else and take great joy in refusing/rejecting visa's. They are arrogant Singaporeans who have been hired by the Embassy to perform "police' like activities and treat just about all clients as criminals. Hi, I have to agree. I have just come back from the Singapore Embassy so I thought I would post a recent experience. I went for a single entry Non Imm B and had all the correct paperwork so I got the visa but despite this I have to agree that this is not at all a nice Embassy to go to if you are looking for a tourist visa and have history in your passport and /or if you are missing a couple of documents and hoping to wing it. When you first walk in there is a very aggressive looking battleaxe of a Thai/Chinese/whatever lady literally checking everybodys paperwork and almost enjoying it when she finds a problem and can send them back to the preparation desk. At one point I even heard her say to someone "make sure everything is in order before you come to MY counters next time". The guy only hadn't glued his photo onto the application form............my god......what a crime..shoot him !!!! So as normal there was only 1 counter open out of two and the queue was very very slow. Take it this way, when I got in at 09.30 there were 16 people ahead of me. By the time I got to the counter it was nearly 11.00. Ridiculous !! So this means they have seen only 17 people in that time and the places closes in 30 minutes. The lady at the counter was so arrogant it was unreal, literally slapping documents back at me that she didn't need and never actually looking at me when she asks a question. In the meantime while I was in the queue I listened to alot of what was going on and seems like they are very strict on tourist visas. Flight tickets, hotels, the lot. Unless you literally have all the paperwork and don't have much history in your passport (Thai stamps) then all in all I would stay away from this Embassy. This is an Embassy that wants to do as little as possible and extremely arrogant about it. They seem to be enforcing all the rules so that they can do as little work as possible and turn people away. In fact seeing as KL and Penang are not far I would just totally avoid this Embassy for Tourist visas. In regards to Non Imm O for marriage. I only heard one conversation and it seems like the normal documents plus 400,000 in the bank policy. Edited February 9, 2012 by rinteln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Used singapore on many occassions and never had a problem, drop the paperwork/PP off one day, pick passport up next....my PP has loads of Thai stamps into and never been once queried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinteln Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) Used singapore on many occassions and never had a problem, drop the paperwork/PP off one day, pick passport up next....my PP has loads of Thai stamps into and never been once queried Lucky man then, or maybe I was there on a bad day. Edited February 9, 2012 by rinteln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 One factor that does often present itself with Singapore is those with local ties (citizen or resident) often report good service. Unlike the reports from Manila where all seem to get the bad hair day (although there have been a few positive reports lately). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 One factor that does often present itself with Singapore is those with local ties (citizen or resident) often report good service. Unlike the reports from Manila where all seem to get the bad hair day (although there have been a few positive reports lately). Is maybe not more of case that certain people turn up prepared, ie documents correct etc, get there early at the front of the queue etc..eg I have to agree that this is not at all a nice Embassy to go to if you are looking for a tourist visa and have history in your passport and /or if you are missing a couple of documents and hoping to wing it. In cases like this...it is very obviously that persons may not be real tourist, and they know it, further if you turn up missing a couple of documents, then one would expect less that favourable reception at the desk. Try and get visa for the UK/US with a "few documents missing"... As mentioned have used Singapore on many occasions, turned up early to be at the front of the queue when the doors open, all paper work correct and checked...drop the paperwork off, pay the cash and then off for a day of beer & festivities on the company expenses, turn up next morning and pick up the PP...never been a single issue from any embassy staff.. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinteln Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) One factor that does often present itself with Singapore is those with local ties (citizen or resident) often report good service. Unlike the reports from Manila where all seem to get the bad hair day (although there have been a few positive reports lately). Is maybe not more of case that certain people turn up prepared, ie documents correct etc, get there early at the front of the queue etc..eg I have to agree that this is not at all a nice Embassy to go to if you are looking for a tourist visa and have history in your passport and /or if you are missing a couple of documents and hoping to wing it. In cases like this...it is very obviously that persons may not be real tourist, and they know it, further if you turn up missing a couple of documents, then one would expect less that favourable reception at the desk. Try and get visa for the UK/US with a "few documents missing"... As mentioned have used Singapore on many occasions, turned up early to be at the front of the queue when the doors open, all paper work correct and checked...drop the paperwork off, pay the cash and then off for a day of beer & festivities on the company expenses, turn up next morning and pick up the PP...never been a single issue from any embassy staff.. . Fair enough but basic human politeness should always be expected whatever the circumstances. Whether you are there for the 10th time or first you are still a human and customer paying for a service. I have to comment on your comparison to the UK/USA point as I see this mentioned all the time and it gets the blood going. I agree with your line "people who may not be real tourists" and im sure we could all debate about this for ages but in my opinion it is not to be compared to the UK or US. A visitor to Thailand, no matter how long they stay can never be a burden on the Thai state as there is no social system and no free health care etc etc. Whether you work, run a business, retired, lay around on beaches using Tourist beaches....whatever. You will always be a financial positive to the Thai GDP and government. If I run out of money tomorrow and I'm stuck here homeless with no money then at no time will I be a negative status financially to the Thai government and rightfully so. Even to send you home is at your expense including legal fees. Surely any intelligent government in this position must make immigration policy with this assumption. Most people that are trying to live here or stay for a long time are not going to put themselves in a position where they are homeless and/or skint on purpose. Even if they did there is still no burden on the Thai state. If this is the thinking behind the silly tourist rules and trying to limit them then it doesn't make sense unless they think that thousands of foreigners are going to invade Thailand and leave themselves homeless and die on purpose. Would be very negative thinking wouldn't it. Yes there will be some people who mess up but not enough to base your whole country's visa policy on. . To answer your point. In the UK an illegal immigrant or someone that overstays CAN be a burden on that state as any British person will know too well. That is the difference. If I overstay and run out of money and have no food here then I will die here with no support, simple !! In the UK you will get money, food stamps, healthcare, somewhere to sleep, basic human care etc etc. That is the difference. The UK has to be strict on visa rules and justified so as illegal workers, immigrants can be a negative on the state and they have to make sure as best they can that the risk is low of that happening. So in my opinion the whole "try getting a visa to the UK argument" is just not to be compared and I don't see what end of logic the Thai government have for it. That's even before we mention the obvious points like risk comparison etc etc. Someone with a British passport coming to Thailand is alot lower risk than vice versa. Edited February 9, 2012 by rinteln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) I have to comment on your comparison to the UK/USA point as I see this mentioned all the time and it gets the blood going. I agree with your line "people who may not be real tourists" and im sure we could all debate about this for ages but in my opinion it is not to be compared to the UK or US. A visitor to Thailand, no matter how long they stay can never be a burden on the Thai state as there is no social system and no free health care etc etc. Whether you work, run a business, retired, lay around on beaches using Tourist beaches....whatever. You will always be a financial positive to the Thai GDP and government. If I run out of money tomorrow and I'm stuck here homeless with no money then at no time will I be a negative status financially to the Thai government and rightfully so. Even to send you home is at your expense including legal fees. Surely any intelligent government in this position must make immigration policy with this assumption. Most people that are trying to live here or stay for a long time are not going to put themselves in a position where they are homeless and/or skint on purpose. Even if they did there is still no burden on the Thai state. If this is the thinking behind the silly tourist rules and trying to limit them then it doesn't make sense unless they think that thousands of foreigners are going to invade Thailand and leave themselves homeless and die on purpose. Would be very negative thinking wouldn't it. Yes there will be some people who mess up but not enough to base your whole country's visa policy on. . But the fact remains a tourist visa is for tourists, not for people use it as a vehicle to stay in a country on permanent or semi permanent basis, irrespective if they are are burden on a country or not..they are not tourists. I aways thought personnally the 180 day rule was quite a good one, in one of my own countries, the ruling is, once you have done 180 days in country in they will not let you back in for a 6 month period. Further on from that, retiree's are very welcome to come and live there provided you meet the monetary requirements and lodge and bond with the goverment, so if you manage to fall down and out while living there on retirement, there is money to repariate you back to your own country. If you want to live somewhere on a permanent or semi permanent basis....you really should go and get a proper visa, which lets you do that and in the case of Thailand there are muliple options to choose from to do it properly Edited February 9, 2012 by Soutpeel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 ..they are not tourists Why not? Is life itself not a continuing tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 ..they are not tourists Why not? Is life itself not a continuing tour? one could agree with you on a philosophical level of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rinteln Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) I have to comment on your comparison to the UK/USA point as I see this mentioned all the time and it gets the blood going. I agree with your line "people who may not be real tourists" and im sure we could all debate about this for ages but in my opinion it is not to be compared to the UK or US. A visitor to Thailand, no matter how long they stay can never be a burden on the Thai state as there is no social system and no free health care etc etc. Whether you work, run a business, retired, lay around on beaches using Tourist beaches....whatever. You will always be a financial positive to the Thai GDP and government. If I run out of money tomorrow and I'm stuck here homeless with no money then at no time will I be a negative status financially to the Thai government and rightfully so. Even to send you home is at your expense including legal fees. Surely any intelligent government in this position must make immigration policy with this assumption. Most people that are trying to live here or stay for a long time are not going to put themselves in a position where they are homeless and/or skint on purpose. Even if they did there is still no burden on the Thai state. If this is the thinking behind the silly tourist rules and trying to limit them then it doesn't make sense unless they think that thousands of foreigners are going to invade Thailand and leave themselves homeless and die on purpose. Would be very negative thinking wouldn't it. Yes there will be some people who mess up but not enough to base your whole country's visa policy on. . But the fact remains a tourist visa is for tourists, not for people use it as a vehicle to stay in a country on permanent or semi permanent basis, irrespective if they are are burden on a country or not..they are not tourists. I aways thought personnally the 180 day rule was quite a good one, in one of my own countries, the ruling is, once you have done 180 days in country in they will not let you back in for a 6 month period. Further on from that, retiree's are very welcome to come and live there provided you meet the monetary requirements and lodge and bond with the goverment, so if you manage to fall down and out while living there on retirement, there is money to repariate you back to your own country. If you want to live somewhere on a permanent or semi permanent basis....you really should go and get a proper visa, which lets you do that and in the case of Thailand there are muliple options to choose from to do it properly Yes I agree. The 180 day rule was actually quite good and one of only a few rules that did work because it filtered out some people but as normal the Thai government knew they were losing money. Thais want their cake and eat it. The main problem here for me is what is the definition of "tourist" ? I used to work in the UK for 3 months and then do a month or so here. I did that for 2 years. Am I a tourist or not ?!! If someone is staying here for a year and they have their own money then that is still a tourist in my book. At what point, or who decides when someone is not a tourist. When does one lose tourist moral status...........4 months, 6, 1 year etc etc. Yes I also agree that if you do want to stay a long time then you should get a proper visa but thats only in the interest of the foreigner. Again (as I mentioned earlier) what does it matter to the Thai government. Person A is on a 1 year multi entry for marriage and person B has done 3 tourist visa runs. What difference is person A to Thailand. Nothing. You are correct about the retirement visa though, that is probably one of only a couple of visas that does actually have a logical aspect to it. In general I think the only way all this will get a bit easier is when the logic being used isn't "how to get the most money out of those farangs without losing too many of them" and instead thought through immigration processes that don't encourage illegal activity. I know, very naive. Maybe this is 50+ years. Edited February 9, 2012 by rinteln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayned Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 "In general I think the only way all this will get a bit easier is when the logic being used isn't "how to get the most money out of those farangs without losing too many of them" and instead thought through immigration processes that don't encourage illegal activity." Logic is the key word and from what I have seen, Thais are not capable of "thinking outside of the box". It won't happen in my lifetime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 rinteln, Your point is fair enough, but let's not get to the point where "you" or another foreigner can impose their right to live in Thailand and yet you make the point that the opposite is not welcome because of the burden it brings on the UK. Sure, Thailand has no social welfare system, but let's also keep in mind that Thailand is a souvereign nation. Thailand doesn't seem to want to become a multicultural country like the UK or USA (at least not just yet) and although I think they should become more tolerant to the presence of foreigners, Thailand has every right to impose it's own visa regulations just like any other nation. Also, it isn't too difficult just to get a proper long term visa. Surely you can get some sort of job in Thailand and then obtain a proper work visa and work permit along with it should you want to live in Thailand long term (if no one else will hire you then at least become an English teacher). The other option is to live long-term in Cambodia. You can live in Cambodia indefinately on 1-year extensions with no requirements other than the ability to pay around US$275-300 a year and provide photographs and your passport to a travel agency plus the initial US$25 fee and one photograph for a business visa to enter the country. From there you can visit Thailand regularly on either no visa entry stamps or the occassional tourist visa, as long as you are spending more time in Cambodia than in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoodMaiDai Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I used Singapore once several years ago. Never again. Had all the proper work documents and was supposed to get a multi entry non-b, as I had every year before. They gave me a single entry and refused to acknowledge any mistake or even care that there was one, so I got stuck with a single entry, which was totally useless in my situation. I dream a dream of all the Thai consulates following the same rule book and not making up their own rules along the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoodMaiDai Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 rinteln, Your point is fair enough, but let's not get to the point where "you" or another foreigner can impose their right to live in Thailand and yet you make the point that the opposite is not welcome because of the burden it brings on the UK. Sure, Thailand has no social welfare system, but let's also keep in mind that Thailand is a souvereign nation. Thailand doesn't seem to want to become a multicultural country like the UK or USA (at least not just yet) and although I think they should become more tolerant to the presence of foreigners, Thailand has every right to impose it's own visa regulations just like any other nation. Also, it isn't too difficult just to get a proper long term visa. Surely you can get some sort of job in Thailand and then obtain a proper work visa and work permit along with it should you want to live in Thailand long term (if no one else will hire you then at least become an English teacher). The other option is to live long-term in Cambodia. You can live in Cambodia indefinately on 1-year extensions with no requirements other than the ability to pay around US$275-300 a year and provide photographs and your passport to a travel agency plus the initial US$25 fee and one photograph for a business visa to enter the country. From there you can visit Thailand regularly on either no visa entry stamps or the occassional tourist visa, as long as you are spending more time in Cambodia than in Thailand. You are spot on about all of that. However, the non-stop reporting, border runs, or whatever hoops people have to jump through, would be much easier for everyone, including the Thais, if they just put a price on it. Example, this sort of visa costs this much and you have to check in every 90 days. Or, you can pay X amount more (can be a decent amount more) and not have to check in. I'm sure everyone would pay extra (more money for Thailand) if given the option. Time is worth money to me so dicking around with them is losing money. I'd rather just pay extra, get what I need, and be done with it. Everyone wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwilco Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 On 1/10/2012 at 1:27 PM, livinthailandos said: I thought it would be helpful to point out to people who are trying to get a non immigrant b visa and think about coming to Singapore to get it. Keep in mind I had my company invition letter along with all required documents plus copies of work permit ( note I have had b visas before but each one good for 1 year I did get my b visa but they told me they would only give me 3 months then I'd be required to get another b visa again after 3 months. On a side note while there someone was trying to get a tourist visa and they only gave them 60 days period. After 60 days they told them they have to leave thailand Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com Used Singapore many times and found them to be the ONLY Embassy/ Consulate who are efficient and constant in their approach. Never had a problem with th next day system (one phone call check once) and I usually stay in Singapore for 3 nights just in case there is a glitch which there never has been Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigt3116 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 On 5/6/2012 at 6:06 PM, Tomtomtom69 said: Sure, Thailand has no social welfare system, Oh yes it does! social.PDF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigt3116 Posted December 18, 2023 Share Posted December 18, 2023 On 5/6/2012 at 6:06 PM, Tomtomtom69 said: but let's also keep in mind that Thailand is a souvereign nation. Thailand doesn't seem to want to become a multicultural country like the UK or USA Being a sovereign nation has NOTHING to do with multi-culturalism. (let's not forget that the UK and USA are also sovereign nations). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetops Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 On 12/18/2023 at 5:35 PM, kwilco said: Used Singapore many times and found them to be the ONLY Embassy/ Consulate who are efficient and constant in their approach. Never had a problem with th next day system (one phone call check once) and I usually stay in Singapore for 3 nights just in case there is a glitch which there never has been It may have been different 11 years ago when the post you are replying to was made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwilco Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 1 hour ago, treetops said: It may have been different 11 years ago when the post you are replying to was made. no I was there around then too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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