Hi,

I live near Mae Sai,Chiang Rai.

I have been getting 15 day visa extensions for longer than I care to admit.

I just got another one today but the guy told me "next time please make a visa"

and he marked a 4 with a circle round it on my stamp.

This happened to me before so I went to Vientiane,they told me no more Tourist visas from here for you.

i used to be up on the visa scene but I'm out of date these days,

I will do some research on this site but if anybody could talk me through this it would make things a lot easier.

As I see it I have 4 options-1 Visa run to Cambodia,

-2 vIsa run to Malaysia

-3 Visa run to Yangoon

-4 Overstay,

I'm planing a trip back to Europe in June and I'm thinking that any of these visa runs will cost me 20,000Bht,

flying first Chiang Rai/Bangkok and then on to where ever and back.

So the big question is..........is it still cool to overstay and go to Bangkok Airport with 20,000Bht a few hours before the flight in June.

I'll leave it at that and go researching on this site but any info that might save me searching would be most appreciated.

thanks.

You get a little red stamp in your passport if you overstay. Have you been able to talk, lucidly, to someone in immigration about your problem?

It should help if you gave a little more info , example Age , if Ed visa around your place availble , pension or are to young etc....

"I have been getting 15 day visa extensions for longer than I care to admit.

I just got another one today but the guy told me "next time please make a visa"

and he marked a 4 with a circle round it on my stamp.

A '4' marked by the stamp would mean you've only got 4 x 14 day extensions (they count the first day, so you only get 14 days) which is not even 2 months.

These are not actually visa extensions. They are visa-free entries.

I wonder about these limits. At the Cambodia borders there are Filipinos who stay for a very long time on 14 day runs.

Perhaps you should look into getting an Education Visa.

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by tropo

I'm not old enough for the retirement visa and I live in the mountains so my address is too far away

from a school to get an education visa.

Not much option s left over in such case , as married also you need 40 000 bht income / month , and i do not think that monkhood to buddha is not an option by choice ... as temples are all over Thailand even smallest village has one

maybe the mods know better things

Aren't there some schools where you can learn Thai online and still get a education visa. I believe Walen even offers it which is a TV sponsor.

Edited February 21, 201313 yr by Jimbo

Overstay is only a problem if you are caught before you reach the airport, if you are not caught it is no problem so far in returning to thailand.

There is no information suggesting you qualify for a non-immigrant visa, but you can try your luck for a double entry toruist visa in savanakhet, Laos.

Yep,it's looking like an overstay is looming.

Is it worth going to Savanakhet ,Loas hoping that they have no record of the Vientiane refusal.

i don't like the overstay option but it is so convenient.

refusals are mosttimes consulate specific. It doesn't mean that you will be denied at another consulate. But if you have a lot, they might limit it also to only 1 tourist visa or a double and tell you not to apply there anymore also.

1 post containing illegal advise deleted.

global moderators,

that sounds interesting,

whats the most painless way to get there,

Better to go the tourist visa route so you don't break any rules IMO. The odd 1-2 day overstay can be put down to forgetfullness or sickness etc. but a 20k max out 'could' at some stage in the future be an unwelcome addition to your passport. Keep it clean I say because you can't be sure what the future will bring.

If you overstay and are stopped by the BIB for any reason you'll be arrested and end up in IDC. Try to get the tourist visa, maybe even a new pasport is in order.

Overstay is so convenient?

Why would you take the risk to get checked by police and go to jail for a while and get deported?

ED visa. They can't force you to finish the course - or is that illegal advice?

Sorry, I haven't much advice to offer, except to say, from the rather smug viewpoint of someone who spent all of 20 minutes getting a repeat retirement extension the other day and can now forget it for another year, that I am in awe of the OP's stamina and tenacity in seeking to live in the country on 15-day visit stamps.

I have a friend who has developed a liking for life here, similarly unqualified for the normal routes to residence, but has managed to spend a large part of the last year here. It does involve returning to the UK to get a 60-day visit visa and then another 30-day extension locally, and repeating the process. It all seems rather expensive, but he appears able to afford it, so I guess it's just another illustration of life as a crap sandwich - the more bread you've got, the less sh1t you eat.

A friend of mine who had been doing back-to-back border runs to Mae Sai was also told no more 15 day stamps, so she went to Mae Sot and got the 15 day stamp there. She thinks she can now return to Mae Sai for the next border run. Don't know for sure -- she just did the Mae Sot run a few days ago.

In her case, she just got caught up in all the Thai and Korean holidays in December and never managed to get to the Thai Embassy in Seoul, which requires application and pick-up in person -- and she can't get two days in a row off from her teaching job some distance from Seoul.

She says next year she's going to get herself better organized, and get a tourist visa like she's done in previous years for her annual holiday in Thailand. She says the border runs every 14 days have been a major PITA and she doesn't understand how some people can keep doing them for years!

Edited February 22, 201313 yr by NancyL

global moderators, that sounds interesting, whats the most painless way to get there,

To get to Savannakhet from north Thailand would be a long trip by bus. Probably to Udon Thani and from there to Mukdahan.

By air via Bangkok to Sakon Nakon or Nakhon Phanom. Nok air has fly and ride service from Bangkok to Mukdahan via both cities. Info: http://www.nokair.com/contents/promotion/mukdahan/en-US/index.html

Edited February 22, 201313 yr by ubonjoe

So now you've got me thinking.

If I'm going to blow 20k,I might as well have a bit of a tour than giving it to emigration.

I'm pricing-flights on Nok Air to Mukadan,

Thanks for all the advise.

Option 4 overstay, don't get caught pay at the airport.

1 post containing illegal advise deleted.

Oops, sorry Mario, I didn't think that through!