Worry-Free Non-O-Visa Savannakhet

[Damaz6052]

Download it from this site http://www.laos-guide-999.com/support-files/laos-visa-on-arrival-form.pdf.

Where do you download the lao visa on arrival form ???

Also is there anywhere I can download the Thai O visa Application form ??? would like ot get prepped before I go

cheers

[HooHaa]

most hassle free non o i have encountered is penang.

arrive at airport sunday afternoon , taxi to hotel, cross street to hand documents to visa people.

cros street collect passport and visa after checkout Tuesday and fly.

[cornishcarlos]

Did you get multi entry in Penang though..?

[drink75]

Great post, very informative!

I'm off tomorrow morning (3rd Sept 2014) to do exactly this visa. It will be the third time for me and my experience over the lasst couple years has been very much the same as the OP.

Only difference I can see is the possibility of a single day turn around now but I've booked 2 nights at the Savan Vegas Casino anyway, might as well enjoy myself!

I always take additional info (although I have never needed it) like copies of my kids birth certificates, wifes passport (as well as her required ID card copy), and take spares of everythijng as well. Waste of time? Probably but I would hate to be in a situation where I need it and don't have it!

Will report back on Friday, or Monday, depends how much fun I have:-)

[DiamondKing]

What to do while waiting for the visa since I wil lhand that in about 10am what to do till 3pm where should I head prefer just a nice coffee shop or restaurant with internet

Any directions to a decent place to hang out for 5 hours

[cornishcarlos]

Get to the consulate early (8.30) and be 1st in line at the gate.

Have all your paperwork ready and you will be out of the place 5 mins after entering at 9am.

Come out the consulate, turn left and walk about 700 meters straight, crossing a couple of roads until you reach the market.

There is a good western style restaurant/cafe with nice food and reasonable Wifi, called Chez Boune.

Be back at the consulate at about 2.45 and you should be able to stand in a little bit of shade by the main gate.

Be in 1st again, avoid the stampede and you should be all done and on your way to the border by 3.35pm.

I managed to get back into Thailand by 4pm.

BTW google or the search engine on here work a treat

[DiamondKing]

Trip so far

Booked Nok Air flight 11.10am from Chiang Mai to Bangkok 1600 baht

Then booked the Air Asia flight 3.10 to Nakon Phanom 1303 Baht

Landed at Nakon Phanom and took the air asia limo service to Mudahan 430 baht

Stayed at Kiengpiman hotel as recommended by CornishCarlos total for 2 nights was 1000 baht

hotel is clean although I think there might be better located hotels in a more lit up area probably would not recommend a lady staying here along since the walk to restaurants and 7-11 is very dark

Got up this morning and took taxi from the hotel to the Border 120 baht

Checked out of Thailand and paid 50 baht for the bus over the bridge

Laos Visa on arrival 1500 baht

Van service to the Thai consulate from border 200 baht (shared with a guy I met if alone you pay 200) tried to bargain but they were firm

Got a Visa Application form from the little shop across from the consulate and they filled it in and glued the pictures 60 baht

Handed in my document with 5000 baht for the visa application

I was number 3 it was very quiet with just 4 farangs and about 10 others

The there was the drama of finding a place to sit and hang out for 5 hours, I did not see Cornish's post above, but ended up at Chez boon anyways after 1 hours of trying to find somewhere decent to hang out. I was recommended Lins Cafe but when we finally found it it was closed.

Chez Boon has good internet and just had Omlette and some nice french bread and some nice coffee Very nice

Scheduled to pick up visa at 3.30 (will update if successful (marriage O visa with no proof of funds)

Scheduled to fly back to Chiang Mai tommorow Nakon Phanom departure 12 noon to Bangkok then the 14.20 to Chiang Mai total 3000 baht getting home about 4pm

If all works out its a fairly quick trip just 2 nights away and the total cost will be around 14,000 baht

Edited September 3, 2014 by DiamondKing

[DiamondKing]

UPDATE: Obtained the Multiple Entry Visa with no proof of financials so overall an easy way to get a O visa based on Marriage and without financials and in just 2 Days from Chaing Mai.

[cornishcarlos]

Thanks for all the info supplied above...

Dont mention it, you're welcome..!!

[teatree]

Trip so far

Booked Nok Air flight 11.10am from Chiang Mai to Bangkok 1600 baht

Then booked the Air Asia flight 3.10 to Nakon Phanom 1303 Baht

Landed at Nakon Phanom and took the air asia limo service to Mudahan 430 baht

Stayed at Kiengpiman hotel as recommended by CornishCarlos total for 2 nights was 1000 baht

hotel is clean although I think there might be better located hotels in a more lit up area probably would not recommend a lady staying here along since the walk to restaurants and 7-11 is very dark

Got up this morning and took taxi from the hotel to the Border 120 baht

Checked out of Thailand and paid 50 baht for the bus over the bridge

Laos Visa on arrival 1500 baht

Van service to the Thai consulate from border 200 baht (shared with a guy I met if alone you pay 200) tried to bargain but they were firm

Got a Visa Application form from the little shop across from the consulate and they filled it in and glued the pictures 60 baht

Handed in my document with 5000 baht for the visa application

I was number 3 it was very quiet with just 4 farangs and about 10 others

The there was the drama of finding a place to sit and hang out for 5 hours, I did not see Cornish's post above, but ended up at Chez boon anyways after 1 hours of trying to find somewhere decent to hang out. I was recommended Lins Cafe but when we finally found it it was closed.

Chez Boon has good internet and just had Omlette and some nice french bread and some nice coffee Very nice

Scheduled to pick up visa at 3.30 (will update if successful (marriage O visa with no proof of funds)

Scheduled to fly back to Chiang Mai tommorow Nakon Phanom departure 12 noon to Bangkok then the 14.20 to Chiang Mai total 3000 baht getting home about 4pm

If all works out its a fairly quick trip just 2 nights away and the total cost will be around 14,000 baht

Any idea of the bus times fom Thailand to Lao?

Thanks

[jaykuzi]

You cannot get a non-o multi visa based on being a father. Only single entry. Get your facts straight. Just go for the one year extension at local immig.

[Jomtien1993]

I ask to excuse for my English. I wish tell many thanks to the platinum member Paz. I followed your advice and I was fine.I went to Savannaket as you suggested and 04/09 I got a year without any problems. The paper to show are the same other person said many time.

In addition to qesto I have asked to see the original marriage certificate, I've shown the translation made at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and it went well.

I then presented a certificate to the person, having my wife took my last name. In practice, the certificate states that Kanlaya Sitan and Kanlaya Ruggeri are the same person.

From Udon Thani we took the bus 07:00, six hours to get to Mukdahan, at 13:00. The day after we get up at 06:00, lunch at 07:00, then with the tuk tuk to the border. The customs of Laos attention, if you are used to Vientiane does not work the same way. At the border to Vientiane when applying for a visa on arrival there is already put the stamp, and you do not need anything else to get into Laos. At the border to Savannaket no. After paying 1500 baht, you will be returned the passport but you'll have to go to the control that shall impose a stamp, you'll have to pay 40 baht.

Do not run, there are few people compared to Vientiane, there is not 'need. I arrived at 10:00 am and everything went well. The passport will be returned to the 15: 00-15: 30. The staff are friendly.

In front of the consulate there are two places for photocopies and a store that sell same little food and drinks.

A Mukdahan I had a great time at the hotel. Beautiful rooms, with everything and that there must be more, including wifi and a bathroom with two showers, so if you are two.... Fantastic breakfast in the morning, kindness and smiles, excellent price /quality for 800 baht, but I do not know if I can give you the names, and in any case if the first time around here looking for in front of the Mekong.

Again excume for my bad English.

Thanks Paz, I owe you so much.

[paz]

Happy to know it worked good for you. Next time pay the Laos visa in USD and you will save something.

[Bardeh]

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

[Sena Dave]

Why does the copy of marriage cert have to be Back to back , Ive seen a few people who have said they have done that. ?

[bkkjames]

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

please update us how you made out including docs required for this (marriage cert +?) etc.

[Damaz6052]

Just around the corner from the consulate in Savannakhet is a cheap hotel 400b a night. Head towards the river, turn right and 50m on the right. If you're arriving at 7.00am, catch the next bus to Laos from Mukdahan.

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

[ubonjoe]

Why does the copy of marriage cert have to be Back to back , Ive seen a few people who have said they have done that. ?

They normally only want for a copy of the front. The back has a stamp with the registration info.

They will often will want to see the original.

[Bardeh]

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

please update us how you made out including docs required for this (marriage cert +?) etc.

Sure thing. I'm just going by the documents in the OP, so original marriage certificate plus copies of front and back, copy of my passport photo page, my wife's ID card copies front and back, and copies of my wife's tabien baan.

I don't think I've missed anything if I take all that, unless anyone has been recently and knows if I'll need anything else?

[Bardeh]

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

Just around the corner from the consulate in Savannakhet is a cheap hotel 400b a night. Head towards the river, turn right and 50m on the right. If you're arriving at 7.00am, catch the next bus to Laos from Mukdahan.

Thanks for the info, but if the consulate in Savannakhet is still giving out the visas on the same day, I'll probably spend the night in Mukdahan so I can catch an early bus the next morning back to Bangkok.

[Damaz6052]

You're arriving at 7am or 7pm?

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

Just around the corner from the consulate in Savannakhet is a cheap hotel 400b a night. Head towards the river, turn right and 50m on the right. If you're arriving at 7.00am, catch the next bus to Laos from Mukdahan.

Thanks for the info, but if the consulate in Savannakhet is still giving out the visas on the same day, I'll probably spend the night in Mukdahan so I can catch an early bus the next morning back to Bangkok.

[Sena Dave]

ubonjoe, Thanks yet again

it appears strange , though probably par for the course with Thailand , that different Consulates/Embassy's have differing requirements , all part of the fun I suppose

[Bardeh]

You're arriving at 7am or 7pm?

Just want to say thanks to everyone for all the great info in this thread! I leave tomorrow from Chiang Rai to Savannakhet to get my non-o visa. Any recommendations for a nice, relatively cheap hotel in Mukdahan? I'm flying down to Don Muang and then taking a bus from Morchit 2 to Mukdahan which will arrive on Friday at 7am, so in theory I could arrive, get my visa, and then get straight back on the bus Friday evening and get it all done in a day, but I think I'll be pretty tired after all the travelling, so I'll probably stay a night in Mukdahan and catch a bus back Saturday morning.

Just around the corner from the consulate in Savannakhet is a cheap hotel 400b a night. Head towards the river, turn right and 50m on the right. If you're arriving at 7.00am, catch the next bus to Laos from Mukdahan.

Thanks for the info, but if the consulate in Savannakhet is still giving out the visas on the same day, I'll probably spend the night in Mukdahan so I can catch an early bus the next morning back to Bangkok.

7am in Mukdahan, on Friday. So, assuming I have everything correct, I should be able to catch a bus to Savannakhet at 9am, get my application done, pick up the visa on Friday afternoon, then go back over the border to Mukdahan, spend the night there, then catch a bus back to Bangkok on Saturday morning.

[JJBloke]

Hi, The new Consulate is now open in Savanakhet.... I was there on Thursday Sept 11th.... I believe details of its location are earlier on this thread....but it's much nearer the bridge..... you can negotiate tuk-tuks as a group for about 40B p/p especially on the way back....perhaps a more senior member can spread the word on the place being now open...

The new place has the service windows outside,.... a visa window with an info window next to it.... it's very impersonal, not really time to ask anything really, but everyone seemed to get their desired visa, still on the same day and everything as above in this thread...

Tuk tuks don't all know that it has moved, so watch out for that when going back to pick up.....doors opened on time morning and afternoon

The recommendation on this thread about the cafe Chez Boon was very useful... there is literally nothing to do and nowhere to go apart from here.... If you want to go there, ask the tuk tuk driver to take you to :"Gaffay Boon" ...it's at a market called dalaad dao hooang, which is NOT the market next to the bus station, which is really crappy..... TIP: There is a massage place next door where you can take a shower before a massage in the freezing cool a/c and refresh yourself from all sweat, heat and dust, and kill an hour or 2..a lovely conservative massage by cute staff !!.... take a change of clothes is a good idea... if they are busy there's another place just across the market (ask cafe to show you)....

I.m writing this from the hotel Baandala,in Mukhdahan... which is a really lovely hotel and amazing value.... it is walkable distance to and from the bus station from which the international bus goes to and from savanakhet,..... just go outside,hotel turn left and walk about 200m... bus station is called Bor-Kor-Sor... which is Thai for BKS.... it's a good way to get on the bus at source instead of meeting it at the bridge.... the hotel is away from the riverside, but truthfully there is absolutely nothing to do anywhere anyway... ( strangely the Hor Gaew tower is surrounded by only brothels with neon lights at night, and doesn't have the sort of beer bar you might imagine)... and a tuk tuk will take you down to Indochina Market from the hotel for no more than 50B anyway.... good hotel, read agoda reports///

Overall in Savanakhet, be prepared for a really backward and unimpressive place compared to Mukdahan, but people are still very nice.

Hope all this helps, just random info as i am still travelling.... you'll feel great once you've got your visa and it all seems well worth it once you cross back over!!!

[Bardeh]

I'm sitting in the Chez Boon cafe at the moment - I came here straight from the consulate, and while I haven't really walked around and explored much here in Savannakhet, it doesn't really seem like there's much going on. I did see a sign for a dinosaur museum, so I might go and check that out.

The new consulate is open now - there were about 20-30 people waiting outside for it to open this morning, but the queue was processed very quickly. I got my multiple entry non-o based on marriage with no questions asked and the following documents:

*Completed application form

*Original marriage certificate

*Copy of marriage cert. front and back

*Copy of photo page from my passport

*Copy of my wife's ID card front and back, signed by her

*Copy of my wife's tabien baan signed by her

I caught the first international bus from Mukdahan bus station at 7.30 this morning - it was very busy, but you're not on it for long. I already had my Laos visa form filled out thanks to this thread, so it was very quick and easy to get that done, and then I just got in a tuk tuk from the Laos border and he took me straight to the consulate. If you don't have your application already completed there are a few stalls next to the consulate that'll do it for you, and a nice little shop that sells lovely pate baguettes for 30 baht. I'd really recommend this, the bread was just amazing!

Thanks again to all in this thread. Thanks to the information in here, I had everything ready before I arrived and the whole thing has been completely stress-free.

[bigjohn72]

My bus is scheduled to arrive in Mukhadan at 8 am.

Is there any chance that i could miss the 11 am deadline?

[Bardeh]

My bus is scheduled to arrive in Mukhadan at 8 am.

Is there any chance that i could miss the 11 am deadline?

You should be fine. The bus leaves from Mukdahan to Savannakhet at 8.30, if you get on that one you'll be over the border by 9.30 at the latest. Don't bother getting back on the bus once you've been through Laos immigration, just get on a Tuk Tuk straight to the consulate.

[bigjohn72]

Thanks

[homemade514]

If I left (me driving a car) Khon Kaen early in the morning, what is the latest recommended time I would need to be at the border in mukdahan ready to cross in order to get the visa same day? Is it possible do you think?

Can you park a car near where you would need to catch the bus across the border? Is it safe? Pay?

Would like to leave Khon Kaen early AM in order to assure getting across border in time to get visa same day, apply for visa, pick up visa that afternoon and then drive back to Khon Kaen same day. Google says it's almost 3.5 hours so it's not back and as for me I know that is okay.

Thoughts?

[ubonjoe]

If I left (me driving a car) Khon Kaen early in the morning, what is the latest recommended time I would need to be at the border in mukdahan ready to cross in order to get the visa same day? Is it possible do you think?

Can you park a car near where you would need to catch the bus across the border? Is it safe? Pay?

Would like to leave Khon Kaen early AM in order to assure getting across border in time to get visa same day, apply for visa, pick up visa that afternoon and then drive back to Khon Kaen same day. Google says it's almost 3.5 hours so it's not back and as for me I know that is okay.

Thoughts?

I would say you should not arrive any later than 9 am at the bridge. They would give you 2 hours until the 11 am cutoff time.

There is secure parking on the left side just before you get to the bridge. If I recall correctly from a report it 150 baht a day.

From there is is a short walk to where you can buy the bus ticket and clear Thai immigration.