Am I going to face problems doing this? Trip to Burma and back to get a tourist visa

[kiddeemak]

Hi,

My situation:
Overstayed, need to get sorted before the new rules kick in

Married, have a baby, waiting for official name translation to Thai to come back before I go and get marriage cert. sorted

When it does, will go and get a non-0 from Savanakket in a couple of weeks

My plan:

fly to Burma tomorrow, pay overstay fine at airport

come back in a few days on a 30 day tourist visa

wait until marriage cert comes then visit Savnannaket

Is this going to work or have I missed something important?

Thankyou guys,

Kid

[ubonjoe]

It would be best if you used the time while you were in Yangon to apply for a single entry non-o visa based upon being the parent of a Thai child. That would give you a 90 day entry.

You should not need anything more that your child's birth certificate (plus a copy) and copy of their house book signed and dated by their mother. Taking along copies of the mothers house book and ID card.would also be good.

There would be less chance of having a problem on entry with a visa than just an exempt entry.

[kiddeemak]

Thankyou, I understand.

The problem is I am still waiting for my official name translation to come from Bangkok so that we can get his birth certificate (he was only born 2 weeks ago).

There's also the small matter that the tabien bahn was lost in the hospital and we are waiting for a replacement one of those... I can only hope that it arrives in a timely manner. I don't want to risk waiting until we have a birth certificate sorted before I leave for obvious reasons.

So I may well face issues trying to get in on an exempt stamp?

Thankyou for taking the time to reply, really appreciate your help.

[kiddeemak]

Oh and as someone PMed me asking why I am using Burma and not Laos, I feel it might be nice to explain that here briefly.

I dont want to have the hassle of being stopped by immigration near one of the borders, it is only 3k baht to fly out to burma and back and should be hassle free paying the fine at the airport.
I wouldnt be surprised if they are on the look for the easy pickings that are the swarms headed to the border crossings at the moment.

If anyone has any better ideas or why that is a bad idea, Id be up for hearing it.

Thanks

[kiddeemak]

OK so it looks like there may be a whole other issue also brewing which I wasnt aware of as it didnt pertain to me... they are cracking down on tourist visa runners too.

So do you guys think I will have problems trying to fly in from Burma to Suva' with no valid visa but 2 double entries and an overstay fine?
And do I need proof of onward travel?

Is the whole idea daft and is there a better way?

Thankyou

[Gulfsailor]

Wouldn't you also need a tourist visa for Myanmar to be able to fly to Yangon?

Edited to add; just found this; "Transit:

A visa on arrival, costing US$20 and valid for 24 hours, is theoretically available for those in transit who have evidence of an onward flight. The service is periodically withdrawn however, and airline staff may not allow you to fly into Myanmar without a visa in your passport."

Edited July 13, 2014 by Gulfsailor

[kiddeemak]

Thanks, I didnt think that would be a problem. I assumed (stupidly) that I would be able to turn up and have a tourist visa on arrival.

Seems like flying to Laos is the best option then.

Will I get back in is my biggest concern... I feel I have a better chance of getting a TR if I fly rather than cross via Nong Khai but I'm not sure.

[ubonjoe]

You could also get a tourist visa in Yangon. But you do need a visa to enter Myanmar. See the Myanmar Visas forum for info.

It would best if you g0t the non-o visa but you should get some kind of visa before returning.

[Tomtomtom69]

It's very easy to get a Myanmar tourist visa even in a couple of hours if needed at the Embassy in Bangkok. They will issue a visa to just about anyone, any nationality no matter their status (tourist, working, retired) in Thailand except MAYBE if you have an overstay. That could be a concern, although they might overlook it, I'm not sure. But apart from that Myanmar is not a place to avoid just because you need a visa - it's one of the easiest visas to get in the world. Fill out a simple application form with a photo, submit your passport, pay the money. Back-to-back visas are fine and even encouraged - they bring in more revenue for the government.

[bigt116]

A pertinent question might be; how were you staying in Thailand prior to your overstay ? If it was with back to back border hops or tourist visas, then it is possible that even with a tourist visa they may deny entry, if however you were to get a Non-O (based on a Thai child) , then you should face no problems coming back in.

[pryortuck]

I just returned from Yangon, Myanmar on Tuesday with a new NON-O Visa and wanted to mention a slight change to the visa process there. Normally you can apply at the Thai embassy beginning at 9:00am and return the next day after 1:30 pm to pick up your new visa/passport. Now they request that you return on the first day at 3:00 pm "to see if you have been accepted". If so you will then pay the 80 USD fee and the visa will be processed. Your next day pickup remains the same. So, just an extra step but slightly inconvenient to deal with traffic to get there at 3:00 after you have waited for sometime on the same day to submit the paperwork. I also noticed on the visa application that they are requesting more info on the back of the form if applying for a tourist visa. This is a new addition to past applications.

I highly recommend Yangon for visa needs since it is always very smooth and the officials at the Embassy are very friendly and helpful. Not at all like Phnom Pehn.

Good luck

[kiddeemak]

Thankyou, but Im actually now in Cambodia. I plan to come back tomorrow and try to get in on a 30 day visa-exempt tourist stamp. That will be enough time to get the marriage done and a non-0 sorted.

If I get denied at Suvarnabhumi airport then I am in a pickle I know, I will probably come back to Cambodia and arrange a visa here. I dont know how likely this is, so many mixed and patchy reports, and a constantly changing situation make it very hard to know what's best.
I don't want to be separated from the family for long though, have a 2 week old child in Thailand and ideally need to be there.

[MJCM]

So you cleared your overstay already, as you said in the 1st post (which was yesterday) "overstayed fly to Burma tomorrow", but now you are in Cambodia?

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Edited July 14, 2014 by MJCM

[kiddeemak]

Sorry for confusion... yeah last minute changes after reading about Burmese visa requirements, seemed like too much room for things to go wrong.

It had to be a flight out before the gov holiday ended in case the new rules came into place today (Tuesday). So I got a ticket to Cambodia at a fair price, fly back this morning. Cleared the overstay at the airport without a problem (20 000 baht)

Will update when I'm either back in Bangkok or hotel in Cambodia.

Edited July 14, 2014 by kiddeemak

[kiddeemak]

Back in Bangkok, picked the most friendly looking imm officer and was given a 30 day exempt stamp without hesitation

Now just have to hope Sav is still ok by the time we get all the docs together... talk about a perfect storm hey