Sawannakhet vs Vientienne

[happysanook]

I have previously been going to Sawannakhet because of the ease compared to Vientienne regarding tourist visas. However I am going for a non-o this time.

My question, is Vientienne as easy as Sawannakhet? One look at my passport will show many back-to-back tourist visas. With some non-o and year extensions sprinkled in between. Will this have Vientienne tougher on granting the non-o?

I am going all the way from CM region and Sawannakhet is an extra 6 hours or so...I'm tempted to go for Vientienne, but want to hear opinions first.

Regards

[angsta]

The answer is really that nobody knows. Everything is changing. You might want to consider getting a flight into CM from Laos.

[happysanook]

The answer is really that nobody knows. Everything is changing. You might want to consider getting a flight into CM from Laos.

My concern is getting the Non-O at the consulate...

If anyone can answer in regards to "easiness" in Vientienne vs Sawannakhet for Non-O for teaching, that would be great.

Regards

Edited July 15, 2014 by happysanook

[96tehtarp]

The answer is really that nobody knows. Everything is changing. You might want to consider getting a flight into CM from Laos.

My concern is getting the Non-O at the consulate...

If anyone can answer in regards to "easiness" in Vientienne vs Sawannakhet for Non-O for teaching, that would be great.

Regards

I don't know about getting a non-imm "o" in Vientiane but getting mine (multiple entry) a year ago in Savanakhet was a piece of cake.

AFAIK there is no such thing as a non-imm "o" for teaching. They are only given for marriage or supporting your Thai child. However you can get a work permit with a non-imm "o" based on the above two criteria.

Hopefully someone with Vientianne experience will reply in this thread.

[happysanook]

Yes. Of course I meant non b...

I didn't see a way to edit topic.

Did you require letter from MOE? All I need is invitation from the school and contract. Is that correct?

[SlyAnimal]

I've got a mate who was doing back to back tourist visas, and he managed to get a Non-B last year, but couldn't extend it due to some paperwork issues (even though the DoL issued a WP), moved onto a tourist visa for about 6 months (They didn't want to issue him one, as they thought he would work on the Tourist visa, but then they had a private chat and magically changed their minds).

When the new term started in May, he went and got another Non-B without any problems.

All of these were in Vientiane. So unless things have changed due to the crackdown, you shouldn't have any problems in Vientiane, so long as you've got the correct paperwork (But as another poster said, we really don't know what they're going to be doing due to the crackdown). The only problem you might have, is if you get a Non-B but then can't extend it, and need to then move back onto a tourist visa (But due to the crackdown, you'd likely have problems getting a new tourist visa anyway).

[wabothai]

Vientiane at least for me was pretty tough and very unfriendly. Lots of paperwork was requested.

Ended up with 2 months tourist visa, for which i waited 3 days (weekend). Thought it was smarter to go to my home country and get the visa, despite the ticketprice. Never again !

[rct99q]

Talking with some of the local teachers (nong khai region) who have recently had to re-apply for the Non Imm B visa it has not been a problem if holding the correct paper work from the school. As mentioned however the issue will be in getting the extension (after the initial 90 days) for one year. If you are unable to get an extension for whatever reason (delay with work permit etc) it may be difficult in getting back into Thailand on a tourist visa if you have a history of in/outs, imm O, B visas or tourist visas in your passport.

AS for the consulate in Vientiane they can certainly be hit and miss as far as attitude, but from nearly every report I have heard or from personal experience I must say that the people who have problems sometimes bring it on themselves. Yes it can be busy (mondays & thursdays especially) but the staff do a good job in processing as many people as they can in the time frame given.

if you have time go on a Friday stay 3 nights and pick up your passport on a Monday.

Good luck

[kovaltech]

The answer is really that nobody knows. Everything is changing. You might want to consider getting a flight into CM from Laos.

My concern is getting the Non-O at the consulate...

If anyone can answer in regards to "easiness" in Vientienne vs Sawannakhet for Non-O for teaching, that would be great.

Regards

I don't know about getting a non-imm "o" in Vientiane but getting mine (multiple entry) a year ago in Savanakhet was a piece of cake.

AFAIK there is no such thing as a non-imm "o" for teaching. They are only given for marriage or supporting your Thai child. However you can get a work permit with a non-imm "o" based on the above two criteria.

Hopefully someone with Vientianne experience will reply in this thread.

i second that, Savanaketh is far the better option if you want a non-o multiple entry

for a single entry (90 days only), Vientianne can do just fine

[duanebigsby]

Vientiane at least for me was pretty tough and very unfriendly. Lots of paperwork was requested.

Ended up with 2 months tourist visa, for which i waited 3 days (weekend). Thought it was smarter to go to my home country and get the visa, despite the ticketprice. Never again !

Complaining about 3 days, but 2 of them were the weekend?

Embassies are closed, so of course.

Vientiane was a piece of cake for me and staff were friendly.

It takes a lot of paperwork for a Non-B to teach.

[duanebigsby]

Yes. Of course I meant non b...

I didn't see a way to edit topic.

Did you require letter from MOE? All I need is invitation from the school and contract. Is that correct?

You'll need a bit more paperwork than that I think. My application had about 25 pages of forms from the school, the most important one being a letter from

Labour Dept. confirming I had applied for the work Permit.

[thaiguzzi]

For Non O visas, VTNN has only ever done single entry ie 90 days. SNKT does both single and multi.

[puchooay]

Isn't Savannakhet under water right now? Is it still possible to get a visa there?

[mrwebb8825]

contact these folks "thaivisaservice" used them for yrs and Never had a problem. Works like a 2 day vacation mostly and they have all the updated information.

*URL removed*

Edited July 17, 2014 by SlyAnimal
Direct link removed

[Scott]

We don't allow a direct link to a commercial site, so the direct link has been removed.