Double Entry Tourist Visa to Non Imm O

[peterjackson]

When I applied for my Double Entry Tourist Visa at Hull in the UK in November 2014. It was still possible to convert my second entry to a Non Imm O at Chiang Mai Immigration and then apply for my extension based on Retirement.

Things have now changed and I have to go to Bangkok ( 2 trips ) if I want to do the conversion in country.

I am leaving Thailand on the 9th of March for a 1 month vacation to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Returning and activating the second of my Tourist Visas on the 6th of April.

I don't fancy two trips to Bangkok, although a reputable Visa Agent recommended many times on this forum said that he could have the whole process done with me just making 1 trip to Bangkok.

My question is this, is there an Embassy/Consulate in a neighboring country that I can visit without having to sit for 10+ hours on a bus, where I can go to in either April or May to obtain a Non Imm O visa and then use that for re-entry into Thailand and my retirement extension in Chiang Mai.

I have already seasoned the money in the bank.

If there is, what documents do I need to take with me to apply and will I definitely get the visa, as once I leave Thailand, I will have no Visa in my passport for re-entry if things go pear shaped for any reason. Plus what are the approx. costs of doing it.

I am a UK Citizen.

Thank you in advance.

[ubonjoe]

You could get a single entry non-o while you are in Cambodia from the embassy in Phnom Penh You could use an agent in Siem Reap to get it.

Just take your bank book with you to show the 800k baht in the bank.

Your existing tourist visa would not be a problem because you will applying for a different class of visa.

If not you could apply in Vientiane. You can fly from Chaing Mai to Udon Thani and then from there it is short trip to the bridge in Nong Khai. Just your bank book and passport would be needed.

[peterjackson]

So, In effect my 2nd Entry on my Tourist Visa will be null/void and I re-enter on the new Non Imm O from Phnom Penh ?

I know you have no personal knowledge of the efficacy of the visa agents in Siem Reap, but is it a safe thing to leave them in the custody of your Original Passport and in my case a Bank Passbook with substantial funds in it ?

Any ideas of the cost of going the Visa Agent route in Siem Reap ?

Can anyone recommend a Visa Agent they have used in Siem Reap ?

Thank you

[ubonjoe]

You 2nd entry of your tourist visa would be lost.

People are using agents there all the time to get visas. A copy of of your bank book would be all that would be needed at the Embassy.

The visa will be $80. I would guess about $20 at the most for the agent.

[peterjackson]

If I update my Passbook on the 9th of March before I fly to Siem Reap, when would I have to apply for the Visa for the passbook to be accepted ? I don't need any letter from the bank ?

[ubonjoe]

The bank book would be good for a few weeks. They don't ask for a bank letter at the embassy.

[peterjackson]

Thanks for the replies. I'll update the thread with my experience and results when I have them.

Kind regards

[peterjackson]

I have just checked my Bank Passbook and the balance went over the 800k mark on the 26th of January 2015. This means the 60 days won't be up until the 26th of March.

Am I correct in presuming the 800k doesn't need to have been in the bank for 60 days to apply for the Non Imm O Visa and only once you do the extension of stay based on retirement.

Otherwise it will cut my days tight for applying for the Non Imm O on or after the 26th of March in Cambodia and to have my passport back for when I leave on the 6th of April, given the two weekends between those dates.

Thank you

[Mario2008]

For the visa itself it does not need to be seasoned, for the extension of stay it does need to be seasoned.

[peterjackson]

Great News, Thank you

[Suradit69]

Since you will have two visas in your passport, make sure that you put the Non-Imm O visa number on your arrival card and make sure the immigration officer stamps your entry for that visa, not the tourist visa.

[peterjackson]

Although my final airport destination will be CNX, I will be flying into DMK from REP. I presume I will clear Immigration at DMK ?

Will the permission to stay be 90 days entering on a Non Imm O ?

Would it be usual for the visa agent to accept local currency or Baht in Siem Reap for payment of the Visa and their fees ?

[ubonjoe]

Although my final airport destination will be CNX, I will be flying into DMK from REP. I presume I will clear Immigration at DMK ?

Will the permission to stay be 90 days entering on a Non Imm O ?

Would it be usual for the visa agent to accept local currency or Baht in Siem Reap for payment of the Visa and their fees ?

You will clear immigration at DMK.

You will get a 90 day entry from the non-o visa.

The embassy only accepts US dollars ($80) for the visa fee. Al reports I have seen for the agent fees were in dollars.

[peterjackson]

Looks like I'll be making a trip to a Money Exchange in Chiang Mai to get some USD.

Thanks for the quick reply and clarification.

[novo58]

Just one thing YOU NEED ........which no one ever seems to mention .

Photo's ......................make sure that you have a few. I always have 3 or 4 in my wallet whenever I have ANY dealing with immigration matters anywhere.

[peterjackson]

I was presuming the Visa Agent would supply photos and copy items needed to obtain the Non Imm O, as part of their service? I will have some passport photo images printed off and pack them in my luggage before leaving Chiang Mai. Better safe than sorry for the sake of a few baht. I'll also have copies of my Bank Passbook done whilst I'm at it.

I was going to get some USD ( about $ 500 ) from a money exchange in Chiang Mai before leaving. But just a thought, could I get USD from Bangkok Bank in Siem Reap ?

[surfinglife]

I am in a similar situation and this seems like a neat solution. So how do I find this visa agency in Siem Reap?

[peterjackson]

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Since you will have two visas in your passport, make sure that you put the Non-Imm O visa number on your arrival card and make sure the immigration officer stamps your entry for that visa, not the tourist visa.

I did put the NEW Non 'O' Visa number on my arrival card and when I handed the passport the the I.O. I also had it opened at the page with the NEW Non 'O; Visa.

It was difficult to see what the I.O. was doing given the distance you have to stand back from the desk and the height of the front of the desk. But after I noticed her scan through the pages of my passport a couple of time, I saw her open the passport on the page of my TWO entry tourist visa. Just in time for me to point out to her that I was using the Non 'O' for arriving in Thailand on this occasion. She mumbled something in Thai and stamped my passport, but only with 60 days. I pointed that out to her before leaving the counter and she said....' can change at Bankgkok Immigration Office'. To which I replied, I am connecting on a flight now to Chiang Mai. She then reluctantly, cancelled the 60 day stamp and stamped my passport with a 90 day Admitted Until stamp. So, even with covering all your bases and doing everything by the book, it can go 'pear shaped' quickly. Luckily, after reading the forum for years, I knew to check the Admitted Until stamp before leaving the immigration desk.

I am in a similar situation and this seems like a neat solution. So how do I find this visa agency in Siem Reap?

There are NO visa agents in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh for that matter who will handle Non 'O's based on retirement. It would appear the PP Thai Embassy are reluctant in issuing them and the Visa Agents on the ground just don't want the hassle any more.

In the end, I did the process myself and was successful in getting the Non 'O' from PP, although it wasn't without incident and didn't go smoothly by any stretch of the imagination. Put perseverance and patience paid off in the end.