Visa On Arrival Etc Question - Please Help!

[Bellatrix]

On June 8 I came to Thailand from Australia and just got what I assume is the visa on arrival (ie I didn't apply for a visa beforehand etc). I had planned to come here for one year to study Muay Thai. From what I had read before I left, this didn't make me elligible for any sort of Non-im visa, and a friend recommended that I just get a visa on arrival, then exit the country every 30 days, which I've been doing. I've done this three times now, and am due to do it again on September 23, but now that I've read about these October 1st changes I'm very, very worried.

I'm here by myself, I've been living in Sisaket but am moving to Ubon this weekend, and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I've also heard differing reports as to whether I can do a straightforward border run at Chong Mek (without applying for a Lao visa in advance).

Please, please, please can someone give me some advice so that I can work out what I need to do. If I have to travel to Laos to apply for a proper Thai visa, so be it, but I need to know ASAP so I can arrange it.

Thank you in advance (sorry for the panic).

[naka]

From what we are reading you will need to go the a consulate and get a proper visa.

Plenty of info in the Sunbelt post.

Naka.

[Bellatrix]

From what we are reading you will need to go the a consulate and get a proper visa.

Plenty of info in the Sunbelt post.

Naka.

I've tried reading the Sunbelt post, sorry, I'm just a bit panicked right now.

Can I go to a consulate within Thailand or must I go to one outside Thailand?

Should I just be aiming for the tourist visa? I'm not planning to work, just train Muay Thai, I've saved up enough money to live off, albeit quite basically.

I think I've followed some bad advice in coming with the VOA

[sjaak327]

From what we are reading you will need to go the a consulate and get a proper visa.

Plenty of info in the Sunbelt post.

Naka.

I've tried reading the Sunbelt post, sorry, I'm just a bit panicked right now.

Can I go to a consulate within Thailand or must I go to one outside Thailand?

Should I just be aiming for the tourist visa? I'm not planning to work, just train Muay Thai, I've saved up enough money to live off, albeit quite basically.

I think I've followed some bad advice in coming with the VOA

Not really, the person who give you that advice couldn't possibly know about this new regulation, even though it was maybe on the horizon already.

Anyway the way I read your situation, you can get another month before october 1st. Then go for a tourist visa, which will give you two additional months, plus one month extension. After this period, you could get another three months on exempt (visa run).

[LivinLOS]

Sounds like after 1st Oct you will need a real visa issued from outside of Thailand...

A Trip to Penang or Phom Phen 'might' do this but speculation says they will also no longer issue multiple entry tourist visas or be a lot tougher about giving them out (especially to people with back to back stamps already) in which case you might well be SOL..

[Bellatrix]

Yep, I can do one more visa run before October 1st.

In order to get the tourist visa, will I need to apply from outside the country, or can I go to Bangkok? Can I apply for another tourist visa when that one runs out?

What is SOL? (short of luck? )

I'm sorry to ask what are probably stupid questions, but I can't always get net access so I'm trying to figure it out as quickly as possible.

[giruz]

Sounds like after 1st Oct you will need a real visa issued from outside of Thailand...

A Trip to Penang or Phom Phen 'might' do this but speculation says they will also no longer issue multiple entry tourist visas or be a lot tougher about giving them out (especially to people with back to back stamps already) in which case you might well be SOL..

He said that 'I came from Australia'...assuming that he is Australian (i.e. Australian passport holder) ...he can apply for a Thai Work-Holiday visa..which is valid for a year without any specific limitation...

check at the thai-sydney consulate..they have all the info you need.

cheers

giruz

[LivinLOS]

SOL = sh1t outta luck

Tourist visa can only be issued outside of Thailand.. Speculation is that the local embassies may soon be much more troublesome about issuing them.. Otherwise this whole thing is the most silly clampdown you could imagine.

Penang is a current favorite and I guess with cheap air asia flights so is KL..

[Bellatrix]

Unfortunately I don't qualify for the Thai Work-Holiday visa as I don't have a degree. Not sure about whether getting paid for fights counts as employment but I don't have to worry about that just yet.

Can I please confirm that so long as I get a tourist visa after Oct 1 I should be able to get back into the country without waiting 90 days?

[jdinasia]

your best situation would be to take a letter from your school saying that you have paid for traning for X-amount of time to an honorary consulate in Australia ... and get a non-imm visa

can ANYONE garauntee you will b given a tourist visa? no

[Bellatrix]

your best situation would be to take a letter from your school saying that you have paid for traning for X-amount of time to an honorary consulate in Australia ... and get a non-imm visa

can ANYONE garauntee you will b given a tourist visa? no

I'm not actually in Australia right now - I'm already in Thailand. Can one do such things by mail (or have someone back home do it) or do you have to go in person?

I guess the reason I didn't do this in the first place was because I wasn't planning on training at the one camp for the full year, I was planning on doing a couple of months at a couple of different places.