My visa will end soon - Need clarification

[1ricardsvp]

Hello,

I start this topic because i need some clarifications about a few things that i'm not sure to understand. I will try to be clear

I currently have an ED visa issued to me on 1 December 2014.
I was doing renew every 2 + 1 month at the immigration office PHUKET.
According to the logic, my last stamp should indicate the date of 30 November. But when I went to the immigration office on August 28, I had a stamp until September 17 only (instead of one month). And when I returned 17 spetembre, the visa has been renewed only until 11 November (instead of 2 months).

Why that ?
This does not seem very important, but I will travel to France from October 15 to November 4, and I ask myself many questions.

- When I will go to immigration November 11, What will happen?

- Is it necessary to make a single re-entry? I do not know if I will can get a visa exemption (30days) when I returned to Thailand on November 4.

- I hesitate to make another ED visa. I heard about the new 6 months tourist visa, but with this one, should I do a visa-run every 2 or 3 months? And should I just spend one night abroad and then return quietly, or will I go and make administrative procedures at a consulate?

[ubonjoe]

Not sure why you were only given an extension to the 11th of November unless that was the date the supporting documents you submitted only allowed an extension to that date. You should ask your school about it. You can only get extensions of your ED visa entry up to a total stay of 12 months which means you would not get another extension.

I think it would be best to get a singe entry tourist visa while you are in France if possible. If not then you can get a visa exempt entry without a problem. Then decide what you want to do. You could certainly go to Laos and get 2 entry tourist visa that would give you a total stay of 6 months.

There is not enough info available yet about new multiple entry tourist visa to answer any questions about it. Also it will not available until after the 13th of November.

[jacksam]

Come back from France obtain visa exempt stamp. Go to somewhere like Vientiane and get double entry tourist. After that you could exit for short break and obtain another visa exempt stamp. With extensions to the stamps and tourist visas you can stay for quite some time.

[1ricardsvp]

Thanks a lot for your answers !

I didn't know that I could have a visa exemp just by leaving Thailand only twenty day, so this is a good new !

[1ricardsvp]

Hello

I come back to you through this topic because I, once again, need advice.

My visa exempt stamp will runs out the 4th december 2015.

I had decided to do a ED visa one more year, but i went to the school today, and they told me that the rules had changed (again..).

Instead of pay 25,000 for 1 year visa, i have to pay 15,000 every 6 months.

I have to give my answer to them friday.

But I think i'm more interested by a tourist visa.

Reading the forums it seems that it is only possible to get a single entry. OK

Living in Phuket, do you know the price that it would cost me for a year ? Because I am not an expert on visa run !!!

I think i had paid between 3.500/4.000 baht last year to go to Penang for my visa...

So something around (4.000x4)+(1.900x4) ?

Thanks a lot !!!

[expatbrit]

Hello

I come back to you through this topic because I, once again, need advice.

My visa exempt stamp will runs out the 4th december 2015.

I had decided to do a ED visa one more year, but i went to the school today, and they told me that the rules had changed (again..).

Instead of pay 25,000 for 1 year visa, i have to pay 15,000 every 6 months.

I have to give my answer to them friday.

But I think i'm more interested by a tourist visa.

Reading the forums it seems that it is only possible to get a single entry. OK

Living in Phuket, do you know the price that it would cost me for a year ? Because I am not an expert on visa run !!!

I think i had paid between 3.500/4.000 baht last year to go to Penang for my visa...

So something around (4.000x4)+(1.900x4) ?

Thanks a lot !!!

Do not rely on getting 4 consecutive, back to back tourist visas from Penang.

[JackThompson]

I think i had paid between 3.500/4.000 baht last year to go to Penang for my visa...

So something around (4.000x4)+(1.900x4) ?

As mentioned, you will not get 4 back-to-back from Penang, and the border in that area is not a good place to obtain multiple visa-exempts, either. So if you go the Tourist Visa route, plan on making some longer trips up to Laos - Fly-Ride service through Ubon Thani being the most comfortable trip from that far south. So for one year, you would be wise to alternate between the two consulates for your TVs - I would do Penang, Laos, Penang, Laos. If planning to stay longer than one year, maybe hit the somewhat less-friendly consulates in Cambodia and Vietnam first.

But - you have an Ed Visa in your passport, which translates to "Suspected Illegal Worker" in the minds of many Consulate personnel. If prepared to conduct the entire discussion in Thai, this might help alleviate this suspicion.

In any case, if staying long-term, you are going to need to get a new passport to clean out your visa history, at some point, so that consulates will not know how many previous visas you had. So when you get a refusal for a new TV, come back on VisaExempt (hopefully you have under 6 - ever), and then renew your passport.

Your VisaExempt history will remain with you - regardless of changing passports. The restriction here is at the border (not at consulates). Immigration officals there can see your full history.

I do not know the turnaround-time for passport-renewal via the French Embassy. But the longest "window" for a passport-renewal would be immediately after applying for an extension of the VisaExempt entry, well in advance of the expiry of your permission of stay. Note that the extension is added to the end of your current permission, so you loose no days by applying for it early. Someone else may be able to clarify on how far in advance the Phuket Immigration Office permits one to do this.

Edited December 10, 2015 by JackThompson