Entering With A Real Visa And Asking Not To Use It Right Away!

[Thaiquila]

OK, I imagine this question is not that unique, but here goes.

Lets say you have a real tourist visa or a non-immigrant visa but for whatever reason (and I have a good one) you want your initial entry into Thailand to be stamped in as a 30 day stamp, and you want to save the unused visa for a later entry (assuming the visa will still be valid, of course).

Is this a request immigration will honor without balking?

I would imagine if you don't aggressively try to stop them, they will try to "use" any unused visa you have right away as a matter of habit. But is this a matter of policy, or can you legitimately ask them not to touch it?

Any reports of experiences, problems, etc. with this?

For an example of why you might want this.

Lets say you have a single entry tourist visa, but you first want to fly into Thailand for a week, then off to Bali for two weeks, and then back to Thailand for two months. Obviously, if they used your tourist visa on the first entry, you would be visa-less when entering for the second time, when you really NEED IT. Yes, I know, another way would be to just initially come in on a double entry tourist visa, that's not the question though ...

Edited October 11, 2006 by Thaiquila

[lopburi3]

You can leave the visa information on arrival card blank and politely ask. Most people seem to have success that way.

[Crossy]

It never hurts to ask

Don't fill in the visa number on your arrival card, tell the immigration person "I'm going to Cambodia / Laos / Myanmar (or whatever) next week, please stamp for 30 days"

Smile nicely, you never know your luck.

I've not tried it myself, but others have reported varying degrees of success, let us know how you get on.

[Norrad]

That is so weird, I was just thinking exactly the same thing. I want to fly back to South Africa in a few weeks time and I don't want to use my new Non-imm("B") visa until I return with all the documents I need to set up my business in Thailand. I was thinking of asking at the airport. But getting opinions on it would be better.

[PREM-R]

I have no personal experience of this but I did notice that on the TM entry card there is a space where you enter "Visa No.", If you do not enter a number here and if your passport has many stamps the Immigration man will just flip open your passport and stamp you in for 30 days without noticing you have a TR visa. Not sure of the legal implications though.

[ovenman]

I've done this in the past and haven't had any problem doing so, but this was several years ago and in the current visa climate, who knows?

As an aside, on one such entry the immigrations official wrote next to my thirty-day stamp that I had opted not to use my visa. I had to sign, attesting to this. I suppose this is simply a smart way to cover their own backside just in case somebody decides later on to take issue that they did not receive their sixty or ninety day entry stamp.

[Thaiquila]

Yes, I assumed if asking for this you wouldn't enter the visa number on the entry form. In my case, I have a clean passport with the one Thai visa so no hiding it! It did occur to me that it might be immigration policy to effect all visas no matter what, so thats why I am asking.

Lopburi seems to indicate there is a fair chance of success, so perhaps one can assume it is acceptable for the officer to do this (if he wants to be nice).

[dash]

I did it several times but years ago on "transit" from Burma to Laos via Thailand overland. Then immigration wrote "Request...." beside the visa.

[guardian]

As an aside, on one such entry the immigrations official wrote next to my thirty-day stamp that I had opted not to use my visa. I had to sign, attesting to this. I suppose this is simply a smart way to cover their own backside just in case somebody decides later on to take issue that they did not receive their sixty or ninety day entry stamp.

What the officer asked you to sign, was it in English or Thai? Well, call me paranoid. But, I would never sign anything in a strange language even if was from an authorised official. You never know what you are risking. Since you have done it many times and if the writing was in Thai, I'm sure you might have already had it translated by someone.

[tropo]

Yes, I assumed if asking for this you wouldn't enter the visa number on the entry form. In my case, I have a clean passport with the one Thai visa so no hiding it! It did occur to me that it might be immigration policy to effect all visas no matter what, so thats why I am asking.

Lopburi seems to indicate there is a fair chance of success, so perhaps one can assume it is acceptable for the officer to do this (if he wants to be nice).

The order of your stamping could affect any subsequent requests for a visa extension at the Immigration Office if that is your plan.

I say this because I came across an interesting case yesterday.

An Indonesian lady who has lived here for years on tourist visas was only given a 7 day extension on a 2-entry tourist visa.

How did this happen?

Apparently she did 60 days, then a hop to the Cambodian border, and then 60 days afterwhich they extended only 7 days.

Weird stuff going on. Maybe they just decided she'd been here long enough. Who knows??

[dash]

Yes 9 I had also to sign on one of the requests

[h90]

once I had a 1 year multiple entry visa and and made a visa run to the border on the day before it expired. And they just gave me 1 day and told me come again tomorrow for 30 days. Very unpleasent experience. I went to the next border just a few km ahead and the officer did not understand why the other officer did that and stamped 30 days.

Conclusio: everything depends on the officer....