Non Immigrant O and "problem" at land border

[minere16]

I have a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O Visa based on being married to a Thai issued in Savannakhet.

Recently I went last minute to the Poi Pet border and combined that with a visit of the market.

I crossed the border, checked in and out of Cambodia and when it was my turn at the Thai immigration I was sent to a superior officer.

He told me that I cannot do what I was just doing - an "out and in border run".

He was very polite and so was I. I did not want to upset him in any way so I did not ask too many questions.

But from what I understood he was talking about land borders and "3 times".

In the end they photocopied my passport and he said that this is the last time that he was giving me a stamp and that he does not want to see me again at this checkpoint.

Again ... he was very polite.

Furthermore there is a handwritten note under my 90 days stamp "Run Visa".

 

So now I "worry" about what will happen the next time I leave Thailand and come back. Will I get problems or even turned away?

If I am still in Thailand in three months my plan was to make a trip of a couple of days to e.g. Vietnam or Penang anyway ... which means I will leave and enter at an airport.

I was very suprised that something like this came up with me being on a Non Immigrant O Visa.

 

Some background information:

Current visa is a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O Visa based on being married. 

Issued this year in Savannakhet.

After being issued one entry in Mukdahan on my way back from Savannakhet and another entry on my way back from a day trip to Singapore by air.

So the recent entry in Aranyaprathet was only the third entry.

Lots of more time before the "Enter before" date of this visa.

Before that visa I had another Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O issued in Europe and used that until the "Enter before" date.

 

So what do you think? Do I have to worry the next time I leave resp. reenter Thailand?

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

You did the crossing at the wrong place. Any other crossing than Poi Pet and you would of not had a problem. 

Yours is not the first report about Poi Pet saying what they told you. 

The note they put in your passport will not effect doing another entry.

[minere16]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You did the crossing at the wrong place. Any other crossing than Poi Pet and you would of not had a problem. 

Yours is not the first report about Poi Pet saying what they told you. 

The note they put in your passport will not effect doing another entry.

 

Thanks ubonjoe. 

I guess you are right, Poi Pet was the wrong place to go. It was a last minute decision.

Anyway .. I read about people with VOA having problems but I guess I missed the reports from people with Non Immigrant O Visas.

But if I won't get a problem next time I arrive at an airport in Thailand then I am ok.

 

[steve187]

try the crossings further south from Poipet

[Suradit69]

22 hours ago, minere16 said:

Anyway .. I read about people with VOA having problems

 

You mean visa exempt entries, not visas on arrival.

[minere16]

1 hour ago, Suradit69 said:

 

You mean visa exempt entries, not visas on arrival.

 

Yes, maybe. 

I was just not expecting any trouble at all while being on a non Immigrant O. That really surprised me and it will be interesting if that becomes a trend not only in Poi Pet.

[minere16]

19 hours ago, steve187 said:

try the crossings further south from Poipet

 

Heard about that crossing.

But I guess I will only fly in future.

[4evermaat]

So if he or someone had stayed overnight, would that have been ok?

I think i used that border years ago after vising cambodia for a while. Wait times were horrible. I think i queued like 3 or 4 hours.

[charliebadenhop]

Sorry, but I am confused.

 

If you have a non-O why do you need to do border runs?

 

 

[BritTim]

3 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

Sorry, but I am confused.

 

If you have a non-O why do you need to do border runs?

 

I think your confusion is between a multiple entry Non Imm O visa and a one-year extension of stay.. With an extension of stay, you do not need to leave Thailand. A Non Imm O visa only provides 90-day entries to Thailand. At the expiry of the 90 days, you either need to apply for an extension of stay or do a border run.

[Mansell]

When I returned from Cambodia last year on my Kawasaki it was through Poipet. I didn't really pay much attention to the name of the place at the time. Only now reading the issues there that I remember how the IO put the wrong date etc in my passport about reporting. So I went to Phuket Immigration and the officer pointed out the discrepancy to me and changed it to the correct date. Sounds like that Poipet is an issue.

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

Sorry, but I am confused.

 

If you have a non-O why do you need to do border runs?

 

 

A non-o visa only allows a 90 day entry. If you have a multiple entry non-o visa then you can get unlimited 90 day entries for a year from the date of issue.

[charliebadenhop]

Hi BritTime, I think I understand the distinction.

 

Why would a person not want to get the one year extension?

In general of course.

 

[MJCM]

4 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

<snip>

 

Why would a person not want to get the one year extension?

In general of course.

 

 

It depends on the person, for example they are on a NON-O because they don't have the money (marriage extension as an example) 400k in a Bank Account or 40k in income and a lot of scrutiny , so it completely depends on the person and what they want.

[tgeezer]

is it not a requirement of the visa that you have the funds or the income?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[MJCM]

is it not a requirement of the visa that you have the funds or the income?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

For a Non-0 based on marriage, Most Embassies and consulates require that you show money in the bank, but some don't (for example savannakhet)

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, MJCM said:

 

For a Non-0 based on marriage, Most Embassies and consulates require that you show money in the bank, but some don't (for example savannakhet)

 

I would say it would be the reverse. Most don't ask for proof of income for a non-o visa based upon marriage.

[tgeezer]

Do they need any documents at all apart from the those issued by the bank?


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[steve187]

no bank details needed

[tgeezer]

Those documents are convertable currency, money, the fee.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[Mangostin]

1 hour ago, charliebadenhop said:

Why would a person not want to get the one year extension?

In general of course.

 

Because in some cases, you still have to made a trip to your local immigration's office (you can't choose it), which might by chance be a longer trip than crossing the border, if on top of that you add the fact that you have to share very private things with these "....", as a picture of you and your wife on the bed where you do your many other rather private things, someone (not everyone, but still) might find that a little uncomfortable.

Then you can add other stuff, as ending up having to meet some very unpleasant individuals EVERY few months, it makes crossing the border a much nicer experience, especially if it's a place with a big market, but unfortunately, thais are great at destroying any nice things that a foreigner might experience, and even doing a crossing at Poipet, has become a hell of a nightmare...... 

[BsBs]

35 minutes ago, Mangostin said:

 

Because in some cases, you still have to made a trip to your local immigration's office (you can't choose it), which might by chance be a longer trip than crossing the border, if on top of that you add the fact that you have to share very private things with these "....", as a picture of you and your wife on the bed where you do your many other rather private things, someone (not everyone, but still) might find that a little uncomfortable.

Then you can add other stuff, as ending up having to meet some very unpleasant individuals EVERY few months, it makes crossing the border a much nicer experience, especially if it's a place with a big market, but unfortunately, thais are great at destroying any nice things that a foreigner might experience, and even doing a crossing at Poipet, has become a hell of a nightmare...... 

 

 

Thank you for explaining all these things that I do not have energy to explain anymore to people who keep complaining about their bad immigration office experience...

 

It's so clear that the more information you give to people the more they have a chance to check you and make problems...

 

But it seems that many will never understand anything right.

 

 

 

 

[MJCM]

 
 
Lot of scrutiny is what people seem to prefer instead of leaving the country for 1 days every 3 months.
 
Then they wonder why they receive house visits :-)
 
 

I prefer at the moment to leave every 3 months, but we are not going for 1 day but for at least a couple of days and we make a holiday of it. Wife also loves it as she is visiting different countries. Oke with an extension of stay and a re-entry permit you could do the same, but now (with a ME Non-O visa) you must leave.

[jimlek]

So,with a non O visa,can one leave every 90 days  and keep doing  that for 1year,and if after 6money can one then still convert it to a retirement extension of staying?

[perdido]

11 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

 

You mean visa exempt entries, not visas on arrival.

...yes , it is important to use correct standardized terminology ; similarly with punctuation....

 

[IMA_FARANG]

No don't be confused betwen the differene in a VISA and an extension.

A multi entry Non immigrant O visa allows you 90 day entries and is often valid for one year.

Such a visa is nomally recieved outside of Thailand.

It requires a 90 day exit and return to and from Thailand each 90 days

Now a one year extension of such a mattiage visa is also possible based on marriage to a Thai spouse. 

There an also be a exension, renewed annually based on retirement if you meet the qualifucations.

The extensions require a  money in the Bank or a certain income to get the  one year extension renewed annually.

The advantage of the extension for those who live in Thailand continuously is that the annual renewal can be done without leaving Thailand at your local immigration by showing you have the requiredfundsor income.

So, for those that have the funds required, either for an annual extension based on marriage to a Thai or based on retiement doing this annnual extension can mean you don't have to leave Thailand every 90 days.

Instead you do 90 day reporting at your local immigration.

Which way you want to handle it is your choice.

Some people don't like the travel involved and prefer the yearly extension as they have the required funds.

Others find the  travel a break and enjoy it.

As a rule also it may be better to ravel by air as border crosssing by land borders are often more strict on re-entries than by air.

But again that is the individuals choice.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by IMA_FARANG
typo

[Mangostin]

14 hours ago, BsBs said:

Lot of scrutiny is what people seem to prefer instead of leaving the country for 1 days every 3 months.

Then they wonder why they receive house visits :-)

 

If you have the luck to cross the border at a time which there are no queues, you are in and out in a matter of minutes, just the time to get stamped out and in again, no need to stay out for a day at all.

[muzmurray]

8 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

No don't be confused betwen the differene in a VISA and an extension.

A multi entry Non immigrant O visa allows you 90 day entries and is often valid for one year.

Such a visa is nomally recieved outside of Thailand.

It requires a 90 day exit and return to and from Thailand each 90 days

Now a one year extension of such a mattiage visa is also possible based on marriage to a Thai spouse. 

There an also be a exension, renewed annually based on retirement if you meet the qualifucations.

The extensions require a  money in the Bank or a certain income to get the  one year extension renewed annually.

The advantage of the extension for those who live in Thailand continuously is that the annual renewal can be done without leaving Thailand at your local immigration by showing you have the requiredfundsor income.

So, for those that have the funds required, either for an annual extension based on marriage to a Thai or based on retiement doing this annnual extension can mean you don't have to leave Thailand every 90 days.

Instead you do 90 day reporting at your local immigration.

Which way you want to handle it is your choice.

Some people don't like the travel involved and prefer the yearly extension as they have the required funds.

Others find the  travel a break and enjoy it.

As a rule also it may be better to ravel by air as border crosssing by land borders are often more strict on re-entries than by air.

But again that is the individuals choice.

 

 

 

 

 

A multi-entry Non-Imm O visa is ALWAYS valid for 1 year, not "often".

[Mangostin]

10 hours ago, jimlek said:

So,with a non O visa,can one leave every 90 days  and keep doing  that for 1year

 

A multi entry Non O, can give you close to 15 months if you re-enter Thailand, on your last day of visa validity, or close to it, basically you get an extra 90 days FREE visa on top of it (even if your visa will be already expired, ON THE DAY AFTER YOUR RE-ENTRY, it's the new "admitted until" date stamped by the immi that will matter).