Vientiane "non O" problems & trip report

[The Artful Dodger]

(British passport, 50 years old, 800.000 in Thai bank.)

 

Following all the good advice from UbonJoe and others found on this forum, I went to Vientiane a couple of weeks ago to apply for my first "90 day single entry non-immigrant O visa".  I had downloaded and filled in the "new form" that someone had kindly posted here.  I arrived at the Thai visa center in Vientiane around 8:30, already a lot of people milling around. I paid 100THB to a man outisde the gate for a photocopy of my Laos entry visa.  He looked at the form I'd filled in and said it was no good -- I asked why not and he pointed out that there are parts in red (that the B&W printout didn't reproduce in color) and that there was some text on the back of the form also that mine did not have, thus "not original form."

 

He then proceeded to fill in the new form for me.  In the box "type of visa" I told him to put "single entry non-O", at which point he asked if I had a bank letter.  I told him it was not needed but he insisted that it was now a new requirement.  He showed me a letter from a bank as an example, but I have no idea what it actually said as it was written in Thai.  He went on to say "no letter, no visa" and that I should apply for a tourist visa and change it once in Thailand.  I didn't pay much attention as I figured he was hustling me for something, and his parting words were "you come back to do new form unless you very lucky."

 

I went into the visa center.  In the courtyard, at the outside desk, the woman refused to take my application and give me a number as it did not have a small round rubber stamp in its top corner like other people's had.  She sent me upstairs.

 

Here I waited (again) for someone to be available and was now charged 200THB by someone who simply recopied everything that had been filled in outside by the first tout onto an identical new form.  After which she stamped it in the top corner and off I went again.  A scam I suppose, but I didn't care.

 

This time the downstairs lady gave me a number that she also wrote on the application forms and sent me to window two.  After another long wait, I handed the forms, passport, updated bank book and photocopy of the bank book to the IO.  He flicked through it all and asked for letter from the bank. I told him I didn't know what letter he was referring to, and he said "letter confirming balance today."  I told him that was impossible as my bank is in Thailand and we are in Laos.  He apologised, returned my application and very nicely suggested I go to Kasikorn Bank branch that is directly across the street.

 

At Kasikorn Bank, the girl at the counter said it was impossible.  Seated at one of the desks was her supervisor, and I asked him if he could help.  He said that the best they could do would be to rubber stamp my photocopy, but he didn't think it would work with the visa application...  I said I needed something dated today regarding the account balance, and he told me that Kasikorn Laos did not have access to the Thai accounts.  At this point his boss came over -- a super-efficient woman and they entered into a long discussion on how they could help (I think).  It ended up with him looking for my bank branch phone number on google, and her then calling my bank in Thailand on her cellphone to get them to send an updated confirmation of balance...

 

I was asked to wait a bit, I was brought a bottle of water, and 30 mins later she handed me an envelope with the document in it.  I thanked them profusely and rushed back across the street.  I went back to stand in line and realised that I no longer had the "number ticket" that was handwritten on my application forms.  So I went back to the outside desk where they gave me a new one and crossed out the old one.  I asked if there was going to be a problem with the numbers crossed out on the form, and she shrugged.  I went back to the line and opened the bank envelope (yes, I should have done this at the bank).  Inside was a printout of a scan of a statement of account, but no letter "to whom this may concern" as I thought was required.

 

At this point there was a change of IO behind the window, which I hoped would bring me luck.  When my turn came, the new guy looked through my application, shook his head and again gave it all back.  I asked why and he pointed to the bank statement and said it was no good because "not an original" but a print of a scan.  I told him he also had the original passbook, that had been updated the day before.  He went off to check with someone else, and came back shaking his head.  He did more paper shuffling and head shaking, then kept the application forms and passport and said they would look at it and to return tomorrow.

 

So to cut a long story short, I went back the next afternoon, paid 2000THB and was handed my passport with the single entry 90 day O visa in it. (I never figured out what exactly was the bank letter they wanted.)

 

I flew back to BKK that night, and left for Europe a few days later (after getting my reentry permit at Suvanarbhumi).

 

Next step will be to apply for the 1 year extension based on retirement early next year in Nakhon Phanom...