Background:

My British friend has been in Thailand for about a year....

He did a few back to back "visa-exemptions" , ending about 7+ months ago.

he has since been doing Tourist Visas (for the last 6 months).

he is currently in Bali and the Thai Embassy in Bali is CLOSED until January 8th.

But he wants to be back in Bkk before New Years Eve.

 

Question:

if he flys back to Bkk in a few days time, will they reject him (based on his prior back-to-back visa exemptions from 7+ months ago) ?

or is it not a problem?

he is wondering if he should fly from Bali to Lao and apply for a visa..

but I told him to just fly to Bkk and if he gets rejected, then he can fly to Lao as a back-up plan.

 

any thoughts ?

 

Appreciated.

Thank you 

Edited December 25, 20169 yr by easybullet3

Thai immigration will not refuse your friend a visa-exempt entry when he arrives by air in January.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

12 minutes ago, Maestro said:

Thai immigration will not refuse your friend a visa-exempt entry when he arrives by air in January.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

 

Not to be nit picky but.......

 

He wants to arrive before New Years Eve 2016, not 2017, so he will be traveling in December not January!

 

But the answer is the same , he should have no problem!

 

Happy New Year!

2 hours ago, Maestro said:

Thai immigration will not refuse your friend a visa-exempt entry when he arrives by air in January.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

 

Anything like one of my experiences,  immigration might ask , and how long do you intend to say this time.

Thai Embassy in Bali is CLOSED until January 8th

 

That would be the Consulate. Wow, how can they be closed for 2 weeks?

Anyway, your friend could go to Jakarta and apply there.

All those visa exempt and tourist visa's, each one involving airfares, accommodation etc. At some point an elite visa would cost the same.

18 minutes ago, arithai12 said:

Thai Embassy in Bali is CLOSED until January 8th

 

That would be the Consulate. Wow, how can they be closed for 2 weeks?

Anyway, your friend could go to Jakarta and apply there.

It is a honorary Thai  consulate.

From their Twitter page. 

Quote

Royal Thai Consulate ‏@RTCatDPS  Dec 23

We will be closing from 26 Dec 2016 - 6 Jan 2017. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

If refused, he may not have the option to fly onward to Laos.  It will either be back where he came from  (most likely) or directly to his passport-country. 

 

I will not speculate on the odds of being turned away at the airport (I never take the chance).  But to minimize this possibility, I suggest he have 20K Baht in cash or travelers checks + proof of a non-Thai income source to explain his ability to live here most of the time + proof of accommodations in Thailand + proof of ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days. 

 

They may ask to see none of this, but some have been refused without asking for any of it, so he would be wise to "helpfully volunteer" showing the cash and air-ticket, at the onset of any questioning.

UPDATE:
everything worked out ok for him.

he had a (one-way) flight booked out of the country (which he later refunded).

he also printed out a bank statment..

and he had 20,000 cash on him.

he showed ALL of it to the immigration at Bkk.. and he was fine

3 minutes ago, easybullet3 said:

UPDATE:
everything worked out ok for him.

he had a (one-way) flight booked out of the country (which he later refunded).

he also printed out a bank statment..

and he had 20,000 cash on him.

he showed ALL of it to the immigration at Bkk.. and he was fine

Did they ask for all that or did he just show it all immediately at the counter ?

Bad choice of locations.

I got a tourist visa in Hong Kong on 29 December 2016.

I will be returning to Thailand from Hong Kong on 31 December at 215

No charge for SETV visa in Hong Kong until 28 January.

Hong Kong cnsulate will be closed 1 and 2 January for New Year holidays.

 

 

8 hours ago, freedomnow said:

Did they ask for all that or did he just show it all immediately at the counter ?

he showed it himself (without being asked).