will I get rejected for a Back-2-Back 'visa on arrival' TWICE IN A ROW ?

[easybullet3]

I have a UK Passport.

i have been doing TOURIST VISAS  for the last few years.  (BUT I did get a 30 days TRANSIT VISA about 6 months ago in my OLD Passport).

 

in my CURRENT NEW PASSPORT (which i got 4 mths ago) i have the following:

(in the following order)

• 1 x Tourist Visa
• 1 x 30 days 'visa-on-arrival' (from Poipet) , and Extended 30 more days at Bkk Immigration.

 

I know I am allowed to do TWO 'visa-on-arrival' per a year.

 

but,,  Are they allowed to be CONSECUTIVE ?

if I go to Poipet again on my upcoming Visa-Run, will they give me the 30 day visa-on-arrival ?

 

or is it a much safer bet if I FLEW in and out (rather than Poipet) ?

 

also:
would the 30 day Transit Visa (in my OLD passport) be counted as part of the "2 per year" ?

 

Many Thanks :)

Marc

[ubonjoe]

You don't qualify for a 15 day visa on arrival.

You can get a 30 day visa exempt entry at a border crossing. You can get two of them per calendar year at a land border crossing by air there is no limit.

There is no rule that prohibits them being done back to back.

Poi Pet is not the choice to do a crossing. Ban Laem or one of the other crossing would be better.

You can extend a 30 day visa exempt entry for 30 days at a immigration office.

[Helios]

If your passport looks really clean then I think you'll be fine. 

[easybullet3]

43 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You don't qualify for a 15 day visa on arrival.

You can get a 30 day visa exempt entry at a border crossing. You can get two of them per calendar year at a land border crossing by air there is no limit.

There is no rule that prohibits them being done back to back.

Poi Pet is not the choice to do a crossing. Ban Laem or one of the other crossing would be better.

You can extend a 30 day visa exempt entry for 30 days at a immigration office.

i just googled " Ban Laem" and its 30 mins further from Bkk than Poipet.

I can barely hack the brain-numbing round-trip bus-ride to poipet. so maybe I will search for an alternative.

 

I guess my alternative would be to Fly in-out.

Are you saying that its pretty much guaranteed if I fly in-out and get the 30 day exemption ?

 

would you go for a Malaysian round trip ? or Burma ? Lao? Cambodia ?

Malay has no visa entry, but more expensive flight.

 

if you were to do a round trip flight from Bkk for a 30 day Exemption, which destination would you choose?

(i will do it WITHIN the same day).

 

as always, thanks for your suggestions :)

Edited March 6, 2017 by easybullet3

[easybullet3]

UPDATE:

 

I think I have decided to Fly out and back in. (as it seems to be more guaranteed to get the 30 day exemption)... and it avoids the long minivan ride.

 

if you were to do a round trip flight (from bkk) to get a for a 30 day Exemption, which destination would you choose?

(i will do it WITHIN the same day).

 

(Malaysia has a free entry visa, so would this be the best choice) ?

Edited March 6, 2017 by easybullet3

[ubonjoe]

Most people choose Kuala Lumpur because no visa is required and low cost flights can normally be found for going there. 

[at15]

KL is the best for that, but the downside is it will also look a little more suspicious. You'll probably be ok getting back in but no one can know for sure. 

Edited March 6, 2017 by at15

[AGLV0121]

8 hours ago, easybullet3 said:

UPDATE:

 

Forget Malaysia. Mukdahan is closer and you cross to Savannakhet where you get two months visa from the Thai representative (close to the bus terminal btw). Catch is you must file application before 11AM and spend overnight to get your visa stamped on your passport  the next morning

 

[BritTim]

19 minutes ago, AGLV0121 said:

 

Forget Malaysia. Mukdahan is closer and you cross to Savannakhet where you get two months visa from the Thai representative (close to the bus terminal btw). Catch is you must file application before 11AM and spend overnight to get your visa stamped on your passport  the next morning

While a trip to get a tourist visa is an option, it does not seem the OP wants to spend many hours on buses, nor spend two nights outside Thailand, to effect this. (Flying to Vientiane, Savannakhet and Penang all need two nights stay.) He does not even want to suffer the relatively short trip from Bangkok to the Cambodian border.

 

The advice to fly to Kuala Lumpur seems sound in the OP's case, given that he seems satisfied with only a 30-day entry. One issue he needs to watch out for is the possibility that the airline check in at KL may want to see a confirmed onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days. Also, Don Muang (his likely entry airport for budget flights) has been known to be sticky sometimes about out-in flights for visa exempt entries.

[cruisemonkey]

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

 

You can get a 30 day visa exempt entry at a border crossing. You can get two of them per calendar year at a land border crossing by air there is no limit.

At HKT I was denied entry for having previously entered visa exempt twice a year - in January and July - for the previous four years... that is, until the Immigration supervisor said he would "do me a favor" and let me in for 2000 baht (no receipt). Extortion pure and simple.

[Poppadom]

6 minutes ago, cruisemonkey said:

At HKT I was denied entry for having previously entered visa exempt twice a year - in January and July - for the previous four years... that is, until the Immigration supervisor said he would "do me a favor" and let me in for 2000 baht (no receipt). Extortion pure and simple.

My experience in Phuket is different:

2015 dec: 1x visa exempt + extension

2016:

-3x SETV from Penang, first two extended at immi

-Instead of extending 3rd one, I went to run some errands in SG; visa exempt on arrival back to HKT

-In November, I wanted an SETV or METV from Perth, but didn't know about 3 business day processing time so had to put up with visa exempt on return again

Got married in December, went home to EU with wife for family visit for almost a month, came back Feb 1 on visa exempt as well

 

Always asked and was allowed to use Thai passport lane because 1/2 huai jai is Thai leow :))) Immi officers were - without exception- very nice. Even the most strict looking ones.

 

Last month we drove to Savannakhet for proper visa tengan. 

[Poppadom]

54 minutes ago, at15 said:

KL is the best for that, but the downside is it will also look a little more suspicious. You'll probably be ok getting back in but no one can know for sure. 

KL or SG, but if you want to spend a night there, go for KL. Hotels are much cheaper.

[AGLV0121]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

One issue he needs to watch out for is the possibility that the airline check in at KL may want to see a confirmed onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days.

 

As Ubonjoe noted >>>  by air there is no limit

and right, the OP would not want to spend that much time in a bus.
Actually, OP was more concerned about travel history impacting current status.

 

Now, this useful link will meet the requirement of an elusive onward flight out of Thailand within 30 days:

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by AGLV0121

[ericthai]

OP to be safe on returning to Thailand you might want to make sure you have cash in hand.

Also a onward ticket, hotel reservation or rental agreement. These may not be asked for, but better to have them to be safe.

 

@  Ubonjoe can you confirm the amount needed. I thought is 10K for single person and 20K for family, but a post made the other day said 20K THB.   

[lamyai3]

14 hours ago, ericthai said:

@  Ubonjoe can you confirm the amount needed. I thought is 10K for single person and 20K for family, but a post made the other day said 20K THB.   

It's 20k for a single person, 40k for family.