Business/Ordinary visa for thai GF?

[Tomate]

Hello,

 

Me, my thai GF and our 2 dogs (7 months old) are moving from Chiang Mai to Phnom Penh in 2 weeks. We will cross in Poipet by land... (I know about the scam and everything cause i've cross that border before).

 

My question: I know that thai citizen can get 14 days visa exempt, but we plan to stay much longer. I'm doing a Business/ordinary visa for myself ($35, and will extend after a month for a year for about $300). Can my thai GF do the same Business/ordinary visa and extend it like me or is there another way of doing for thai citizen?

 

Thx!

[Tomate]

Just to be more precise we plan to do the business/Ordinary visa in PoiPet, not e-visa.

[Sheryl]

No other way, you need to get the ordinary visa for her. Special privlege for ASEAN citizens is limited to the 14 days visa exempt, after that it is same as everyone else.

 

Be aware that there have been reports of people on business visa being asked to show work permits. They have recently added a retirement extension category which you should try for instead of business extension if you are over 50.

 

[Tomate]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

No other way, you need to get the ordinary visa for her. Special privlege for ASEAN citizens is limited to the 14 days visa exempt, after that it is same as everyone else.

 

Be aware that there have been reports of people on business visa being asked to show work permits. They have recently added a retirement extension category which you should try for instead of business extension if you are over 50.

 

 

Thx you!

 

Some people have suggest me to try another border like Ban Pakard / Phsa Prum, because Poipet is really a hassle/scam/can be very long.

 

If train would go near Ban Pakard I would not hesitate... train BKK to Poipet border is like 50 baht each + 90 baht each for the dogs, while i've found taxi BKK/Ban Pakard for 3.5k baht. So because of price difference it make the decision closer. If at Poipet border they start bribe money for my dogs and me and my GF visa I may end up paying about the same for both option, minus the constant hassle.

 

In ur experience what should we do?

 

Thx!

 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Tomate

[phuketrichard]

I just entered at Poi pet on the 1st, got my voa ( paid $30 no  questions)
just ignore the touts,

she will need the same "ordinary visa "any one gets,  Have a few friends with thai wife's /GF's over there.

NOTE; thai's enter and exit Thailand in a different room ( its downstairs)  than Farangs.

 

as to dogs.... no idea,prehaps hire a khmer to put them in one of those wheelbarrows and just roll them into Cambodia  :-)

Edited May 8, 2017 by phuketrichard

[Sheryl]

For just entering Camb (as opposed to doing an in-out border run) Poipet is OK. Not pleasant but not worth extra hassle to reach a different border crossing when thete are no unusual issues involved. Ignore the scams. They will often try to get some extra money out of you by taking their sweet time leafing thru your passport but if you ignore and stand your ground you'll get in without paying. Worst case is if you get there at a time when it is very crowded as in that situation the people willing to pay extra for "VIP" processing all go first and you have to either follow suit or wait a very, very long time. But this only matters when there are a lot of people in line (which is pretty much luck of the draw, though early morning seems best).

 

I live closest to Poipet and always cross there for that reason.

 

I have broughtbpets across many times with no problem at all. Usually not asked to show anything, once or twice had to show health certif. with proof of rabies vaccination. Though for me it is cats and small dog all easily put into carrying cases and I use cases that from a distance are not obvious pet carriers. Really big dogs on leash or in huge carry cases might get more attention, I don't know. But if so just show the health certifs and worse come to worse add a "tip".

 

This issue -- if there is one -- will not be with immigration but with customs. Have the dogs with you, not your GF as customs usually pretty well ignore the farangs, they are focused on Khmer and Thai people coming through with commercial goods or illegal contraband.

 

 

 

[my friend I]

Can you get the ordinary visa at the Ban Pakard crossing?

[Tomate]

That is a very good question, it seem like only tourist visa in Pailin but one foreigner living in Cambodia swear that u can. Anyways, I have one big question:

 

My thai GF is worry about what she read in Thai on they internet but (I cannot find any info regarding that in english). We want to cross Cambodia (Poipet) and head to Phnom Penh with the ordinary/business visa made at the border and then extend it for a year. She told me that they will ask her medical record along as many other thing at the border before giving ordinary visa, but I cannot find any info in english on google that support that they will (or what they will ask). The only thing I found out is that they like to check thai luggage because many Thai try to in and out with commercial goods to resell. HELP! Thx! p.s: Also, if we use a agent, will it be hard for my GF to extend the ordinary visa to 1 year?

[Sheryl]

There is no health check required for an ordinary visa.

 

There are scams at some check points where they try to sell you a health or vaccination care, just ignore.

 

No problem to extend with an agent. But if she gets the business extension as opposed to retirement you might encounter issues later with being asked to show a work permit.

[Tomate]

Most people have told me that it's possible for my thai GF to get ordinary visa at the border, but one guy right now is putting a lot of doubt in my head:

 

John Le Fevre Volak Seang You are wrong. Our staff FROM Thailand and the Philippines have been denied E class visa's at land and air border points. They've been told to obtain them at an embassy.

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 · Reply · 1 hr

 

 

John Le Fevre Volak Seang So Immigration is wrong on each occasion with our staff? Asean members get 14 day permission to stay stamps (and Philippines get 21 days) - not a visa - stamped 'employment prohibited'
@Maxim Thibodeau I don't care who you've spoken to. Ask them to show you their E class visa issued at a border crossing. I employ Thais, Vietnamese, and Filipinos and none of them have been able to get an ordinary E class visa on arrival to Cambodia and all have been told to apply at an embassy.

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 · Reply · 35 mins

 

 

[Tomate]

So to bring even more confusion by GF just call Poipet border (on the thai side)... they are *not sure* about what kind of visa she can get at the border because they have a lot of *strange* visa. The guy on the phone seem to be more happy about telling my GF how great the casino in Poipet are! I guess I know exactly what to say so she can get the Ordinary visa.

[Tomate]

Maybe good news. IMO it's not a good move to bring letter of invitation at border/airport without making ur ordinary visa at the embassy first. A letter of invitation implied that you will work, so it's probably more appropriate in that case to go to a embassy.

 

But my GF is gonna be with me and tell officer that we are here on long holiday. I really think those staff got denied the ordinary visa because it's more appropriate in case that you are invited to go to a embassy.

 

What do you guys think?

 

John Le Fevre Volak Seang Yes. They always have a return ticket home and a letter of invitation from a registered Cambodia company

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 · Reply · 33 mins

[Monomial]

I would think the most likely reason they were denied an ordinary visa at the border is because they were unwilling to pay the "facilitation fees" to the immigration officers.

 

I will never say that what your friend/boss is telling you is impossible. Those guys have broad discretion to do whatever they want...and what they want is for you to give them extra money. So they can basically come up with any excuse they want. You can then either give up, try and wait them out, or pay what they are asking. Generally, if you pay in baht, you get any kind of visa you want. The baht rates are substantially higher than the USD rates, and the immigration officers keep the difference.

 

This sounds like the primary motivation behind telling you to get the visa at the embassy and avoid the headache. My Thai wife got an ordinary visa at Poipet 2 years ago. She paid in baht. No problem at all. At the same time there was a group of backpackers there trying to get standard tourist visas with US dollars.  They were still being told no when we left. Guess why this happened?

 

The decision is yours. Just keep in mind there is no law that says they can not give your wife an ordinary visa. It all depends on what you offer them. If you want to pay the government rate and no more, go to the embassy or fly in at their airport. Otherwise, you may be subject to the IO's mood at the time.

 

Again, my information is 2 years old, and I do not guarantee that anything and/or everything hasn't changed. My opinion is worth everything you paid for it.

 

 

 

[Tomate]

Thx you!

 

I don't mind the bribe, I will pay the bribe no problem!

[jimster]

On 5/14/2017 at 10:08 AM, Monomial said:

I would think the most likely reason they were denied an ordinary visa at the border is because they were unwilling to pay the "facilitation fees" to the immigration officers.

 

I will never say that what your friend/boss is telling you is impossible. Those guys have broad discretion to do whatever they want...and what they want is for you to give them extra money. So they can basically come up with any excuse they want. You can then either give up, try and wait them out, or pay what they are asking. Generally, if you pay in baht, you get any kind of visa you want. The baht rates are substantially higher than the USD rates, and the immigration officers keep the difference.

 

This sounds like the primary motivation behind telling you to get the visa at the embassy and avoid the headache. My Thai wife got an ordinary visa at Poipet 2 years ago. She paid in baht. No problem at all. At the same time there was a group of backpackers there trying to get standard tourist visas with US dollars.  They were still being told no when we left. Guess why this happened?

 

The decision is yours. Just keep in mind there is no law that says they can not give your wife an ordinary visa. It all depends on what you offer them. If you want to pay the government rate and no more, go to the embassy or fly in at their airport. Otherwise, you may be subject to the IO's mood at the time.

 

Again, my information is 2 years old, and I do not guarantee that anything and/or everything hasn't changed. My opinion is worth everything you paid for it.

 

 

 

It's unlikely anyone would be denied altogether unless they are totally unwilling to pay even a small extra amount in addition to the official fee and were being a pain in the ass. And usually what happens is if immigration starts getting angry and threatens someone, they almost invariably immediately cave in to their demands. All you need to do is be willing to pay a little extra, if that's what it takes and you'll be outta there with a visa in minutes. Be nice and make a joke out of it, there's really no reason to get upset - that will naturally work against you.

 

I've never heard of a Thai who would take a stand against "bribery" to the point they would be willing to inconvenience themselves, make a scene and possibly be required to go to the embassy to get a visa rather than paying say US$2-5 more than the official price (or even if it's US$10-15 extra). Getting denied and having to go through all of that would cost possibly thousands of Baht extra. Only certain self-righteous westerners who say "it's the principle not the amount" may be willing to go through that, but funnily enough they'll again be required to pay "tea money" at the embassy itself! Luckily I can't say I know anyone like this, but I'm willing to bet there's a few of them out there, based on what I read on Thaivisa.

Edited July 29, 2017 by jimster