Unsuccessful Penang Visa

[Sambo5000]

I went down to Penang a couple weeks ago, the plan was to get a tourist visa as quick as possible by going to the consulate myself and avoiding agencies, on arrival i went straight to Jims place to ask some advice about required documents and such, he immediately told me i would have to wait nearly a week in Penang as there was a holiday that weekend or something (June 22nd). So i ran back to Butterworth same day and entered Thailand on a 30 day visa arrival which was obtained only after fairly extensive questioning from thai immigration... 

Not wanting to go down that same street again and also bored of Penang visa runs, whats my next best option? Will immigration scrutinise me over my 30 day arrival visa? I have a fairly new passport with only a few stamps in.

[Essecola]

Usually no problem to get a visa thru Jim. Onward ticket, hotel booking, passport, fee. Just google Thai public holidays and Malaysia public holidays beforehand and don't go when those public holidays are in the way. Unless you only want one more 30 day visa exempt stamp, they likely will ask extra questions and pressure u a bit when entering. There is info in other forum threads about other embassies and consulates where a tourist visa can be gotten.. Yangon, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City...

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, Sambo5000 said:

Will immigration scrutinise me over my 30 day arrival visa?

You got a 30 day visa exempt entry (not a visa). You can extend that 30 days at a immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht.

Immigration will scrutinise you more because of one exempt entry.

It is not normally a problem to get more visa exempt entries unless you are doing them back to back.

[JackThompson]

Note, you can only make one more land-border crossing for a visa-exempt entry this year.  I would save it for an 'emergency' situation, where you cannot get the Tourist Visa you planned to get.  You will have less trouble entering with a Tourist Visa, but should have 20K Baht in Cash or Travelers Checks to show, if questioned.  Malaysian points of entry are not the friendliest.  Lao crossings are better, as are the Cambodian crossings, excepting Poipet/Aranyaprathet, which is the worst.

 

If you plan to stay longer-term using Tourist Visas, and do not have many Tourist Visas in your current passport yet, Phnom Penh could be a good choice, as they are getting more strict when they see many previous Tourist-Visas in a passport.  I would use the "hard one" consulates first, then the easier ones, in order to maximize the total number possible before having to get a new passport.

Edited July 5, 2017 by JackThompson

[natway09]

You had the bad luck to arrive as Hari Raya was being celebrated (end of Ramadan)

Nothing happens for 8 days except eating & drinking

[Sambo5000]

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Note, you can only make one more land-border crossing for a visa-exempt entry this year.  I would save it for an 'emergency' situation, where you cannot get the Tourist Visa you planned to get.  You will have less trouble entering with a Tourist Visa, but should have 20K Baht in Cash or Travelers Checks to show, if questioned.  Malaysian points of entry are not the friendliest.  Lao crossings are better, as are the Cambodian crossings, excepting Poipet/Aranyaprathet, which is the worst.

 

If you plan to stay longer-term using Tourist Visas, and do not have many Tourist Visas in your current passport yet, Phnom Penh could be a good choice, as they are getting more strict when they see many previous Tourist-Visas in a passport.  I would use the "hard one" consulates first, then the easier ones, in order to maximize the total number possible before having to get a new passport.

Thats  a great idea to use the harder consulates first, i can see myself using that technique.

[Sambo5000]

Thanks all, think I'm going to get the 30 day extension at immigration (Chaen  Wattana?) office and then head to Camodia. Was just unlucky to try Penang whilst the Ramadan holiday was taking place. Always pays to do thorough research...Lesson learned.

[DerekMarshall]

11 hours ago, Essecola said:

Usually no problem to get a visa thru Jim. Onward ticket, hotel booking, passport, fee. Just google Thai public holidays and Malaysia public holidays beforehand and don't go when those public holidays are in the way. Unless you only want one more 30 day visa exempt stamp, they likely will ask extra questions and pressure u a bit when entering. There is info in other forum threads about other embassies and consulates where a tourist visa can be gotten.. Yangon, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City...

For what its worth the next public Holiday coming up here in Malaysia in their national day August 30th

[Cletus]

20 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Note, you can only make one more land-border crossing for a visa-exempt entry this year.  I would save it for an 'emergency' situation, where you cannot get the Tourist Visa you planned to get.  You will have less trouble entering with a Tourist Visa, but should have 20K Baht in Cash or Travelers Checks to show, if questioned.  Malaysian points of entry are not the friendliest.  Lao crossings are better, as are the Cambodian crossings, excepting Poipet/Aranyaprathet, which is the worst.

 

If you plan to stay longer-term using Tourist Visas, and do not have many Tourist Visas in your current passport yet, Phnom Penh could be a good choice, as they are getting more strict when they see many previous Tourist-Visas in a passport.  I would use the "hard one" consulates first, then the easier ones, in order to maximize the total number possible before having to get a new passport.

How many tourist visas would you consider to be many in Phnom Penh?

I'm asking because I want to go there next month, spending a couple of weeks and apply for a TV. All I've got in my passport is two TVs from my own country (G7) and two TVs from Vientiane; never entered on visa exempt. Do you think I should be fine getting one more TV?

Thanks a lot for help

[JackThompson]

3 minutes ago, Cletus said:

How many tourist visas would you consider to be many in Phnom Penh?

I'm asking because I want to go there next month, spending a couple of weeks and apply for a TV. All I've got in my passport is two TVs from my own country (G7) and two TVs from Vientiane; never entered on visa exempt. Do you think I should be fine getting one more TV?

Thanks a lot for help

I got the warning-stamp "this person frequently visits Thailand using tourist-visas" on my 2nd Tourist-Visa in Phnom Penh, with a similar history of prior-visas.  That extra stamp on your visa means you can no longer get a TR Visa in Vientiane, and possibly other consulates (Penang?).  Based on my experience, you would not get that warning-stamp from your first visa there - but I would not go back for a 2nd.  

Consulates make up their rules on the fly, so we can only guess what they will do - but if I were in your situation, I would use Phnom Penh once.  You may/will need to show a bank-statement with 20K+ baht-worth of funds (can be from your home-country) and/or a flight-out of Thailand.  I used the visa-agents at "Lucky, Lucky Moto Shop" for mine.

 

These days, those obtaining Tourist Visas at nearby consulates must always be prepared to get a new passport from your country's Embassy, should some consulate decide to add that 'warning-stamp' decoration to a visa they issue.

[my friend I]

Was asked to show a plane ticket out of Thai yesterday for a tourist visa. Nothing about money,etc. There was no other person there. Must have scared everyone off tho I see the minibuses going up every morning,

[4evermaat]

Any reason why OP didn't just wait in Penang and obtain the SETV either directly from the Penang consulate or using an agent?

 

No one was denied a visa here.....seems like OP just didn't want to wait a few extra days to clear a holiday period.

[phuketrichard]

next time, go try Kota Bharu on the east coast, very easy consolute.Nice town,cheaper than Penang and great food

 

I have been told ( by a  few that use PP) that Phnom Penh will give ya 3 in a row tourists visas and on the 3rd one tell u to go elsewhere for the next one.

Using an agent