I was on the visa run van at 6:00 a.m., and rode 3 hours out to the Cambodian border, during which I got 2 hours of what you can call sleep, but I call it 2 hours of my skull rat-ta-tat-tatting against the van window, and my scalp baking in the morning sun.
When I got to the border, the immigration officer checking me out of Thailand looked at my passport, and then handed it to the visa run lady accompanying us visa runners and said, "2 more days."
I had made the mistake of showing up to the border 2 days before it was 6 months after the beginning of my first of the 3 allowed 30-day visas. (More accurately, my visa run company had made the mistake of not noticing this fact themselves, but I digress.) I would not be getting a visa; the 6-hour-round-trip van ride was all for naught.
So I suffered through a 3-hour ride back to Pattaya, unable to sleep any more.
When I got back to Pattaya, the first thing I had to do (after quite naturally being refunded the cost of the visa, which I never received, from the total ticket price of my visa run) was go down to Pattaya Immigration, and spend 1,900 baht on a measley 7-day extension.
Then, fed up with the whole Cambodia visa run thing, I went to a travel agent to book a round trip plane ticket to Vientienne to get myself another, proper 90-day tourist visa.
The problem is that next week is the week before Songkran: Thailand's busiest travel period. There were no coach seats... only first class. So I bought first class. Then there were no first class return tickests... only coach. So I had to buy 2 one-way tickets. The price of the flights went quickly from 9,900 baht ($280) to 15,500 baht ($450).
Then, the Thai Airways computer got all confused because I was purchasing a plane ticket originating in Laos with Thai Baht instead of Lao Kip. Then it appeared that the price was going up again.
By this point, I had been awake, more or less, for 24 hours, and I had been sitting in the travel office for an hour waiting for the computer to figure things out. I gave up, and decided that in one week, I will climb into that goddamn 6:00 a.m. van to Cambodia again, rattle my sweaty forehead against the window for another 3 hours, get the visa that I was supposed to have gotten today, and then 30 days after that... comfortably after the Songkran holiday... try to fly to Vientienne once again.
What an absolute piece of shit day.
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8 comments:
There is no way on earth you "have" to use up all 30 days of a 30 day visa, or any length of visa for that matter. I did visa runs when it suited my work diary, often the last day but sometimes up to a week in advance. I even know a guy who had a 12 month 4 entry visa and he used up all 4 re-entries in about 6 weeks.
Also, if you are on 30 day or 90 days visa you can surely only stay a max' of 90 days anyway then must exit for 90?
I have to say am not sure which visa type yo are on so don't want to stick my "size 10" in but you mention "tourist" visa and that is subject to the max' stay of 90 days in any 180 as of October last year.
Isn't it time to go home and get a 12 month Non Imm' O or even a B then you are covering your work too.
Regards
Andy
It makes no difference to the immigration officials at the border. There was another fellow who was with me who was also rejected... and he had to wait another week because he had gone in a few days early on a couple of his 30-day visas.
In reality, you have to remember that these are actually 29-day visas as the last day of one visa, and the first day of the next overlap. Same with the 60 day and 30 day extension.
Therefore, the number of days is 29+29+29+59+29 which totals 175 days. In a 6-month period which includes February, there are about 182 days; without February about 184. I had taken a 5-day vacation to Laos, and added my 30-day extension after Pattaya Immigration had been closed for a holiday weekend for 3 days. I should have made it, but didn't.
Anyway, as for the 1-year visa, I haven't been home to America since 2004 to bother with one, but I am considering it this coming summer when I do go home.
That sucks dude. Next time think about going to Penang maybe not so busy. Good luck getting that 1 year visa not that easy anymore. Unless your 50 or getting married.
from Jakal
I gave a passing thought to Penang, but I know Vientienne very well, and have friends there if I have an emergency. If I go to Penang, the first time will be with somebody who "knows the ropes".
Jakal - you don't have to be either married or over 50 to get a 12 month visa (effectively 15 months). That only applies if you wish to convert it to a retirement or dependant spouse visa at the end of the 12 (15) months.
You can get a Non Imm' O visa to visit friends in Thailand and they don't have to be Thai either. Most of us know a "friend" in Thailand we can visit lol.
Jil - I still don't see how you can get around the 90 day maximum stay per 180 days if you are on a tourist via, be it a 30 (29) day one or a 60 day. The rules now (effective since 1st January) are that you can only stay for 90 days in Thailand and must then depart for 90 days before you can return.
In addition, I am not sure, but I believe you must apply for the Non Imm O (or B in your case I think) in your home country. I could be wrong but I think Penang and Vientiane only do "renewals" now.
Andy
Andy...
I'm not going to go over all the new visa rules again, but you can click here to get a full run down that I wrote last December. The rules have not changed since then, so what I said then still holds true today.
Jil - the last thing I want is a fight over visas as the rules are so convoluted no one ever really knows what is going on.
I have seen countless people TRY this loophole since the new rules came in in January (i.e 90 days after the October regulations) but far more have failed than succeeded.
I agree it all depends on the officer on the day but I for one would never take the risk. For the sake of getting a Non Imm B for 15 months (which is easy) and working legally it seems a bit crazy to me.
There is no need to fight:
There is no convolution. Everybody knows what is going on. There is no loophole.
Everybody has to go out of the country after three 30-day VOAs to a Thai embassy to get a proper tourist visa. Nobody has failed. Nobody has been turned away... except for my bad luck of showing up 2 days before the 6-month period has passed.
ThaiVisa.com has beaten this subject to death in about 100 different posts, and everybody who has to do this now has a complete understanding of the rules. Three 30-day visas every 6 months. In between, a proper 90 day visa.
As of today (6 months after my first 30-day visa), I can go to the Cambodian border and get another three 30-day VOA visas. I have never left Thailand in between, except to go to Laos to get a 90-day tourist visa. I am one of your countless people who is following and understanding the new rules exactly as Thailand wrote them, and I am still here, still legal, and will remain so for as long as the current rules are in place.
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