kennyboy33

Hi,
was just wondering.. is or has anyone been staying in Thailand on a 3 month visa and just border hopping then returning again over and over?

Can it still be done these days?

pls PM me re this one, if you'd prefer

ps. i'm not a immigration official ..really!

Best wishes,
Kenny

bakedbean

Nonthaburi is probably your man to answer this one... but today, as you probably know, is the first day of Songkran (Thai New Year), so you may have to wait a few days before getting a reply.

I thought you were moving to Malaysia? Which part of Thailand are you considering? There are some very nice spots.

kennyboy33

Hi Bakebeans

Not sure whether it is Thailand, or Malaysia yet. By the way, have you any contacts with expats living in Thailand? Might consider Thailand for retirement as their entry requirement is simpler

bakedbean

I have no contacts I'm afraid. When Nonthaburi gets back from hols, he may be able to give you some insight. Which part of Thailand attracts you? It's a big country. I presume you'll already be scouring thaivisa for info, though that website enough to put you off Thailand

kennyboy33

true, its a big country..chang Mai looks attractive..on maybe a retirement visa eh

nonthaburi

Going to try to go simply through visa options

1) no visa : if you are from the UK you will get 30 days on arrival coming by air and 15 days coming through a land crossing. How many times you can do this in a row seems to change a lot but right now I believe that there is no limit. Bit expensive or tiring unless you lived right close to Malaysia ( free entry ) or Burma ( 10 dollars ).

2) tourist visa : at the moment it is easy to obtain a single entry tourist visa at any country around Thailand although I believe that if you want more than a single entry you should go to Singapore or Hong Kong. In any case there is no point getting more than a double entry because the visa is only valid for three months anyway. However you get 60 days on arrival that you can extend for another 30 days at any local immigration office for 1900 baht. If you do your border run before the three month visa validity is up ( not before the date you have to leave Thailand by, they might not be the same ) you will then start your second period of 60 days from the double entry that can then be extended for another thirty days the same way as before. If recent reports are anything to go by then the embassies in Laos, Cambodia and possibly Penang are not giving out anything more than three tourist visas back to back. However if you use an agent outside the embassy they probably will. Confused ? so am I but paying extra money seems to work.

3) non-O : for people with kids or married. No limit on how mant times you can apply for this visa although you will only get a one year multiple entry from the UK. If you're not married try the Thai consulate in Hull in particular and maybe Birmingham ( definitely not London ) as they are a soft touch and it's a good vbisa to have. Every entry gets you ninety days which you can then extend at you LOCAL immigration office for a further sixty days for 1900 baht. If you have a multiple entry just do a border hop or if you have a single then go to the embassy in Laos or wherever and start all over again.

4) non-OA : retirement. You mentioned this. Apply for a single entry in the UK and you can then extend it for a year if you have 800,000 in a Thai bank or you have 65,000 baht a month income going into a thai bank. Money has to be there 2 months before you apply. If you get the year extension you the have to report every ninety days to your local immigration office.

5) non-E : education ; many language schools are liscensed by the Ministry of Eduacation and if you sign up to learn Thai the nthey can get you a one year visa. Not a bad option but you would have to be somewhere where there was a school and pay about 25,000+.

Hope some of that makes sense and you can find something for you. If I was you I would apply for a one year non-O multiple entry in the UK from Hull and take it from there.

kennyboy33

many thanks nonthaburi ..thats comprehensive..Great advice

Thanks Again

Ken

nonthaburi

no worries . happy to help !

Jay Bird

I'm just back from visiting my daughter who often hops between Thailand and Laos because of her work as a yoga teacher; she originally went to Vientiane (Laos) specificaly to get a 90 day Thai tourist visa at the Thai embassy there. Apparently the embassy in Bangkok doesn't issue these longer term visas. Be aware, though, that they are single entry only so if you leave Thailand, then go back in, you lose the remainder of that visa and have to start again. Crossing the border into Laos is easy enough, but you do have to pay both entrance and exit visas to Laos; sorry I can't give you the cost as it was late at night and I had to get Kip at the ATM; the currency in Laos is totally mad, but it was probably in the region of £20.

nonthaburi

A lot of people make this mistake but there is no such thing as a ninety day tourist visa. On a tourist visa it will say that it is valid for three months but this IS NOT the amount of time that you are allowed to stay for. A tourist visa gives you sixty days that can then be extended for a further thirty days for 1900 baht at any immigration office. It does not give you a straight ninety days; the only visa that does that is a non immigrant visa.
Furthermore there is no ' embassy' in Bangkok to apply for a visa. You have to apply in a country outside of Thailand whether it is Laos, Cambodia or wherever.
Regarding Laos, it is 34 $ for the visa to go to Laos with an extra dollar at the weekend and another dollar if it is after 6pm. There is no exit charge to pay from Laos and they seem to have stopped the entrance fee which was only 20 baht anyway. There are about 250 kip to 1 baht.

nonthaburi

I also forgot to add but it used to be the case that if you applied for your Laos visa in Bangkok at the Laos embassy before going to Laos then it used to be cheaper than paying at the border when you get there. About twenty-five $ rather than thirty. The Laos embassy is situated just past the Cambodian embassy on a road that turns into Ramkhamheang 39, Pracha Uthit I think it's called. Nearest station is Huai Kwang MRT on Ratchadapisek road and it's about 10 minutes on a motorbike taxi from there. Just say " bai satthan tuht phratet Laos " to the driver. It's also good to do as it can get busy at the border sometimes and you might have to wait at the border for a couple of hours for a Laos visa on arrival. They're not exaxctly quick and they make Thai immigration look very efficient. If you have come on the overnight bus or train from Bangkok and you are in a rush to get to the Thai embassy then those hours saved may be important as it shuts at twelve and they may start locking the gates at 11:30.

bakedbean

On the Non-O retirement visa, you can also do it all from within Thailand on a visit. We actually did this via an agent in Phuket. It's not exactly kosher but this is Thailand. You can see a lot of visa shops advertising around Phuket. It does cost more (with the agent fee) but they can... ahem... bend the rules a little bit with a few palms greased

nonthaburi

Was that for the one year extension of stay that you did with the agent though or a completely new process whereby you were on a touris visa at the time and then they changed your visa status ? Just curious. Also , if you don't mind me asking, how much was the fee ?

bakedbean

It was from a one-month Tourist Visa. We just booked a 2 week holiday (we were living in Singapore at the time) gave the passports to the agent with our bank books and fees, and about a week later, voila - retirement visa. We were told better to do from a Tourist Visa rather than just Stamp on Arrival.

I cannot remember the fees charged but it was quite expensive. It's not worth doing unless you need the visa in a hurry and maybe don't live in Thailand (which was the case for us).

As I recall, we got Thai bank accounts opened a month before. We "borrowed" an address from our property agent and they pulled a few strings, heh heh. The visa agent thought it was hilarious. Thais do have a good sense of humour, don't they.

nonthaburi

I've said it before in other posts byt when it comes to anything legal in Thailand there is only one thing that counts, money. Just make sure you have enough of it and you'll be fine !!