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advice to stay a little longer


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Hello Everyone

 

So I have been on the Thai Elite for the last 5 years.  I have not been here the full five years but Thailand (Chiang Mai the last 3 years) has been my home basically with visits to Canada to see the family every year.  Well The Elite Visa is expiring in Feb 2020.  I do not plan to renew it at the point.  Decided it is time to head back to Canada for a while to be with my family and give Thailand a break for a while.

 

However, I prefer not to head back to Canada in the dead of winter, rather go back in April or May so I am looking to extend my stay here in Chiang Mai just a little bit longer, hopefully 3 or 4 months.  I was looking for suggestions on doing so.  I was thinking leaving to a neighboring country (please suggest from Chiang Mai) get a 30 day then extend it at the local immigration for another 30 days.  I then here you can do this one more time in a calendar year, so I would leave again, get 30 day and extend it at local immigration.  Then by that time it will be warmer and I can head on back to Canada.

 

I been out of the Visa game for a while since I been on the Elite so am looking for suggestions on how best to extend my stay, which countries would be best to go to as I know some are problematic with visas or of course a better way to extend it.

 

Thanks all

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Perhaps others will confirm, but I read that the elite offers 1 year *per entry* meaning that if you depart and return immediately prior to the expiration of the visa, you will be stamped for 1 additional year. In this way, the 5 year can be extended to almost 6 years in practice.

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What is the latest opinion on a border bounce just prior to the expiry of a Thailand Elite Easy Access visa? Do you get a fresh one-year stay?

 

Generally suggested border crossings from Chiang Mai are Mae Sai (no visa required to enter Myanmar and go straight back to Thailand, only a border pass) or Chiang Khong (Laos visa on arrival necessary for most nationalities). If going to Chiang Khong, you can save money by having clean, undamaged US dollar notes to pay for the visa. 

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18 minutes ago, jackdd said:

If you re enter before your Elite visa expires you get another year, so about 6 in total

yeah I thought about this as well as it was something that was talked about several times.  When I brought it up with Thai Elite they said that this would not work, that my visa expires  Feb 2020 and thats it, I can't do a slip out and come back just before it expires.    At least that is what the last two reps have said to me. I would love to hear if someone has actually extended to the 6 year somehow as an actual fact.  They told me that I would not get a one year stamp but instead it would be a stamp up to the day of my expired visa date

Edited by krey
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1 hour ago, krey said:

They told me that I would not get a one year stamp but instead it would be a stamp up to the day of my expired visa date

I think you need to check the Elite website, PDS and give the reps or a manager a good questioning. Perhaps a quiet talk to an IO in an immigration office.

My research shows different. PM sent.

 

Edited by UncleMhee
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1 hour ago, krey said:

When I brought it up with Thai Elite they said that this would not work, that my visa expires  Feb 2020 and thats it, I can't do a slip out and come back just before it expires.    At least that is what the last two reps have said to me.

Of course this is what they say, because they want to sell a new membership after 5 years instead of 6.

In most cases the membership expires shortly before the visa expires. If you should enter in this period it would be a grey area.

If you enter while your membership is still active the rules are clear, you will get a permission to stay for a year. The official rules: http://web.krisdika.go.th/data/law/law2/%A402/%A402-2e-2556-a0005.htm

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1 hour ago, krey said:

yeah I thought about this as well as it was something that was talked about several times.  When I brought it up with Thai Elite they said that this would not work, that my visa expires  Feb 2020 and thats it, I can't do a slip out and come back just before it expires.    At least that is what the last two reps have said to me. I would love to hear if someone has actually extended to the 6 year somehow as an actual fact.  They told me that I would not get a one year stamp but instead it would be a stamp up to the day of my expired visa date

Several people are already on the 6th year from their PE visa.

I think Thai Elite is giving out some false info to encourage people to get a new 5 year membership.

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so just to understand here

Lets say I have a Expiry date of Feb 1 2020

I leave on January 25th and come back on January 27th

I have a new year stamp that states I can stay in the kingdom until Jan 27 2021

However I have an expired Thai Elite Visa of Feb 1 2020

 

So it ok to be here on an expired visa, I guess the year stamp and the actual visa get me a little confused on how it works and what is considered correct.

 

Because I much rather leave before my expiry date and come back and get a year stamp that would give me a lot more time obviously to get things in order ( I presume you can't leave at all during that last year as once you come back it would be completely void the visa that is)

 

Thanks guys for helping me out

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9 minutes ago, krey said:

so just to understand here

Lets say I have a Expiry date of Feb 1 2020

I leave on January 25th and come back on January 27th

I have a new year stamp that states I can stay in the kingdom until Jan 27 2021

However I have an expired Thai Elite Visa of Feb 1 2020

 

So it ok to be here on an expired visa, I guess the year stamp and the actual visa get me a little confused on how it works and what is considered correct.

 

Because I much rather leave before my expiry date and come back and get a year stamp that would give me a lot more time obviously to get things in order ( I presume you can't leave at all during that last year as once you come back it would be completely void the visa that is)

 

Thanks guys for helping me out

What counts is the entry stamp with the 1 year permission of stay not the date on the visa. If you need to travel during that period you will need a re-entry permit to maintain the permission of stay on your stamp since the visa is expired. 

Edited by Tayaout
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8 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

What counts is the entry stamp with the 1 year permission of stay not the date on the visa. If you need to travel during that period you will need a re-entry permit to maintain the permission of stay on your stamp since the visa is expired. 

wow so I can even leave and come back as long as I get a re entry permit as well.  Looks like a trip out of the country is in order than so I can get this 1 year stamp, that will definitely take me into the summer Canada months.

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yeah i read quite a few posts seems to be a lot of back and forth on if it actually worked.I just talked to Elite again was a bit more aggressive on my chat now they are saying yes it is possible I might get another 365 days but it would be up to the immigration officer, some might not give it ha:) now I am starting to remember why I went to the Elite in the first place, to get away from all this randomness and uncertainty, it was a good stress free 5 years anyway:)

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7 hours ago, krey said:

yeah I thought about this as well as it was something that was talked about several times.  When I brought it up with Thai Elite they said that this would not work, that my visa expires  Feb 2020 and thats it, I can't do a slip out and come back just before it expires.    At least that is what the last two reps have said to me. I would love to hear if someone has actually extended to the 6 year somehow as an actual fact.  They told me that I would not get a one year stamp but instead it would be a stamp up to the day of my expired visa date

of course they would say that...that want you to buy it again and not get a free year. I would just try and do a quick out and in before it expires...or worst case just do two land border runs and extend them both.

Edited by theonetrueaussie
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9 hours ago, krey said:

Lets say I have a Expiry date of Feb 1 2020

I leave on January 25th and come back on January 27th

I have a new year stamp that states I can stay in the kingdom until Jan 27 2021

I know these are hypothetical dates, but just in case the IO decides not to stamp you in for another 365 .... don't cut it too close to the end of your visa.

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12 hours ago, krey said:

if anyone on the Elite has actually done the 6th year I would love to talk to you about it.

If you had put Thai Elite in your topic title it would possibley been noticed by a few that have done it already.

Maybe @ukrules will get notified he was just tagged when I did it. He is on his 6th year from a new entry after staying for the full 5 years by getting one year extensions instead of leaving the country.

For the re-entry permit it might be best to get it when departing the country from either airport in Bangkok. 

10 hours ago, krey said:

yes it is possible I might get another 365 days but it would be up to the immigration officer, some might not give it

More nonsense from Thai Elite.

The only thing you lose is the membership privileges since that does expire after 5 years.

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17 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

ake a relaxing weekend in Saigon. Direct flights CM/SAIGON and cheap. That extends your elite.

Being Canadian you will need a visa to Vietnam Easy done online. 

CNX/Saigon not so cheap any more now AirAsia have dropped the route, Vietjet want 4,800bht return.

DaNang or Hanoi are now usually the cheapest at around 2,500bht return.

Edited by BritManToo
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12 hours ago, La Migra said:

I know these are hypothetical dates, but just in case the IO decides not to stamp you in for another 365 .... don't cut it too close to the end of your visa.

yes plan a small trip in December, as I only need to get to the summer months before I head back to Canada, so April, may June  are good to be able to extend to it possible. 

 

Last Thai Elite Rep told me I had a 75% chance not to get a 365 stamp ???? from a Thai Official at immigration.    Sure would be nice one day to be able to enter Thailand and be sure on what is going to happen:)

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6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

CNX/Saigon not so cheap any more now AirAsia have dropped the route, Vietjet want 4,800bht return.

DaNang or Hanoi are now usually the cheapest at around 2,500bht return.

cool thanks for the info

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As a reassuring illustration as to how Thai Visas work. I have a  6 month METV that grants me a 60 day stay upon entry which just expired on the 15th of October.

 

I entered on the 8th of October and the IO stamped me in for 60 days - The stamp says "admitted until 6 Dec 2019". So in affect I squeezed 8 months out of a 6 month Visa. 

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@krey  This is an email from Thailand elite prior to my elite membership expiring where I asked about the 6th year where it was explained anything beyond your membership puts you into immediate overstay.
 
 
Dear Mr. xxxx,
 
Greetings from Thailand Elite Customer Contact Center.
We are sorry to have kept you waiting for our reply. Regarding to the below email, we have consulted with the Government Relations Department.
 
Thailand Elite visa will automatically expire no later than the expiry date of your membership. The Government Relations Department usually send the list of members whose membership have expired to the immigration office.
 
Now, for your case, having the entry stamp that is over your membership expiration. We are afraid that you will be considered as 'overstay' in the immigration record. There is very little chance that the immigration considers this as their mistake, but they will most likely consider this as your false.
 
Similar cases like this have happened before. The most recent one was last week. One of our members got the arrival stamp from Suvarnabhumi Airport, but he had an appointment to affix the new visa at Chaeng Wattana Immigration. On the appointment date, the immigration officer checked the record and found that this member had overstayed since his membership expired. Not only he had to pay for the overstay, but he also could not affix Thailand Elite Visa due to overstay record. So he had to leave the country and affix new Elite visa upon arrival.
 
We tried to negotiate with the immigration but they refused and the reason they gave us was that member should know well about his membership expiry date (which is the end of the Thailand Elite Visa).
 
Thank you very much in advance for your kind understanding in this matter. Any further inquiries you may have, please do not hesitate to contact us at your most convenience.
 
Best regards,
Nisa C
Customer Contact Center
Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd.
110/2 North Sathorn Road, Silom,
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500 Thailand
 
 
 
 
The screenshot below is a global email sent to all Elite members whose membership is about expire as well....
 
image.png.36d19172b2b67e10506f7575cd3834f3.png
 
 
None of this is to say you cant get away with a 6th year... but at the very least the potential exists for you to be on overstay if some diligent officer at CW identifies the error. If you were seeking to re-new membership after the 6th year, then there would be very little savings by trying to get the 6th year, since the discount given befor end of 5th year kind of negates it
Edited by lupin
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14 minutes ago, G950 said:

The response from Elite is unbelievable - they have no shame.  If the IO stamps you in for 1 year then you are not an overstay under any circumstances. 

The immigration law exists for such a provision... it is the same law that is will now be applied to those are required to have health insurance for the duration of their stay... if their policy does not cover the the full 1 year permitted to stay that you were to receive, then they only recieve permission to stay for the validity of the health insurance policy.

image.png.4789bb571b206d583f245273ba543eb8.png

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17 minutes ago, lupin said:

The immigration law exists for such a provision... it is the same law that is will now be applied to those are required to have health insurance for the duration of their stay... if their policy does not cover the the full 1 year permitted to stay that you were to receive, then they only recieve permission to stay for the validity of the health insurance policy.

Thai government changed the law (ministerial order), to have such effect on the OA visa. They didn't change the ministerial order for the Thailand Elite visa, so as it currently stands the permit to stay does not expire when the membership ends, and the notice given by Thailand Elite is not in accordance with the official rules.

Edited by jackdd
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4 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Thai government changed the law (ministerial order), to have such effect. They didn't change the ministerial order about Thailand Elite, so as it currently stands the permit to stay does not expire when the membership ends, and the notice given by Thailand Elite is not in accordance with the official rules.

...might not matter that we believe Tourism Authority of Thailand "is not in accordance with the official rules."

Edited by lupin
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2 minutes ago, lupin said:

...might not matter that that we believe Tourism Authority of Thailand "is not in accordance with the official rules."

Thailand Elite is a private company, their only purpose is to sell as many memberships as possible.

The people there don't speak for the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

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