90-day reporting period for O-A's away for months

[tijeigrin]

There must be many farang in Hua Hin who (a) have a Non-Immigrant O-A Long Stay Visa, and (b) leave Thailand for several months at a time.

QUESTIONS:

In such cases, how is 90-day reporting requirement handled?

Do the farang need to tell immigration that they are leaving?

Is the beginning of a new 90-day period the day of arrival back in Thailand?

[Dannie Boy]

There must be many farang in Hua Hin who (a) have a Non-Immigrant O-A Long Stay Visa, and (b) leave Thailand for several months at a time.

QUESTIONS:

In such cases, how is 90-day reporting requirement handled?

Do the farang need to tell immigration that they are leaving?

Is the beginning of a new 90-day period the day of arrival back in Thailand?

I too will be very interested to hear from others and their experience. My 90 day reporting date was the 14th May but I had to leave early on the 8th due to a serious family illness. I went to the Imm office on Monday 7th May but it was closed for Coronation day. I looked on the Imm website and it said to authorise somebody (my wife) to do it on my behalf, with said authorisation letter, copies of my passport, visa, departure card and last entry stamp. I did all of this, my wife went to the office the same week and was told that I had to do it myself in person when I return to Thailand, but that it wouldn't be a problem!!! I am back next week so will be going and hopefully won't be met with a demand for money?

[Nereus]

I hope that both of you have re-entry permits?
If you are not in Thailand immigration are not interested in where you are!
On re-entry your 90 day starts again from the day that you are stamped into the country, and DO NOT let them tell you otherwise!

[Dannie Boy]

I hope that both of you have re-entry permits?
If you are not in Thailand immigration are not interested in where you are!
On re-entry your 90 day starts again from the day that you are stamped into the country, and DO NOT let them tell you otherwise!

Last time I left LOS I went to Imm and asked about re-entry permits and was told that I didn't need one and certainly didn't have any problems when I came back in at the airport, or when I did my last 90 day report to Imm back in February.

[lomuamart]

If you've got a multi-entry OA, then there's no need for a re-entry permit in the first year.
If you play the visa "correctly" and leave the country just before it expires (can be just a day trip over to Burma), you'll get your normal 1 year permitted to stay stamp again when you re-enter therefore making the entry periods work for almost 2 years.
However, once the visa itself expires, despite the fact the you may be able to stay for another 11 months, you must get a re-entry permit to keep your permission to stay date alive if you leave the country as the visa has become void.
The 90 day reporting is as Nereus has stated.

[Dannie Boy]

If you've got a multi-entry OA, then there's no need for a re-entry permit in the first year.
If you play the visa "correctly" and leave the country just before it expires (can be just a day trip over to Burma), you'll get your normal 1 year permitted to stay stamp again when you re-enter therefore making the entry periods work for almost 2 years.
However, once the visa itself expires, despite the fact the you may be able to stay for another 11 months, you must get a re-entry permit to keep your permission to stay date alive if you leave the country as the visa has become void.
The 90 day reporting is as Nereus has stated.

That's very helpful lomuamart. My 12 month visa expires on the 26th August and I will be leaving LOS on the 16th Aug and returning 11th Sept, so will I will get a one year permitted to stay stamp when I return, even though by then the visa will have expired? At that stage I will then need to get a re-entry permit, next time I leave LOS - correct?

[lomuamart]

No, don't do that, Dannie Boy. It's when you re-enter that counts.
Without a re-entry permit after 26th August, you'll only get a 30 day visa exempt stamp because your visa has expired.
So, if your current permitted to stay stamp expires on, say 1st December 2012, and you re-enter on 11th Sept without a re-entry permit, you'll only get 30 days. With the re-entry permit, you'll be stamped back in until 1st Dec. Hope you understand that.
If you really want to make the visa work to it's fullest extent, then do a border run just prior to
16th August when you go for your "holiday". If you do it on, say, 11th August - just nip over to Burma from Ranong - and re-enter the same day, you'll be stamped in for another year as your visa is still valid - 11th August 2013. Get your re-entry permit (1,000 THB for a single), leave for holiday on 16th August, return on 11th Sept and get stamped in until 10th August 2013.
Of course, it all depends on when your current permitted to stay expires as to whether the border run is worth the extra hassle for the extra time.
Whatever, get the re-entry permit before you leave in August. You'll need it when you get back.

[Dannie Boy]

No, don't do that, Dannie Boy. It's when you re-enter that counts.
Without a re-entry permit after 26th August, you'll only get a 30 day visa exempt stamp because your visa has expired.
So, if your current permitted to stay stamp expires on, say 1st December 2012, and you re-enter on 11th Sept without a re-entry permit, you'll only get 30 days. With the re-entry permit, you'll be stamped back in until 1st Dec. Hope you understand that.
If you really want to make the visa work to it's fullest extent, then do a border run just prior to
16th August when you go for your "holiday". If you do it on, say, 11th August - just nip over to Burma from Ranong - and re-enter the same day, you'll be stamped in for another year as your visa is still valid - 11th August 2013. Get your re-entry permit (1,000 THB for a single), leave for holiday on 16th August, return on 11th Sept and get stamped in until 10th August 2013.
Of course, it all depends on when your current permitted to stay expires as to whether the border run is worth the extra hassle for the extra time.
Whatever, get the re-entry permit before you leave in August. You'll need it when you get back.

Great advice lomuamart. I return to LOS on Monday so assume I will get a permitted to stay stamp until 3 June 2013, so a visa run doesn't look worthwhile, whereas a re-entry stamp a few days before the 16th Aug is essential.

[lomuamart]

As long as you've the multi-entry visa, which it seems you must have, yes you'll be stamped in until June 3/4th 2013.
The border run will only give you an extra two months, by my reckoning.

[Nereus]

="Dannie Boy"........whereas a re-entry stamp a few days before the 16th Aug is essential.

Just as a point of interest; you can get a re-entry permit at any time, it does not have to be just before you leave. It will remain valid for either the validity of your visa, or your permitted to stay date, which ever is the longest.

[Dannie Boy]

="Dannie Boy"........whereas a re-entry stamp a few days before the 16th Aug is essential.

Just as a point of interest; you can get a re-entry permit at any time, it does not have to be just before you leave. It will remain valid for either the validity of your visa, or your permitted to stay date, which ever is the longest.

Thanks guys - I have to visit Imm on Monday or Tuesday so will try to get it sorted then, glad that I asked otherwise I might have waited until after coming back in Sept and then been stuffed!! It's at times like this that the Forum is worth it's weight in gold

[Dannie Boy]

Thought I would provide an update on my latest visit to Immigration. I went yesterday and saw the same lady as my wife had seen when I had gone back to the UK unexpectedly, and good as her word even though I was about 3 weeks late on my 90 day reporting (as I was out of country), I was issued with a new 90 day stay without any problems, taking me through until the 2nd Sept. I explained to her that I was going on holiday in mid-Aug, but before my one year OA visa was due to expire and that I would still be away when my 90 days reporting was due on 2nd Sept. No problem she said, just come back the week before you go on holiday and get a re-entry permit and then when you come back from holiday, come back for the new 90 day stay notification. Couldn't have been easier and whilst we had to wait about 15 minutes to see the lady, all of the above was done in 3 minutes flat.

Hope this helps for anybody else who might encounter a similar scenario.

[Nereus]

Thought I would provide an update on my latest visit to Immigration. I went yesterday and saw the same lady as my wife had seen when I had gone back to the UK unexpectedly, and good as her word even though I was about 3 weeks late on my 90 day reporting (as I was out of country), I was issued with a new 90 day stay without any problems, taking me through until the 2nd Sept. I explained to her that I was going on holiday in mid-Aug, but before my one year OA visa was due to expire and that I would still be away when my 90 days reporting was due on 2nd Sept. No problem she said, just come back the week before you go on holiday and get a re-entry permit and then when you come back from holiday, come back for the new 90 day stay notification. Couldn't have been easier and whilst we had to wait about 15 minutes to see the lady, all of the above was done in 3 minutes flat.
Hope this helps for anybody else who might encounter a similar scenario.

Sorry Dannie Boy, but can you explain how you have to report staying 90 days when you were out of the country?

[Dannie Boy]

Thought I would provide an update on my latest visit to Immigration. I went yesterday and saw the same lady as my wife had seen when I had gone back to the UK unexpectedly, and good as her word even though I was about 3 weeks late on my 90 day reporting (as I was out of country), I was issued with a new 90 day stay without any problems, taking me through until the 2nd Sept. I explained to her that I was going on holiday in mid-Aug, but before my one year OA visa was due to expire and that I would still be away when my 90 days reporting was due on 2nd Sept. No problem she said, just come back the week before you go on holiday and get a re-entry permit and then when you come back from holiday, come back for the new 90 day stay notification. Couldn't have been easier and whilst we had to wait about 15 minutes to see the lady, all of the above was done in 3 minutes flat.
Hope this helps for anybody else who might encounter a similar scenario.

Sorry Dannie Boy, but can you explain how you have to report staying 90 days when you were out of the country?

Maybe the fact that I left the country before the 90 days were up nullifies this requirement, all I meant to advise is that I was not in country to do it when the time was up and that when I came back there were no complications - my fear was that they might have turned around and said you are late and fined 5000 baht!!

[lomuamart]

The requirement is 90 consecutive days in the country. By exiting before that, there was no need to report and your 90 day clock starts again from the day you re-enter.