Had a very tricky 30 minutes or so today whilst on my Nong Khai - Laos Friendship Bridge visa run !

Just to put you guys in the picture i always have used the services of a very friendly tour operator/travel agent to run me over the bridge & back to Nong khai whilst on laos visa runs!
It's just been convenience of it really, as they fill all the forms in and on many occasions have skipped past horrendous queue's etc.
so for the additional 300 baht or so it cost me i felt it was great value for money.

Anyway I turned up at their office this morning and was greeted exactly as i have been each time i have presented myself there over the past 3 years or so!
I Handed over my passport along with passport photograph & the fee.
One of the girls filled out the paperwork as they usually do & i just signed them, we set off for the 1 kilometre journey to the immigration checkpoint in one of their company vehicles.
From the moment i arrived at their office to arriving at the immigration checkpoint on the Thai Side of the border nothing at all was said to me that would have led me to believe that today was going to be any different in anyway shape or form from the countless other times i have done exactly the same visa run.

we arrived at the Immigration checkpoint (Thai Side) no more than 5 minutes after leaving the office & Although there was a strong military presence in evidence it seemed to be business as usuall, certainly with respect to folk leaving the kingdom!

Whilst travelling over the bridge my courier handed me my passport along with some $$$$$$
WTF i thought as this was the first time this had happened! They usually deal with all the stages visa run & i just followed like a lamb in thr past!

I asked her what she was doing handing me everything, And politelypointed out i had already paid her company for her services to handle all this for me?
I was me with a swift & sharp CANNOT! nothing more nothing less, again i thought WTF! But decided just to keep cool and deal with the rest of the usually painless visa run myself!

Arrived over the bridge at the Laos immigration checkpoint & was directed towards a window. where i was handed a couple of forms i needed to fillout!
One of which was identical to one i had already signed after being filled out for me in the couriers office in Nong Khai!

So me being the LAZY ASS i am! I filled out one of them & switched the other for the identical one i had prepared earlier!
I handed both forms along with my fistful of dollers & sat down waiting for my visa into Laos to be processed!
After maybe 5 minutes i was beckoned back to the window and was quizzed on whether i had come alone or was using the services of an agent!
(He had oviously seen the X's on the form that was filled out for me & i had only signed)

I said i was alone & was not using an agent!

At this point i knew i had a problem, but didn't yet realise just how severe it could have become!

After maybe another 10 minutes had passed i was approached by another immigration officer & was then escorted to a small office within the main building.
I was confronted by two male & one female immigration officers, one of the men shouted at me "YOU USE AGENT" to which again i totally denied.
They pointed at the X's on the form that was pre filled out for me, and again said "YOU USE AGENT FOR VISA"
Again i totally denied it.

Another couple of minutes passed whilst they chatted amongst themselves, then the female officer approached me & explained they were refusing me a visa into Laos as they believed i was using a the services of a visa agent/courier!


My heart just sank at that statement, as it seemed i was now caught in a terrible situation everyone hopes they will not find themselves in! NO MANS LAND!

I cannot get into laos as they are refusing me a visa!
I cannot go back to Thailand, as although i have officially left, i have not yet arrived in another country!

I decided to plead with whom i hoped would be the officer most willing to listen & hopefuly offer me a way out of this nghtmare! "THE FEMALE OFFICER"

I came clean with her & explained i indeed had used a service i had used for the past 3 years with no problems!
I also explained i was completely unaware that any legilation had changed regarding the use of such services on Laos Visa runs.

I also explained my thai wife & 2 year old daughter were patiently waiting for me back in nong khai, & would be totally unaware of what was happening & i had no way of contacting her.
She then left the room came back a couple of minutes later with my passport complete with Laos Visa. THANK GOD!
NEXT TIME NOT USE AGENT WAS HER PARTING WORDS TO ME!

although it had only been maybe 20/30 minutes, Words just cannot describe my relief on getting my passport back & Visa!

I genuinly had no idea anything had changed re using services such as these!

Does anybody have any further information or had the same experience of late?

But if the form was identical, what did it matter that you filled it out personally or that an agent helped you? Was this simply social discrimination against you for knowing agents? Something seems missing from this story.

Don't be surprised if things have returned to "normal" the next time you return to the Friendship Bridge (but you still should be wary of taking any chances). This sounds likea classic case of somebody in the food chain not getting enough of a cut of the service fees to keep them happy so "agents" are verboten until a new deal is struck.

bizzare!!!

Good Report; the first time I was using Nong Khai/Laos I used an agent, but after the first time did everything myself.

Also: I once saw a guy pulled coming back into Thailand with too many cartons of cigs. Warning!

It is a pity your fixer was not more honest, maybe you could have spent several years in a PDR Laos jail, I read a book about Laos jail once: a woman who was accused; probably you can pick it up in a Thai bookstore. You were lucky.

But what is going on? What is the big deal here: Laos commies being awkward?

Why use a Visa agent..... in this example you have been doing all the work for three years anyway, all they did was hold you hand.

I'll do that, sounds like an easy job...... do you think they could get me a work permit for that?

Hi Again Folks!

I can guarantee there is nothing missing from the story at all, thats exactly how it was from start to finish, nothing omitted, nothing added!

I have no idea what to make of it all either i can assure you all!
Perhaps there may be some substance in the theory Laos are becoming awkward in the wake of the recently inroduced Thai Immigration regs which will cost thailands bordering countries big bucks! "Who Knows"

The thing that angers me most in hindsight was the way the visa agent i have used for years failed to inform me of new procedure's/regs in place for the sake of a few baht!

Just a footnote!

I forgot to mention that on our arrival back in Thailand, the guy in front of me on VOA had his TM card marked (1) which leads me to believe that the Thai Authorities will indeed be enforcing the 3 continuous VOA'S max then out!

The Military personel were also searching every vehicle entering the kingom!

They're learning quickly from their Thai brethren across the river....

Q, Why Use A Visa Agent?
A, It's Called "CONVENIENCE"
And because i don't mind paying for a service if it makes my life easier!
Up until today thats exactly what it did!

BY THE WAY!

MY VEHICLE IS AUTOMATIC!........................BUT I STILL HAVE TO BE THERE MUPPET!

Interesting and useful post .

Glad you got back OK

Why?

You paid a fee for years for a service that you didn't really need.... and then paid a fee for a service that they were uncomfortable with supplying but did their best anyway, to help you as best they could.

Thaddeus, lets just agree to dissagree on the ways i see fit to spend my dollers mate eh!
I really don't want this thread to degenerate into some kind of crazy meaningless flame war.
The purpose of this post was simply to make you fellow expats here aware of the potentially big problem i experienced today!
I am hopefull it may help to ensure other members here don't have to endure a similiar gut wrenching experience to mine!

Cheers

Hi everyone

I just got back from Laos yesterday and can confirm what's going on at the border. A Tuk-Tuk driver in Nong Khai told me that all visa agents had been shut down for the time being, so he took me straight to the bridge where i did the paperwork myself - it wasn't too taxing really. The driver also seemed to be of the opinion that everything would be back to normal in 3 or 4 weeks time.

Having both used an agent and now done the whole routine by myself, I reckon using an agent is hardly worth it.

By the way - the cost of Visas on arrival in Laos has risen as of the beginning of this month, but the increases - if any - vary according what nationality you are. My fee went up $5 since the last time. The Laotian immigration guy showed me a list of countries each with their own fee - didn't have time to browse it properly, though.

H.

Maybe she didn't told you anything because anything changed. I know it is absolute forbidden to use an agent for thai immigration forms of any kind. There are huge signs about this on every border checkpoint. And i guess that the other countries here have the same rules.

I am not sure but maybe they want to crack down on who is getting the money for Lao Visas? Sounds like they wanted to quiz your agent and where was their cut.

The rule of thumb is, always offer to pay the fine in cash for anything wrong you have ever done. This gets a real time response and not a lot of hardship, confusion and misunderstanding. Another rule of thumb is that everyone, whether Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Cambodian or Chinese are all by spirit, practise and conviction the real capitalists.

The one thing I love is that everthing is broken down to the baseness of baht and satang.

Do not get troubled, do not worry. Always have a good, honest and decent reply to a harsh word to anyone you deal with. This disarms them and you should always take the wife and kids.

Hi llothar!

I had/have never had in 3 years any trouble of this nature or anything like it!
The problem here was 100% with the Laos Authorities, Not the Thai's!



Not sure if i fully understand that mate!

If you mean:
Maybe she didn't tell me anything as there was nothing to tell, ie no changes

Well for the first time in 3 years i was handed the paperwork & US Dollers to do the donkey work myself! when i asked why she could not do it as always happened in the past she just said "CANNOT"
I can also assure you there was marked change in the attitude of th PDR Laos immigration officials!

Final llother I Can't say i have ever seen a sign referring to Agents at either nong khai or In Laos, not saying tyou are incorrect, merely saying i have not noticed any!

Did you go a pay polite respects to the agent on your return? I'd like to hear the explanation. Perhaps you had enough by then

No I didn't bother Cruncher!

Just wanted collect my wife & daughter from the market in nong khai! and get back to Udon!
where i had a few beers & chilled out whilst the 2 girls in my life went food shopping in Topps!
Don't think i will be using that one again in the future!
In fact i will probably just do it myself in future....JUST IN CASE!

ONCE BITTEN & ALL THAT

You lied to Laos immi officials. You got less than what you deserved

Don't bite up2ubar. Interesting post, informative.

This post has been edited by george: 2006-10-16 08:41:53

up2ubar,
Thanks for a very informative and cautionary report.
Awfully scary feeling being in no man's land. That's a situation that could easily become a Kafkaesque Catch22 beyond imagining.
My guess is that there may still be confusion over the new Thai regs. God knows there is enough of it on the Thai side of the border let alone in a country like Laos.
I agree with posters who opined they may not be getting their cut as in days past.
When they saw the Xs on the form they twigged there was an agent and money involved at some point and a) its against the rules and it can be done as long as we get a cut.
Thank heavens you got a sympathetic officer who understood about your family.
I'll bet that was the best-tasting beer you've had in a very long time.

This post has been edited by johnnyk: 2006-10-16 04:46:54

I am due to go through Nong Khai next Saturday and get a visa on the border. I know I need one photo but will Thai baht be OK or do I need US Dollars?
How much for a short visa, I am Australian...

I am going to Vietnam and back with a tour group so I will be entering Laos twice within ten days, I guess I will need to get two visas?

Thai baht used to be ok but I haven't been in two years.
I did notice the cost at the time was US$30 (1200 baht +/-) but was 1500 baht if paid in baht.

A good informative post - thanks.

You have a wife and kids. May I ask why you are not/have not applied for a marriage extension rather than using this method to stay in Thailand.

I am not a flamer - I wont come back with some smart arse comment - just trying to understand all the issues related to recent visa changes and the impact on people.

I currently have the extension based on marriage, but may switch to te retirement visa next year if it seems there is too much hassle with the 'marriage' extension!

Is it possible the behavior of those agents (that are illegal) have upset that much the bodering countries that they have decide to apply the law in full???? We all know how beloved are thai people in Laos, Cambodia or Burma (to not speak about Malaysia). So my opinion would be the loas immigration officer decided it wasa good time to stop that business, as it seems Thai authorities are also trying to do so internally?

I speak about that, because as a good customer in Polpet (5 years of visa run there) I have make friend with a cambodian police officer (he is proud to show me he is able to speak a decent french, so we use to speak while he process the paperwork/stamps). He always complained about the fake travel agencies who simply make money with gullible touristand wished many times it was possible to take a shoot at them. So maybe itwas the same feeling in Laos, and following the recent changes in Thailand, they simply acted.