manchesterlalala

I plan on travelling to Thailand on a triple entry tourist visa arriving on 7 April. I will be initially staying for a few months in Phuket before moving to Pattaya toward the end of the year to meet up with friends.
Having done a fair bit of reading on the triple-entry tourist visa on this forum, what I have understood is that – used correctly – one can milk this visa for nearly nine months: 3 x 60 days = 3 x extensions of 30 days (60+30+60+30+60+30 = 270 days). This appears to be accepted wisdom, and people appear to be being advised to plan based on this suggestion.

That’s why I was a little perturbed by my telephone conversation with the Thai Consulate in Hull today. This is how the conversation went:



Me: Hi, I’m travelling to Thailand on 7 April and I’d like to get a triple-entry tourist visa. How long does it take to process realistically? When would be the best time to post my passport to you so that I can be sure not to lose any of the visa’s period of validity?

Consulate lady: Oh, send it to us today. We give you six months from the stamp date, so you’ll have no problem with your three entries, because that’s only six months.

Me: Yes, but I will be doing extensions to get a possible nine months.

Consulate lady: Oh, well you can’t bank on that! You cannot just assume you will just get nine months, that might not happen. You can’t go to immigration thinking you will definitely be granted an extension - that’s up to the immigration officer! They may say, “Well, you have unused entries here that need using. Use these up first before asking for an extension.”



It sounded like she was warning me not to count my chickens, and to emphasise that extensions are not a formality. Yet a lot of the (albeit innocent, friendly and constructive) advice on this forum seems to be “(60+30+60+30+60+30 = 270 days) Hey presto!”

I know that all decisions in this regard are totally at the individual discretion of the immigration officer I deal with, but:

What is the likelihood of actually being refused an extension on such a visa? What are the grounds upon which they may refuse it? What are the experiences of my fellow TV colleagues? Does this happen regularly? Specifically in Phuket and in Pattaya, are they sometimes unwilling to do grant the 30-day extensions for this visa?

Thanks for all your thoughts,

manc

Dear fellow Phuketians,

I plan to return to Phuket after an 18-month absence before Songkran this year and am making preparations for what I need to do to be able to continue working in the Kingdom once I arrive. I will be in the Kingdom for 9 months on a multi-entry tourist visa. I have a couple of questions of a technical nature. I could have gone to the dedicated ICT forum, however, answers to questions on internet coverage and service are - as I'm sure you're aware - fairly province-specific. For that reason, I'm hoping some of you out there may be able to offer some suggestions and share your experiences with me. So here goes:

1. I need quick and reliable access to the internet for my laptop all day to do my work: What would you recommend I sign up for?

When I lived in Phuket before, I signed up for a slow but reliable mobile internet service provided by Cat Telecom; the package cost around 800THB per month; the billing was fairly straightforward and I didn't have problems with them; the coverage was reliable, but was very slow compared to European speeds; the service was provided via a dongle which I had to buy, and which slotted into the laptop through a USB (or other) port.

I would be happy to go back to Cat Telecom, but my new laptop does not have a port that will fit the old dongle that I have. Does anybody know what the latest dongle is that is available, how fast it is, and if they have them available? (The USB ones sold out last time which is why I had to go with another one.) How much is a dongle likely to set me back? Does anybody have any bad experiences with them, or know for a fact that another service is available which is significantly faster / cheaper / more reliable?

2. Since being in Europe, I have become dependent on using a smartphone - specifically a Blackberry: How easy would it be for somebody on a tourist visa to get a contract for 9 months which included internet?

I need to be able to receive emails the instant they arrive in my inbox. My ability to respond instantly is very important, even when out of the office. How much is a monthly contract? What is internet coverage like? Would I have to buy a Thai phone at the shop or could I bring a Blackberry with me from the UK and start a nine-month line rental contract from Phuket? Which company would be the best one to approach for such a service? I have to concede I have absolutely no experience of owning a smartphone on Phuket and would very much appreciate advice about whether what I need is attainable at all.

It may be that there is a single answer to both questions offered by one particular telephone company. Would a company on Phuket offer such a package?

Okay, that’s quite a few questions, so I’ll leave it there. I very much look forward to constructive comments that directly answer one or more of these questions.

Thanks,

Manc