It's time to ask Tod Daniels cause i'm getting more and more confuse. My THAI GF call Aranyaphathet border today asking if she can make a Ordinary visa at Poipet border (not the 14 days visa exempt, or the 30 days tourist visa that u can only extend up to only couple of months but the ordinary visa (30 days, that you can extend up to a year easily with a agent). The officer was *not sure*, he was more happy about telling her how great the casino in Poipet are!
Before that, someone on cambodia visa forum close to that border told me that she could, another thai lady told me that she got the Ordinary visa by land no problem. Some Khmer on facebook also told me that it is easy at border, even for thai to get the ordinary visa (at worse give extra $20 they all said!).
But i'm getting worry because one foreigner living in Phnom penh told me that he employ Philipino, Vietnamese and Thai staff, and that went they try to get a ordinary visa when entering Cambodia at border or airport they always get told to go to a embassy. The ordinary visa doesn't allow u to work (u need a work visa for that), but all of his staff try to cross with letter of invitation from his company that they will issue them work visa (which is probably a bad move from his part?). You can upgrade from ordinary to work visa once in Cambodia, but it's probably not a good idea to try to cross with letter of invitation without going to a embassy to get a ordinary visa first.
So his point was *if a thai citizen want a ordinary visa they need to go to cambodian embassy in BKK first!*. But I think they got denied the ordinary visa (not denied entry but that particular visa), because if u come with a letter of invitation implying that someone will make a work visa for u once ur in Cambodia you need to get the visa at embassy and not at border. My GF situation is different, she's coming with me and our 2 dogs and we plan to stay up to a year, no letter of anything, the easy as usual *we are here for extended holiday, we love to travel!*.
Now again, thai girl that has done it (+ a foreigner telling me right now that her thai GF has done it), along with some Khmer telling me it's easy for thai at border is a good sign. But the border at Aranyaphathet not really knowing + that foreigner story.make me a bit anxious.
I have not find any valuable source on google about that. And the cambodian visa page on FB is where that confusion started. I don't know who to call at this point, HELP!
TLDR : Answer Summary
The question revolves around the possibility for a Thai citizen to obtain an Ordinary visa upon entering Cambodia at the Poipet border. The inquirer cites conflicting information from various sources, including officials, expats, and online forums, leading to confusion regarding the correct procedure. Some claim it is possible at the border, while others, including a foreigner with experience employing Thai staff, insist that Thai citizens must first obtain this visa from a Cambodian embassy. The inquirer seeks clarification on the correct process.
