Good morning!
I am from South Africa, came over on a 60 day tourist visa (with writing in my passport on my first visa applied for at home). I went to Laos and was approved my second tourist visa. Shortly after, Laos started denying tourist visas for people from SA with the writing in their passport.
My current visa expires on the 23rd of September. I want to stay in Thailand a little longer and therefore either have to apply for a new tourist visa or just do a border run and extend when I'm back in the country.
1. Would it be a problem applying for a new tourist visa even though the writing was on my first visa? (does the first one fall away completely if I was approved my second one)
2. Would it be better to do a VOE/VOA than apply for a tourist visa seeing as the authorities are not too keen on us south africans?
3. I have never done a border run/voa/voe, so was planning to make use of an agency to go to Cambodia. Does anyone have any advice on how this works (with or without an agency) and the costs.
I am based in Trang (South) at the moment.
Thank you in advance :)
Have a great day!
TLDR : Answer Summary
A South African expat is looking for advice on extending their stay in Thailand, as their current tourist visa is set to expire soon. They are considering options such as applying for a new tourist visa or doing a border run to Cambodia. Key questions include whether the original visa's history will impact the new application, the viability of a Visa on Arrival/Extension (VOA/VOE) due to heightened scrutiny on South Africans, and guidance on the border run process and associated costs.
