Why are Thai Embassies in the US and Canada still stating that land entry visa exemptions are only for 15 days?

@T**

. Nice one, maybe Mr Lagas should take a leaf out of your book

I don't think Thailand had agreements with the countries that they reduced to 15 days, they were mostly countries in Europe, other developed countries etc. that don't let Thais in visa exempt. It is a unilateral thing on the Thai side to let these people in visa exempt and they can set it to what they like, it's not reciprocal.

The countries Thailand DOES have bilateral agreements on visas with, like Russia or South Korea, were never subject to the 15 day thing.

Thailand has recipriocal agreements with just a very few countries and they were NOT named when it was 15 day visa exempt entries by land (they were exempt from the rule). Again, the MFA (really the dept of consulate affairs) changed the rule from 15 to two by land in a calendar year for 45 countries..

@Tony *******

your consulate doesn't have a dog in the fight and they are 100% wrong as far as an officer having discretion on how long to stamp you in . Consulates are in other countries and sell visas to foreigner (among other services) they have nothing to do with how the rules of entry are implemented at the borders. The MFA came up with the rule change about 30 day visa exempt entries by land

@Tony *******

the embassies are run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other than every broad rules each consulate can coe up with criteria to issue visas (like Savannakhet and Ho Chi Minh City issuing year long, multi-entry Non-O visas bases on marriage with NO proof of funds & vientiane selling tourist visas with just the application and copies of your passport, OR Penang requiring both a police check from your country and from thailand to get a non-B based on teaching. It's just hit or miss and up to each consulate to decide.

My fear is IF the MFA standardized it and made everyone accept the same documentation that it would be documentation from the consulate that has the most stringent requirements and everyone would lose.:/

It's the same thing with this "new sheriff in town" over the immigration offices; if he standardized the requirements so no matter where you went you turned in the same documentation for retirement, marriage, raising kids, ED etc extensions whose to say he wouldn't pick the requirements from the immigration office that is the WORST to deal with in the entire country?

You gotta be careful what you wish for because you might get it and a whole lot more

@To**

nope, they are following the MFA rules, (just like they do when they stamp you in on a VISA that was issued by a thai consulate under the ministry of foreign affairs guidelines).

They have NO discretion on how long to let you in for.

Now once you're inside the country and want to get an extension you deal ONLY with the thai immigration office..