@Suzy *******

I think this is a great reminder of the bureaucracy here - that they even pay attention that the permit is 365 days, never 366. Perhaps the laws or regulations stipulate 365 days, not 1 year :-)

@James *********

I have considered the issue of guaranteed renewal previously. My conclusion is that it has little value since they can price you out of a potential renewal at a certain age. In other words, if in the future an annual renewal cost me $10,000 or $20,000 or $30,000, eventually my guaranteed-renewal is useless. I might be able to lower that cost by significantly by increasing my deductible, but that gets me closer to self-insurance - but true self-insurance is not acceptable for visa purposes. Or I switch to annual extensions based on retirement, until they also have an insurance requirement.

James Miller Thank you. I know I don't need anything from the Thai Consulate. Re: same day border run, nice to know that's an option; however last time I was in Vientiane was in 1997, so as long as I'm going to be there, I want to walk around town and talk to some people. I have the time, I'll just miss one day of my Thai language class. I'll do the Laos visa-on-arrival, and I think I have the needed info for that.

@Robert ******

Yes, I definitely plan to do that. I know I need to remind the IO that I have an OA visa, and ensure the stamp is for a full year. Thanks for the reminder.

@Robert ******

Thank you. I am very clear about the end date for my OA Visa and would go to Vientiane and stay 1 or 2 nights. A RT flight from Chiang Mai to Nong Kkai is half the cost of a flight from Chiang Mai to Vientiane, plus I will probably visit someone in Udon Thani.

I'm going to add this question to this thread, as it is directly related to the OP. When leaving Thailand and returning near the end of the first full year of the OA visa, to be able to get a 'permitted to stay" stamp of one more year, can that be done overland or must it be done via an airport? I imagine there's no difference thread, but I want to be sure as I may do this overland at Vientiane at the end of October.