@Marina ******

unfortunately that someone got theirs approved earlier than the posted time doesn't mean your husbands would be approved sooner.

As long as he's applied, I think best to just wait it out

I am not saying that above scenario WILL happen (being asked for all passport pages blank ones too) but it can, and I tell people just wait it out and then come back WITH your visa 🙂

Now to answer your question, CAN he fly back here, enter free stamp "visa exempt" and wait for the visa to be approved.

He could,

BUT

if the consulate sends a request for extra documents asking for copies of all his passport pages (blank ones too) <- which is something they can do and if they see he already LEFT Italy and is in thailand they will reject his application and he will lose the fee

I will leave it to you to decide what he should do,

He sure didn't have to go all the way back to italy to get that visa. He could have gone to a thai consulate in a nearby country and gotten the Non-O thai wife visa in just a few days

doubtful he was on a "tourist visa" or will be entering on one 😮

It's far more likely that he enters "free stamp" (visa exempt) entry for 60 days <- which isn't a tourist visa, isn't a visa at all, just a free entry based on his nationality

It's posted on the Thai embassy in Rome website that processing is 14 business days

(that's actually about 21 calendar days IF there are no holidays)

And it seems like this post went right off the rails (as I thought it might 😕 )

Thanx one and all for the contributions

We wish good luck to the O/P like

@Michel ****

I elaborated for everyone,

They are talking about the initial conversion from a free stamp/tourist visa to first a 90 day Non-O visa and then a year extension (w/re-entry permit) and that's usually three pages.

@Vin ********

yep, they were talking about the first YEAR getting a Non-O visa, and a year extension in country and how many pages it takes up

whereas

You have a visa you bought outside the country and when you come in you just get an "entry stamp" like everyone who enters thailand

One thing I was point out on the above set of stamps

ALL the dates are the same date, the Non-O issue date, the year extension issue date, and the re-entry issue date (all the stamps are dated Mar 6th as an issue date)

This cannot be done "in real life" <- by you pushing your own paper, 😮

It can ONLY be done with an agent 😕

In "real life"; you APPLY for the initial 90 day Non-O, wait 2 weeks, go back get it inked in, wait about 2 months then go apply for the year retirement extension, and then buy the re-entry permit, the issue date on the stamps would be 'spread out' (especially the Non-O and year extension 🙂 )

ANY immigration officer in the country looking at these stamps know they are "agent gotten" (by 'alternate means' 😛 )

sorry about that explanation, 🙁

this is another 'conversion' to an in country Non-O visa then a year extension AND a re-entry permit. in this case the office put that 90 day Non-O stamp sideways on the page with the Non-O visa (meaning that Non-O visa took up one page AND then the year extension w/re-entry permit took up another <- good page utilization by immmigrations 😛 (y)

And just so people know, THIS is what it looks like to go from a free entry/tourist visa entry stamp to a Non-O visa, that usually takes TWO pages (dunno why offices stamp that 90 day Non-O admitted until stamp on it's own page)