message them on their f/b page (they seem to answer that one faster)

I would imagine seeing as the visa is only valid for one 90 day entry stamp that you'd have to only carry 90 days of the policy but I honestly don't know.

So few people use that consulate in Wellington since they jacked up their prices there's little real data to quote

@https://www.facebook.co************************

Listen people this post was an FYI post only to let people know this is happening. I didn't start it so people could crucify or castigate people who did get ED visa/extensions via those types of schools. It is what it is, and people who have that visa/extension who have their extension cancelled without any notice will find out about it sooner or later 🙁

Sadly (for you) they're not wrong, 🙁

Unfortunately, the thai consulates scattered around the world have great latitude as far as setting policy to sell the various and sundry thai visas 😕

There are more than a few consulates that require the mandatory health insurance to issue Non-O visas

Oh man, you submitted your visa application already? 😮 Which means you also paid? 🙁

The Thai Consulate in New Zealand is has the highest prices in the entire world for visas to thailand. 😡No other consulate comes close to it 👎

Wish you had posted before you applied and I'd have told you just come here free stamp as a Kiwi and then go to a nearby thai consulate to apply for the Non-O visa (where the 90 day visa is actually 2000baht (Vientiane/Savannakhet) or 80USD (Hanoi/HCMC rather than the exhorbitant fee of 15+K baht that the thai consulate there charges 🙁

Also no other consulate (at least not the ones in S/E Asia that you'd go to for that visa requires the health insurance either)

Long story short, you either get the insurance and show them you have it or they won't issue the 90 day Non-O visa 🙁

Check your data entry carefully BEFORE you submit the application, <- especially where you scan the MRZ (data page) of your passport and it auto fills the information, you can edit the auto-fill part.

Remember a data entry error results in a cancellation of your application, you lose the money and you have to apply again

This comes up on the Thai consulate in Tokyo's website when you go to click to the eVisa portal, I wish it came up on EVERY website that linked to eVisa because many many MANY people have had their applications rejected because of data errors

@Schultz ******

the O/P posted they have a 5 year multi-entry DTV, they shouldn't have much problem bouncing out/back by land or air with a valid visa.

I don't believe they'd need to use a service provider to help with the border bounce OR a safe entry company to get them in by air should they choose to fly out/back

A 6 month METV would work without much issue at all.

OR

even a single entry tourist visa and then bounce by land with a service out/back to get a visa exempt entry would give you the time.

We've seen more and more tightening up on free stamp entries since they went to 60 day visa exempt entries in July 2024 and a LOT of people (as in many thousands a week) get denied entry trying to come in visa exempt (most with extensive entry/stay histories on free stamp)

Best of luck with it, safe travels

Don't forget even for border bouncing (where you're just stamping out of thailand, stamping in to the other country and then comin back to thailand you still have to do a TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) at this link

If you're asking can you bounce out/back holding a valid DTV to get a new 180 day stamp that answer is yes

Whereas

If you're asking can you bounce out/back to get a new free 60 day entry stamp to further your stay here in thailand via free visa exempt entries, then the answer is you stay in Lao how ever many nights the officer stamping you out tells you that you have to stay out 😮

That can be any time from over night to a couple nights and more than a few people were told "we'll let you out but you have to fly back in, you can't come back in by land" 😕 Those people had extensive entry/stay histories using free stamps

Okay, I'm going to go over this one more time so everyone can catch on about the difference between a VISA RUN and a BORDER BOUNCE (or at least the difference between the two on any groups I'm involved with 😛 )

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘 <- where you go to a border, stamp out of thailand 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘 in and out of another country, then immediately return to thailand to either enter on a new free stamp entry OR to activate a new entry on a valid multiple entry visa

𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗔 𝗥𝗨𝗡 <- where you 𝗥𝗨𝗡 to a thai consulate in another country and buy a visa for thailand then come back in.

To be completely honest, most foreigners call bouncing out/back to get a new free stamp entry a "visa run" <- probably because the companies that lug people to the borders started calling it that

But in reality there is a HUGE difference between going to get a real visa thru a thai consulate in another country and just bouncing out/back to get a new free stamp entry.

Seeing as the O/P has a lot of good info from posters about where they can border bounce and where they can't I think we've taken this post about as far as we can.

Best of luck to the O/P in their endeavors

No problem applying for an extension without a booked appt. Sadly, the wait is the wait and there's no one that can tell you how long it will take because that depends on how many people are in section L-1 (the retirement/marriage section) on the day you go.

Obviously Mondays and Fridays are worse than Tues/Weds/Thurs.

People start showing up there at 5:00-5:30, to get in the main door of building B, then sit in the 200 chairs down the side of immigration office. After those chairs are full people queue up based on the signage.

So unless you wanna go at the crack of dawn to secure a low number outside the immigration door, so you can get in and get a low queue number inside for L-1; I'd say show up after the zombie horde gets in the door, around 9:00-9:15 or so

OR conversely,

go in the early afternoon 1:30-2:00 once they open back up from the lunch closure. Some people said that is the way to do it but some go in the mornings

After that you just wait it out. If you get a queue you'll get served that day

Sorry couldn't be more specific but that's about how it is out there every day

Oh and just so you know, you can make an online booking a month in advance, so next time you're going to do it set a reminder in your phone a month before you wanna do the extension and make an appt when it goes off. Those spots book up FAST now because everyone knows it's way quicker than just showing up.

One last thing you can keep checking the online queue web-portal, because if anyone cancels an appt it will come back up as available for booking and sometimes slots pop up

Best of luck with it