Quote:
Originally Posted by TaiwanUP
Can you explain more about this? They were able to obtain a Non-immigrant Type O Visa for you and they did ALL the paperwork for you in terms of the charity/foundation invitation letter, licenses, reports, etc? And you can stay there without having to actually do any of volunteer work?
The agent said I have to do 12 days of volunteering, but only 2-3 hours a day. At some point in the first 3 months. Haven't done any yet. Then the 3 month initial visa gets extended another year for 15 months.
They gave me the invitation letter, a signed copy of the ID of the people that run the foundation, etc., and some other bits. Took it to the Thai consulate in Laos with a bank statement showing over 20k baht and it worked. I renewed my passport for a new one beforehand so it was fresh with no long visa history in thailand full of overstay stamps etc. The agency also has an immigration officer that drives you through the Thai/Laos border both ways in a car, stands with you in the queue etc. so no questions asked there either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fossilkid93
Just be careful if you ever plan on getting an Elite Visa in the future. If you've had a volunteer or education visa then they probably won't accept you. Not a big deal for most, but worth noting.
The new Elite Visa prices have really narrowed the target audience down to the rich though. I got in at the buzzer at the old prices, but would definitely no longer be interested at the new price points.
Yeah, they don't accept people with past overstay as well so that rules me out anyway, and agreed on it being overpriced.