Ok...as I said earlier we decided to fly back as that appeared the bestestestest way to keep things legal as the wife couldn't do any more land crossings.
So on Wednesday, after picking up my passport, we head to the airport to get tickets to BKK.
We're told that there Thai immigration will need to see 20K in cash and an onward ticket to the Philippines before they'll they let the wife in on a tourist visa.
We get the tickets and I'm thinking we have our bank book which shows the 20K.
We get in touch with Cebu Pacific and get a fully refundable ticket for her to the PI for mid November.
We get to the airport and the check in dude says I need to see your "show money" of 20K baht. I show him the bank book and he tells us that's no good. It has to be 20K in THB.
I ask if I run to an ATM, if they can change the kip into baht, the guy says no problem there's time and they can convert the kip into baht so I run out to an ATM and draw out 4.5 million kip ~ 15K THB.
So I get back to the airport and the guy says great, but he's only he has 2500 THB. I politely remind him he said he could change it into baht and he says sorry. I'm stuck with a six inch high stack of Lao kip.
The wife is freaking at this point. I remind her I'll be there for her and we can just change the kip into baht when we get to BKK. After all, the terminal is full of places to change money. She's still visibly shaking.
The Lao Air flight was great, no problems and we were on a brand new airplane it seemed.
Then we got to Bangkok......
"I was a good student. I comprehend very well, OK, better than I think almost anybody," - President Trump comparing his legal knowledge to a Federal judge.
Our favorite place in SVK....Pilgrim's Kitchen
It's the perfect place to hang out in.... we shared the nachos and the wife had butter chicken, both of which were excellent.
tops, I am very sorry but your tale of whoa is on you. 99.99% of travellers know Lao Kip is worthless outside Thailand. As Lu said what are you doing here when you could be in your wifes home country on a much easier visa.
Also natchos made with flour tortillas. Good luck on getting all this sussed out. Seems like you will be going back to Lao for your next holiday to burn up or change the Kip... Good luck buddy.
3 hits at 1.5 million....
Coming soon...plans already in progress. We're in touch with a relative that's a real estate agent.
Thanks! The airport said there's places "downtown" that will change kip. I'm doubting the exchange rate will leave me smiling.
à fisfull of Lao kip
What happened next.?
I know someone who got to Thai immigration at Swampy , didn't have the 20k baht in cash, had a Thai debit card but they wouldn't let him go the atm to get it and sent him packing back to where he'd flown from.
We decide to let the wife go first through immigration knowing she's got no show money, that way I could come to the rescue.
Of course the guy looks at her passport, I explain I'm her husband and we get called over to the "questioning" area. We're off to the races!!!!!
I explained that we went to Savannakhet to get me a non b and her a non o but due to missing paperwork, her visa was denied. We couldn't return by land, so we came back by air. We had her paperwork that included all of the stuff I used to apply for my visa showing the school endorsing my employment, etc.
The immi dude asks what's up with her being here for 13 years with all of these in and out visas. I tell him we don't understand (the wife is too shaken up to speak) and he prints out a list of her visas since she arrived....it's only 3 pages. We proceed to explain that the visas were due to my court case as I was carrying her on my visa until the case was finished. I pointed out the same number of visas in my passport and how I had made several border runs while waiting for my new non b paperwork to be completed.
We literally get bitched out for an hour by several of the officials and then the immi guy says he'll give my wife 30 days in order to get the paperwork for the non o visa and makes notes in her records that basically says she's only eligible for a non o or she has to return to her home country.
We point out, repeatedly, that we want to do the right thing and get her a non o and thank him for his understanding.
Now, for the readers...what's missing from this tale of whao?
jesus christ, what a fiasco.
i'd also like to offer the same unsolicited advice others have given but encapsulated into four steps.....quit your job, pack your bags, get on a plane, and get the hell out of this country.
We have a five year plan.....
After we get this done, I'm gold for work for the foreseeable future which means the wife's visa is secure.
Having said that, that's exactly what we're going to do in a few years. Living in a country where both of us are not citizens is stupid.
^^I agree with all the other guys on here. Why stay in a place where you've had so many legal woes, and none of you can own property (land), set up a business (easily & legally), have to do visa runs regularly, away from family, etc? Your wife can't get a job there and she's totally dependent on you for her visa.
In PI, she's a citizen, speaks the language/dialect, can own land & put up a business, look for a job, etc.
As for topper, you can be on spouse visa or retirees visa - there are several classes of retiree visas available. You can even get PR after a few years! (I know 2 foreigners who have PR status: Davis & the hubby of a friend).
Even FinnSnow, a YouTuber from Iceland, was able to get PR status in PI bcos he's from Iceland and he fit into the "quota" category. Search FinnSnow on YT if interested.
That being said, good luck on all your future plans...
Topper wants Dubai some Thai baht with all that monopoly money
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