What do you mean a single entry 3 month visa?

Tuesday, 4 Sep 2007 | Journal

The reason for this trip was to get a new visa. After the trip, many people told me I can actually get the visa I need in Thailand. But our lawyer told me I have to fly abroad to get the visa I needed (non-immigrant multiple entry business visa, a mouth full) and so I flew down to Singapore.

All the paperwork was put in a neat little folder and all I had to do was fill a form at the embassy and wait 2 hours in line to submit my application. Submitting it took the whole of 10 seconds, including waiting for the change of the 40 euro application fee. I was told to come back the next day to pick up my visa. And that is what I did, only to find a single entry visa valid for only 3 months. A bit surprised, I enquired about this and the embassy lady told me the Singapore embassy does not issue one year visa. Nothing personal, just didn’t happen. The lawyer acted a little surprised, but I guess simply had outdated information.

Back in Thailand, a lot of people told me they simply got their visa in Bangkok. So I was relieved. A bit annoyed that the company had incurred all those expenses for no good reason really, but relieved things were looking on the upside and I didn’t have to travel somewhere else to try and get the visa there. So the ball started rolling and preparations being made, until it turned out that for certain legal reasons I would not be able to get the one year visa I needed inside Thailand. Great, all this clarity.

Still unclear what the outcome is, I have a visa for the next three months and so I have a while to get this mess sorted. Or rather, my boss does and he is working several different angles. I might be able to get one in Tokyo during my upcoming visit. Who knows … visa tales to be continued.