Originally Posted by
manymany
Well I will give you a real world example. The waiver of fees was originally introduced on 1st December 2016 was it not? I attended the Thai Consulate in Hull, UK on 3rd December 2016 to get my Single Entry Tourist Visa (which, by the way had a 90 day validity). The jolly chap there said "oh its a shame you didn't come after Monday (5th December) as we are giving the Visa free from then!" So I still got charged £30-odd even though he had a poster up on his wall saying they were free from 1st December 2016! Couldn't argue as I needed it lol.
Yes, my comment
some/many/most consuls, especially honorary ones, do not have to follow these guidelines, as this is their only form of income to cover expenses.
was based on ~ 20 years experience of visa fee waivers, and push-back from Consuls. Hull pushed backed ~ 2009, and was told that the Thai government would reimburse them, and they never did.
Honorary Consuls in the U.S.A. have not universally honored these fee waivers in the past, choosing rather to refer applicants to the D.C or L.A. embassies, where you can get the visa for the reduced (or free) rate.
Apologies for my mis-reading of the French posting; my French is obviously pretty bad!
Back to the OP, I'd recommend getting a real tourist visa for the GF if it's not too much of a challenge, or if she plans to stay longer than 15 days. If getting a visa presents some undue challenges and she plans to stay for 15 days or less, then just go for the VoA (understanding that it might cost 2,000 baht in September).
I agree that asking for visa advice here is more than appropriate, understanding that the information may be subject to change.