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BritTim

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Everything posted by BritTim

  1. The single entry Non O visa based on marriage to a Thai should be OK in either Hanoi or HCMC. However, the embassy in Hanoi is unfriendly. As mentioned above, there is often a wait to get an appointment in HCMC. They may ask to see financial proof.
  2. This is not true. The spouse of someone with a work permit and one-year extension of stay can get a visa and extension of stay to live with their spouse.
  3. Hah, 42 includes everything (including every possible necessary visa). The mice never got around to determining the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything, excluding visas.
  4. As a matter of interest, did you consider the Special Tourist Visa, provided during Covid and allowing a 270-day stay to be a tourist visa? Were people using it tourists? In your view, is someone who stays from August until April of the following year on tourist visas a valid tourist (not resident for tax purposes) but someone who stays from January to July not a valid tourist? When is a regular single or multiple entry tourist visa a "valid" visa, and where can the rules that document this be found? I have always considered that any visa issued by an embassy or consulate is valid, and ought only to be abrogated by Immigration subject to Section 12 of the Immigration Act (a policy followed by almost all land crossings and some airports, but ignored by some Immigration officials elsewhere).
  5. I might go for a Thailand Elite membership A Thai investment visa is a terrible idea. An Education visa is not possible at all if you need to travel, and is not a long term option these days, unless you want to study at university. Marriage? Are you suggesting a marriage of convenience? Personally, I would never consider it to solve my visa issues. Those in same sex relationships are out of luck, even if married (abroad). Most people who are working (digital nomads with overseas clients) do not qualify for any of the visa options you suggest.
  6. A word of warning if planning the KL run. There is no issue with a same day return as far as the Malaysian authorities are concerned, BUT EVEN WITH A MULTIPLE ENTRY TOURIST VISA, immigration at Phuket airport MIGHT deny you entry if you are a long stay tourist doing a same day visa run. It depends on your immigration history and luck.
  7. Apart from tourist or education visas, what other visa options do you suggest for those under age 50? Thailand Elite membership, never a cheap option, is now really expensive.
  8. For many people, the cost of travelling to their home countries and staying for a few days is substantial. That is without considering that people might not want to do that. They might prefer to spend the time in Thailand. Also, bear in mind, that people have been refused serial METVs, and it has even been known for people with tourist visas to be denied entry. EDIT: Yes, you can try to circumvent the rule that you must apply for an METV in your home country by using a VPN (and falsifying the passport copies you submit) but that involves risk.
  9. They were originally planning to set the price of the 5-year membership even higher! My suspicion is that it will kill the Western market. I am not sure about Chinese, Russian and Middle East buyers. I think for many of them, the price is elastic. Time will tell.
  10. Following a revamp of the Thailand Elite program last year, the minimum membership is now 900,000 baht (5 years)
  11. That was true until recently. I departed January 12th and you now apply for a re-entry permit AFTER passing Immigration. You do so by walking all the way to the left after passing through Immigration.
  12. Some officers, on exit, will advise you that you might need a re-entry permit. However, this cannot be relied upon.
  13. Do you mean a Non O multiple entry visa (90 days on each entry valid for one year from the date of issue)? If so, do You have a Thai spouse? Those are the main grounds on which you can apply for a multiple entry Non O visa. If instead, you are just intending to entry Thailand as a tourist, wishing to be here 90 days, get a single entry tourist visa (60 days on entry) and extend for a further 30 days at an immigration office here near the end of the initial permission to stay.
  14. Indeed, transfers, each and every month, of 65,000 baht or more into your Thai bank account is the only option for those who cannot get an income letter from their embassy. That is very different from an average pre-tax income of 65,000 baht per month or more whether brought into Thailand or not. Note that there is no need with an income letter to transfer money to Thailand when you are not there.
  15. This is abnormal. Certainly, it is not a Thai immigration requirement.
  16. For a single entry Non O visa, Vientiane (with an appointment) is an option. For a multiple entry Non O visa (with financial proof) HCMC is an option though the funds need to be seasoned (probably for at least two months).
  17. They can see the child's immigration history which among other things (if Immigration has any compassion) should include the fact that the child has already been interrogated about his deceased mother. An upsetting interview once might be regarded as a necessary evil. To go through this every time he passes through an airport is unreasonable. Most people involved in child trafficking do not keep taking the child in and out of Thailand. Also, a father trying to use forged death certificates to justify why the mother is not with them seems quite unlikely. I personally think it is disgustingly insensitive.
  18. Yes, you are correct. That is the problem when there are several independent queries mixed up in the same thread. It is easy to become confused (as I was). Of course, no one was directly enquiring about border crossings with Laos, though they became suggestions in some of the replies.
  19. It is doubtful whether Savannakhet will accept income. Officially, they do not. However, a bank book showing that amount going into your account each month over an extended period might persuade them.
  20. Savannakhet does issue Non O visas based on retirement with funds in an overseas bank account, but I do not think an IRA account would qualify. You could ask them. At best, this would mean border bounces every 90 days, but that would likely not be a major issue if you live in Mukdahan.
  21. I think you misunderstood. The OP lives in Cambodia. The border crossings with Laos are no good to him.
  22. If you are a Cambodian resident, I can appreciate why you want to visit Thailand for shopping. In your case, since a denied entry would not be a disaster, it probably makes sense to try it. For most people, I repeat my frequent advice, avoid the Poipet/Aranyaprathet crossing.
  23. Savannakhet does not currently require funds seasoning. It is unclear how much seasoning HCMC require, but probably two months. In no case, can they require seasoning past the point where they issue you the visa.
  24. That is a controversial question. It can be argued that a senior official can decide what constitutes reasonable proof, and could find reasonable grounds (such as the time needed to get legalisation through the courts) as justification for waiving commonly required proof. In that situation, it might be necessary to have a well connected person to argue your case. On the other hand, there will obviously be suspicions that financial incentives are being used to influence the official's decision. That, in itself, would not be sufficient to invalidate the extension, but it would render it morally questionable.
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