[Chiang Mai University - Ed Visa Thai language - Stay for 15 months]

6 hours ago, Caldera said:

If you want to stay in Phuket, you should be able to find a language school there that can facilitate an education visa and extensions based on studying there.

 

Sound advice, but is very unlikely to result in the 15-month permission to stay (with no further extensions during that period) that is available with the Chiang Mai University program.

 

Another option would simply be not to do 90-day address notifications. They can be legally avoided by doing border bounces (obviously with a re-entry permit which you can probably receive at the same time as the visa/extension) or just risk an eventual fine.

[Non-imm B to Non-imm O, during extension of stay]

This is a question about extending your permission to stay in Thailand (without leaving) and not about applying for visas.

 

If possible, get your school to give you a termination letter with a termination date about two weeks in the future. Immediately, visit Immigration with that letter to have your permission to stay adjusted. That will give you time to arrange the extension of stay based on Thai spouse after your permission to stay based on working has been truncated. It will also give time to react if Immigration ask for something you do not currently have before giving you the new extension.

[Proof of onward-travel required at land-borders when entering Thailand without a Visa?]

It is important to appreciate that (unlike not having cash) lack of an onward ticket is not one of the valid reasons for denial of entry under Section 12 of the Immigration Act. Instead, back in the distant past, here was a directive that went out that those arriving should be able to show an intent to leave the country (not overstay). A credible itinerary was always supposed to be sufficient without an onward flight. Airlines have tended to insist on the onward ticket (or ask you to sign an indemnity form)  because "credible itinerary" is not easy to measure objectively. At almost all land crossings (at least for Westerners) there has never been any attempt to interrogate new arrivals on their travel plans.

[Trouble with 6-month passport?]

11 hours ago, 10years said:

What I didn’t know was that I had inadvertently created a new hurdle. By returning to Bangkok a day early, I had extended my planned 30-day VE stay to 31 days.

 

When you say 31 days, do you mean 31 nights or 30 nights? The difference is important. If 30 nights, you will have a one-day overstay when you leave which is not subject to a fine. However, for a two-day overstay, you will be fined 1,000 baht and it is considered a worse infraction.

[overstay problem]

5 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Don't you read the news?

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-immigration-crackdown-results-in-188-arrests-in-one-year-90149.php

 

I am reasonably sure there is more to this story than someone who has passed through immigration (and presumably paid overstay fines and received a blacklisting stamp) subsequently being arrested at the departure gate prior to leaving the country. There are several possible scenarios that come to mind, but just leaving via an international flight with a long overstay is not one of them.

[Overstaying by hours]

3 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

 

It's not the case. When you stamp through immigration you have effectively left the country and obviously cannot come back in without entering the country again

 

If your flight is cancelled, you do not get a fresh permission to stay. Your exit stamp is simply voided.

[Overstaying by hours]

5 hours ago, MJCM said:

that is bad, so you are leaving the Country even before your official time is up (and staying airside) and still get overstay stamp.

 

wow 

 

For some strange reason, the authorities are under the illusion that Suvarnabhumi airport is in Thailand. They do not consider that people have left Thailand until their plane leaves the airport.

[Retirement visa versus Marriage visa - which is best?]

10 hours ago, JimGant said:

 

Or, I guess, your wife's death certificate. Which leads me to say: I believe your marriage extension is good until expiration date after your wife's death. Not sure how that works for divorce.....(?).

On divorce, your extended permission to stay based on marriage immediately ends. You are correct that the permission to stay remains valid in case of your wife's demise, so take care to keep her healthy until you have the confirmed extension in your passport.

[savannakhet now require bank statement (400k) for 1 year multi visa (non-O marriage or Thai family)]

4 hours ago, MajorTom said:

I have a 12 Month Multiple-entry Non-O visa based on marriage. (e-Visa) Any idea why it says "employment prohibited" under visa conditions?

 

I have no idea. In principle, you can get a work permit and work on a Non O visa based on marriage. Some other categories of Non O visa (notably based on receipt of state pension) do not normally allow employment (though an interesting thread a month or so ago suggests that even that restriction might no longer exist).

[TM30 - New website address for filing notifications and registration]

19 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

Another thing I don't understand is when I resubmitted all the house documents again it only asked for tabien bahn and Thai ID which I uploaded, it never asked for my pp copy which I uploaded in Sept for the first approved address that I cannot submit TM30s on!

 

That makes sense to me. When you own multiple properties, the tabien baan will be different for each, but your profile is tied to your passport id. The downside, I suspect, is that you will need to create a new profile when you get a replacement passport.

[Retirement visa versus Marriage visa - which is best?]

(I have not done both.) Leaving aside the requirement for extra financial proof, the retirement extension is superior in almost every other respect. Far fewer documents are needed; there is no "under consideration" period (which can be problematic if you want to travel); you do not need to line up witnesses; your permission to stay does not immediately end in case of divorce; and you will usually not need to face the (annoying for some) house visits. Your local immigration office also prefers it, as it is much less work for them. A marriage extension does allow you to work. That is the most likely reason for going that route if you have the financial proof for a retirement extension.

 

Are you aware of the LTR-WP (Long Term Residence Wealthy Pensioner) visa? If you qualify, that is superior to the regular extensions.

[savannakhet now require bank statement (400k) for 1 year multi visa (non-O marriage or Thai family)]

19 minutes ago, Brickleberry said:

Maybe I should start a new thread and ask for how monthly financials can be done. I don't think it can be done because my bank can't show that the payments originated from outside Thailand, is this right?

 

By law, all transfers into your account are supposed to be traceable back to their original source (money laundering prevention). Have you tried going to your bank and asking for the credit advice document associated with one of the transfers? You may be surprised at all the information it contains.

 

That aside, most immigration offices will accept statements from your overseas bank showing the transfers, matched with the receipts into your Thai account. Some officials can be a-holes, but most will accept reasonable proof.

[TM30 Online Version 2023.10.00 - anyone tried it? Any changes?]

7 minutes ago, TimeMachine said:

Do not , I repeat, do not trust the online system. You must report tm30 at offices and get the receipt from human. Otherwise trouble will happen, big, big trouble.

 

This is scaremongering. The worst the "big, big trouble" that you cite could amount to is a fairly small fine. By all means apply in person, but there is nothing reckless about attempting to use the online system instead (in spite of its shortcomings).

[E Visa from UK not working]

1 hour ago, Lemsta69 said:

@BritTim New passport then, or are the wait times too long in the UK?

 

Definitely advisable if possible. I am not current on express passport applications in the UK. At one time, for a hefty price, even same day was possible. I think the minimum now might be seven days (in person at regional passport offices).

[savannakhet now require bank statement (400k) for 1 year multi visa (non-O marriage or Thai family)]

34 minutes ago, WebGuy said:

Regarding extensions, let's say my employer wants me to work minimum next 5 years for his company. What am I doing next year before my visa expiration date? Don't I get an extension based on my employment? 

 

You can either acquire a new multiple entry visa, and continue doing 90-day border bounces; or you can apply for an extension of your permission to stay. The extension of your permission to stay can either be based on working; or can be based on Thai spouse. In the former case, apart from the work permit, you will also need a minimum salary from your Thai employment to qualify for the extension. For an extension based on Thai spouse, the requirements for the extension are different. The requirements for multiple entry Non O and multiple entry Non B visas are again different. A multiple entry Non B visa is usually difficult to get unless you are a director of the company. If you want to continue to use multiple entry visas, a fresh multiple entry Non O based on Thai spouse will probably be best.

[savannakhet now require bank statement (400k) for 1 year multi visa (non-O marriage or Thai family)]

Just now, WebGuy said:

I still don't understand what are the advantages of possessing one year non-immigrant O over 90 days non-immigrant O visa if a wp is issued based on each as both of them are getting extended based on the wp anyway.

 

Your permission to stay is not extended based on a work permit, though a work permit is one of the requirements for an extension of stay based on working. The work permit simply allows you legally to work. If you have a multiple entry visa, you have no absolute need for either extensions or re-entry permits (they are optional). If you have an extension, but also an unexpired Non O visa (based on Thai spouse) you have the option of either returning on the visa (fresh 90-day permission to stay) or buying a re-entry permit and returning on that (keeping the same expiry date for your permission to stay).

[E Visa from UK not working]

1 hour ago, Lemsta69 said:

 

Visa exempt 30 days, extend once

for 30 days, border bounce for 30 more days. Simples.

 

This is workable, use the IATA Travel Centre (https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/) to double check if your chosen airline has non standard requirements on things like passport validity, or any other problems with countries you are transferring through.

 

One important note: while Thailand doss not impose a six month passport validity requirement (and most airlines should not either on direct flights from your home country to Thailand) most other countries do, and you should carefully check that all your planned journeys will be OK. All countries neighbouring Thailand have a six month rule, though people have successfully done border bounces to Laos by land with shortly to expire passports in spite of the official laws in Laos.

 

To avoid problems, it is not wise to travel with a passport that will have less than six months validity at the end of your planned itinerary.

[savannakhet now require bank statement (400k) for 1 year multi visa (non-O marriage or Thai family)]

26 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Wow! That was much at the same time. The bottom line is not if it´s wise or not to have 400k in a Thai bank. The fact is that it is the requirement as Savannakhet is no longer an option for the penniless. As I have said many times. Moving abroad is not for everyone, and it seems like more will learn that the hard way.

 

If you already have a wife (and possibly children) in Thailand, but for whatever reason have financial problems, abandoning your family and returning to home country is one option, possibly even the easiest, but not necessarily the most moral one.

 

People who have an easy life often lack empathy for those in a difficult situation. Having experienced ups and downs in my own life, I am slow to judge others.

[Non O/Marriage Application]

On 11/2/2023 at 4:45 PM, raysunshineray said:

how much do they charge at immigration for a re-entry permit?

 

A multiple re-entry permit at Immigration costs 3,800 baht. You can buy single re-entry permits (good for one trip from Thailand and return) for 1,000 baht (extra space in passport if doing multiple overseas trips).

[Question re 800k in bank for retirement visa renewal]

A nonsense post and replies to it have been removed

[TM30 and TM47. self-filling forms?]

TM47 fillable PDF

I do not have a fillable PDF form for the TM30.

[Retirement Extension]

3 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

To satisfy Jomtien you have to evidence 12 x 65k transfers because that was the basis of approval of your LAST extension. For the new application the 2 month seasoning rule would additionally apply.

 

I would be inclined to ask the local office (preferably a different I/O) if that would be appropriate in your case, for that office.

 

I am sure that Jomtien's interpretation is not logical and not the intention of those who drafted the regulations. That said, of course, whatever rules the local immigration office decides to impose will apply.

 

The original intention was never for your actions over the following 12 months to be part of your qualification for the previous year's extension. Should that be so, you would be on overstay as soon as you failed to satisfy the conditions of last year's extension. It is intended to determine whether you meet the requirements for the new extension, and you should be able to do this using either income or money in the bank. Stating that you must have an overlay year when you satisfy both is illogical.

[overstay problem]

A post suggesting illegal exit from Thailand and illegal entry into Laos (a most unwise process only guaranteed to make the situation worse) and replies to it have been removed.

[Retirement Extension]

12 hours ago, StevieAus said:

He stated that as I was changing method the money would need to be in the bank for one year for the first year.

My understanding was that it only has to be in the bank for 2/3 months and made no comment,

 

This is open to interpretation. For a first extension the money must be in the bank for two months prior to the application. For subsequent applications based on money in the bank, there must be 800,000 baht in the bank for three months after the last extension was given and for two months before the new extension, with 400,000 baht in the bank for the rest of the year.

 

The rules when changing between income and money in the bank are not clearly described. What I think is logical is either:

(i) Income for the first part of the year; changing to money in the bank when the 400k/800k requirements are met; or

(ii) 800k/400k/800k covering the full year.

In any case, income/money in the bank for the entire duration of the previous extended stay is clearly the intended qualification for a further extension.

[My Tourist Visa Options?]

3 hours ago, sallecc said:

Is getting Thai visa easier in Laos than in Vietnam? (OP is in Vietnam currently) Just curious, thanks.

 

For those who have a questionable immigration history, Vientiane is the safest bet for tourist visa applications. Their requirements are stated clearly on the embassy website. If you satisfy them, and have fewer than three previous tourist visas issued specifically in Vientiane, visible in your current passport, your visa application will be granted.