madisongy

Yes, the koRor 22 was one of the documents mentioned today. This is the first I’m hearing about that document since it is not mentioned in any of posts including the one below that I was using as my guideline. So is that legit from their side? I know they’re wrong about the Embassy authenticating the marriage cert as the US Embassy does not offer that service in Thailand. You need to have that authenticated in the US. So bottom line, the Koror 22 and the marriage cert authentication / translation is what they said was needed today. I’ll take your advice on posting a new thread. ,

Just as an FYI, we went to get the 60 day extension for my visa exempt entry. These are not done at CW anymore and they sent us to IT Square, Lak Si. Got over there and huge hassle with the gal that checks people in. She told us the marriage cert needs translation and authentication of the marriage cert from US Embassy. The US Embassy Thailand website clearly states they will not provide this service. They state that this must be done in the US with the Dept of State. Immigration at IT Square allows you to make online appts so I booked an appt. In two days with hopefully a smarter person. Will report back what happens.

I’m going to continue scouring the thai immigration website for specifics on this issue. Most of what I’ve found is related to extending a visa, and nothing so far on extending my visa exemption. Are you aware of such a reference on Thai immigration website that you could point me to?

Usual thanks for the comments DRJ. When you say “are just down to not having checked exactly what is required”…….do you mean on my end or their end? For my end, I followed that link you sent me to a tee, and brought along some extra documentation. If you’re saying it’s a failure on their end, do I have an alternative? Can I ask for a supervisor or some such? Or maybe take another crack at it tomorrow, in hopes of getting someone with more knowledge? Yeah, I got lucky with the agent at the airport, but as discussed I had the onwardticket.com website already loaded up and ready to roll if I got stuck. Can’t thank you enough for alerting me to that issue.

The refund policy is set by the airline, and not expedia. Expedia is great for making it very clear on whether it’s refundable in the first 24 hours. I checked a bunch of flights to close destinations. Not even Thai Air has refundable flights…….on close destinations like KL or Singapore. You may find refundable on more expensive flights to Europe or US. Anywho, I flew Jet Blue/JSL from FL to Boston to Japan to Thailand. No one asked about a visa when I checked in at Florida, and of course no where else along the way. The IO in Thailand asked me how long I’d be in Thailand and I answered 30 days and he did not ask to see a ticket. Of course, my plan was to get a two month extension since I’m married to a Thai. Went to the main immigration building today. They sent me over to the IT Square at Laksi which is apparently where they’re handling all extensions. They said I need to have the marriage cert “stamped” and they sent us to a third office to get that done. Got there and nope, they cannot stamp it until we get a translation and a bunch of other nonsense. While I could get the 30 day extension, I’ll still have to change my return ticket to US from May 1, to April 15 so I figure I’ll just change it now to March 15 and get the heck out of Dodge. Next trip I’ll go for the 90 day visa, or whatever it is, prior to departing the US. Dealing with Immigration in Bkk is just too cumbersome.

Holy smokes!! Complete CF on this extension. So got to the immigration office today and they told me nope....wrong place. Gotta now go to Laksi IT Square. Ok, so headed over there.....they told me nope, you need to get the marriage cert stamped. This was the first gal we spoke with and I told her that's not right and she would not speak with me, wanted to speak Thai with my wife and told her there is no way to get this extension without the stamp and we could not get a number. Sent us to a third place to get a stamp on the marriage cert, which is where we are right now. I asked can we get this stamped? Nope, ya gotta go get a translation and you have to go to the US Embassy and ya gotta do this and ya gotta do that. Its sort of ridiculous. I really feel like just changing the ticket and leaving Thailand.

Oh, and cannot locate any airline departing bkk for inexpensive close by destinations that does not charge a cancellation fee. So, the new plan is onwardticket.com, and if they don't like that, looks like I'll be spending a couple of days in Singapore.

HOLY SMOKES !! JetBlue is true to its name....making me blue. so went to do online check-in. They are not allowing me to check in because I cannot provide them with a visa number. I explained to them on the chat, and on the phone that no visa is required for a US citizen, and they agree with me. But, there is nothing they can do to get me checked in because the system is set up to only accept me if I have a visa number. Their answer............."Go check in at the airport". Which of course, I have no options but to go to the airport. What a hassle. JetBlue also won't accept cardboard boxes for check in luggage on international flights. Domestic....no problem. They are telling me that I'm domestic since I'm only taking them from Orlando to Boston, then JAL the rest of the way. They are telling me in this case, they will adhere to JAL rules...which allows boxes as check in baggage. But I'll get the new agent who has no clue how anything works. So tomorrow, up at 3am, airport at 4:30am to battle with JetBlue. Sounds like a lot of fun. Oh, Thai wife is checked in, and no problems.

Sold the home in Illinois and bought one in Florida. I lived in a mafioso town outside of Chicago.....loaded with Italians and incredible Italian restaurants. In FL, there are so many New Yorkers it's mostly New York pizza with the bendy chewy crust. I like a crispier crust like a cracker.....here's a pic from our local place....I think those square cuts with the cracker crust are known as St Louis style pizza. Best ever. Anyone know a place in Bkk that has something similiar?

Great info......I'm bringing 8 big boxes of Cheerios for my upcoming 12 week stay. Big C is my backup.

Hey NextG, big thanks for the info. I didn't even realize that I could buy SIM cards on shopee. I have used Lazada in the past when I was in Thailand, but I'll sign up for Shopee and get these ordered for testing. I got to say, your messages here are really encouraging. I'm really hopeful one of these places can provide a solution for us. Many thanks again !!

Concerned citizens complained? It IS Pattaya they're talking about, right?

Melania Trump's little sister.

Great point about testing speeds....we're in a high rise and connection gets a bit wonky. And yeah, I'd do the portable modem since we're going to be back doing short stints like this again. So looked at one of your recommendations...DTAC...., and if this is right, it would cost me about 35 baht per day for 8Mbps unlimited. If the speed test works out, that would be absolutely perfect for us. Really appreciate your response.

Thanks for that Richard. Looked like on the Customs website, I'm good with personal belongings under 20,000 baht. I'd be well under that. Agree with your comments on shipped items. I always use the postal service rather than DHL/FEDEX/UPS...and I have never had a problem. in addition to the normal shipments, I've twice shipped documents using US Postal Service Global Express Guaranteed. About $75 at the time, but they missed the delivery commitment by one day........on two separate occasions...... and they refunded the fee both times.

We are going to be in Bkk from Feb thru April. When my wife lived there in the past, we had AIS for a long time in our condo, and still have the AIS Fibre modem. But looks like I'd have to make a 12 month commitment and the cheapest plan is 600b/month. Does anyone know if that's correct, and if so, would True or DTAC or any other company would provide home internet for only 3 months? Any offerings on unlimited SIM cards fast enough to stream video on the TV at home?

I'm bringing a 3500baht grill through the airport. Last time I flew in, the pay duty lane was closed so I had to go to the nothing to declare line and the guy whisked me right though. I had my usual crates of food, and when I told him that, I got the mai pen rai.

Absolutely my primary plan. But nice to have these other options in the unlikely event that does not fly. (could not resist the pun)

Many thanks to DrJack for alerting me to the issue. The I/O's in Thailand have never asked me for a onward ticket in the past, but I always knew of the requirement. I've also never entered without the return ticket within 30 days. Great pointers on the onwardticket option for $14, and then just booking a real return ticket on Expedia and cancelling within 24 hours. So my two cents......I logged on Expedia to look for a cheapo destination. Phnom Penh seems to be one of those sub $50 destinations. BUT, that's on Airaisa, and Airasia does not refund within 24 hours. Thai is $112....fully refundable within 24 hours. So thanks for the tips, and I feel like I've got two options. It's going to take 30 hours to get to Bkk, so yeah, that ticket will be booked if I have an issue at the departure airport, and then cancelled just before takeoff. I'll rebook if needed when I hit Bkk immigration. Or, just book the onwardticket for $14. In the 200 international flights I've made, I only had one idiot in the US (American Airlines agent) that drilled me on the visa issue. She was completely wrong, and eventually they let me fly. Hoping our upcoming trip follows the usual smooth sailing.

Hey, usual Thanks DrJack. More great info....thanks. Looked at getting the return boarding pass. We're booked on JAL and looks like I can only get that 24 hours before flight. Feel good about onwardflight based on your comment. Seems simple. Keeping my fingers crossed I get a decent IO. You've been an absolute huge help. If you're in BKK, the beers are on me.

Thanks much DrJack. Link answered questions on marriage cert, thanks. For vax, we have 4, last one Oct 2022, so should be good there too. For "onward flight", yeah....good point. Saw your post on stepping away and getting ticket or rent a ticket. Found site....onwardticket.com. Would you happen to know if they're reputable or who would be? What's cheapest legit flight? Any idea if this is generally an issue or generally no problem? really appreciate your clear and concise information.

Hey DrJack, just booked tickets for 88 days in Thailand and just a quick question on the extension documents. I plan to bring the marriage certificate that we got in the US, my passport of course, and the 1900 baht. My wife will be there with me also. anything else I need to bring? Thanks.

Many thanks Dr Jack54 and Ubonjoe for the outstanding information. Obviously taking your advice to enter visa exempt and then do the extension. when I'm there......and will hopefully get approved for the 60 days extension. I did a 30 day extension 3 years ago, and at that time ....besides the crowd... was a pretty simple process. This time, I will plan to bring a marriage certificate that we got in the US for proof of marriage, passport, and 1900 baht. Do I need to show a Thai bank statement or proof of insurance or anything else? Assuming the fact that my wife lives with me in the US is not a factor to "visit Thai wife" as we're actually visiting her family.

Many thanks Ubonjoe, great site. I read you need to apply 15 working days in advance if applying in home country. Read elsewhere, that you need to stay 60 days in Thailand before you can apply in Thailand. Is that correct, and which is the better route? Also shows requirement for travel booking confirmation......would you happen to know if they accept an itinerary, or do I actually have to purchase the tickets?

I know this has been done to death, but since the advice I had from last year is no longer valid, I wanted to get updated info for trip hopefully in January, 2023. I'm American, married to a Thai for 3 years. We intend to make 90 day trips to Thailand annually. In the past, we would stay on the 30 day exemption, and then either head out of the country for a few days, or I got the 30 day extension. I saw the exemption is now 45 days........true? If that's the case, is the extension 45 days as well? Or do I go with the OA? Or do a border run?