athousand

I should have looked before here on the DLT website - so at least it is clearly stated and my fault for not checking! Department of Land Transport (dlt.go.th)

Also found it here on the DLT website - my fault for not checking before so nothing particular about Samui! Department of Land Transport (dlt.go.th)

Had replies in a post in the motoring forum that this isn't a 'Samui thing' but just part of the Thai system. It does seem to be a once only opportunity to convert a license and once a Thai license is obtained and expired you have to go through the 2 day process.

Fair enough - was upset already so skin was thin already and this forum isn't the place to get any assistance with that

thanks NoDisplayName - wish I had known that before. I wouldn't have bothered with the two trips to immigration to get the residence cert and then the trip to DLT. What's most infuriating is that I left the old Driver License in the UK thinking it couldn't have any use as it was so long expired (doohhh). I do think it would be useful for quite a few people if this distinction was mentioned in the various stickies and posts that appear in this forum and others.

If VocalNeal had been interested in helping out another forum member he/she would have said that Thailand's driver licence system was such that even after a long expiration, the next application would be considered a 'renewal' rather than a 'new' application. From that simple distinction everything else would be clear. Instead by using terms such as 'rock up and expect', 'take the test like anyone else', 'If you only explain half of your problem then no one can really help you' he was implying all sorts of things about my character and expectations. VocalNeal can go f themselves. This was not what this forum was about. If that's what it is now, 'it is what it is' and good luck.

"If you only explain half of your problem then no one can really help you" Which half did I explain and which half did I leave out? And how did you try to help - by telling me I should start from scratch when I had understood that wasn't necessary? And that believing that was me "complain they won't do it your way"?

Man - this country and this forum can get so tricky. New licence vs renew. Ah - you idiot you should know that x means y. Visa exempt vs visa extension vs visa on arrival - you idiot how do you not know the difference? I'm pretty sure that only 15 years or so ago this forum was a great source of info, support and help to navigate these minefields. Now it seems like it's a place where people like me who get caught out go for the above and get slammed for not knowing the minutuae from people looking to make themselves feel better by saying things like ""You couldn't just rock up in UK with a Thai license and expect to renew your UK one." Done with this place, as many have been before, and looks like it won't be around for long now. It was great when it was populated by people looking to help! RIP Ubonjoe

And if this has happened before it would seem helpful for others that in Thai license threads that it gets mentioned that if you have ever - at any point in your lifetime - had a Thai license - regardless of its expiry date - that you will be 'renewing' even if it is years past its expiration date.

It showed up on their system. "You couldn't just rock up in UK with a Thai license and expect to renew your UK one." As far as I understood a Thai licence cannot be renewed after one year of its expiry date. So I wasn't expecting to renew I was trying to get a new one. 6 years after my licence expired. But thanks for the 'help' and the condescension. Much appreciated.

Long story short - just had an application to convert my UK car (inc IDP)driver license to Thai car driver license denied because my old Thai car driver license expired in 2017. I've been living in the UK from 2017 to 2023. This makes no sense rationally but I'm wondering if this is a Samui thing or is actually part of the Thai system in general? I had no idea that converting a UK license to Thai was literally a 'once in a lifetime opportunity'. It makes no sense in any way from a driving safety point of view and I can't see how it makes any sense from a making them money point of view either other than funneling me to an agent? If it is a known thing it probably makes sense to put it in the info somewhere as I can't be the only farang who has lived in Thailand, gone somewhere else and then come back. I've found a few things in Samui to be 'particular' to Samui so am wondering if this is one of them - and whether to expect the same from immigration etc.

UK license not ok if you've had a Thai license before and expired. So here's a new loophole that I didn't even consider. Wondering if this is a Samui thing or applies to all of Thailand. I had a Thai car driver's license in 2015. Me and my wife went back to the UK so it expired in 2017. Arrived in Samui in March. Got the residence certificate after two trips to immigration. Went to DLT with that, medical certificate, and all other docs inc UK driver license and International Driver Permit. Wife called yesterday to check all ok but obviously didn't mention expired Thai license. Queued up this morning. Told to come back at 1pm. Came back at 1pm and then told - that because I had previously had a Thai license, that has now expired, they cannot do a conversion from UK to Thai. So I would need to come back tomorrow at 7.30 and start again and apply for a new license and do the full two days there. Firstly this makes no rational sense whatsoever but I realise that isn't an argument here. The fact that they have already seen that I have passed a Thai test - or fulfilled those requirements - but are now asking me to do it again - because they have already agreed that the UK license meets those requirements... etc etc So I'm curious if this is a Samui thing or would this have happened in Bangkok, Pattaya or anywhere else. As is the way - a total waste of time, infuriating etc etc. Off to do a visa extension tomorrow with less confidence than before and no longer wondering why people use agents to smoothe things along. Had been wondering about the above post with the US person saying that even with USA license and IDP they made him do the two days - maybe he was in the same situation or there was another 'issue' or maybe they always find some issue. In the case of the driver license, is this the same as visa, in that using an agent gets them a cut or perhaps just senseless bureaucracy? First time I've hit a snag like this in fifteen years of doing things 'by the book'. I'd never heard that converting from an international to Thai license was a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' before! I've found a few things in Samui to be 'particular' to Samui so am wondering if this is one of them - and whether to expect the same from immigration etc. Another example would be when opening my bank account. They said it would be difficult to open an account because I previously had two accounts with them that I hadn't used since 2015 and that they would have to consider it due to money laundering issues. When they could see that a. the accounts were opened by me and b. neither had been used since 2015! Samui seems to be a weird place to get some basic run of the mill daily life things done compared to Bangkok and Pattaya where I lived for 10 years or so with none of these gotchas.

Does anybody know whether, after getting the 60 day extension, it's possible to apply for the year non-o spouse extension earlier than the 60 days? I experienced a delay in opening my bank account as I wasn't expecting the Residence Letter to take a week. This means that even if I put the 400,000 in now I'll miss by a few days the 2 month mark and I'll have to apply for the 60 days. However I'd like to get the yearly one done asap. Could I apply for the 60 days and then as soon as the 400,000 has been in the account for two months, apply for the year, even if that might be after 30 days of the 60 day extension? As a sidenote, has anybody managed to get online banking/pay by phone working with Bangkok Bank on the 3 month non-o? They told me that would only be available to me once I can show them the year extension.

Excellent service from Thai Embassy London. Submitted application Friday afternoon. Visa delivered by email on Monday 10pm! That's around 1 working day turnaround. For flights there's no need to book as they only ask for a flight number - no actual tickets are uploaded. Similarly for hotel - just a hotel address is asked for but no booking. For marriage certificate I did a PDF with original and certified translation and for wife's id same for both her passport and thai id. No signatures were asked for on any of the uploaded documents. I'd still like to know definitively, as much as is possible with Thai or any immigration at airports, whether there is any requirement for me to bring any cash with me. I'll be arriving on my own as my wife is going back a bit earlier than me, so won't have her to smooth things over with an immigration officer. Last time we visited, in May last year, the immigration officer was questioning my previous visas from five years before, even though I hadn't been to Thailand for five years,and they included a Non-O year extension! So while not paranoid, I'd like to cover bases etc. Would prefer not to carry the cash though as prefer not to use cash when possible.

Thanks for the info! We had to send off the translation to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2017! Will go ahead and apply and report back

Thanks UKResonant! If you got married in Thailand did you give them the Thai or translated marriage certificate? I suppose if I can combine in a PDF I'll do both. I'd go ahead now as I was only waiting for my wife's signature but the website is down :) so I might as well wait and get her to sign anyway. There may be a further page which might include the invitation and other things but I can't get there until I've submitted the docs.

I'm in the middle of applying for a Single Entry Non-O E visa from the UK. It looks like things may have become a little easier than previously or maybe I'm misintepreting things? If anyone has done this process recently I'd be grateful as I had a search on this forum and couldn't find answers to the following : 1. For each 5 categories of supporting documents it only seems possible to upload one document. So there's no requirement for invitation from spouse, and no way to add more than document per category. Have I got this right? 2. As they want jpegs, which I can only get to show one page, for Marriage Certificate, should I upload the original Thai one (of two which look almost the same apart from the stamp in the middle of the page) or the certified English translated version? (we got married in Bangkok) 3. Nothing's mentioned on the website about signatures. I'm assuming they want my signature on the appropriate docs, my wife's on hers and both of ours on the marriage certificate? And that we are therefore printing out a scan of the original, signing it, then scanning that signed copy and uploading that? 4. Lastly, assuming the visa is granted, should I be armed with cash (20,000 baht or similar) when arriving at Suvarnabhumi? My current understanding is that isn't necessary with this visa, but don't want to take any risks. Thanks in advance. Will submit this weekend and will report back how long it takes and how it goes.

madisongy - that's great news. And thanks for the detailed report. Looks like I might be using it in a few months time ! Like many here I received a lot of helpful advice from Ubonjoe over the years. He's sorely missed.

Does anyone know if I would be able to apply for the 1 year non o marriage extension after extending a single entry non o spouse using the 60 days to visit thai wife extension? Ie apply after five months rather than 3? I'm leaving rented accomodation in the UK and may need to use the deposit as part of the 400,000 baht needed for 1 year extension. It seems in worst case scenario it can take up to 3 months if you have an uncooperative landlord. If that were to happen could I extend my single entry non O for the further 60 days (to visit Thai wife) and then apply for the 1 year?

UKresonant - thanks. Good to know for next time. I'm pretty sure I will have emptied the accounts so will be starting again. sandyf. - thanks for the great info. Hope all goes smoothly for you next week. Good to know the bank account doesn't need to be local. The monthly route seems a little risky in terms of depending on the whims of the particular immigration office. We're not sure where we'll settle yet so may end up moving between applications. Would an immigration office let us know ahead of time their particular requirements and can they be relied on? Has anyone had any experience with getting the year extension on a short (monthly or say three months) rental agreement?

Thanks for all the detailed answers! Brilliant and very helpful indeed! We got married in Bangkok so that should make a few things a little easier. I actually got a year non-o extension back in 2017 shortly after we married but only got to use it for about a month before we went to the UK. I've since forgotten pretty much all the details apart from the photos which we got sent back home to redo :) Liquorice : "However, Immigration orders state only income from pensions, investments or dividends are acceptable." That's what I was concerned about. I would have preferred to go this route but as it wouldn't be coming from any of these sources will stick with the 400,000. I won't be risking a local immigration office changing their mind on this one. UKResonant : The tax affairs are going to get pretty complicated pretty fast. I actually had two Bangkok Bank accounts, both opened with a Tourist visa. One from head office in Bangkok and one in Jomtien. I'm guessing they will now be automatically closed since I haven't used either since 2017? Does the bank account need to be local to where we'll be living and getting our year extension? One last question - as we're not 100% sure where we'll be settling down, we'll be going for a 3 month rental contract at first if we can. Will this be ok for the year extension or do they insist on a longer term? Thanks again for all the info - much appreciated!!!

Hi all, my wife and I will be returning to Thailand early next year from the UK and will first apply for a single entry non O from London. I think I understand the process but would appreciate confirmation of a few details since it's these details which will determine our various options. As far as I can tell the financial requirements for the single entry non O evisa applied via the Thai Embassy London is to show a current bank statement with a balance over £1,000? When we are in Thailand we will need to immediately open a bank account in my name and transfer 400,000 baht from the UK and then when that has been in the account for two months we can apply for the year extension. Can this transfer be done with transferwise as I read somewehere Transferwise transfers are not accepted for some visa extensions (possibly retirement visas?). One year on, I'd like to be able to get the extension based on monthly income of 40,000 baht rather than having to use 400,000 baht again. Are there any specific details I need to be aware of this in terms of transfers? Can I transfer the amount monthly from a UK personal bank account - again using transferwise or does it have to be directly using the bank itself? Does the source matter- in other words does it need to be shown as coming from a pension, or salary rather than from personal savings or whatever? Thanks in advance for any clarifications