BKK4

As another posted said, look for a law firm to do a check before flying out.

Well, after many, many years of no serious issues (discounting 24-hour stomach issues), I fell victim to this in Phuket whilst there 01-04 June. 6 days of straight diarrhea followed. Miserable. I ate the same food as two others, but had a mango shake and an iced milk tea, which others did not have. Lesson learned.

I just did a transfer of an extension of stay, which took 3+ hours. As others have posted, it may be done by different officers so you may need more than 1 queue ticket. I would do it earlier in order to not be stressed about trying to get both done in 1 day. However there is nothing wrong with waiting as long as you have all documents and copies prepared.

Well done. Congrats on that as well. I applied from within Thailand. BOI staff were very professional throughout. I was the very 1st to receive this particular sub-category of LTR. The requirements on the website are accurate so take a look and see if you can meet these.

I did this and was successful. If you meet the requirements it is possible.

Yes, correct. 30 day stamp and can do a 30-day extension after that if wanted (1900 baht).

Excellent. Thank you very much UJ. I will use the receipt from last time and also prepare a new set just in case. The house owner is a friend.

Sorry to re-direct to Bangkok, but if arriving in Bangkok and staying at a Bangkok address on 30-day visa exempt, and then doing a 30-day extension (with passport copies, photos, TM6, TM7, TM30), is this extension done at MTT or CW? TM30 was done in 2021, but then left and came back. I assume a new TM30 will be needed even if address did not change. Hopefully all of this can be done at MTT. Following this, will the 60-day extension be done at CW or MTT as well? Thank you for any information you can provide.

Yes the pink slip of paper is needed. Scan the QR code on the pink slip of paper for government hospitals that you can do it at.

Well this is getting more and more confusing. The hospitals are hesitant to confirm the ATK test is acceptable, and they also still think it is 24 hours before flight time (or arrival time, as per the airline). Has anyone used ATK to check in and travel back to the US?

Well, I just called Samitivej, and all next week is fully booked already. First availability is the 18th.

From what I can see: Samitivej offers the ATK antigen test for 550 baht. Bangkok Hospital offers it for 750 baht. I have not found a government hospital yet that offers this. I called one of the major ones near Victory Monument but they only do PCR. Get the ATK antigen test done 1 day before, as long as your airline accepts it. The Japanese airlines accept ATK on Bangkok - Tokyo - US flights.

I just spoke to the airline's Bangkok office in Thai language, and they confirmed that the requirements are: 1. COVID test 1 calendar day before departure (i.e. Dec 10 any time for a flight any time on Dec 11). 2. COVID test can be anitgen, but if antigen, must be done at a hospital. I asked if a major government hospital in BKK was OK, and she confirmed it was.

Thank you for the advice. Will be flying soon so trying to plan for everything ahead of time. Pending finality on this "1-day before" definition, I could potentially get it the day before, as my flight is late afternoon. I will also phone the airline to double-check, as it seems like it is the airline who is the 1st gatekeeper.

Any suggestions on where to get this test in Bangkok? Public Hospital? Private Hospital? Clinic? Thanks for any suggestions.

A friend did the extension at Chaeng Watthana last week. The immigration officer who approved it (60 days) said that the current rule is that the 26th of November is the final day to apply, but that people can come before the 26th of November to apply for a COVID extension. From my personal experience, the immigration officers would tell me in the past it was the last extension to be given, but then the 60-day COVID extension rule was itself extended, so that hasn't happened yet. The officer would not speculate with my friend on whether or not the extensions would continue, but my personal opinion is it will depend on the Nov. 01 reopening. If it is as quiet as it seems it might be, then I can see 1 more extension to get everyone through to Jan. 2022. But who knows...

The plot thickens...

Yes that is a good point. Doesn't seem worth it.

Do you think others were involved who managed to get away?

The more I read about this case the more it interests me. It seems there is no end to all the sub-plots and sub-stories. There are some facts for sure but lots of theories. Fact: drugs did wash up on a beach in Rayong. Where did they come from? Fact: there was apparently enough evidence to have them arrested (OK, sometimes not that much is needed here, but still). Fact: all 3 judges in the first court and 3 judges in appeals court found the evidence compelling enough to convict and give them the most severe penalty. Had they gotten life or 50 years that's one thing, but to go from death to nothing is amazing. But someone lost a lot of money and a lot of drugs apparently.

I agree with the above. However also keep in mind the difference in outcomes if the computer crimes case against you actually moves to prosecution or not. Pleading guilty or being found guilty in court can result in detention, deportation, and blacklisting. However if the case receives a do not prosecute order, or if you win the case, then you can go back to your Non-O visa extension after the case (from the case visa extensions). I have seen people have problems after the case ends (if they are found guilty, even if it is a suspended sentence) of not being able to go back to the normal visa extension and being deported and blacklisted. Yes the other suggestion is also good - fight back by having an experienced criminal lawyer sue them. This gives you some more leverage.

Just adding my experience. Was on a Non-Immigrant visa, completing the COVID extension 2 times this year, until last time at CW where I had to show proof of both 90-day reporting as well as TM.30, which I did not have. 90-day reporting had not been a requirement previously (Non-Immigrant visa from outside Thailand). Long story short, I had to go out to MTT to get both and pay some fines before coming back to CW the following day.