BritTim

There is no question that this crossing is by far the most convenient from Bangkok. Among other options is the fast and comfortable casino bus to get there. However, it is telling that the visa run companies are still boycotting this border, in spite of its being the closest to Bangkok. I am sure they would be using it if it was not problematic.

I tried to use a power of attorney to sort out issues with the bank (Kasikorn) for a sick friend without success. They insisted that, for many kinds of transactions, the bank account owner had to be present, and there was no legal way around that. Only some simple transactions (like withdrawals with the bank book) were possible with the PoA.

Yes, there are ways to entering Cambodia without passing immigration. However, entering Cambodia without a visa is highly illegal. Also, the transport costs to get to Koh Kong (whether legally through the immigration checkpoint or otherwise) depends on your starting point. From Bangkok, even if very well informed on cheap transport options, it will be at least 1,000 baht return. It should also be obvious that you will not get a fresh visa exempt entry if you do not properly pass through Thai immigration.

Obviously, last month was before early November, and your well intentioned warning is probably out of date.

Since you seem to be planning entering with a visa exemption, the form to use to apply for the Non O visa is TM87. Is each of you planning to apply independently for a Non O (retirement) visa and extension, each with 800,000 baht in a separate bank account? If so, everything should go smoothly, as long as you apply well in advance of the expiry of the permission to stay from the visa exempt entry. If the plan is for one of you to get the Non O (retirement) and the other Non O (dependant) there is a complication. You cannot apply for the "conversion" to a Non O (dependant) visa at immigration. It needs to be done at an embassy/consulate outside Thailand after the one-year extension has been granted for the retirement permission to stay. There is one additional thing to check immediately on arrival in Chiang Mai. The regulations for the Non O "conversion" visa application state that you need proof that the funds came from abroad. If the funds have been continually in your bank account for a long time, immigration will usually waive such proof. However, that can vary between immigration offices, and you should verify that this will be acceptable to the Chiang Mai office.

At many immigration offices, the savings book is sufficient (no needed for the 12 month statement) only if all transactions are shown in the book (no summary lines). Unfortunately, most of us are not disciplined enough to update the savings book regularly to avoid having multiple transactions replaced by summary lines.

If you are happy paying the bribes, I am sure there will be no problem. It is only if you push for the official price for the Cambodian visa, and a small fee for same day return that you may run into problems.

Frankly, if you like to be in a well developed, modern city, you will prefer Ho Chi Minh City to Vientiane. For an appointment in Vientiane, see https://thaivisavientiane.com/. For a visa in HCMC, make an appointment at https://booking.setmore.com/ I find Vietnamese food delicious. Lao food can be very spicy, but it varies. In general, if you do not like Isaan food, you will probably not enjoy most of the food in Vientiane, although there is still some very good French food around if you know where to go. I like Thai/Isaan food when well prepared, but not more than once a day. I especially like finding a Western style breakfast.

That is true. However, when using a visa exemption by air, the officials may scrutinise you closely to decide (based purely on their own discretion) whether you are using visa exempt entries as a 'normal' tourist. Trying to get many serial visa exempt entries at airports is not advisable. This should not affect the OP (out of Thailand for years) but care is needed by others who think they can use visa exempt entries to stay long periods as a long stay tourist.

Vientiane and Ho Chi Minh City are both good places for a tourist visa. In either case, you make an appointment online, and making the application yourself is not onerous. I am unsure if there are agents now in Penang. There were several as of 2019. It is advisable to use agents there, if possible, as the consulate is inconveniently situated. I personally never really liked Penang as a place to spend time, but many others seem to love it. The Chulia Mansion Hotel (which I used and can recommend) could arrange to have an agent call when I stayed there. Whether border bounces for visa exempt entries will be better depends on where you are staying. They are a bit of a drag from Bangkok or Pattaya, though visa run agencies can eliminate complicated journeys by public transport. In your position, I would tend to prefer a little holiday, getting a tourist visa, instead.

Hat Lek was always very good on the Thai side. The problem was on the Cambodian side if you did not want to pay the bribes. However, it seems people using Ban Pakard are now happy to pay bribes, and I do not think Cambodian immigration at Hat Lek/Koh Kong will require more than the approximates 1,400 baht (2,700 baht less the official US$30 for Cambodian visa) seemingly now being requested as a service fee at Ban Pakard/Psa Prum.

In theory all extensions are at the discretion of the immigration officials. However, in practice, this extension is always granted. You run a higher risk of being struck by lightning.

You do have one additional option. You could "move temporarily" into a hotel in Bangkok, and apply for the Non O visa at Chaengwattana immigration. You tell them that you are staying in a hotel temporarily while looking for a permanent place to live.

When entering visa exempt, it is possible you could have problems at any airport. Historically, the risk has been higher at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang. The officials are empowered to take such actions. They have the same discretion as consular officials have when you apply for a visa. At some airports, there is a risk (albeit much lower) even when trying to enter with a tourist visa from an embassy. This latter case is against the intent of the Immigration Act, but it is often hard to fight it.

Yes, I do know if that is correct. It is complete nonsense. The two land entries per calendar year rule means exactly what it says. It is unaffected by whether you eat at McDonalds, whether or not you rent a condo, or your previous interactions with immigration that do not involve using a visa exemption when entering by land.

The main options seem to be switching to serial Non O visas or using an agent. Hopefully, she is still on reasonable terms with her daughter. That might, at some point, be a factor in whether she can stay based on that relationship.

The consular section is the one at 316 Rue Bouchane (Location on Google Maps)

Sure. That is often the best approach. Also, having crossed the border by land, you can happily use a domestic flight to reach your final destination.

Flying in should still hopefully be OK. However, you are approaching the point where you would be well advised to use land crossings to enter Thailand. Briefly, at airports, entering with a visa exemption is subject to scrutiny by officials and a possible denied entry if (in their sole opinion) they do not regard you as a normal tourist. By land, they do not scrutinise you, but you are restricted to only two visa exemptions by land in a calendar year.

As long as your company is not expecting formal proof that you can legally work remotely without a work permit, you will be OK in practice. The kind of remote work you describe is not technically legal, but is common and is tolerated. If you are on a high salary, you might qualify for a Long Term Resident's Visa (specifically, a category Work-from-Thailand Professional). That allows you to work without a work permit and provides a 10-year visa. The downside will be that you will be expected to pay Thai tax (usually avoided by those quietly working remotely on tourist visas).

I cannot find a confirmation of opening of the Thai Myanmar borders, but I found an article which does make it more plausible (https://www.pratidintime.com/latest-assam-news-breaking-news-assam/myanmar-officially-opens-indo-myanmar-international-land-border). If the long mooted border openings with India have now gone through, it seems very possible that those with Thailand have reopened. I would expect visa run companies to know. EDIT: The Myanmar eVisa site's Notice for Tourists still contains this: That information conflicts with the article above that shows Myanmar India borders open.

You are dealing with a highly experienced, corrupt official here, and outmanoeuvring her will be very difficult. I would be prepared to bet that, even when she is not working, her subordinates are under instructions to try to run the same scam (with her getting the bulk of the profit). If I decided to fight, this is what I would try to say to her. It is some combination of (i) making clear you know exactly what is going on; (ii) express sympathy for her situation as someone who gets a low salary but had to pay big money for her position; (iii) say that, sympathetic as you are, your religion outlaws paying bribes, and ask her to help, making an exception by following the rules normally in your case; (iv) promise that no one else will ever know of her abnormal adherence to the rules; and (v) explain that, if forced to move provinces and immigration offices by her actions, you will carefully (without risking falling afoul of the defamation laws) ensure that it is widely known (and especially by anti corruption campaigners) that officials at a certain immigration office in a well known Thai seaside resort are shaking down retirees for ransom payments. This could affect her colleagues as well as herself. All this has to be done very, very carefully. If you are unable to keep talking in a friendly voice and with a permanent smile on your face, do not even attempt it. It will not be the first time she has dealt with uncooperative victims, and it is by no means certain you will be successful. However, I have successfully used similar approaches in the past with extremely corrupt officials in more than one country.

Joe, the plan is to try to enter Thailand (never using the outbound flight). However, He wants to avoid a DNB (Do Not Board) instruction to the airline if he is still banned from entry to Thailand. The fact that his itinerary shows him only transiting in Bangkok will hopefully accomplish that. If he is denied entry, he wants to ensure that he is sent to a nearby country, not back to the UK. I suggested that if he already had a soon to be departing flight on the airline that brought him to Thailand, the airline would be strongly incentivised to simply put him on that flight if he is denied entry.

I do not know the answer to that question. As far as Thai immigration is concerned, they will be treated as separate airlines. However, depending on how the organisational structure works, the airline supervisor for Thai Airways might be both happy and empowered to put you on the Thai Smile flight if the worst came to the worst. If the Thai Smile subsidiary operates more independently, there could be a turf battle that prevents this from happening. I am not sure how you can find out. This is not the kind of question you can expect to be answered by simply emailing Thai Airways.

A domain privacy service is used, so there is no reliable contact information. The domain was first registered in April 2019, and a brief search does not reveal any obvious related domains. Mark McGinn appears to have been an ex pat in Chiang Mai for many years (I think about 20 years) but with nothing publically known about him positive or negative. He has a LinkedIn page. This suggests that his main job may be working remotely for elitRecruiter Inc (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/elitrecruiter) apparently owned by Luke McGinn (presumably a relative). This is all very murky. If I was considering working with Mark, I would want to know a lot more. Obviously, unless you want to work with Thai clients, using services like this is, not only expensive, but usually pointless. Digital nomads not working for Thai companies and without Thai clients are tolerated (albeit often not technically legal) without work permits. If wanting to stay long term, a Thailand Elite membership is much cheaper if you do not qualify for anything else.