BritTim

Do not be too surprised if the authorisation for your local office to issue the Non O visa and associated permission to stay has still not come through on July 18th. It is sometimes late, and there is an increased chance of this because of the long holiday. While irritating, this still will not place you at any risk of an overstay. Assuming Immigration has your phone number, in the unlikely event of any problem with your application, they would contact you. If Immigration has not called you, you can be 100% confident that the visa and fresh 90-day permission to stay will surface at some point. Stop worrying!

Such reports can be very useful. However, it is important to indicate (i) Which crossing. Different border crossings, even with the same country, can vary tremendously in the rules they apply. (ii) When. The rules applied in 2019 may not be the same as in 2022, for instance. Also handy is indicating things like the price charged for border pass or visa (if any).

If doing a border bounce at a border with Laos, you can come straight back, never a problem. If using a crossing with Cambodia, there is a stupid Cambodian law that you must stay at least one night in Cambodia. This law is not always enforced. However, the Cambodian officials may levy a fee to allow an immediate return (100-200 baht enough if you cannot avoid the fee). There has often been a rule at Malaysian border crossings that tourists must spend a night in Malaysia. This has not applied to all crossings at all times. I am not up to date with the current situation. Some crossings with Myanmar are open. If vaccinated, Maesot is the best of them, no hassle in the past.

The new visa initiatives (for instance Non O-X 10-year retirement, Investment visa, multiple entry tourist visa) are almost invariably attractive when first announced, and usually much less so when closely examined. I expect the LTR to fall into the same category.

The work permit and visa are (mostly) separate issues. If you did not have a work permit, an extension of stay based on working would not be possible. However, the end of your permission to stay based on marriage does not automatically terminate the work permit. If an agent can get you an extension based on working (I am a little dubious on that) the work permit should not be a problem. On the divorce with kids involved, it will be a real mess, but probably not as bad as if you were in most Western countries. You ought to support the kids, even when the divorce goes through, so do not expect it to be a benefit financially.

In my opinion, a same day quick in/out, not requiring overnight stays (even assuming Vientiane or Savannakhet is the closest border) will be attractive to many. That is without considering the limits that embassies/consulates in the region place on multiple tourist visa applications. I am not attempting to be a long stay tourist but, if I was, this would be a part of my toolkit, replacing the unlimited border bounces for visa exempt entry that were attractive before being stopped.

Certainly, there is nothing to prevent an application, and it seems applications have so far been successful. This does not mean the embassy will not, at some point, begin to deny some applications that clearly come from people who are not in the UK. Indeed, I expect a crackdown. It is likely to become common for people to try to stay indefinitely as tourists via serial applications for fresh tourist visas while in Thailand, combined with in/out border runs. I do not think the authorities will tolerate this for long.

Some immigration officials will look for all kinds of excuses for not accepting applications for marriage extensions. They hate them. Nevertheless, an entry on a Non O-A visa is as much a non immigrant entry as an entry on a Non O visa, Non B visa or Non Ed visa. Under the rules, Immigration is supposed to allow marriage extensions.

Boosters are not required (but are a good idea). This page provides the details on vaccination requirements: https://www.tatnews.org/2022/06/covid-19-vaccine-guide-for-travellers-to-thailand/ Your record of two vaccinations inside Thailand will be acceptable.

While I have not done so myself, there have been reports of successful applications by UK passport holders who are not in the UK. In at least one case, the application was made from Thailand prior to travel out of Thailand and back.

What do you mean by 'ED'? Is it "erectile dysfunction"?

I am used to incompetence in Thai online systems. Actual malice is unusual. Some programmer has actually gone to the effort of silently corrupting your data entry. This is not just an inadvertent programming error. If he is reading this thread, the programmer is probably laughing himself silly.

First, your assumption that airport immigration are now less strict than in pre Covid days is probably incorrect. You mention that you will be coming to the end of a 90-day stay. Have you recently had other periods in Thailand as a tourist? If so, returning by air for a visa exempt entry could run into problems. A return by land has a limit of two visa exempt entries per calendar year. However, at almost all entry points, with that single limitation, receiving your visa exempt entry is a sure thing. By air, they closely scrutinise your immigration history as a tourist, and are inclined to reject the use of visa exempt entries by long stay tourists.

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The bottom line of your long and rambling post is that it is difficult to open a bank account unless you have a long term visa/extension. It has become steadily more difficult over the last few years, and is nothing to do with any actions by Immigration. The easiest way to resolve this is to use an agent. Alternatively, a bank branch may be motivated to help you if you are accompanied by an existing respected bank customer, especially if you make clear that you intend making a substantial deposit. Finally, at a few branches, offering to buy a cheap Accident Insurance policy (about 3,000 baht or so) if they allow you to open an account will do the trick. The bank staff get a small commission when you do this.

I am quite familiar with Bangkok Buddy. Tanya has a lot of good contacts, and is experienced. That said, especially when she is busy, Buddy are very disorganised. They can lose track of where your passport is, and the progress of your application. It usually works out OK in the end, but can be a nerve wracking experience.

I assume Lamphun is your local immigration office, and you intend it remain so for years to come. Under those circumstances, and given that you seem able to meet all the requirements for, not only the 60-day extension to visit your wife, but also the one-year extension based on income, do not cave in to pressure to pay facilitation fees. Once they know you can be pressured, you will never escape their clutches. Calmly, in a quiet, pleasant voice and without accusing them of anything, make clear that you know you are entitled to an extension of stay based on marriage, and that is what you intend doing. They may not like it, because it involves them in a lot of work they want to avoid, but they will have to comply.

Indeed, it is possible. Personally, I do not. There are two reasons. First, I am never sure of my travel plans, and I do not want to waste money and space in my passport for a re-entry permit I may never use. Second, at the immigration office I use, it can add hours to an already long immigration office visit. For me, getting the re-entry permit at the airport is just quicker and easier.

These are some general guidelines for staying in Thailand as a tourist: There are many differences between entering by air and entering by land. When entering by air, the total length of your previous recent sojourns in Thailand as a tourist is likely to be scrutinised. At most airports, if you have spent more than about 180 days out of the previous year in Thailand as a tourist, you risk being denied a visa exempt entry. Immigration officials have a legal right (indeed, are instructed) to scrutinise those requesting visa exempt entries to determine if they are using visa exempt to stay longer than is compatible with normal tourism. If you have a visa, immigration officials have no right to deny you entry, except pursuant to specific reasons specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act. Unfortunately, immigration officials at some airports (including Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang) have decided to give themselves power they do not have under the law. They may decide the embassy/consulate was in error in issuing you a tourist visa, and refuse to honour it. It is less likely than with visa exempt entries, but you must be very careful entering by air (even with a tourist visa) if you are a long stay tourist in Thailand. Some airports (notably Chiang Mai) have, to date, always followed the law. While they may (validly) deny you a visa exempt entry, they have never been known to (illegally) deny you entry with a visa. At most land borders, the rules are very simple: two visa exempt entries per calendar year, and no restrictions on entering with visas. Note, however, that the Poipet/Aranyaprathet is lawless, and you should avoid this rogue crossing if you are a long stay tourist. My advice, always, is to husband the visa exempt entries by land for emergencies, unless you know for sure that you will be leaving Thailand soon anyway, and will not need them as a fallback option. (Obviously, if it is already close to the end of a calendar year, there is no problem using the land based visa exempt entries then, as you become entitled to two fresh ones comes January 1st.)

For the 60-day extension, not too much documentation is necessary. However, normally, your wife will need to accompany you. Perhaps, if the immigration official is reasonable, you can combine a doctor's letter with a video call with your wife to satisfy them. Which immigration office are you planning to use?

About 10 years ago, you would have used an income letter from the UK embassy. Since you can no longer provide such a letter, there is obviously an enormous change. It is aggravating, but you will be very lucky if they allow anything other than the official proof of 12 months of monthly transfers.

To be clear, this was for a first passport, not a renewal, correct? That was not true in my own daughter's case, but that was some time ago, and the rules may have changed. Later renewals are as straightforward as for anyone else.

So, you are saying, for the mother to take the children out of Thailand, she needs an authorisation for the foreign father to take the child out of Thailand. This still does not seem logical to me.

That may be true, but it is the first I have heard that UK citizens born in Thailand need exit visas to leave the country.

This argument is going around in circles. Three UK citizens were denied boarding for a flight to the UK (where, with UK passports, they had no need for visas to enter). You stated that the airline was within their right to do so because the passports might be fake. I do not see how there is any greater risk that their passports would be fake than mine. The UK authorities are very careful when it comes to issuing of initial UK passports. For it to be issued in Thailand, this will have included a visit with the children to the UK embassy for an interview.