BritTim

I assume you are aware that there is no legal requirement for Covid insurance other than for 30 days on entry into Thailand. Thus, if arriving before September 3rd, you do not need a new policy to get a Thailand Pass. Since any additional insurance you choose to acquire is not subject to any oversight, you have nothing to worry about.

I am not sure what the true story was here, but an immigration official at the border has no ability to "cancel" a visa. If it was a single entry visa, it may have been previously used, in which case he can stamp it "used" but not "cancelled". More likely, the Phnom Penh embassy did what was fairly common in 2019. They would decide to deny the application for a tourist visa, but place the visa in your passport before stamping it cancelled. This allows them to collect the visa application fee without them being suspected of corruption (just pocketing the money). Often people will collect their passports without looking at the visa they believe they have received.

50 years ago, I was a hippy, and I am not judgmental when it comes to people's appearance (though a bad attitude or manners will bias me against them). I do believe it is an ignorant way to present yourself when needing approval from an official in conservative Asia. When an official does not like the way you look, they will still stamp you in if they cannot find a legitimate justification to deny entry. What they will not do is cut you any slack.

The horror stories when you possess a visa are real but rare. Officials at both Bangkok airports have been known to ignore immigration law, and award themselves discretion (not given to them by Thai law) to deny entry to those holding valid visas. If you can arrive in Chiang Mai, that would be safest. If not, be well groomed and polite. Problems, while possible, are unlikely.

With a tourist visa, you should definitely be OK if you fly into Chiang Mai. If you clear immigration in Bangkok, you will probably also be OK, but there have been occasional stories of unjustified denied entry in Bangkok, even when you have a visa.

This is not a criticism, just a statement of fact. Some (not all) immigration officials are very judgmental when it comes to grooming and dress. They can even conclude that you are disrespectful. If you do not fit their image of a "quality" foreigner, they will often be very strict in applying regulations. I recommend that you be aware of this.

I find this a bit surprising also, though check in staff can often see on their system that someone does, indeed, have a return/onward flight booking.

You can get a re-entry permit to keep the 90-day permission to stay intact when you make a trip outside Thailand. However, be aware that you do not get the Non O visa which immediately becomes a 90-day permission to stay when you apply. The visa application is taken under consideration, and you receive the 90-day Non Immigrant permission to stay about a month later. I would suggest you defer your trip (and applying for the necessary re-entry permit) until you have the final stamps. If really necessary, it is possible to do the trip during the under consideration period.

There are at least seven completely different testing methods for syphilis. Those that are easiest and cheapest (notably VDRL) are not specific to syphilis, and other conditions (notably a recent Covid-19 vaccination) can result in a false positive. If one of the treponemal (specific to syphilis) tests, such as TPPA is positive, especially if over six months since completion of treatment, then it is likely that latent syphilis is still present.

I will just say that understanding "for your case" becomes a lot easier if you try to grasp the basics before applying it to a specific situation. Jumping into the rules for a specific visa or extension is similar to jumping into the middle of a mystery novel and reading a random 10 pages. You will rarely be able to understand the whole plot, but you will also likely have a flawed understanding of the context of those 10 pages.

Historically (and still possibly at some embassies/consulates) there was also the multiple entry Non O (retirement). This was particularly useful for those from the UK with state pensions as there were no financial requirements other than having any state pension.

I cannot say for sure what the requirements for a Non O (over age 50) are in Hanoi. The only information on the embassy website I can find is on this page: https://rtehanoi.thaiembassy.org/th/publicservice/26646-issuance-of-visa?page=5d7de15d15e39c3484001bb9&menu=5d7de15d15e39c3484001bba. The page suggests that a Non O for retirement is possible but (unlike for Non B) there is no page giving the requirements. Bear in mind that you could enter visa exempt or with a tourist visa and apply for the Non O visa at immigration instead.

I think what makes Thailand's visa and immigration rules difficult to understand for outsiders is that the system is atypical. I have lived and worked in many countries, and everywhere I have been except Thailand you have a visa that allows you to enter and stay in the country, with the visa dictating the conditions of your stay (often also being your work permit). This is pretty simple, and the dictionary definition for "visa" in US (and similar) dictionaries reflects that typical situation. In understanding Thailand's system, you need to get away from the idea of all encompassing visas. There is a clear distinction between a visa and a permission to stay. You simply cannot understand the rules until you internalise this distinction.

You laughed at someone correcting you, but let me try to explain why they were right. You cannot by any mechanism prevent a visa being cancelled. If a single entry visa is used, or a multiple entry visa has expired, then you cannot use it to enter Thailand. If a visa is still valid, you need no extra stamps in your passport to be able to use it. A re-entry permit essentially converts an existing permission to stay into something very similar to a visa. Like a visa, it allows you to enter the country with the permission to stay it protects still being intact as though you had never left. Again like a visa, it can be either single or multiple entry. The term "re-entry permit" is extremely descriptive of what it is.

The consensus seems to be that 30 days is sufficient. I have never seen an official announcement to this effect, but nobody seems to have a problem with 30 days of Covid insurance.`

Sigh! You are not in Thailand on a visa. You have a permission to stay. During the first 90 days after you enter using a Non Immigrant visa, you are on a Non Immigrant permission to stay linked to the reason for your original visa application (working, retirement, staying with spouse etc.) Near the end of your permitted period of stay, you can apply to extend your permission to stay based on an appropriate reason, and providing the necessary documentation. This can be different from the original basis of your permission to stay if you can provide the necessary documents. You cannot apply for a new visa at Immigration in Thailand if you are already on a Non Immigrant permission to stay. You can do so if currently on a permission to stay as a tourist (i.e. you entered Thailand with a tourist visa or with a visa exemption). If you are in Thailand on a permission to stay based on retirement, you cannot change this to a permission to stay based on working, whether your permission to stay is during the first 90 days (where the reason is set from the visa) or as a result of an extension granted (for an appropriate reason) at Immigration.

That is generally correct, with one exception. There is a catch 22 that prevents changing from a permission to stay based on retirement to a permission to stay based on working. (Working to retirement is doable.) The problem is that an extension based on working requires a work permit, and you cannot get a work permit while on a retirement permission to stay. [As others have pointed out, people need to stop thinking about visas when looking at reasons for extension of permissions to stay.]

I agree that, in this case, it is possible to be reasonably sure from context what was meant (assuming the OP had not made less likely errors in describing what he was looking for). That is why I wrote ... and later ... Your previous post was implying that terminology was irrelevant, and someone (not me) pointing out the difference to people was pointless. My reply was trying to explain why (although I had not previously mentioned it myself in the thread) people should try to be clear in their enquiries to avoid confusion, and to make the thread potentially useful to others who might have similar or different questions. You can take the view that calling every stamp and sticker in your passport a "visa" is fine, because we can usually figure out the most likely meaning from the context. That is fine. You are free to continue believing that. However, I disagree, and will not apologise for explaining why.

For a one-year extension of permission to stay, it is not necessary to show the funds are transferred from abroad. For an application for a Non O based on Thai wife, it may be necessary. For a Non O based on Thai child, it ought not to be necessary, but some immigration offices might well insist it is required.

Depending on the full context, it is sometimes not difficult, but impossible. The question can be either about application for a Non O visa at Immigration, or about application for a one-year extension of permission to stay. It is often possible to distinguish things like "visa on arrival" from "visa exempt", and recognise people talking of "exit visas" mean re-entry permits. However, there can often be real confusion when the correct terms are not used. Also, it can be useful when Google searches can be used to look for people with similar issues. For all the technical prowess of Alphabet, a search engine is not going to be able to figure things like this out to deliver relevant search results.

To me, that would be about as clear as a typical text message from a Martian if I did not already know a lot about Thai immigration. However, I guess your typical foreign tourist is a lot smarter than I am.

Amazing. Immigration have actually chosen a location that is relatively easy to get to. Not for the first time, the wording of the announcement is horrible. You need to know what "Counter K" is referring to if you want to have any hope of understanding what they are saying.

Leaving aside flight issues, you lack a good understanding of visas and permissions to stay. You can enter Thailand with a Non O visa, tourist visa or (depending on nationality) visa exempt. You will receive, respectively, 90 days, 60 days or 30 days as an initial permission to stay. If desired, you can (one time) apply for a 60-day extension of your permission to stay very easily to visit your Thai wife. If you enter with a tourist visa or visa exempt, you can apply for a Non O visa at Immigration in Thailand. This will give you a fresh 90-day permission to stay as of the date your visa application is accepted. Once you are on a Non Immigrant permission to stay (the Non O visa being the most common mechanism for getting one) you can then apply for a one-year extension of your permission to stay to live with your Thai wife. This has some requirements that need to be met, such as some financial proof and documentation showing your marriage is genuine.

As stated above, if the account has a couple of thousand baht in it, it will stay open, although inactive, for a long time. If the balance is zero (or close to zero) it will soon be closed, and there is no such thing as reactivating. You will be opening a new account from scratch. If you are confident the account is still open at the current time, but low on funds, I suggest you make a small transfer into the account to ensure it does not get closed.

Indeed! Thailand has, for many years, been able to handle yellow fever vaccination requirements (from places where yellow fever is still endemic) without a complex administrative nightmare. Why should Covid-19 vaccination prove so different?