BritTim

5 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Can it not backlash when comming back later ?

Previous experience suggests not. As ever, history is not a complete prediction of the future, but the worst that could happen is not very bad.

5 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

As for a new bank account, with the new tax laws your country and Thailand will know as soon as it's opened.

I do not think Thai banks have any obligation to notify foreign governments about the opening of new bank accounts. The Thai authorities will, presumably, receive some kind of report which it probably never looks at again 99.9% of the time.

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

No.

This has been announced in the local press (but not allowed to link to the source due to forum rules).

Never in history has a press report been anything other than 100% accurate, right? Also, Thai Immigration officials are renowned for their consistency, and never changing their minds?

With the official rules still being those announced in 2020, there is no certainty that Jomtien will always apply their own local regulations.

On 10/2/2023 at 7:50 AM, bamboozled said:

I found this: https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714

 

It doesn't actually say spouse has to be with you, strangely.

 

 

Although the attendance of the wife may not be explicitly listed, you are very unlikely to get the extension if your wife is not present.

51 minutes ago, lookingfornofixbeingthefix said:

I see, ..i'm going to Ranong, touch wood.

As long as you do not already have two visa exemptions entering by land in 2023, an in/out at Ranong should be fine.

Make sure you understand that the re-entry permit simply prevents your existing permission to stay from being cancelled. It does not add time. If your current permission to stay ends December 19, on your return, the permission to stay will still end December 19.

As others have suggested, a border bounce is the usual solution. Where are you located? If planning to leave and come back immediately, it is dodgy to do this by air. At some land crossings, they will want you to remain out of Thailand for a night or two. Sometimes, a present to the officials can override this requirement.

Although it does not give you 30 days, if you just want a few more days and then really do intend to leave, you can request a new extension (denied) and will be given seven days to leave the country.

5 minutes ago, thailand49 said:

Didn't double check spell checker show up as Sacramento for whatever reason 

If you have difficulty with the English language, I suggest you translate your English posts into your native language (to see if they are comprehensible) before you send them. We do not expect perfection, but the whole post in question (not just Sacramento) is extremely confusing. 

An off topic post, and a reply to it, have been removed.

11 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Currently doing retirement extension using the monthly income method and still bringing money in monthly.  Have had over 800,000 in the bank for the last three months and wish to switch to money in the bank method next month in HH. 

Is this possible for the upcoming November extension or must I wait till next year?

Make the switch this year, but explain your plan to the immigration officials. If they want to claim any local rules, they should do so then, not in a year's time.

8 hours ago, WebGuy said:

After some research here I am back folks with another sub-question regarding this topic. By the way, I was in Changwatana immigration office by there is still one doubt I have.

 

As stated earlier, my WP will be cancelled on 31st October by my employer and therefore my non-immigrant B visa will also be cancelled at the same day by default (if I understand correctly).

 

My new employer will be able to have all the WP documents ready by beginning of November and I will apply for a non-immigrant O visa (based on marriage) in Laos.

 

What I am thinking about now is to be a bit proactive and go to Laos and apply for non-immigrant O visa before my WP gets cancelled which will happen on 31st October.

 

I am thinking to do the following:

1. Go to Laos on 24th October and apply for non-immigrant O visa

2. Come back to Thailand and have the non-immigrant O visa in my passport 

3. At the beginning of November I am ready to apply for WP in Nonthaburi

 

However, I have a following doubt. Once I leave Thailand for Laos on 24th October without a re-entry stamp, my non-immigrant B visa will be cancelled by default but my WP will still be valid. Is there a chance that Thai immigration in Laos will see that my WP is still active and reject my application for non-immigrant O visa so I will have to wait until my current employer cancells my WP on 31st October anyway?

 

Thank you folks again.

The danger is that Immigration in Mukdahan or Nong Khai will block your departure with an active extension of stay based on working and no re-entry permit. They probably will.

12 hours ago, Pouatchee said:

i dont agree. except for immi and police of course. wen i hav a temper tantrum i demand to see the manager. sometimes it works other times it doesnt. these urban legends of thai culture and manners mean diddlee squat. 20 years ago i listened to this gibberish of can and cant do's in thailand. damn i wish i had known better!  still here and still enjoying myself

I am glad you have never suffered the worst possible consequences from an angry exchange with a Thai. I have seen people hospitalised as a result of a wolf gang attack by (for instance) a motorcycle gang "avenging" their wronged friend. It does not often get that bad, but it can. I once saw a 45 kg bargirl leave a big young male customer concussed by hitting him as hard as she could with the butt end of a pool cue as soon as his back was turned.

26 minutes ago, likerdup1 said:

I was talking to another expat friend, she might confusing something but mentioned a criminal check? I don't see anything about this mentioned in the requirements. And nobody had mentioned it so far on this thread. Is  maybe this is only for Non OA? I think she is confusing the Non O-A with the Non O.. Non O-A looks to require it.. but just checking.. by now you guys now I'm ultra detail oriented about this stuff... I want to make one visit to CW for the Non O retirement

 

There is no requirement for a criminal records check when applying for a Non O visa (whatever the category).

6 hours ago, chris carre said:

Getting angry in Thailand is counter productive.it will get you nowere just laughted at 

Getting angry in Thailand is a high risk strategy with unpredictable consequences. If they start smiling or laughing, it is a bad sign, and may presage an unpleasant aftermath, worse than simple obstructionism. On the other hand, most Thais are conflict averse, and may be inclined to defuse the situation by giving you what you want. I do not recommend it, but making a scene can work sometimes.

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

Correct, if you live in another country it would be evidence of the right to live there. However the local embassy can exercise discretion and London certainly has accepted documents indicating a physical address.

 

The question is in 2 sentences and the word "current" in the second sentence refers to "consular jurisdiction and residency" in the first.

"Applicant must apply for e-Visa via specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. Applicant is required to
upload document that can verify his/her current residency."

 

The Hong Kong website has notes on application completion and they refer to it as "legal residence".

"Confirmation of legal residence, in the context of the Hong Kong SAR, generally refers to (a) Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card (“A” HKID); (b) Hong Kong Identity Card indicating right to land (“R” HKID) or unconditional stay permit (“U” HKID); or (c) valid stay permit issued by Hong Kong Immigration (for “C” HKID holders).

• https://hongkong.thaiembassy.org/en/page/visa-info

I believe the intent of the second question is to prove that those without citizenship are eligible to apply for a visa at that embassy/consulate (the same as when previously making applications in person). If currently having residence in the country was a requirement for making an application, the question about citizenship would be superfluous. There is a requirement that you be physically in the country at the time of your application, but that is a separate matter.

3 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

A retiree here is a consistent spender over time but at a low level of spend, a tourist is a far higher level of spend over a shorter period. Average length of tourist stay in Thailand is about 12 days but the average spend is around Baht 5,500 per day.......long term residents spend closer to 60/70k per month, not 170k per month. 60/70k per month income will attract on average, Thai tax of under 8k per year, assuming only few deductions, for me personally it attracts no tax.

 

If you take the longer term economic view, the retiree is the better economic bet because of consistency and duration. But in truth, the economy needs blend of both, long term and short duration foreigners. I challenged your statement that a reduction of stay to under 180 days per year would crater the Thai economy and I continue to be certain it will not, for the reasons described above. You have now asked why 90 day VOA should be offered. I think the answer is that it attempts to extend the stay of the short duration, higher spending tourists which is what the tourism industry needs right now, in order to kick start the economy.

In general, I agree with your analysis. However, it may have some localised impacts that have a knock-on effect to the economy in general. As an example, if 25% of the retirees in some areas (where they are a substantial proportion of property owners) decided over a short period to sell up and leave, this could seriously affect the local economy, especially the property market. Those leaving would likely be those with higher than average net worth who, in addition, might be removing children from international schools.

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

The French and IT are an equally deadly combination IMHO - in their infinite wisdom they decided to take their Bangkok Embassy website down for supposed "maintenance" all day on Saturday at precisely the time I needed to download info from it in connection with a Schengen visa application for my Thai wife! ????

That is irritating, but much less bad than a hacked website. In this kind of situation, note that you can usually access a fairly recent version of the website using https://archive.org.

33 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

so.. thai immigration doesnt issue it.. ok

they dont let your embassy know? OR when 10000s people go to the embassy and tell them what the IO told them and they dont act?

i think thats more problematic.

Since, officially, immigration offices are supposed to issue residence certificates (and most do) it is a bit difficult to insist that your embassy provide them because of a few rogue offices. That said, regardless of whether immigration offers them, it is hard to understand why, for instance, the British embassy that used to provide them discontinued that service (except that they have, generally, terminated most of their support for British nationals in Thailand, and are being consistent).

4 hours ago, timoti said:

Isn't the cheapest elite four 5 years is 1M now? I think it's a huge difference.

Indeed! 1,000,000 baht for five years instead of 20 years.

4 hours ago, timoti said:

What happened to those people? Their visa become invalid or they couldn't get any other visa afterwards?

Some in Immigration decided to give them a hard time later. They did not do anything that was technically illegal, but they were playing games in a way that could cause problems for genuine volunteers doing charity work. Immigration at some offices and entry points took the opportunity to obstruct their future entries or extensions.

An abusive post and a response to it have been removed.

1. 1. It would be better if she was there. For the initial application (and for future extensions) it is an absolute requirement. To get the stamps at the end of the "under consideration" period, some offices would probably be OK with her absence, but I would not rely on that.
   
   Those wanting to minimise their wife's attendance at Immigration would be better off getting the initial Non O visa at an embassy/consulate outside Thailand where just a letter from your wife asking them to issue the visa is sufficient.
    
2. That depends on the individual office. They might request it.

24 minutes ago, zenobit said:

Am I just mistaken, or do the posts by “Red Phoenix”, “bamnutsak” and “Liquorice” — in which individual paragraphs are discussed in detail — not come to the same conclusion regarding a logical implementation of the TM 30 rules?

 

I would definitely be lying if I said that the topic of TM 30 was explained in a simple, understandable way and that I now know what to do. The opposite is actually the case: I feel more confused about the topic than before and have not the slightest idea whether I am even affected by the regulation and whether, after more than 10 years, I will suddenly face a problem when I next extend my visa will or not.

I feel your pain. It is a fact that Immigration at many offices has become much more serious recently about TM30 notifications. Short of local knowledge, it would probably be prudent for you to make a new TM30 notification now out of an abundance of caution.

49 minutes ago, K2938 said:

What is meant with "line Minister", please?

That is a good question. The BOI operates directly under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office. I assume it means that the person supervising the BOI from the PM's office is one of the Deputy PMs.