BritTim

There is a flaw in that logic. A PCR test taken 48 hours in advance is much less likely to reveal a positive test "in the early stages" than an antigen test done on the morning of your departure. (Use a lateral flow test if possible.) In fact, although the PCR test has much higher sensitivity, by the time you would receive a positive PCR test, viral replication is so rapid that it is only a few hours until any decent antigen test would be positive also. By all means, go for a PCR test if using the modern processing methods that can give results in a couple of hours (typically rather expensive) but use a 15 minute antigen test (preferably lateral flow) if the alternative is a PCR test giving results 24 hours or more later.

Historically, I can remember no cases where anyone was denied entry with a re-entry permit. I can recall at least one case of someone coming back with a re-entry permit in conjunction with a Non Ed where they were hassled, claiming they were not really studying, but ultimately allowed back in.

There is no issue with this in principle. It would be polite to inform immigration of your plans so they can cease further work on your application.

I have read posts that indicate Thailand's e-visa system now supports multiple Non O visas. If your nationality permits applications through the e-visa site, it might be worth trying to get a multiple Non O that way. If successful, the visa is now sent to you via email.

Be sure you understand that you are looking for a one-year extension of your permission to stay, not applying for a visa.

As a general rule, the school is correct. If the old school had an agreement with immigration that they would extend the permission to stay without checking attendance records, or if the new school had a very good relationship with immigration, maybe the change of schools could occur. However, usually, extending your permission to stay involves a process between the school and immigration which tracks your adherence to the terms of the (original) course. Even taking a one month break (say for an overseas trip) will tend to be a problem unless you can provide an extremely strong justification.

I understand, and am not trying to attack you. You saw embassy refused X, and Immigration is not allowed to do X, and you considered these contradictory. This is understandable in someone raised in a country where different branches of government largely operate in a coordinated fashion. I was just trying to clarify that third world countries, like Thailand, simply do not operate in ways that match the mental image we develop as citizens of first world countries. Anyway, I hope you see my comments as educational and not condescending. Culture shock is real, and should not reflect badly on those who are victims of it.

Your confusion is probably due to the common misconception that consular staff (part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and immigration officials (a branch of the Royal Thai Police, and thus under the Ministry of the Interior) belong to the same organisation. They are completely separate fiefdoms. One operates exclusively outside Thailand; the other exclusively inside Thailand. Their rules have evolved independently and, mostly, bear no relation to each other, except as influenced occasionally by cabinet decisions.

Right, and also the immigration office the agent used to process the extension.

As I recall, I saw the US$ ATMs in the departure area about five years ago. I have not been through Suvarnabhumi in three years, and would probably not have registered their presence if still there as I would not be looking for them.

There tends to be a lot of confusion between: those wanting retirement extensions; those wanting marriage extensions; those wanting both conversion from a tourist entry and a subsequent retirement extension; and those wanting both conversion from a tourist entry and a subsequent marriage extension. These all have different prices and, of course, there is a huge difference depending on the immigration office that will be used. There will naturally be an extra charge for a re-entry permit if you ask the agent for that also. At some offices, agents can offer prices of 13k or less for a retirement extension. At others, you will be very lucky to get a quote of 40k to process conversion + marriage extension. It is pointless talking about the price an agent charged you without knowing (i) when this was; (ii) which immigration office; and (iii) the service provided.

There were, at one time, a couple of ATM machines airside in the departure area at Suvarnabhumi, but they dispensed US dollars, not Thai baht. I have no idea if they still exist. As far as I know, there are none available for arriving customers before passport control. However, some people have claimed that there are currency exchange booths that will advance cash against credit cards. I have no idea if this is actually true.

If you have any kind of unused visa from a consulate in your passport (or a visa was marked used when you entered) airport immigration made a mistake in only giving you a 30-day permission to stay. It is possible to have this corrected. If you post a copy of the visa here (with personally identifiable information blanked out) we can also confirm what kind of visa you were given, and the correct length of stay you should be given.

At some bank branches, offering to buy a cheap accident insurance policy (not worthless if you use motorcycles) if they will allow you to open an account will do the trick. The staff get a small commission for selling you the policy. If you know a prominent local Thai who has an account at the bank, and is willing to act as a reference, that can also help a lot.

KOP is the airport code for Nakhon Phanom.

My recollection is that Bangkok Bank will issue out of province letters. To be safe, go into your branch with a sample of the required letter and verify that they can do one for you.

Assuming you have not used it since the last entry using the Multiple Entry Non O visa, you are entitled to a one-time 60-day extension to visit your Thai spouse. This is very easy, requiring no financial proof.

This puzzles me. Why did you switch to an extension of stay based on working at all? Why do you think you need an agent to switch back to an extension based on marriage (assuming that is what you want to do)? Assuming you have the termination letter from your employer, it should be possible to do the cancellation of the extension based on working and application for the new extension based on Thai spouse on the same day. I have no doubt an agent can do it, but they will probably charge you a lot, and their help should be unnecessary.

If you had a special tourist visa followed by a Covid extension, this implies that you have been the best part of a year in Thailand. While I do not know the current policy at the Phnom Penh embassy, historically, they have been sticky about giving tourist visas to those who have been a long time recently in Thailand as tourists. I hope all goes OK for you. As far as getting a bank letter out of province, I think that varies from bank to bank. Which bank did you use for your Hua Hin account?

That is a new one, and seems like complete BS. If you are currently here on a tourist entry (TR visa or standard visa exempt) there are various Non Immigrant visas you can apply for an Immigration. In no case is an embassy letter the only way of qualifying for them. If you are already on a Non Immigrant entry, there are many possible extensions you may qualify for, as listed in https://aseannow.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=804079. Again, an embassy letter is never a 100% requirement, though it can be useful as proof of income. Only if you are in Thailand on a Special Tourist Visa, Visa On Arrival, Transit Visa or pursuant to some bilateral agreements, could an embassy letter be 100% required as part of an application at an immigration office for a new visa or extension.

My impression is that Tanya (Bangkok Buddy) is very disorganised with the company lacking proper administrative systems. She does have very good contacts. Some people have good experiences, some bad. There is no doubt (I think due to the disorganisation) that Tanya seems to spend most of her time fire fighting problems. I am guessing that using her would be OK when she is not busy, but better to avoid when she has a lot of customers. If you do use Tanya, micromanage the process, ensuring you know exactly what is happening at every stage, and can react immediately if things seem to be going off the rails.

If you can afford it, consider a Thailand Elite visa. In theory, a Non O to visit your non Thai husband ought to be possible, followed by one-year extensions of stay to be with him. Your best chance of getting this visa will be from home country.

That could be a very interesting journey, but it goes via China. Good luck at the current time getting a visa for China if you are not a Chinese citizen.

Your comments are absolutely fine. One big problem is sorting out the exact starting point when evaluating your options. There are options only available if you are on a regular tourist entry (TR visa or visa exempt). There are very limited options if on a visa-on-arrival or Special Tourist Visa. There are restrictions depending on how long you have already been in Thailand. There can be complications aside from this, notably the exception taken to many higher ups in Immigration to the shady volunteer visas offered in 2020. Most people here are trying to help, but there is a lot of ignorance present. Also, individual immigration offices can be more or less friendly towards those trying to extend their stays. It does not help when people refer to "extensions of permission to stay" as "visas" and vice versa. Anyway, good luck in finding a solution that is appropriate to your situation.

Even China is being wary about being seen to circumvent US sanctions against Russia's financial system (though, UnionPay is operating for the moment). I doubt Thailand would take the risk.