BritTim

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.

If you have made the 65k+ transfer each month, you should be able to make the change. There are a couple of points to add. First, if the Wise transfer is not to a Bangkok Bank or Kasikorn Bank account (even using the "money for long term stay" reason for the transfer) the money will not show up as a foreign transfer into your account. The money will appear to be a domestic transfer. At most offices, you can just show the record of your Wise transfers, and that the dates match up with the receipts into your account and that will be accepted. At some offices, you may need the credit advice documents from your Thai bank that prove the money originated abroad. Technically, even once you have a new extension of stay (based on money in the bank) having already a few months of 65k+ transfers, you are probably supposed to maintain the 800k in your bank account for three further months. This is to prove it was really your money, and not just a short term loan. For a subsequent extension 12 months later (when you have already made over 12 months of 65k+ transfers) this may be checked. Outside of this, there are as always some rogue offices that may interpret the rules incorrectly, and insist that the 800k/400k baht must remain in your account the whole year if the previous extension was based on money in the bank. For that reason, unless you are using an office that is known to follow the official interpretation, I suggest you clearly explain your plans at the time of your last extension based on money in the bank, and receive their agreement that you will be able to use income in the future.

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).

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

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. 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. That depends on the individual office. They might request it.

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.

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.

You should have no problems. It seems all your planned entries into Thailand will be by air and (as you say) you are clearly a short stay tourist. With travel plans like yours, the only concern would be if you wanted more than two entries through land crossings.

That thread was highly confusing. On the face of it, he received a one-year extension of his permission to stay from a visa exempt entry without the previous necessary Non Immigrant visa. That would be out and out illegal, not just dubious.

Such a scheme would be possible but, as I posted earlier, dubious. They make you a director of a Thai company and provide the documentation for a multiple entry Non B visa as a director of the company. If the scheme gains traction, a crackdown is likely.

There are also ongoing costs. In the past, a Thailand Elite visa worked out cheaper. With recent changes, Thailand Elite is a less attractive option than before.

That is definitely more legit, but also a lot more expensive if actually paying the required four Thai staff. It is never a good solution unless you want to actually run a business here.

It seems dubious. A multiple entry Non B visa is theoretically available for directors of Thai companies to allow them to enter for business meetings etc. I suspect they are utilising that. However, the visa is not intended for long term residence in Thailand. I would personally stay away from it. I could imagine a crackdown similar to that which occurred with dubious volunteer visas/extensions. A crackdown on Chinese using a similar dodge with Non B visas has recently occurred.

Those definitely help. They do not make or break an application. I have this year opened an account without either. It is hard.

That is one point of view. The other is that apps that are promptly updated to address security issues are lower risk than those where security updates only occur months after an exploit is reported. The fact is that all online systems are potentially vulnerable. Apple has tighter controls which (from a security viewpoint) lowers risk. Android is more transparent and addresses critical issues faster once reported.

Where are you located? Travelling to Laos and applying at the embassy in Vientiane or consulate in Savannakhet is not particularly difficult. From some locations, there are visa run companies that do trips to Savannakhet, though I do not really recommend this as it is uncomfortable and typically puts you in long queues at the consulate. Easy for those who are concerned about independent travel, though. If possible, apply at the embassy in Vientiane. You need an appointment (https://www.thaivisavientiane.com/ThaiConsular/). You can fly to Vientiane (a bit expensive, especially if not using Thai Airasia). Alternatives are (i) fly to Udon Thani, travel to the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai and cross to Vientiane; and (ii) just take a bus or train direct to Nong Khai and cross at the Friendship Bridge. If you must arrange to apply in Savannakhet, you take a bus to Mukdahan and cross to Savannakhet from there. Arrange to apply on a Tuesday or Wednesday to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Opening a bank account these days is tricky. Most banks will (at least initially) tell you you can only open a bank account if you have a work permit. The requirements, in fact, are not cast in stone. Using an agent is simplest. If you want to do it yourself, be well groomed, explain that you need the account to deposit a large sum of money for immigration purposes, and will be maintaining a large balance. Then, sweeten the deal by stating that you will buy bank accident insurance (about a 3,000 to 5,000 baht premium) if they will open the account. The insurance is not completely worthless. (The bank employees get a small commission for selling insurance.) This will not always be sufficient, but will sometimes work.

Do not think of trying that (unless you have a Japanese residence permit). The Thai embassy in Tokyo does not accept applications from foreigners.

You specifically identified those applying for multiple entry visas in Savannakhet as an example of abusers of the system, and (by implication) accused consular officials at the Savannakhet consulate as guilty of corruption without any evidence.

The problem is that an application for a Non O (dependant) visa will be rejected unless the spouse already has a long term extension of stay or a Non O-A (long stay) visa. It is a bit of a catch 22 situation.

A nonsense post in all caps has been removed

I had the same problem trying to use a card to pay for my UK passport renewal. Bangkok Bank swore blind that there was no record of any attempted transaction. The charge was denied four times, once when I was actually on the phone with the HMPO (His Majesty's Passport Office). In the end, as transferring the money directly to the British Home Office account from my Thai bank account proved almost impossible (they would only transfer money to personal accounts) I had my brother pay HMPO and transferred money to him to cover it. Very irritating.

A possible alternative: You, one way or another, get a Non O visa based on retirement, while your wife is initially here as a tourist. You get a one-year extension of stay based on retirement. You both travel to Savannakhet and, based on your one-year permission to stay, get a Non O (dependant) visa for your wife. You and your wife are all set to apply for extensions in Thailand. If the money for separate Non O (retirement) visas is inconsequential for you, that is obviously less complicated. To simplify the situation when one of you passes away, you could discuss matters with your local immigration office to see if they will allow you to both apply using the same (joint) bank account with 1,600,000 baht in it. Some offices do allow that.