BritTim

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.

That varies between immigration offices. Some offices can hassle you for all kinds of documentation showing how you support yourself in Thailand.

While US citizens cannot get an income letter, extensions of stay based on retirement are possible with regular monthly transfers to your Thai bank account of 65k+ baht. If you want the initial Non O visa as a US national without depositing 800k baht in a Thai bank account, it is best to get the initial Non O visa in home country.

If that is what the rental agreement specifies, it is all perfectly legal. Fwiiw, it is the most common kind of long term rental agreement in Thailand.

London has been known to offer multiple Non O visas to visit your Thai spouse and also multiple entry Non O as pensioner visas this year. Dealing with the London embassy is a bit of a lottery. I think it depends on the official who gets to process your application whether it goes smoothly. I am pretty sure they will require financial proof, though that is up to the individual embassy.

Creative thinking can greatly reduce your tax liabilities. Many years ago, when I had a regular job with IBM, a friendly tax official in the UK advised me on various deductions I could legally claim. One example was for conservative business attire which was a requirement at the time when working for IBM.

I am not an expert but, especially if the transfer was done when not in Thailand, it might be legal tax avoidance. Presumably, they would not demand income tax on all funds used to purchase Thai products and services while outside Thailand.

You have stated that those applying for multiple entry Non O visas in Savannakhet are "gaming the system" and availing themselves of the "continuing corruption" at the Savannakhet consulate. You appear to do this based on the illogical view that people should only apply for visas at locations that impose the most onerous requirements, and that consulates that are friendlier to applicants are somehow corrupt because they do not exhibit the requisite level of xenophobia. If you have any proof of your "corruption" claims, let's hear them.

If they become really serious about collecting tax from foreigners, it will be done by requiring a tax clearance before leaving Thailand if you have spent more than a specified number of days in Thailand. This was the system about 30 years ago. If staying long term in Thailand, you needed to visit the local tax office where you were interrogated and, once they were satisfied, given a stamp in the last page of your passport allowing you to leave. It was way worse than any of the other bureaucracy I have ever needed to deal with in Thailand (and I was not even living in Thailand then). The system was abolished during the short lived, foreigner friendly, technocrat government led by Anand Panyarachun.

The bureaucracy here is annoying, but Thailand is nowhere near at xenophobic as many other countries.

If you are flying into Sakon Nakhon airport (and some other airports) there are fly-ride options available where the airline provides a van to take people to Mukdahan. These will often drop you are the border on request. Google "fly-ride services to Mukdahan" to find out the details.

The e-visa system does now support multiple entry Non O visas. Whether to provide one depends on the Thai embassy in your home country. Some have acquired them based on Thai spouse, and (from the UK embassy) a multiple entry Non O based on being a pensioner has occasionally been issued again.

Since 2020, there have been no substantive changes. If the money has only recently been transferred when applying for the initial Non O visa at Immigration, you will probably need the credit advice document that shows definitively that the money in the bank originated abroad. Also, while proof of a TM30 notification was often not required in the past, it is now usually important that you have done one. I am not 100% familiar with the situation in Chiang Mai. Someone who uses that office might have something to add.

The credit advice document for the transfer (which your bank can provide) has all the relevant information in one place.

If you do not have a post dated termination letter, and are cancelling your permission to stay on the actual termination date, then the situation is the same as ever. You can apply for an extension, which is denied, and be ordered out of Thailand within the next seven days.

... which is a bit problematic when your embassy does not issue them.

While not true in every case, most wealthy individuals who become long term residents will spend plenty of money here which has a beneficial effect on the economy. I personally think the LTR visa program has been well thought out and implemented (amazingly, without a hint of corruption). It will attract many who would otherwise not consider Thailand as their base.

It is extremely unlikely that anyone from Gaza is in Thailand. Israel has banned virtually all travel in and out of the Gaza concentration camp for the last 15 years. This (combined with the crushing poverty there) is one of the main causes for the current irrational and horrific explosion which Israel has already basically announced will lead to officially endorsed genocide. Netanyahu has announced that anyone deemed to be a Hamas member will be liquidated without trial, and there will be no investigation of human rights abuses. I really hope (but doubt) that Israel will permit the evacuation of non combatants from Gaza before they raze it.

Very short summary: Denied entry: you are held airside at the airport for a short period until the airline that brought you to Thailand removes you. In principle you can travel anywhere. Deportation: you are held in the Immigration Detention Centre until your deportation can be arranged. Any airline or destination country where you plan to go must by international law be informed that you are being deported and can refuse to carry/admit you. In practice, in almost all cases, you are forced back to your home country on your nation's national carrier who are obliged at accept you. The airline may insist on additional on board security, such as an accompanying guard, as a condition of flying you (at your expense).

What is your age? If over 50, you have additional options. Do you want to travel, or would you prefer to spend all your time in Thailand? Where will you be staying? Is that location close to a friendly land crossing?

Unnecessary visit to the immigration office. Hilarious.

I assume you are using a multiple entry visa (Non B or Non O). Your work permit is unaffected by your border bounce.

If you are not employed at the time you apply for the extension based on Thai spouse, use the money in the bank option (400,000 baht) unless you can show continuing sources of income of at least 40,000 baht per month backed up with an income letter from your embassy.

They want to make it easy for those with Thai spouses and children to live here. With single pensioners, they only want fairly affluent individuals.