BritTim

4 hours ago, leeedwards said:

Just one more question,  does anyone remember the name of the hotel that does the shuttle bus from Sakhon Nakhon to the Savannakhet border?

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.

2 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Last time I looked no E Visa locations offer Multi Non O's - just single entries and they only provide any type of Thai visa to citizens of that country or those with a legal right of residence.  It seems that the days of the Multi Non O are numbered.

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.

41 minutes ago, Des1 said:

The exact wording on the information sheet: "Evidence of foreign currency fund transferred to Thailand." Bangkok Bank at CW understood that I needed the actual transaction record from their system. If you did the full 800,000bt in one transaction then it will be one sheet. Just showing them the foreign transfer code in your bank book will not be accepted. So you will need two documents from the bank 1/ Deposit Certificate from the bank confirming your account name and balance. It must be in Thai language, Attention: Immigration Officer 2/ The actual foreign currency transaction from your bank. And yes, they want copies of all pages of your bank book including your name on the first page.

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

1 hour ago, problemfarang said:

normally your last day in thailand is the date written on the termination letter. im not sure if its still possible to ask IO to get 7 days and pay 1900 for that or not. If not you aill have 24 hours to leave the country. 24+1 is 500 baht per day.

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.

1 hour ago, problemfarang said:

you need to get it from your embassy.

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

15 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Or maybe their home in Gaza has been bombed?

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.

3 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Thank you for a reasoned argument - unlike out keyboard name callers.

 

I must disagree though - in real life terms.  I fully understand in legal and technical terms, there is a world of difference but its mainly just in status.

 

For the purposes of the OP's original question and my earlier posts in relation to it, I don't see any difference in terms of what actually happens on the day.

 

I accept that I wrongly thought you were taken to IDC if denied entry but wished to appeal but in terms of the OP's question, there's no difference. If he was denied entry he'd be sent out. If he wished to appeal he'd be detained and if he lost his appeal - he'd be sent out.

 

I do fully understand the difference between denial and deportation - legal and technical. 

 

Someone who has been deported could possibly be more sure of their next entry than someone who has been denied entry. With a deportation, its usually a punishment or part of one and you are usually given a time period after which you will be able to enter on normal terms.

 

Someone who has been denied entry - and when we are talking about Thailand, that's usually because of their entry history, has no idea whether or not they will have problems on their next attempt.

 

But in either case - your entire entry/departure history is available to the I.O. when you attempt and entry and it will be scrutinised at the time.

 

I've seen the amount of notes Thai immigration have on their screens when you hand them your passport ('I had plenty of time to do so whilst the I.O. was on the phone to my wife) so I'm pretty sure that a denial of entry is flagged up - just as a deportation would be.  They actually have a field that tells them the amount of entries in the last 12 months so all this flicking through your passport pages that the I.O.s love to do before telling you you've "come too mut" is just for show.  When I saw the screem I was amazed to see all my old passports - including two that I'd held at the same time.  This was before biometrics but they'd managed to link the two.

 

So just to set the record straight:

 

OP, I apologise for making incorrect statements. If you are denied entry you will be held airside at the airport whilst you either appeal or accept the denial and arrangements are made to send you out of the country.

 

I would just add that if you decide to appeal, it is vitally important that you refuse to sign anything the I.O. puts in front of you.

 

I'm not 100% sure but I seem to remember that people have stated they are presented with a document, written in Thai that basically states you accept you have not met the entry conditions. Make sure you have 20k baht or the equivalent in another widely used currency with you - not just available in your bank account.

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?

7 hours ago, Yeah rightio said:

Report from October 5th denied!! Printout of submission taken to office.... All good.

Seems there's a data entry requirement by IO staff and they'd put a space in passport number.

Laughs all around..... slip provided.

Unnecessary visit to the immigration office. Hilarious.

2 hours ago, WebGuy said:

Thank you very much. 

 

I have had the WP for the last 5 years. Does it cover the financial requirements for applying for non-immigrant O based on marriage with my Thai wife and not leaving the country? 

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.

3 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

I find the 40k/65k requirements strange. So a single person needs 65k to live on but a family of at least 2 people only needs 40k. No requirement for the spouse or any other family members earning money.

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.

3 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

USA, England, Australia and Denmark, if I am up to date, have not issued these letters for some years.

I believe that while Denmark stopped issuing them for a while, they soon resumed providing that service. Any Dane here want to confirm?

1 hour ago, JS82 said:

 

Any PR holder have the experience to help family members(I mean parents here) to apply for Non-O visa? Does it have to be extended every year or it can be the same validity as long as i have the PR? 

Is there any website or documents containing relevant information that I can refer to ?

Thank you in advance.

There should not be a problem with a dependant visa and extension for one parent. They will probably not allow multiple dependants. The Non O visa as a dependant will have to be applied for at an embassy/consulate outside Thailand. The extension (at an immigration office in Thailand)  will need to be done annually, but should be relatively painless.

2 hours ago, NicoBKK said:

you need to leave by midnight of the day the WP is returned, but can extend 7 weeks directly while at Immigration to prepare your flight

I assume you meant seven days. Technically, you do not get a seven day extension. You are denied an extension, and given seven days to leave the country. Although it becomes imperative to follow that order, this does give you a few days grace. If you ensure your termination letter from your employer is post dated, you can avoid the need for this.

10 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

A day is based on where you are at midnight, that's the UK Revenue definition.

That makes sense and, of course, differs from Thai Immigration's definition. I have no idea what the Thai tax authorities use.

11 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

As I told you before - that's just semantics. Obviously you don't understand what that means - Google it.

I am in sympathy with much of what you wrote, but the difference between deportation and denial of entry is absolutely huge. To a large degree the differences are enshrined in international law, though the details (especially on deportation) can vary a bit from country to country.

What you should agree with your employer is that the official end of your employment in the termination letter be a few days after you finish working for them. With such a termination letter, Immigration will modify your existing permission to stay accordingly. You can leave the work permit with your employer, and just ensure the extension of stay based on working is properly terminated.

12 hours ago, jayboy said:

I wonder who is going to police this.Consider the example of a resident 180 day+ foreign pensioner has never submitted a Thai tax return but in future intends to use a foreign credit card to cover as many Thai expenses as he can, eg hotels, big ticket purchases, ATM cash etc. His objective is to reduce remittances from overseas through the banking system to a minimum just in case he is required to pay Thai income tax.

 

But how exactly will he be compelled to submit a Thai tax return and join the Thai income tax net? Is it voluntary - if so not many takers. I don't see how this will work.

Worst case, and I actually do not think it will happen, we could go back to the system that existed decades ago where you needed a tax clearance to leave the country after spending more than a certain number of days here during the calendar year. That involved an interrogation at the tax office and was worse than any of the bureaucracy we must endure here now. The tax clearance was abolished during the short technocrat government of Anand Panyarachun about 30 years ago.

4 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

That is very true, I got them back together before, but over 30,000Bt????

Once you enter visa exempt, the previous permission to stay that was protected by the re-entry permit is history, and there is nothing Immigration can do about it. Applying for a new Non O visa at Immigration followed by the initial one-year permission to stay is costly if you ask an agent to do it rather than doing it yourself.

Yes, if you are on a Non O visa (Thai spouse) or an extension of stay based on marriage, you are allowed to work and can get a work permit once you find a job.

7 hours ago, likerdup1 said:

This is the kind of information I'm talking about. In my humble opinion what  you've just written could be organized and all put in a post and pinned along with all the common demoninators . As much info as possible including differences in requirements between offices and "rogue" offices etc.

In practice, 5,000 word posts are never read properly.

I could point you at the partially correct page provided by the Immigration Bureau (https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf) with just warnings (i) that it is not 100% correct as to the standard requirements; and (ii) not all offices follow the standard requirements.

Knowing that you were applying at CW, and had applied for a visa at Immigration before, we were able to tell you that the documents you used in the past should be used together with proof that the TM30 notification had been done, and the credit advice document associated with the funds transfer. Unlike at most offices, CW does not require a long term rental agreement.

I appreciate that some of the replies were unhelpful, but the paragraph above (repeating what I posted earlier) should succinctly provide you with what you need. A 5,000 word post dealing with the requirements for all 75 immigration offices that would soon be out of date would not be more helpful.

41 minutes ago, Foek said:

Visa and extension of stay will be transferred by Immigration to your friends new passport.

Best he goes to Immigration and be 100% sure.

Any visa (assuming it was issued at an embassy/consulate outside Thailand) will not be transferred. To use it, it is necessary to travel with both passports until the expiry of the visa.