BritTim

As against that, some passengers might feel reassured knowing that everyone on the flight was vaccinated, thus giving an airline with a vaccine mandate a commercial advantage.

It may well be that the agent is making a fraudulent application, but the basic idea of using a third party is to provide both you and the immigration officials with plausible deniability. Your position is that you used an agent and assumed everything was done correctly. I will not say your risk is absolutely zero, but it is extremely low. Greasing the wheels of bureaucracy in this way is just part of the system here.

How old are you? If you are over 50, and have the money to deposit in a Thai bank, staying as a retiree for as long as you like is pretty easy. If under 50 (and presumably with no Thai spouse or child) it is a bit harder. Some schools can probably get you a Non Ed visa within Thailand and appropriate extensions (for a price). Then there are agents who will always find a way, albeit a bit dodgy ...

Did your wife need to attend Immigration with you?

18k baht for a marriage extension is the cheapest I have heard of. Some are charged that much for retirement extensions which are far easier. You are very lucky. If you want to tell me via PM where the extension was actually processed I would be seriously interested.

I suppose a 15-day visa on arrival might just make sense if visiting one of the sandboxes, though wild horses would not induce me to do so.

As @ubonjoe advised, an agent assisted extension based on marriage (without financial proof) is possible. However, it is much more expensive than a retirement extension. This is because the extension requires sign off at the Immigration Division headquarters as well as the cooperation of local immigration. The cost used to be about double, but @ubonjoe suggests that it could now be even more.

That depends on how long you have been in Thailand. At most immigration offices, they appreciate that it is unreasonable that you be required to show 12 months of monthly transfers if you have only been in Thailand a couple of months. EDIT: If you can use the money in the bank option, it is clearer. For a first extension you will only be required to have the money in the bank for two months if using money in the bank.

The above is correct if you are on an extension of your permission to stay (based on retirement) and you originally entered Thailand on a Non O-A visa (not a Non O) from the embassy in your home country. I include this qualification because many do not know the different between a Non O-A (always issued in home country) and a Non O, available worldwide and even from Immigration inside Thailand. Ignore the above if you have a full understanding of this already.

A visa exempt entry will currently give you an initial 45-day permission to stay. Then, yes, you can apply for a "conversion" Non O visa at Immigration in Thailand and go from there.

Be aware that a Non O visa for retirement requires 400k/40k baht general health insurance, as well as the US$100,000 Covid insurance covering 90 days for the COE. A better option might be to enter Thailand visa exempt (45 days) requiring no general health insurance, and Covid insurance for only 45 days. You can apply for a Non O visa with the intention of retirement extension from within Thailand without the need for health insurance.

I think the correct answer is simple, but not the one you have given. If on a Non Immigrant entry, the rules do not permit converting to a Thailand Elite visa at Immigration in Thailand. You are obliged to exit and re-enter Thailand to get it done. [Note that it is possible to get it done in country if here on a tourist entry.]

Obviously, if you do not qualify for visa exempt entry, you will need a visa. Apart from this, you always need a Certificate of Entry (COE). You should contact the Thai embassy in the country you will depart from to come to Thailand as the requirements can be slightly different depending on your departure point. However, these requirements for a COE as described by the London Embassy are fairly typical: https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/application-for-certificate-of-entry-to-thailand-for-non-thai-nationa?. Main requirements: Confirmed reservation at an ASQ hotel (strict quarantine, mostly or wholly restricted to your room with no ability to leave even in other areas of the hotel) Confirmed flight to Thailand. A minimum of US$100,000 of insurance that covers any potential treatment for Covid-19. In addition, once you have the COE (sent to you via email) you needed to arrange an RT-PCR test for Covid-19 within 72 hours of your departure for Thailand. This is checked at your departure airport as well as on arrival in Bangkok.

What is the name of the hospital? Which vaccine are they offering for 3,600 baht for two shots. This seems similar to the price for the Moderna shots that can be ordered from a number of hospitals, but will not be delivered until October at the earliest (and realistically between December and March).

Source? There were a limited number of Sinopharm vaccines available for 888 baht each, but I think they are oversubscribed. You can also pay for future Moderna shots that will probably be available for those who paid early starting around November/December. Between May and a few days ago, I have contacted a number of major private hospitals in Bangkok and Chonburi, asking to be informed as soon as they can offer any vaccine to foreigners who are willing to pay.

I assume you are either not currently living in Thailand (thus unaware of the realities) or suggesting options that will be available in about six months time.

There has been a Bangkok option for a long time. It is unattractive for many because of the required 14-day quarantine.

The right people have never been paid to have the rules changed so Thailand Elite visas can be offered to those on Non Immigrant entries without leaving and re-entering Thailand. Is this stupid? Yes. Unfortunately, it is the reality.

To apply for permanent residency, as I understand it: If you are married to a Thai, you need three consecutive years of working and paying taxes. [In that case, however, you are better off going directly for Thai citizenship.] Unless married to a Thai, you need five consecutive years of working and paying taxes. In either case, I believe you need to be working at the time you make the application.

There is no likelihood of an overstay when you apply 44 days early and are asked to come back shortly before expiry of your permission to stay. Mainly, there is just the aggravation of a wasted trip to and from Immigration, plus the wasted hours spent there. It is true that applying early, and having the application accepted (whether using the services of an agent or not) provides a measure of reassurance.

If you can get the necessary documentation with your employer's assistance, it should be possible to apply for a work permit and an extension of your permission to stay based on working. It may be difficult to get it done in time, however, and your immigration office may be obstructive. There may also be a legitimate reason to deny an extension based on working if your income is not high enough (the required amount depends on nationality).

Senior officials often have meetings. An afternoon meeting explains the initial delay of hours. The official wanting to leave after the meeting would explain your subsequent rejection. Keep proof of your appointment and (if any) proof you tried to keep it but were rejected. It may help you get priority on September 24th.

If the appointment was for yesterday, it would have been just within the 45-day window. More likely, the senior official wanted to leave work early. I wonder if the appointment was in the afternoon.

Reading the OP, I get the impression that the immigration officer has told him that the options given by Joe are unavailable, and his only option is to leave Thailand. This should, of course, not be true. However, the OP could have a problem if his immigration office is being obstructive. The practical solution might be to use an agent.

Indeed, misogyny did not originate with this forum. It dates back to the dawn of human history.