BritTim

On 10/4/2023 at 6:12 PM, MeePeeMai said:

Everything good eventually comes to an end and the Land of Smiles has seen its better days.

 

I can't remember the last time we got some good news here regarding visas, annual extensions and the like. 

I agree, with the single exception of the LTR visas that have been implemented very well.

To the OP, look into whether you qualify for the LTR-WP (Long Term Resident Wealthy Pensioner) visa. If you do, it is far superior to a regular Non O visa. if you expect to spend any significant amount of time in Thailand in the future. Among other things, it insulates you from immigration changes for the next 10 years. The application process is done online through the Thai BOI, a much less frustrating experience than dealing with Thailand's London embassy.

Since you plan on learning Thai anyway, I would personally enter with a single entry tourist visa, planning to quickly find a good quality Thai course that comes with a one-year permission to stay. This will not be the cheapest course available (those are just visa mills) but worth it. At your age, taking classes and living with a Thai girlfriend, you ought to be proficient enough in Thai within a year for all every day activities.

For your work, do not worry. Digital nomads are 100% tolerated, albeit working without the unobtainable work permit is technically illegal.

20 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

??? Do you mean the same as is required for a 12 month extension?  I hope they're not expecting it to be dated the same say then?

A fairly recent letter (say, seven days old) or even just a recently updated bank passbook for the account should be fine. It should be noted that the HCMC consulate is not as friendly as previously, and you should check and scrupulously adhere to their posted requirements (https://hochiminh.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-o-accompanying-thai-spouse-and-family-members) in addition to the financial proof.

The only additional point is to ensure they know that the re-entry permit purely protects the existing permission to stay. When he returns, the expiry date of the permission to stay will be the same as when they left. Some have erroneously assumed that the time out of Thailand will not eat into the 60 days you received from entering with a tourist visa.

12 hours ago, timendres said:

When I pressed my agent about precisely the posts you reference, which I read previously, they stated that "sure, we can do that", but that would then require a small processing fee, which would then be required every year until I switched to the proper Non-O. I do not want that. On the other hand, I know coming in on visa-exempt and converting to Non-O is entirely legitimate, because there are forms specifically for it.

There is a form for an extension of stay also: the TM7 form. If your agent will not go to Immigration to apply for an extension of stay based on retirement, do it yourself. Yes, there is the requirement to close off your work permit and extension of stay based on working, but there are plenty of prior threads explaining that process.

It is up to you, but leaving the country and applying for a Non O visa at a consulate abroad so you can return and apply for an extension of your permission to stay is stupid when you can apply for the extension of stay without a visa run. To leave Thailand, return, apply for a fresh visa at Immigration and then an extension is even more stupid (unless you are an agent trying to exact as much money as possible from a client. None of these options does anything to deal with closing out your work permit and extension based on working (arguably the most complicated part of the process, albeit still not hard).

If you can show that the trips were during official breaks in the course; or you have a letter from the university stating that the absence is approved and does not affect your adherence to the course requirements: then there will be no problem.

Otherwise, it becomes up to the Immigration official at the airport. They may question how a full time student can possibly be adhering to course requirements when missing classes. If this should occur, do not rely on being able to bribe yourself out of trouble.

37 minutes ago, pantsonfire said:

First time used 90 days.

Second time 87 days.

 

Period between all 3 TR around 6-7 weeks. 

 

No other previous entries into Thailand during this period

Should be OK, though you may face questioning.

On 9/29/2023 at 10:20 PM, leedm said:

regarding the marriage Visa, do you know if that will allow me to work for my foreign company ?   I assume I’d need to apply for a work permit?   Any idea where I can find more information about that

 

Sorry for the slow response (I was travelling off the beaten track with little Internet access).

You cannot get a work permit based on working for a foreign company. However, if your company is willing to allow you to be in technical violation of the rules, there is actually no issue in practice. The Thai authorities are aware that they have no current solution for digital nomads, and working for a foreign employer (without you having any interaction with Thai clients) is 100% tolerated although technically in violation of the labour laws. The problem many run into is the paranoia of corporate lawyers. They will tend to insist that this is illegal and exposes the company to possible legal penalties (which is ridiculous but invariably advice accepted by executive management).

4 hours ago, CecilM said:

Not entirely true. A Retirement visa is also one year. 
There is no long term visa for Thailand (at least none that applies to the OP).

The Non O-A (long stay) visa is the only visa that can somewhat accurately be described as a one-year retirement visa. It is most definitely not recommended for the OP.

The Non O visa as a dependant (giving an initial 90-day stay) followed by a one year extension of the initial permission to stay at immigration, followed by annual extensions has already been suggested and seems appropriate. Assuming visits to the Immigration office are to be avoided, and the elderly parent will not be in a care home, it might be worth employing an agent to simplify matters (though a relative should be able to arrange matters at most immigration offices without an agent's help).

While (currently) no health insurance is required, it is prudent to have plans for how medical expenses will be managed. Most forms of medical treatment will not be provided without proof of the ability to pay.

3 hours ago, pantsonfire said:

I got my 3rd TR now and will go to Bangkok after my trip to HK in 3 weeks time.  Concerned will i be denied entry even though i have my return ticket to UK.

 

Just reading some posts on facebook has me worried.

Did you fully use the 60 days on the previous two tourist visas, and apply for the 30-day extensions? How long a gap was there between the 1st trip, second trip, and now the third trip? With the exception of these trips using the tourist visas, did you have other recent trips to Thailand as a tourist?

Depending on the answers to all these questions, it is possible (but thankfully unlikely) that the wrong official at Suvarnabhumi could decide you should not have been issued a visa and deny your entry. This is only a risk at certain airports as entry is only supposed to be denied pursuant to specific reasons given in Section 12 of the Immigration Act.

I actually think the easiest solution would be to have your new faculty added to the existing work permit. Talk to the local Labour Office to see if this is possible (Immigration is not involved in this process).

If the Labour office nixes the idea of adding the new faculty to the existing work permit, the recommended process is:

1. Get a termination letter from the faculty giving a final date of work at least two weeks in the future.
2. Apply for the new work permit with the termination letter and the necessary documents from the new faculty.
3. Visit Immigration to cancel the existing permission to stay to take effect on the date specified in the termination letter.
4. With the new work permit, (and other necessary documents) visit Immigration to get the new extension of your permission to stay.

It would be prudent to visit both the Labour Office and your local Immigration Office in advance to explain your plans and ensure there are no unexpected wrinkles that you need to deal with.

If the two faculties use different campuses in different provinces, this may become more complicated.

I believe that it should do so. As I understand the regulations, the credit advice is supposed to identity the original source of the funds, presumably in the US, even if the money arrives indirectly.

On 10/5/2023 at 3:25 AM, Xahui said:

I'm in Mae sot now overstaying 1 year and lost passport. I've received news from someone who recently arrived safely in their country. However, they faced a situation where they overstayed by 10/11 days despite having their passport. When they inquired at Maesot's Airport ticket counter about my situation, they were informed that "even if someone doesn't have their passport, they can still travel by air from Maesot to Bangkok. In this case, they need to provide a document such as a passport image or photocopy. Regarding the overstay, the person was told they could go to Maesot immigration office, pay a fine of 20k baht, and if they pay an extra 1,900 baht, they will be issued a permit to stay in Thailand for a week, along with a travel pass." If this info is correct?

First, do not think of visiting the Immigration office in Maesot with an overstay of over a year. You have a good chance of ending up in the Immigration Detention Centre.

With an overstay of less than a week, it is likely they would allow you to pay the fine and give you seven days to leave the country. It would still not be 100% risk free.

It is true that you can travel on a domestic flight without your passport if you can provide another form of identity that the airline will accept. Some airlines would likely accept a high quality copy of your passport data page.

As already stated, your plan of action (assuming you are not willing to pay a large sum of money to a "fixer") is

1. Get a police report concerning your lost passport.
2. Travel to your embassy in Bangkok with the intention of getting an emergency travel document. Normally, without a passport, you would do this by bus. However, if you have a proof of identity acceptable to the airline, by all means do it by air.
3. Once you have an emergency travel document issued by your embassy, leave Thailand by air. You will be fined 20,000 baht and blacklisted from returning to Thailand for, probably, three years. Most often your flight will be to your home country. However, depending on your embassy and the immigration policy of another country, you might be able to use an emergency travel document to go elsewhere. If intending to remain outside your home country, you must also immediately apply for a replacement standard passport.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Which immigration office? 

Many offices do it for free.

I sort of agree with you in the sense that if my io insisted on 500b,  I would just go along with it.

 

Similar to some offices charge for certificate of residence and some do not.

"Go with the flow" works for small change. 

Definitely do not make a big issue out of such a charge. On occasion, I have been known to smile at officials and in a joking kind of way say "that is supposed to be free isn't it; will you give me a receipt?" Occasionally, they will withdraw the request for money, but do not try this unless you are good at sizing officials up. Immediately say "only joking" if they seem inclined to resent your resistance. Keep the interaction friendly.

3 hours ago, Boatman37210 said:

They came.  They took pictures and filled out a form.  My wife point blank ask them if this was about money.  They of course said no.  I think this a case of no means yes.  As they left, they told my wife they would be back in 2 or 3 months.  She ask why.  Response was that many foreigners are scammers and liars.  Talk about in your face.

 

You were right.  I will be expecting another visit soon.  How do they get away with treating people like this.  I would think it would be considered illegal and abuse of power.  I know this is Thailand, but even in Thailand there must be something that can be done legally.  Or, maybe just put up with it until they get tired and realize there is no money here. 

Initiating a vendetta with Thai Immigration is seriously misguided. Thai officials are used to having people grovel. They are thin skinned, have long memories when they consider themselves crossed, and can really make your life a misery if they are vindictive. Do not think you have leverage against them. They can take you to court, if they are so minded, even for accusing them of harassment (and even if you can prove it is true)..

6 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I am sure he will/will have addressed that with the IO at the time of submitting the extension application. 

Very possibly, the OP had the intention of doing so. My warning on the subject will then prove to have been unnecessary. There have been cases in the past when officials arrived for a house visit and were not amused to hear that the husband was out of the country.

3 hours ago, Brickleberry said:

Can Thai Visa Center get around the financials with non-o 12 month extension?

 

It's quite annoying because I meet the financial requirements, but have to show that the transfers originated from abroad. 

 

What's really strange is you can't even open a bank account without a work permit these days, so how can anyone meet the requirements? 

You either satisfy the financial requirements or you do not. Showing that transfers originated from abroad (assuming they arrived in your Thai bank account) at worst, means getting a credit advice for each transfer from your bank. You cannot qualify by simply drawing cash on your foreign bank card at an ATM.

Many agents (including Thai Visa Center) can get around the financial requirements. The problem is that the application will more often than not be at a different immigration office than your local one. This can lead to later complications.

As others have stated, such a trip is better avoided. If you do decide to make an overseas trip during the under consideration period, make sure you have informed your local immigration office in advance so they know the period when you will be out of the country.

7 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

What kind of letter from the court? Never heard of letter from the court for retirement extension. 

Something, apparently, to confirm that an old court case had been fully resolved. This is not a standard requirement for a retirement extension, but Immigration is entitled to request additional documents if there could be reasons for denying the extension (such as unresolved legal troubles).

Adding to the discussion in an over four-year-old thread when the rules have subsequently completely changed is pointless and misleading. This thread is

CLOSED

3 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

In that case I presume he also needs to cancel the Permission to stay from his current Non Imm O ED Visa at his local Imm Office by presenting them with a letter from the school of him terminating the course.  At least that's how I interpret UbonJoe's recommendation to avoid being refused exiting Thailand for not being able to provide proof of having followed the Courses that his Non Imm O ED Visa requires him to do.

No, there is no need for a formal cancellation of a permission to stay from entering with a visa. The permission to stay is not dependant on his actually being enrolled in a course. He is free is stay or leave during the 90 days from the entry using the Non Ed.

1 hour ago, QuantumQuandry said:

It's a good idea but I likely don't have enough time left on her visa to do so.  The 'getting married' part of this process took a lot longer than expected (but that's another story).  I will ask the, just in case, though.  Thank you for trying to think of options, outside of just telling me "no, can't be done".

If the agent is able to help, little time is necessary on your wife's permission to stay when applying for an extension. In principle, it is possible to apply right up to the last day of the existing permission to stay. Frankly, though, I rather suspect the agent will say they cannot help. The problem is that the extension requires sign off by Division headquarters, and this is often only possible with squeaky clean applications.

2 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

The option of applying for an extension based on marriage only applies where the spouse is Thai, therefore that option doesn't apply to your predicament, as your spouse is from the Philippines. You're restricted to applying for an extension based on retirement.

That is not quite correct. A foreigner who is a dependant of another foreigner can also apply for an extension if the necessary requirements (different from those for a foreign family member of a Thai) are met.

10 hours ago, Douglas123 said:

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Seems it is pretty clear that I need a round trip flight ticket (a land border bus booking will not suffice).

 

So I am trying to find an airline where i can book a flight ticket out to nearby SEA country and then just cancel/refund it as soon as I get the visa approved.

 

Can anyone recommend a carrier that can do this? I find the usual flight carriers policy on this very vague:

Viet Jet
Air Asia
Scoot
Lion Air
etc

PS - I have my current condo lease until November this year so that should be fine.

I believe fully refundable tickets (which always have some deductions that are not refundable) are expensive, and leave you for months without the cash before you get (most of) it back.

Either use one of the ticket rental companies, or use skyscanner.com to find a cheap throw away ticket (search for one-way flight out of Thailand to anywhere specifying Entire Month as the departure date).