BritTim

There will be absolutely no problem getting a re-entry permit (single or multiple). If using this for a trip outside Thailand of a day or two, Immigration on entry will also have no problem. However, if you are making lengthy trips outside Thailand, Immigration is very likely to question your status as a genuine student. Unless you can satisfy them, denied entry is conceivable. A letter from your school explaining that the absences are pre-planned, with appropriate remedial actions on your part to stay current on the course program, is highly recommended.

Since you continue your misleading comments on this, perhaps I had better give you a link to a good explanation of "right of abode" and its implications for immigration purposes. Try looking at UK Right of Abode. To recap what I said before (which you found confusing) To apply for an e-visa, you need to be a resident of the country where you are applying. In this context, "resident" means that you have "right of abode". A passport is sufficient to prove this when applying in home country. Otherwise, you need to be able to show some other proof. In addition to having residency status (right of abode) you also should be physically present in the country at the time of your application. Previously, before the current e-visa system, this was easier to verify. Now, you are receiving your visa via email, the embassy will tend to just trust you unless they have good reason to doubt you are in country.

It typically depends on exactly how much time is remaining on the old visa. If it is only a few days, the consulate will usually agree to cancel the old visa, and give you a new one. If a new visa, replacing the old one, is issued, the old visa is ignored, and the the date of issue and duration normal.

Your immigration office will transfer your extension (and hopefully re-entry permit) from the old passport to the new passport, at which point you will only need the new passport for travel purposes. Until then, you will need both passports for the airlines and Thai airport immigration. Presumably, you will need to do something at the Vietnam end also.

I would be lying if I said that attending the police station to report your passport lost will be stress free. However, the officers will not be focussed on your immigration status. Be well groomed and polite. It is 99.9% sure that they will just process the police report and give you a copy. Anyway, there is no choice. You will need the report.

I am not advocating against the use of agents. However, if you do use one, insist on copies of everything submitted to Immigration. Read and understand everything, and tie it together with the stickers and stamps in your passport. Many people using agents have not got the foggiest notion of what the agent did for them, and that can lead to disaster.

The posts by @Terry2905demonstrate one of the problems with using an agent: those doing so often do not have a faintest idea of what the agent is doing for them. He is convinced that he received a "visa on entry", something that does not exist. It was, of course, a visa exempt entry valid for 30 days (29 nights). He talked of a 90-day extension of his VOA, and being eligible for two more 90-day extensions. Given his nationality, he would not have a Visa-On-Arrival, and his agent would not have got him a 90-day extension to participate in court proceedings or stay in hospital (the only possible 90-day extensions of a VOA). Of course, his agent applied for a Non O visa (intention retirement) for him at Immigration, which provides him with a fresh 90-day permission to stay. He talks of a 15-month Non O visa (no such animal) and his Non O visa being cancelled when he actually means that his permission to stay based on retirement was cancelled. The lesson for others who use agents is to pay close attention to what you are signing. A TM87 form is not requesting a 90-day extension of a VOA. It is applying for a visa to convert from a visa exempt entry. A TM7 form is not extending a visa, it is extending your permission to stay based on retirement. And, a visa sticker or stamp that has "USED" on top of it is history, and of no further relevance.

I would not recommend the use of an agent in your particular case. It is unlikely to be a problem in the short term, but your history of using an agent to circumvent normal requirements will be visible to experienced immigration officials, one of whom might be prejudiced against you as a result.

I cannot guarantee what every single airline might decide, but almost all will follow IATA guidelines. These state that someone travelling to Thailand only requires an onward ticket if planning to enter without a visa/re-entry permit.

This was your entire post: You stated that a passport does not prove residence (I believe misunderstanding what "residence" means when applying using the e-visa system). I tried to clarify that a passport is sufficient when applying in home country, and some other proof of residence only necessary if applying outside your home country. You stated that I was over complicating and confusing people. If you are applying in home country, and have already uploaded the passport data page, you can upload a theatre ticket as proof of current country of residence if you like. The embassy is not going to care as they ignore it as soon as they see you are a citizen.

Generally speaking, the best rate is achieved by changing your Thai baht to your home country currency at Superrich (Green) headquarters branch and taking the money out in cash. I found registering for DeeMoney without a work permit difficult to accomplish. Your experience might differ. If using the bank to do a Swift transfer, to most countries, ensure the currency conversion is done at the Thai end.

Because the e-visa system has limited logic. There tend to be standard questions and required downloads. The requirement to download a document showing current residency exists to cover cases where someone is not a citizen of the country where they are applying.

It is not an issue as far as immigration is concerned. However, you may well discover that sending money out of Thailand is a great deal harder than sending money into Thailand. My preferred service for transferring money from Thailand is Skrill, but they can only be used to send money to personal bank accounts. I have sometimes resorted to having my brother pay bills for me, and reimbursed him. If you have an overseas account in the country where you want to send the money it is a lot easier. Discuss this with your bank, and see what they say.

You stated that a passport (showing you are a citizen of the country) is not sufficient to show residency under the meaning intended in the e-visa system. That is wrong. A passport or other proof of right of abode is the main requirement, the other being physically present in the country when you apply. You may have adjusted your opinion by now (which would be good) but things like tax residency, time in country, and house ownership are not relevant.

Right of abode means that you can travel to the country whenever you like. and stay there long term. Indeed, a citizen has right of abode, and the passport is sufficient. If you are not a citizen, you must prove that you have right of abode in some other way, often with some kind of residency certificate. The US green card is a good example. This is distinct from such things as tax residency or primary residence which are not relevant to where you are allowed to apply for a visa.

Using an agent would save you a little bit of time, but you can definitely do everything yourself, especially with the school advising on the visas. The re-entry permit is very simple.

"Residence" has two meanings in the context of applying for a visa. One is right of abode. If you are a citizen of the country where you are applying, the passport copy is sufficient to prove that. The other is being physically present in the country on the date you apply. That is harder to prove, and I would not try unless the embassy ask for proof.

You do not need a passport to travel domestically. Get a police report that confirms you have reported the loss of your passport, and buy a bus ticket from Maesot to Bangkok. Avoid any behaviour that could get you arrested for other than immigration issues. Unless you have serious money, there is no alternative to an emergency travel document, and return to home country (paying a 20,000 baht fine on exit, and receiving a three year ban from re-entering Thailand if your overstay is over a year).

These days, the airline is supposed to inform Immigration of the visa you are using to enter Thailand using the APPS (Advance Passenger Processing System). Summary at https://dcs.aero/product/thailand-api/

1) If you are in the UK, and can get all the necessary documentation, getting the initial visas in the UK has advantages. Each one-year extension of stay costs 1,900 baht. 2) The school will help you with this process. Each visa applied for at Immigration in Thailand costs 2,000 baht. As with a visa from an embassy outside Thailand, this gives an initial 90-day stay that is subsequently extended a year at a time. 3) A multiple re-entry permit costs 3,800 baht. Every time your permission to stay is extended, you need a fresh re-entry permit. For the initial 90-day permission to stay, you may just want to get single re-entry permits before each trip (most easily at the airport on the day of departure) for 1,000 baht.

The best practical options are unlikely to be acceptable to the legal department of your international company. If you are earning a high enough salary, the LTR-WFTP (Long Term Resident Work From Thailand Professional) or the already mentioned SMART visa may work. Unlikely, but possible, could be for you to be directly employed by the Thai affiliate company (with internal reimbursement of the Thai affiliate by the headquarters company). [Given the extreme paranoia of corporate legal departments, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to take advantage of the reality that digital nomads (no Thai customers or employer) are completely tolerated in Thailand, though not strictly allowed according to the law.]

Some nationalities are not allowed to enter free of charge with no visa (tourist visa exemption) but are allowed to apply for a visa at a special desk at the airport on payment of 2,000 baht. That is when the term "visa on arrival" is accurate, though the visa exemption is often erroneously misnamed a visa on arrival.

Entry with a tourist visa: 60-day permission to stay, 30-day extension possible. Entry visa exempt (without a visa): 30-day permission to stay, 30-day extension possible. Entry with a visa on arrival: 15-day permission to stay, no extension possible.

The appointment system has greatly changed the situation there.

I was aware of that. He applied on Tuesday, so I would have expected him to get the passport back Thursday.