BritTim

I would welcome having my understanding on this clarified. There appears to be no problem for Thai nationals from birth who also qualify for a second nationality, right? Those who apply for Thai nationality are told they must renounce their original nationality. Am I correct? What happens (in cases like this) if you promised to renounce your original nationality, but still retained dual nationality? Is it grounds to revoke your Thai nationality?

There are (or were) multiple markets. Most Westerners bought it for the visa (long term certainty and simplicity). For those who bought the 20-year Thailand Elite for 1,000,000 baht, there is peace of mind of knowing that you can stay problem free in Thailand for a couple of decades without worrying about changing rules for visas and extensions. I personally seriously considered it as I do not qualify for the LTR-WP visa.

I agree that it is important to understand whether the visa exemption (aka visa waiver or visa-free entry) is under the tourist visa exemption scheme or bilateral agreement. In the latter case, the specifics of the treaty determine such things as how many days you receive on entry. They all come under the same umbrella term of "visa exemption". For instance, here is the announcement of the visa exemption treaty between Thailand and Russia: https://moscow.thaiembassy.org/en/content/101305-announcement-no-1-2562-visa-exemption-for-holders-of-russian-passports?cate=5d843b6a15e39c1abc00517b.

That is an agent. Official site is https://www.thailandelite.com/ You are, of course, correct. I made a careless typing error. Thank you for pointing it out. I have corrected my original post.

The correct website for Thailand Elite is https://thailandelite.com/. I believe you have a few days to submit the application, but time is very tight.

In the past, they have been well regarded. Recently, following the death of the original owner, reports have been mixed.

The terms "visa waiver" and "visa exempt" are synonyms. Also, sometimes used, is "visa free".

If the wrong visa type was issued (for instance, tourist visa rather than Non O) then they are able to correct this after liaising with the issuing embassy.

That is high risk. Airline staff have computer terminals at their fingertips that can check whether the reservation is real. They will usually not check, but they can.

Policy changes at embassies/consulates without notice are always possible. However, based on recent reports, you should be safe applying for a tourist visa in Vientiane. That said, having backup plans is never a bad idea.

If you are saying that people have the option, rather than getting an extension of stay, of leaving Thailand and returning with a visa, then you are, of course, correct. No one is forcing you to get a fresh extension of stay if you prefer to leave Thailand instead. Indeed, there are some who exclusively use entries from visas, never getting extensions in Thailand.

Once people discovered that you still need to visit the Immigration office, even when using the system, most people lose interest. All it seems to provide is some document checks in advance, which I guess reduces the risk of a wasted visit to the immigration office.

The 30-day permission to stay from a visa exempt entry or entry using a transit visa is 30 days, but includes both the first and last days (so only 29 nights). Whatever you mean by "working days" is incorrect.

Unless you really want to make a special trip outside Thailand for a further visa exemption, a tourist visa is not overkill in comparison. It is one of the rational options to avoid an overseas trip. You are correct that a second denied extension, using the seven days you are given when ordered out of the country is a reasonable alternative.

Historically, it has worked. It is a genuine flight reservation. You want to book the ticket about 24 hours before check in (later is also OK) as the reservation is automatically cancelled after about 48 hours.

What is your nationality? Does your flight to Vientiane leave from Suvarnabhumi within a few hours after you arrive there? If doing an international to international transfer, passing Immigration in Bangkok should usually be unnecessary and you will not require a visa. (That will not be true if your flight to Vientiane leaves from Don Muang. In that case, you would need at least a transit visa or visa-on-arrival if you are not eligible for a visa exemption when entering Thailand.) If still in doubt, you should discuss your full travel itinerary with both your airlines to ensure an airside transfer is possible in your case.

A Non O visa gives you an initial 90-day permission to stay. Subsequently, this stay is extended for a year, and repeated annually thereafter. The extensions are done in Thailand. You can apply for the Non O visa either outside Thailand or inside Thailand. Two important questions: Did you marry your wife in Thailand or overseas? Do you have a Thai bank account in your name only? How easy is it for you to place 400,000 baht in a Thai bank account for several months? I will try to give you more specific advice on how to proceed when you give the answer to those questions.

It has recently been reported that CW at least in most cases now wants a 12 month statement for retirement extensions (other than the first). They might waive that requirement if your bank passbook has no consolidated entries, but they are definitely asking for the 12-month statement as one of the standard documents. It is very annoying if your account is at Bangkok Bank where they require five working days to give you a 12-month statement.

It is extremely unlikely that your application for a multiple Non O based on marriage will be denied once they have checked your application.

I visualise something a bit different. Suppose you work in Thailand for a multinational company. They might agree to pay part of your earnings through an overseas subsidiary into an overseas bank. That could be beneficial in terms of your tax liability, but I could imagine Thai law forbidding it (albeit, it being hard to enforce).

An off topic post and replies to it have been removed.

As usual Tod is accurate. Once you are on an extension of your permission to stay, in the vast majority of cases (including the one discussed in this thread) the type of visa used to enter Thailand (or applied for at Immigration) is of purely historical interest. The important points are the expiry date of your permission to stay, and the current basis of your extended temporary permission to stay in Thailand.

Yes, during the last 30 days of your 90-day permission to stay from entering with the visa, you should go to Immigration to apply for a one-year extension based on working. Since your visa has expired, you must ensure that you get a re-entry permit if you subsequently want to travel abroad. Note that, when discussing extensions of your permission to stay, it is better to reference the reason for the extension rather than the original visa type. The original visa type does have some impact on the reasons for extension that you qualify for. However, saying (for instance) I am on a Non O extension is meaningless. Similarly, saying you are on a Non B extension is not ambiguous, but saying you are on an extension based on working (preferably qualified by things like "for a BOI company" or "as a teacher") is the most accurate and informative description.

I wonder if there might be a rule somewhere that says money earned in Thailand cannot be paid in an overseas bank. I could imagine that kind of regulation, and it being misinterpreted to imply you must receive all your income in Thailand.

You should be able to apply for the extension any day between 26 August and 25 September. For a retirement extension, you should get the passport returned the same day, or at worst the following day. Retirement extensions are not taken under consideration, with the consequent delay. You could do it this week.