BritTim

In Thailand, for anything other than petty bribes, corrupt officials will usually want to carry out the transaction via third parties (agents). As you write, directly asking for bribes is a high risk action.

It is not silly to question what immigration officials tell you, but in this case the information is correct. The 90-day report is needed when you spend 90 consecutive days in Thailand. For that reason, when you re-enter Thailand, the clock is reset.

The SMART visa can be useful for some people who qualify, but is really quite niche. For full details, see https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/. Many who qualify for SMART visas might find the LTR (Long Term Resident) visa more attractive.

If you are already in Thailand on a non immigrant entry (which you are) you can directly get an extension of stay based on retirement. At the time when you visit Immigration to cancel your permission to stay based on working, you can at the same time apply for a new extension of your permission to stay using form TM7. The main requirement (for this first extension based on retirement) is that you have 800,000 baht in your name only in a Thai bank account that has been there for at least two months. This can be any account that allows the money to be withdrawn on demand with the only penalty being loss of interest. There is documentation around the financial proof that Immigration at Chaengwattana will want to see. The bank branches in Government Centre are familiar with what you need.

There should be absolutely no problem.

If entering visa exempt, the fact that you have a new passport is irrelevant. Immigration, on entry, has access to your full immigration history. Thus, we cannot pass an opinion on whether you risk being denied a visa exemption without knowing your previous history, especially on tourist visas and visa exemptions.

Immigration will know the full history of your visits to Thailand going back years. Embassies and consulates where you apply for visas do not have that information. They must go on what they see in your passport. However, they will sometimes ask to see your old passport if you recently renewed.

I doubt it would be accepted. Forging these kinds of emailed statements is too easy with no bank stamp on the paper to scrutinise.

With a very simply answer to the OP's question, there is no need to keep this thread open. CLOSED

No, what is meant is 30-days on arrival (from the visa exempt entry) + 30 days (normal extension) + 60 days (to visit Thai spouse). Note that it best to do the extensions this way round. A few immigration offices have been known to refuse the 30-day extension after the 60-day one.

I stand to be corrected, but my understanding is that the restrictions on tourist visa extensions only applies to countries like those in Africa who cannot even apply for a tourist visa in the region. The 30-day extension, I believe, is permitted for most nationalities. What you may be confusing is that the 15-day visa on arrival (often used by Indians to enter Thailand) cannot be extended.

Yes, if the tourist visa application is denied, you can try for a visa-on-arrival (15 days, not extendable) which can also be denied, but would probably be granted if you have a booked flight departing within 15 days. Yes, if you are successful in your tourist visa application, you can apply for a 30-day extension which will be given.

I would recommend getting a visa. If you do decide to enter visa exempt, try to enter via Chiang Mai airport if possible. They tend only to deny visa exempt entry under more extreme circumstances than yours. If you do enter via Bangkok, you will most likely be hassled, but ultimately admitted. Make sure your return flight is booked, and be prepared to show evidence that your reason for coming is the wedding.

I do not know their current policy, only that they are still relatively helpful. A written itinerary, stating your plans used to be sufficient, but I make no guarantees that this is still true.

You can stay until the end of the permission to stay from the tourist visa, no problem. The potential problem (which would have resulted in a denied application at, say, Hanoi) is when applying immediately for another tourist visa. The consular officials are asking themselves whether you are really a normal tourist. Frankly, that is unclear. The fact that your immigration history does not match what you stated in your last visa application absolutely does not help. Your chances, because this is Vientiane, are good, but the days of staying indefinitely as a tourist are over. If you are lucky this time, find another solution if you want to stay even longer. Vientiane is not going to give you a third tourist visa in quick succession, in spite of their reputation as a friendly place to apply.

If there was no overstay, I do not think you will ultimately have a problem in Vientiane. Expect to be questioned, though, about why you did not exit on July 12th as you stated you would on your last visa application. If immigration at the Friendship Bridge caught that, you can be sure the embassy will. In your favour is that this embassy is a friendly one.

I removed some posts arguing about whether a foreigner could use a blue book to prove residence for a driving license.

As against that, you can add 60 days (plus 30-day extension) at the back end by doing a border bounce just before the visa expires.

Your experience could be of value, but only if you reveal which rogue office you are using that is enforcing unreasonable conditions.

Your friend needs to first understand what a visa is, the rules for each visa class, the rules for entering without a visa (which depend on his nationality), and the various conditions under which his his stay in Thailand can be extended. As suggested above, your friend's best option is not going to be entering without a visa. He should look at going to Savannakhet in Laos for a one-year multiple entry Non O visa. This will allow him 90-day stays in Thailand for one year and, in fact, can allow him to stay up to nearly 15 months by leaving and re-entering Thailand just before the visa expires.

That was the original rule for online applications. However, it was later changed to allow you to report online right up to and including the due date. After the due date, you must, of course, report in person (without penalty if no more than seven days late).

I believe you will be OK. However, you have been here enough that the wrong official just might decide you are abusing visa exemptions. It would be better if you stayed out for at least a few days.

In the past, Vientiane has been happy with a plausible itinerary in place of booked flights. You could ask them.

Various off topic posts have been removed.

OK ... for the future, you use visa exempt entry. Each visa exempt entry can be extended for a further 30 days at Immigration. If doing a border bounce by land, you are restricted to two visa exempt entries per calendar year. By air, there is no explicit limit on the number of visa exempt entries that are possible, but you can be denied if (at the sole discretion of the official) it is considered that you are using such entries inappropriately. This is more likely if you stay very long periods, or use back-to-back visa exempt entries with little or no time in between.