BritTim

In some cases, there are procedures laid out in law for appealing the decisions of the officials. That is the case for most denials of entry with a visa, or for deportation orders. When it comes to extensions of your permission to stay, there is no statutory appeal process if your application is denied. You can ask to talk to the official's boss, and that might work, or it might simply make you a marked man at that office for the future. There is an Immigration complaints line, but they will not help you in cases where the official is simply being difficult. Thailand has an ombudsman. In extreme cases involving senior officials you can take a complaint there. My recommendation (and the Thai way in general) is to try to avoid being in adversarial situations with Thai officials. Do your best just to comply with what they ask. Conflict avoidance is the best strategy. Occasionally, officials may be totally unreasonable, and your best efforts cannot keep things friendly.

For what it is worth, my understanding is that offices have discretion to do one-year extensions up to 90 days early. I have heard of Chaengwattana agreeing to do it early for someone who needed to travel around the time they would normally extend. As ever where discretion is involved, you may or may not be lucky, and a good rapport with the official helps.

That is a question for the Labour Department. I believe they ignore your home address, even if you frequently (or mostly) work from there. You may rarely visit the office, but that is your assumed place of employment. If you work from your home office in Chiang Mai for an employer in Bangkok, there may begin to be questions of whether the company's regional office (your home) is properly registered.

That is an excellent plan. Luang Prabang is well worth a visit if you have never been: more fun than just crossing to Nong Khai and flying from Udon Thani.

It is pretty confusing if you call both the sticker issued by the consulate, and the stamp informing you of the expiry of your permission to stay a "visa", and just told you must leave before the end of your "visa" (whatever that means). Which visa? the one issued by he consulate or the "visa" issued by immigration at the airport or the "visa" extension issued by the local immigration office or the re-entry "visa"? It is easy to call everything in your passport a "visa", but unhelpful when trying to understand the rules.

It was in the last century when financial requirements were last increased. In fact there were two changes within a couple of years. The first increased the amount that must be deposited from 200,000 baht to 500,000 baht. The second increased further to 800,000 baht. In both cases, those already on a permission to stay based on the old rules were allowed to continue without having to increase the amount on deposit. I think there are few people still here under the old rules.

I have removed a bunch of posts arguing pointlessly about whether the thread is appropriate, and whether there should be comments criticising the author. If you cannot answer questions asked, or otherwise seek to help, I suggest resisting the temptation to comment.

No need for a whole new thread on LTR applications. The OP has already been directed to a good place for his question. CLOSED

... as, for instance, they believed they needed to leave Thailand before the expiry date of their visa (meaning the visa sticker placed in their passport by the consulate).

Indeed, they can be used interchangeably without any problem until the difference gets you fined and deported from Thailand.

That is the whole point. A visa is used on entry into Thailand. It has an expiry date which gives the last date on which it can be used to enter. People all too often assume that, as in most countries, the dates on the visa define when you are allowed to be inside Thailand. The visa is not a permission to stay, only to arrive. You can have a five-year visa that gives a one-year initial permission to stay when you enter; you can have a one-year multiple entry visa that gives you a 90-day initial permission to stay. You must understand the difference.

True. Do you have a Non-OX visa? If not, why not? Many who qualify will not be deterred from an LTR-WP visa by the US$0.39 per day cost.

You seem to understand the situation fairly well. No doubt, you have talked to others. Eventually, easing the visa issue can become one of the motives for marriage, but it is not a good idea to rush into that!

Work out how much 10 years of extensions and re-entry permits will cost (without considering the costs for bank letters and travel to/from immigration offices) and then tell me that the 50,000 baht to avoid the need for them is excessive. In my view, the low visa application fee is one of the attractions. If you feel it is not for you, fine. Many for whom it will seem attractive are unaware that the option exists.

It is only superior if you qualify. Many people looking at the Non OX visa do. If you do not qualify, it is obviously not superior. Some advantages: no annual extensions, no 90-day reports (report once a year if you do not travel outside Thailand during that time), ability to work if you wish (with a virtual and automatic work permit included), greater willingness to accept overseas insurance policies., five-year permission to stay,

Getting another tourist visa will not impact your chances of a Non Ed visa later. If you are planning on becoming a long term resident in Thailand, your best approach will depend on your age and how financially secure you are.

If you are thinking about a possible Non OX visa, look into the LTR-WP (Long Term Resident Wealthy Pensioner) visa instead. It is far superior.

From Koh Samui, there are agents who take people to Penang, Kota Bharu and Ranong (depending on their requirements). That is not the absolute cheapest solution, but may be best for the inexperienced. At Penang and Kota Bharu, it is possible to apply for tourist visas. At Ranong, you simply do a "border bounce" for a 30-day visa exemption (entering Thailand for a short time without a visa"). You can do that overland twice per calendar year, and the 30-day permission to stay from the visa exemption can be extended for 30 days at immigration. Are you planning to become a long stay tourist? If so, advance planning is important. It is very difficult to use tourist visas and visa exemptions long term.

It should be easy for you to make the transition in March 2024. At the same time your work permit and permission to stay based on working are cancelled, you apply for a new one-year permission to stay based on retirement. Make sure you have 800,000 baht in a bank account in your name continuously for at least two months prior to that date.

Tell that to the guy who had a five-year Thai Elite Easy Access visa who was fined and blacklisted from Thailand for a failure to extend his permission to stay one year after his arrival using the visa. It is possible he was told by the official "you are being fined and blacklisted for exceeding your visa", but the whole problem was that he was not in Thailand on a visa. Similarly, quite a lot of people have assumed that a one-year multiple entry Non O visa allows them to stay in Thailand until the expiry date of the visa. They fail to realise that the visa only facilitates a 90-day permission to stay each time you enter. The visa provides no right to be inside Thailand.

As soon as you enter the country, you receive a "temporary permission to stay". The visa you use at that time determines the length of the permitted stay you are given, but the expiry date of your visa is irrelevant. You can subsequently apply for an "extension of your temporary permission to stay". You are never in Thailand using a visa (the new Long Term Resident visa is a partial exception).

It is easier for them to say "wee-zah" than "permission to stay" and shorter to write. Like many posters on here, officials often think that precise language is totally unnecessary.

Generally, a second tourist visa from Vientiane is not a problem. However, you have done yourself no favours by lying on your last visa application, and then overstaying. I make no predictions. The Vientiane embassy is one of the friendliest in the region now, but you will have no credibility. There is a good chance they will conclude that you are working without a work permit.

A bunch of pointless bickering posts have been removed.

In Cambodia, the only option is the Phnom Penh embassy. The application takes several days, and, historically, tourist visa applications have often been denied, with stamps that make it clear this happened. A few years ago, I would advise people to avoid applying in Phnom Penh unless they were very obviously occasional Thai visitors. It is a bit different now that almost everywhere has become tough. Where flight information is concerned, every embassy/consulate is different. In the past, Vientiane was not insistent on flight bookings. At most, a plausible itinerary seemed to satisfy them. If the cost of getting from Ho Chi Minh City to Vientiane is a serious concern to you, there are buses. That is obviously a very tiring option, taking almost 24 hours. Tell yourself you are still 19 years old, a backpacker seeking adventure.