BritTim

You can usually bribe your way in if you arrive a little after 11:00am. They still process anyone inside the gates, often for hours after the gates close. Queuing for six hours is extreme, but from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm is very possible.

Right. This acts as a good reminder to others. Do not go to Savannakhet on Mondays or Thursdays when the visa run groups usually arrive.

There is no standard lead time. Sometimes, you get a response in hours; sometimes it may take weeks. Some offices are typically more efficient than others.

Penang is extremely busy, and they only accept a limited number of applications per day. As best as I can tell, if willing to queue up long before they open (so you succeed in making an application) the chances of getting a tourist visa there are decent. Some visa run companies on Samui are the experts on the current situation at that consulate.

The duration of the lease is irrelevant. If you have made a fresh entry into Thailand (not using a re-entry permit) then Immigration wants you to tell them that a foreigner just arrived to stay at the property ... again.

You need to be clear about whether you mean the 90-day address report, or an extension of your permission to stay. Usually, if you are registered for a university course (as opposed to a course at an informal school) you are given a on-year extension of your permission to stay at the end of the initial 90 days you receive from the Non Ed visa. That is the critical item. Nothing very bad can happen unless you go past the extended permission to stay date. It should be possible to do the 90-day address report (formally, Notification of Staying in the Kingdom) traditionally done using a TM47 form, using the online app without needing your passport, as long as you can remember the relevant details (and, hopefully, you took a photocopy of those before sending off your passport). If you are unable to do your address report, the worst that can happen is a fine.

You can leave by air or by land. The process of linking your new passport back to the old one, and transferring a couple of stamps will go faster at the airport.

That may be necessary if the original application was made using the old passport. I would ask BOI.

Whether applying in HCMC or Vientiane, an appointment and scrupulous compliance with their published requirements is needed. People often find HCMC a lot more fun. However, assuming you meet the requirements, the Vientiane embassy is friendlier, and more certain if you have extensive prior history as a tourist in Thailand.

If you want to stay for a significantly longer period, go to Savannakhet and get a one-year multiple entry Non O visa to visit your Thai wife. Just reacting every 30, 60 or 90 days with an ad hoc solution is just making life complicated.

Tourist visa with extension: minimum 1,000 baht for the visa plus 1,900 baht for the extension. Single entry Non O minimum 2,000 baht [If wanting to stay over six months, try for a multiple entry Non O minimum 5,000 baht, but you can use it to stay for over a year.] Note that the cost of the visa outside Thailand varies by country, but is supposed to be based on the Thai baht figures above, adjusted to local currency at an extremely unfavourable exchange rate. In my view, it makes sense to try for the solution that involves the least amount of hassle. While a Non O will work out cheaper for a stay of over 60 days, the difference in cost is not a significant factor.

Unfortunately, it is my understanding that they want every page in your passport with Thai stamps, including those you have already provided to BOI.

This ancient thread is now almost entirely of academic interest. The current email system, and the experience when applying in the UK, is so different that the information here is misleading. There are more recent threads that are much more relevant now to those seeking Thai visas from the UK. This thread is LOCKED

If applying in HCMC, make sure you meet all of their published requirements scrupulously and, even then, do not place 100% reliance on being successful if you have extensive history as a tourist in Thailand. This consulate was once a good place to apply, but has become unfriendly. As ever with Thai officials, when they seem to be unreasonable, keep the fake smile and polite demeanour. Doing otherwise reduces your chances.

Officially, this is a requirement, but it is one of the several conditions that can be waived at the discretion of the senior official (validly, to deal with cases like someone in a care home).

What the Line message is claiming is not something that has been true for the last decade or so. However, if it is a reputable, long established agency, they could conceivably be aware of a crackdown that is about to start. I would ignore it unless or until there are corroborating reports.

That is correct. However, it is important to appreciate that the laws as written, and the laws as they are enforced differ. In most cases, Thailand is pragmatic about law enforcement. They enforce laws when that is deemed to be in the public interest, and beneficial for Thailand and Thais. Many activities that are technically in violation of ancient laws are widely tolerated. The activities of most categories of digital nomads fall into this category, and enforcement is very unlikely to change until there are major overhauls of the labour laws.

The great thing about applying for a tourist visa at the Vientiane embassy is that you can be confident of your application being approved if you meet their published requirements. The only possible exception is if you already have multiple tourist visa visible in your passport that were issued specifically at Vientiane. At virtually all the other Thai embassies/consulates, nasty surprises can occur if you have any kind of extensive history as a tourist in Thailand.

Thailand is not fully stable. Look at what has happened in Myanmar (right next door) or, even worse, in Sudan. Indeed, political violence, possibly severe, is likely here a few months from now. Circumstances can arise where you need to relocate temporarily or permanently. That cannot be done without some money. Another possible need for money can occur if you are up country and involved in an accident. Good insurance will cover everything if you are in a private hospital in a large city. If you need treatment in a provincial hospital, they will want you to pay cash and sort out reimbursement from your insurance company yourself. Given that the treatment will often involve overcharging, besides needing to front the money, you can be in for a tough time getting the insurance to reimburse.

I have a couple of points to make on this. First of all, following some rule changes a year or two ago, it is now safe to do many kinds of volunteer work as a retiree. There are restrictions, most notably that you cannot receive any financial benefit. Secondly, it is true that you cannot work on the most common type of permission to stay in Thailand for retirees. If you are well off financially, and want to avoid that restriction, look into the LTR-WP (Long Term Resident Wealthy Pensioner) visa that optionally provides you with a work permit.

The visa exemption with extension is often an easy solution. However, a tourist visa in advance is sometimes better. For instance, if you plan on spending most of the trip island hopping far from immigration offices, needing to apply for an extension can be really annoying. Indeed, quite a lot of people would prefer to sort out immigration issues fully before their trip rather than using part of their time in Thailand dealing with Thai immigration officials.

Nothing has officially changed, but you managed to get an official who took a dislike to you for whatever reason, possibly because you made her lose face over the "ex wife must be present" opening gambit. Avoiding an adversarial relationship with Thai officials is important, but sometimes (in spite of efforts to remain polite and friendly) it happens. Your girlfriend (who you interpret as scared of officialdom) was more than likely aware of this and hoping to deescalate the situation by giving your unpleasant official a win. You were lucky other officials were on your side, possibly because they do not like her either.

A visa exempt entry gives you a 30-day permission to stay. A tourist visa gives you a 60-day permission to stay. A Non O visa gives you a 90-day permission to stay. All these are without extensions. Unless you have a close Thai family member, you can only get a single 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry, so a single entry tourist visa (without extension) gives the same amount of time as a visa exempt entry with extension. Two entries on a multiple entry Non O visa gives you six months with one border bounce. Six months on visa exempt entries requires two border bounces and three extensions. Explain to me how this is cheaper or less hassle..

Thai visas and re-entry permits in old passports remain valid. Using them just means carrying both the old and new passports until the visa or re-entry permit expires. Entry stamps and extensions must be transferred before you can receive service at at immigration office.

Each extension is 1,900 baht, so two extensions involves not only extra hassle, but extra expense compared to a multiple entry visa.