BritTim

Since this is an issue affecting quite a number of people, I would try to get someone senior from the German embassy involved, preferably the ambassador. An official letter asking for the visa/extension to be provided carries a lot of weight.

Are you doing the change simultaneously (i.e. one contract ending and another starting on the same day, or with an overlap)? If so, visas are irrelevant. What you should be doing is changing the reason for your permission to stay. I am in a hurry right now, but I will refresh my memory on extensions working for a government or similar entity, and provide a suitable link later tonight.

When you were fined, were you departing via one of the Bangkok airports? If not, the fine is normal. I have never heard of a fine when departing with a one-day overstay from Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang.

You can apply for an extension of stay based on Thai spouse right up to the last day of your existing permission to stay. (Note: if you are currently using a visa to enter Thailand, how do you have a current entry stamp that gives a permission to stay ending 20 Feb 2024? If you mean your visa expires on that date, the expiry of your permission to stay will depend on when you enter Thailand.) Although able to apply for an extension of your permission to stay right up until the last day, it would be reckless to do so. Apply about three to four weeks before so you have time to react in the event of any problems.

Look into the LTR-WP (Long Term Resident Wealthy Pensioner) visa instead. It is far superior if you qualify (which I suspect you do).

If doing an extension of your permission to stay based on your Thai spouse, your employment is completely irrelevant. Your employer will not be able to do it for you. If you are doing an extension of your permission to stay based on working, the company can (might) help. You will still need to visit the immigration office with whoever handles these things within your company. Having done the extension on the basis of working (or Thai spouse) rather than using your visa, you will then need to do 90-day address reports (but these are usually not too much of a hassle).

Your understanding on all these points is correct. The only caveat I would make is that a a handful of land crossings are best avoided, most notably Poipet/Aranyaprathet.

I try to avoid inserting myself into this kind of bickering, but it is useful for people to understand this point, and many do not. When you have a 15-day permission to stay from entering with a visa-on-arrival, in most cases, your permission to stay cannot be extended. Instead, what usually happens is that you apply for an extension and the application is rejected. The standard procedure after any extension has been formally rejected is that you are given an order to leave the country within seven days. This is not the same as your permission to stay being extended and, if you do not leave within the seven days, it is a serious matter.

It is the first time I have noticed this thread. I was travelling on October 1st. The Thai embassy in Vientiane will want to place any visa in the passport that contains the Laos entry stamp.

Just making an appointment instead is free. Anyway, the last time I checked, the VFS service was Bangkok only.

If you want late night transport to Mukdahan (and are not using the Nok Air or Air Asia fly-ride tickets) then Ubon is really your best option. Personally, because it connects perfectly with the first bus from Mukdahan to Savannakhet in the morning, I have usually taken the overnight VIP bus from Bangkok. I say this as someone who hates long distance buses.

If they agree to give you a new visa, they will cancel the old one first.

There is no Thai embassy in Thailand. If you are planning to travel by air to Vientiane, entering on a new passport, then subsequently apply for a Non O visa at the Thai consulate in Vientiane, that should be OK. If you are currently in Thailand on a permission to stay that was stamped into a passport that will expire in three months, then you will probably face questioning. Allow extra time to explain to the airline at check in and to Thai Immigration that you will not be using that passport to enter Laos. Laos requires a passport with at least six months remaining validity for entry.

You must either leave when your permission to stay expires, or apply for an extension of your permission to stay. The permission to stay can be extended based on your Thai spouse (usually best) or based on working.

I did not suggest applying for two visas, only for one (which I thought you were intending to do anyway).

You will not be able to get a visa in a passport that lacks a Laos entry stamp. EDIT: An approach you might want to consider: Get the visa in the old passport. Travel to Vientiane. Fly to Bangkok leaving on the old passport and entering Bangkok on the new passport (using the visa in the old passport). You will be questioned, but airport immigration should allow this based on your reasonable explanation of why you are doing it.

You can change passports when using airports. At a land crossing, you are obliged to use the same passport for exit from one country and entry to the other. You are not the first to be inconvenienced by this.

If queried (highly unlikely) tell them that you did it. Nothing in Immigration's system indicates whether or not such an audit of your bank account was done.

Most people consider the "online extension" service to be pretty useless. After using the services of VFS, you still need to go to Immigration to have the extension stamped into your passport. The extra cost has only one real benefit: VFS check your documents before you go, and this reduces the risk of a wasted trip to the immigration office. It is a hand holding exercise, and agents usually do it better (although they are more expensive).

It becomes easier to understand the rules if you first internalise the difference between a visa and a permission to stay. Under Thai immigration rules, you do not "change" visas. You either change the reason for your permission to stay; or (ignoring a special case of applying for a visa at Immigration to convert from a tourist entry to a Non Immigrant entry) you leave the country to apply for a new visa. In your case, you want to change from a temporary permission to stay in Thailand based on working to a temporary permission to stay based on your Thai spouse. In principle, the process is uncomplicated. First you have your current permission to stay truncated as a result of the pending termination of your current employment. Then you apply for a new extension of your permission to stay based on your Thai spouse. Get the required documents for each of these two steps, and everything should go fairly smoothly.

There is no minimum period required outside Thailand before returning from Laos. Even returning the same day is permitted. Your friend, as a French national will not need a visa to return to Thailand. He is eligible for a 30-day visa exempt entry.

It is a new rule that was introduced when the e-visa system started providing visas by email, and the embassy/consulate no longer got to see your actual passport as part of the application process.

Yes, your permission to stay indicates when you must leaver. The work permit (and also the visa) are not your permission to stay. The work permit allows you to work legally. The (unexpired) visa allows you to enter Thailand. If you do not want to leave at the expiry of your permission to stay, you must apply for an extension (60 days immediately based on Thai spouse without financial proof or one year under consideration with financial proof).

Maybe, you will be lucky and your consulate not ask for this, but common is (See, for instance, https://helsinki.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/tourist-visa-tr-metv)

Rules that are based on bilateral agreement are usually reciprocal. In the agreement, the rules for French and Thai diplomats for entry into the respective countries are probably set to be the same. Thailand may choose to apply a more liberal policy for French diplomats, but European countries are usually less generous towards Thais.