BritTim

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.

There is no need to transfer the re-entry permit. A re-entry permit in your old passport remains valid. If you do want the permit transferred, it must usually be done at the office that issued the original re-entry permit in the first place.

You can leave by land without having the entry stamp transferred in advance. However, at land crossings, there tends to be a designated official who handles the transfer. At a small crossing, it is not unusual for that official to be unavailable for hours, and you can be in for a long wait before being able to leave.

The funds must be the equivalent of 800,000 Thai baht. They do not seem to be strict on funds seasoning, but might raise an eyebrow if your account balance suddenly goes from zero to 20,000 pounds just before the application.

The work permit and permission to stay should be cancelled, and this must be done in Phitsanulok. A border bounce by land will be rejected if he still has an unexpired extended permission to stay based on working. Leaving by air (cancelling the permission to stay in the process) is possible, but can have negative consequences later. It is only recommended if not intending to return.

Just buying goods in Thailand for export can be done without a work permit. Indeed, the authorities have reported that attending trade shows in Thailand, together with buying goods while there, is one use case for a visa exempt entry. However, some other activities commonly associated with running an import-export business in Thailand cannot legally be done without a work permit.

For a Non O visa (over age 50, informally "retirement") you must show proof of funds, but it is acceptable for the money to be in a bank account outside Thailand. If the bank statement is not in English or Thai, a translation will be needed.

If married to a Thai, it is usually easier to get a multiple entry Non O (90-day stays) then a multiple entry tourist visa (60-day stays).

At one time, it was reported that Laos would deny entry to those arriving by air directly from Thailand after overstaying. I do not know how strictly that policy was enforced or whether it is still in effect. If planning to fly to Laos and, you are on overstay, I suggest checking with the airline. Simply having Thai overstay stamps in your passport (with nothing indicating denied entry or blacklisting) does not appear to be a problem, and I can recall no case where it has resulted in being denied entry elsewhere.

As suggested above, it would be possible to do your trip without a visa in advance. You could avoid the need for a visit to Immigration in Thailand by getting a tourist visa in advance. Only a single entry visa (valid for a 60-day, 59 night) stay would be needed. you would apply for the visa about a month before leaving London for your trip. Note two points about the visa application: All Thai visa applications in the UK are now made online using an e-visa system. You receive the visa by email. There is no longer any double or triple entry tourist visa. This was replaced years ago by a multiple entry tourist visa.

The problems that many have reported when using a Non O-A visa is that their truly excellent international coverage is not accepted, and they must buy an inferior Thai approved policy in addition purely for visa purposes. That is less of a problem with the LTR-WP (Long Term Resident Wealthy Pensioner) policy where the BOI is more flexible as long as you are really covered.

All visa applications in the US must now go through the e-visa system. Thai honorary consulates in the US are no longer empowered to issue visas either by post or in person.

I agree that a visa exempt entry should be no problem. Note that his e-visa is an SETV not METV.

It is the first time I have seen a post-dated e-visa. If you enter before July 24th, you will need a visa exemption. You could then use the e-visa later by doing a border bounce.

At the current time, staying long term as a retiree is pretty easy. You get an initial visa, and then extend your permission to stay once a year. However, the rules are subject to change, and a lot can happen in the next five years. I can appreciate why you would want to have firm plans for your retirement but, if it involves Thailand, you will need to wait until a lot closer bto your retirement date before this is possible.

Unless you are unhappy in Vietnam, I would say wait it out. Thailand actively tries to avoid you having two concurrently active valid visas. I do not think it is possible to predict what they would do if they became aware that you were entering with two active visas. Play it safe.

Those are very good questions. In theory, you are only supposed to apply for an e-visa when within the country where you are applying, so the issue should not normally arise. I am pretty sure you could apply and get the visa in the country you are in right now. However, I believe Immigration will know when you enter that you have an e-visa also that you presumably applied for when outside the country where you were supposed to apply. I have no idea what happens next. If you go ahead with this plan, please let us know the aftermath.

There are a number of options. Whether any fit will depend on many factors. If your company is large, creating a representative office in Thailand might be possible, with you as the country manager. Under some circumstances, this can give you a work permit without the normal requirements in terms of Thai employees. This is very difficult to get. The company must be substantial, and you must demonstrate that the presence of the representative office benefits Thailand. If you have a high income, check the various options under Long Term Resident (LTR) visas. These can come with virtual work permits (again with no requirements in terms of Thai employees). For visits to Thailand as your company's representative, you may be able to get a multiple entry Non B (business) visa. This provides you with 90-day stays on each entry, but the work you are allowed to do without a work permit is limited. In many cases, you are allowed to do the same tasks on a visa exempt entry. I doubt this is what you want. There are businesses in Thailand that, for a hefty price, can provide you with a visa and work permit by you, on paper, becoming an employee or associate of their business. One such business advertises its services on AseanNow (check the ads of the top of this forum).

It is true that part time volunteers that receive no financial benefit (it is not just a question of whether you receive a salary) are usually OK without a work permit. So, for instance, the retired guy up country who is willing to provide English lessons to the kids at a temple school without any payment can now go ahead safely. A few years ago, it was technically illegal, and it was better not to take the risk. Helping out in the family business is a different matter. It can validly be argued that you receive indirect financial benefit from the arrangement. If you have a good relationship with everyone, it will likely be tolerated, but it is still illegal without a work permit.

The 90-day reporting system was very flaky in the first couple of years of its existence. It now usually works very well, and after the first time you use it will take you less than five minutes for each subsequent report.