BritTim

There are no limits on applying for as many Non O visas to visit your Thai spouse as you wish. The only time this has ever been a problem is trying to enter at the rogue land crossing at Aranyaprathet/Poipet.

A visa exempt entry by land should be possible, but you can only get two of those per calendar year. Visa exempt entries by air will be very risky, though you might be lucky if entering at friendlier airports, such as Chiang Mai, especially if you have spent, say, a month in Vietnam. You will probably not be able to get a tourist visa at embassies/consulates in neighbouring countries. You might possibly get one in Vientiane, Kota Bharu or Yangon. Trying in Vientiane might be considered because you can enter visa exempt via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai if the tourist visa application fails.

The Non O at Immigration requires proof of funds. The solution for those who are short of money is the already recommended use of Non O visas applied for in Savannakhet Laos. Using multiple entry Non O visas is a good way of staying in Thailand for such married people, at least until the rules for a Non O visa application in Savannakhet change (which might never happen).

Is there any information on that group about the current situation at Ranong? Are border bounces there still possible?

The TM30 has nothing to do with how you enter Thailand. It is a notification of a foreigner staying at the property. Filing it is a legal requirement any time a foreigner stays overnight at a hotel or other dwelling. I find it extremely surprising that a hotel ion Sukhumvit n Bangkok would deny knowledge of a TM30. They should be submitting them online daily. It feels like you are setting yourself up for needing to leave Thailand with an overstay fine, and a need to return to Thailand somehow. Seriously, resolve the problem while you can. Stop trying to be lucky with a strong chance you will not be.

It is a longstanding rule that you can only apply for visas such as METV and Non O-A through the embassy in your home country (or country of residence) and needed to be physically present in the country when making the application. Prior to the introduction of the e-visa system, this was easier to enforce as you needed to apply in person, or via post from a local country address. Since introduction of the e-visa system, enforcement of the rule has become more difficult. However, the Royal Thai Embassy in London (for one) has made an official statement confirming the rule, and has been known to deny applications that they believe were made from outside the UK or Ireland. I hope this rule will be relaxed at some point in the future. If neighbouring countries to Thailand are brought into the e-visa system, some relaxation will certainly be necessary.

The word "cancel" is fine, and there is actually no ambiguity in this case in spite of the incorrect terminology. What is being cancelled is "an extension of your permission to stay based on working". This mouthful is usually abbreviation to "extension based on working", "work extension" or simply "extension".

Bear in mind that, while you are staying in hotels, the local immigration office to the hotel can do the extension of a visa exempt entry. Maybe, just do the extension while on one of the larger islands with an immigration office.

Once immigration officials start improperly denying entry, it is unpredictable when it might happen, so yes.

Different desks at Jomtien Immigration have different degrees of friendliness. The retirement desk, while very busy, is rarely a problem if you meet the requirements. They will insist of a 12-month bank statement, so ensure you have that. I do not expect you will be hassled.

If no TM30 has been done, move to a hotel tomorrow, and go for the extension Monday with a confirmation of a TM30 from the hotel.

If you have an actual visa, based on previous history, you would be safe flying into Chiang Mai. For entry by land, flying to Vientiane and crossing the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai is one good solution. Your main challenge is going to be getting those back-to-back METVs. Unless your home country Thai embassy is unusually friendly, I doubt that will happen. Staying on single entry visas and visa exemptions is not going to be feasible now.

There is often a need to book an appointment three weeks or more ahead (especially if you want to avoid staying in Vientiane over the weekend). Book an appointment early.

It would be convenient, but is definitely not allowed. Some have tried and succeeded, but your application will be denied (with loss of application fee) if they detect that you are not in your home country when you make the application.

If your embassy will issue you the back-to-back visas (which some would pre Covid, but most would not) then it should be possible to stay as a long stay tourist in Thailand. Note that there were a few cases of officials improperly denying entry to those with tourist visas back around 2019. It would be prudent to arrive at airports where this never happened (such as Chiang Mai) or via most land crossings.

Requiring proof that a TM30 notification has been done has recently become a common requirement around the country, including at Chaeng Wattana. The TM30 notification is a report by the hotel or main possessor of a dwelling of a foreigner staying at the property. If staying at a hotel, the TM30 should have been done, certainly in places like Bangkok or Pattaya. If staying at a friend's apartment, you would need to ensure that the TM30 is done before applying for an extension.

You can definitely apply for a change of visa to a Non O intending retirement at the local immigration office. An income letter from your embassy might be accepted as financial proof for the application. You will need to discuss this with your local immigration office after arriving in Thailand. Some offices will only accept money in the bank for the initial visa application, though an income letter should always be acceptable (perhaps, backed up with other documentation) for later extensions of your permission to stay.

I am aware of office raids that caught out Westerners many years ago but, in recent years, the Labour Department has focussed mainly on migrant workers on low salaries. This article summarises the enforcement efforts of the Department of Labour in the six months ending 31st March this year: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2537129/ministry-of-labour-announces-results-of-purge-of-migrant-workers-snatching-thai-jobs-in-fiscal-year-2023

If the visa was extended, there would never be any need to re-entry permits. What is extended is your permission to stay. The reason for your permission to stay may change over the years, but your visa is ancient history. Its only importance in the application for an extension is that it confirms that you received a Non Immigrant permission to stay when originally entering Thailand. People are often confused by this, because Thailand's system of distinguishing between the "visa" and the "permission to stay" is not common around the world. Often, the distinction is unimportant. However, a failure to understand that you are not in Thailand on a visa can lead to trouble.

Really? I was unaware of that. I thought even generally unhelpful embassies like the British Embassy would do that much for their citizens. Out of interest, which embassy(ies) are you aware of who refuse to act as a conduit for money sent by family and friends? It must be very difficult, for instance, for those incarcerated without money in the Immigration Detention Centre.

I find it surprising that you do not read the complete text of what you quote. The last part of that quote (which qualified what they had written long ago) was Of course, that applies to those using standard visa exemptions, not those under bilateral agreement that each have their own rules.

I believe it is next day (at least for tourist visas). However, note that they only process a limited number of applications per day. Be prepared to queue up long before the consulate opens if you want to be sure of making your submission that day.

For those who are interested: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/DKAezaV6MH/migrate_directory/news-20170322-222931-954008.pdf. Note that this English version is the legally binding one (rather than the translations to Thai and Russian).

Visa exemptions under bilateral agreement operate under completely different rules to the standard visa exemptions. As someone else posted, the 30-day extensions are not available. But, Russians (and some others who enter under bilateral agreement) are not subject to the limit on land entries. That does not mean that immigration officials have no discretion to deny them entry. However, with the current Russia-Ukraine war situation, Immigration is being lenient with Russians.

Russians get 30-day visa exemptions both by land and air. However, the visa exempt entries are under a bilateral agreement, and the limit of two by land per calendar year does not apply.