BritTim

Yes. However, it is always best to go to the relevant police order (327-2557) if possible, to ensure you have the full facts.

It certainly might if it comes down to trying for tourist visas in countries near Thailand (but I hope it will not come to that). Try for the METV.

Immigration's argument will be quite simple: they cannot transfer stamps from the old to the new passport without having the old passport to see what was in there. In 2023, this argument might be specious (the necessary information is all online) but it is legal.

Assuming they can show a Thai birth certificate (or Thai id card) they can apply for a one-year extension under Section 2.23 in the police order. Note that this will still mean that they are foreigners as far as their immigration status is concerned (unable to work without work permit and so on). If planning to stay for an extended period, it would be better to get updated Thai passport and id card, then do a border bounce (must be by air) to switch to being in Thailand as a Thai citizen.

True, when one of the many exceptions does not override the default rules.

If leaving by air, do it at the airport. If leaving by land, you can also do it as you leave Thailand, but there tends to be a designated official to do the stamp transfers from old to new passport. At small crossings, you could be waiting a long time if he is tied up in a meeting or something. Late in the day, you might even be told you cannot do it until the following morning.

It is possible that I am out of date. This detailed guide explains the rules as I understand them: https://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/foreign-work-permit-application-thailand.html. At the time I last looked into it, this exception, in particular, seemed to be widely allowed: If the rules are unchanged, I hope disallowing the exception for married couples is restricted to Surat Thani, and is not now the policy nationwide.

You can enter with an eVisa by land if you prefer. Ensure you have printed a copy of the approval in advance. You will definitely need a paper copy at a land crossing. If applying in Vientiane, they will probably not worry if your account has generally held a healthy amount, but has been low at times. Suddenly having the account go from almost zero to a sudden high balance a couple of days before the application will raise eyebrows. If you need to do that, have some additional documentation that demonstrates that you had the assets but, for reasons you can explain, not much of a bank balance.

This is a misunderstanding of the rules, These minimums are for an extension of your permission to stay based on working. There is no minimum salary requirement just for the work permit. At one time, the Thai consulate in Penang would provide multiple entry Non B visas to those with work permits who did not qualify for extensions at Immigration because their salaries were too low. When Penang stopped providing these ME visas, the number of people working without work permits increased substantially because it became too onerous for people below the minimum salary levels to try to remain legal.

Bear in mind that, in the same way that not all Americans are white Caucasians, some with Thai nationality (especially if long married to a Thai) do not have typical Thai features. Those claiming they see Indians running businesses illegally are usually guilty of this typecasting.

You will find that that website is for services provided by Immigration in Thailand. It cannot be used to assist with a visa application in Savannakhet.

It may only need to be two employees (plus enough paid up capital). However, the question is: a work permit to do what? A work permit still does not allow you to engage in occupations that are restricted to Thais (and that covers most activities that need doing to run a resort). Maybe, you can get a work permit as the resort manager, and that will allow you to show other employees how to do their jobs. However, it will be iffy.

For those who use the appointment system, it is pretty easy. If you just want to do a walk in application, you must wait until officials have dealt with those who have appointments. You can get lucky, but are usually going to be in for a long wait.

When the officers manning the check out desks are confused, ask if they can get a senior official to sort things out. The staff at the re-entry desk at Suvarnabumi should know the rules, even if some of the officers stamping exit stamps sometimes may not.

If you are lucky, the embassy might be able to suggest a suitable form of words to be used in the affidavit. Most important will be to clearly declare your income which should be greater than 65,000 baht per month, and preferably capable of being supported by documentation you can show immigration if asked. It is usually best to keep the affidavit simple. Here is general advice on writing an affidavit provided by Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/sign/hub/document-types/how-to-write-an-affidavit.html.

A re-entry permit can only be used to protect your current permission to stay. A re-entry permit for a superseded permission to stay is no longer valid. If it was accepted, you would be stamped into the country until the date specified on the re-entry permit (31/07/2023) and would need to apply for the one-year extension of permission to stay all over again. (However, Immigration has decided to not allow this, and to declare superseded re-entry permits as invalid).

It is useful to have a copy of that order which (theoretically) immigration offices are supposed to follow. Just recognise that many offices prefer to ignore it.

With expert legal assistance, it can assist with getting a work permit (as the owner of a sole proprietorship). It is still not easy, and the rules on occupations restricted to Thais still exists.

When you are given a new visa by a consulate, the visa is valid starting on the day the visa is issued. Your previous visas and visits to Thailand have no bearing on the validity period of the visa.

To make clear something that no one else has: immigration has nothing to do with work permits. If looking for official advice on what you can or cannot do in terms of working, you need to talk with the Labour Department. If you work without a work permit (or do work that is not specified in your work permit) then the Labour Department may well enlist Immigration or other police to assist in the enforcement activities. The Labour Department can be very helpful and friendly sometimes if you approach them in a respectful manner. It will be difficult to satisfy the requirements for a work permit if your wife's business does not have a couple of other Thai employees and enough paid up capital. Even with a work permit, you will not be able to engage in activities that fall under occupations restricted to Thais (which includes almost everything involved in running a small resort). If you happen to be a US national, there may be options available under the Treaty of Amity, though you would need a clever lawyer to be able to take advantage.

Some ideas ... You have the option of a border bounce just before your planned trip out of Thailand (90 day permission to stay, as you know) and a re-entry permit to return on during the 90 days. You can then schedule the Savannakhet trip for a little later. Another option is a 60-day extension of your current permission to stay just before your departure. The 60 days is added to your current permission to stay and, again, can be protected using a re-entry permit. I assume you have no interest in switching to a one-year extension within Thailand rather than the multiple entry Non O visa.

Given how long you have been away, I would expect no problems with a single entry tourist visa (SETV) from the Thai embassy in Bucharest. However, that would only give you a 60 day initial permission to stay, together with a single 30-day extension. Look into whether you can qualify for a multiple entry tourist visa (METV) instead. Correctly used, that would allow you to stay about eight months with border bounces every 60-90 days. Once your university course starts, the university should be able to help you get an education visa that will resolve your immigration issues. Discuss this with them. If you cannot get an METV, covering the period from the start of your stay until the beginning of your university course could be tricky. As a Romanian, you are not able to extend your visit with visa exempt entries through border bounces. Your best bet would be to find a language school that can help you get a visa and extensions to cover that period. Relying on SETVs from embassies/consulates close to Thailand would be nerve wracking, given your nationality and the lack of a safety net of visa exempt entry if your visa application is denied. Good luck!

If you have a new passport, and only intend to get one single entry tourist visa in the region, you have a number of good options. With time to apply for an appointment, Vientiane Laos is hassle free if you meet their documented requirements. Though you will probably be interrogated, and also need an appointment, you should be fine in Ho Chi Minh City, somewhere many find enjoyable for a visit. If your plan is to stay longer, getting two or three tourist visa in quick succession, leave Vientiane until later. For the first tourist visa., if your passport shows less than 90 days in Thailand over the last six to 12 months, you could apply in Savannakhet Laos (for shorter queues, go Tuesday or Wednesday) or Phnom Penh Cambodia (takes several days) When it becomes doubtful whether a tourist visa application in most embassies/consulates in the region would be successful, you would still probably have a decent chance in Yangon Myanmar or Kota Bharu Malaysia. Wherever you go, be ready to satisfy all the documented requirements at your chosen location for tourist visa applications.

The new passport has for a long time been of little value at immigration when entering Thailand. Its value has been at embassies/consulates in hiding your immigration history, and making it easier to get tourist visas. As far as I know, this is still the case. If you have a visa, the official power of immigration officials to deny you entry is much lower. It has happened at some airports, and especially at the rogue land crossing at Aranyaprathet/Poipet, but those with visas can enter pretty safely at most land crossings and some airports. Long stay tourists trying to enter visa exempt by air, especially with very short gaps between their visits, need to be aware that they are subject to scrutiny, and the officials are supposed to screen you as genuine tourists before letting you in. There is a very real risk of a denied entry.

I think the strongest evidence that the authorities are not keen on long stay tourists is that the Special Tourist visa was only allowed under the special conditions that prevailed during Covid. If people staying nine months as a tourist was considered desirable, they would have continued to allow a nine month stay by receiving extensions at Immigration. You are correct, though, that denying entry to those with visas (single or multiple entry) was not common, and restricted to a few airports plus the land crossing at Aranyaprathet/Poipet. I cannot prove that long stay tourists are more generally disdained.