BritTim

There is definitely no need for proof that the money came from abroad for an extension. If applying for a Non O visa at Immigration (to convert from a tourist visa or visa exempt entry) then proof is officially needed. However, most immigration offices will waive this proof if the 800k+ baht has been in the account continuously for the last several months.

Double and triple entry tourist visas were discontinued a number of years back, and replaced with the six month multiple entry tourist visa only available from your home country (or country of residence).

Personally, I think your current solution with an agent assisted Non O is simple, and fits your needs pretty well. Switching to LTR-WP seems to be beneficial only if you want the opportunity to work for Thai companies. However, I am lazy, and strongly influenced by the hassle involved in applying for the LTR visa. If you do not mind this, maybe there are some small advantages to the LTR.

A single entry Non O is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued. A multiple entry Non O is valid for one year from the date it is issued. When you enter Thailand with either a single or multiple entry visa, you are given an initial 90-day permission to stay. If your plan is to live in Thailand with little or no international travel, get a single entry Non O visa, and apply for one-year extensions of your permission to stay at the local immigration office. If you plan to travel in and out of Thailand on a regular basis, get a multiple entry Non O visa fairly close to the date of your journey in September, and plan on leaving Thailand at least every 90 days (can be 150 days with an easy to acquire 60-day extension).

The British embassy in Bangkok has been carefully discontinuing pretty much all services of use to its citizens, except emergency passports for return to the UK. The UK authorities seem to hate its expats.

If he was allowed to do so without paying a bribe of about 300 baht to the Cambodian officials, he was either very lucky, or he had a multiple entry business visa for Cambodia.

The border is open from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm. However, it is likely that the counter for a Lao visa on arrival at Savannakhet will already be closed if you arrive at that time. Also, the last international bus crosses the bridge around 19:30 (19:00 from Mukdahan bus station). Thus, if you want to get to Savannakhet late evening, you will need a Lao eVisa (or visa from a Lao embassy/consulate) and either be able to cross in your own vehicle or pay for an expensive taxi.

You are quite correct. Thank you for your correction. I just spent nearly an hour tracking down when the change was made, and 30-day extensions of visa exemptions were only allowed starting in August 2014.

It has been a really long time, over 20 years, I think. Indeed, when it was seven days, it was not really an extension at all. At the time when visa exempt entries could not be extended, trying to apply for one received a rejection and seven days to leave the country.

I think you are correct. You could contact the local Labour Office to confirm this.

It depends on what the bilateral agreement specifies. Some agreements, I believe, explicitly exclude back-to-back entries.

Did you enter at Suvarnabhumi? Did you have a tourist visa?

If you decide to enter Thailand visa exempt, you might still reconsider the plan for a tourist visa in Penang. The consulate there is usually extremely busy, and they only accept a limited number of applications each day. Going there means you need to plan on queuing outside the consulate well before they open. Better would be to go to Vientiane or Ho Chi Minh City. In both these cases, you make an appointment in advance, and there is almost no queuing. In choosing between them, Ho Chi Minh City is more fun for most people, but the embassy in Vientiane is friendlier.

I believe the first bus from Mukdahan bus station leaves at 7:30 (it was 7:00 when I last took it, but I think it is now half an hour later).

This is a difficult question to answer fully. I have done a little research, and this is a partial guide. Some countries allow visa exemptions under bilateral agreement. For example, here is the agreement for Russia: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/DKAezaV6MH/migrate_directory/news-20170322-222931-954008.pdf. It implies that Russians are, indeed, usually entitled to unlimited entries. They can be denied entry for the regular reasons that apply to all arrivals. (This would be those specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act.) They can also be denied for reasons of "national security, public order or public health". Otherwise, they can enter as often as they like by either air or land. All bilateral agreements are individually negotiated, and will tend to differ somewhat from each other. Citizens of most countries eligible for visa exempt entry are under a standard tourist visa exemption scheme. Under that scheme, you are limited to two visa exempt entries by land or sea in any one calendar year (exception: this limit does not apply to nationals of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia). The number of entries by air has no specific limits. However, immigration officials are empowered (indeed obliged) to screen users of standard tourist visa exemptions to judge whether they are being used in a manner consistent with regular tourism. You can be denied entry if, in the view of the official, they are not. The lack of certainty when entering by air is a source of frustration for many. Actually, I think the authorities would like to have clear rules for visa exempt entries, but they are extremely difficult to draft in a way that does not have undesirable side effects. Some attempts have been rapidly abandoned. It has been reluctantly concluded that leaving visa exempt entries by air at the discretion of the officials is a necessary evil.

Not me. It is mid summer in Norway, party time.

There was another post talking about this "online check" for the result of an under consideration period. As here, it was not properly clarified how it worked, but we did at least learn that it was from Jomtien, and that there was some kind of poster explaining it. It would be nice if we learned further details this time,, including whether this is again at Jomtien (in which case, it may only apply at that immigration office).

There was some bickering over basically semantics on the circumstances when a two day overstay could conceivably result in arrest and blacklisting. I allowed this to go on for a while, but it became clear that those involved were going to persist ad infinitum. I have removed some posts, and will remove others that just continue this pointless back and forth.

What time did you arrive at Mukdahan bus station? Is there any reason you can think of for the long wait? As an aside, it is possible to travel independently to the Friendship Bridge, buying a bus ticket there. They seem to allow overfilled buses once you are through Thai immigration. I would not do this normally, but might if I could tell the wait would be long at Mukdahan bus station.

There was a credible report, just after the two by land per calendar year rule was introduced, that someone living in Myanmar near Mae Sot was allowed many visa exempt entries for just a few hours to buy groceries. On the other hand, those crossing from Laos were told that twice per calendar year was a firm rule that could not be waived. (The Thai embassy in Vientiane stepped in to help by granting multiple entry tourist visas to foreigners who were long term residents of Laos.) In spite of the Myanmar exception I mentioned above, I believe the limit of two will be strictly enforced under almost all circumstances.

A Non O visa provides you with a fresh 90-day permission to stay. An extension of stay based on marriage gives you a one-year extension of your permission to stay. Which have you applied for? Did you apply using a TM7 (extension of permission to stay) or a TM86/87 (application for visa) form?

If you do not have US$, the price of the Cambodian visa is whatever the official says it is. In future, have US$30 in clean undamaged notes. For a same day return, it is usually necessary to bribe the Cambodian officials. There is a Cambodian law (with a couple of exceptions that would not apply to you) that you must spend at least one night in Cambodia. In the past, 100-200 baht was enough to be allowed to leave, but this year it appears generally to be 300 baht.

That is true, which makes it very difficult for UK (and US and Australian) nationals who want to use the income method for extensions.

The problem with this interpretation (as I posted above) is that the rules about maintaining a balance in the bank are clearly not controlling whether your current extension is valid. You will not be considered as overstaying if the money in the bank falls below the prescribed levels. The top up to 800k is required for two months prior to the next application for a further extension and, if you apply early, you must top up your account balance early. It is clear that maintaining the appropriate balances is a condition for receiving your next extension based on money in the bank, and an alternative of income proof (whether by a letter from your embassy or 12+ monthly deposits of 65k+) should be an acceptable alternative.

At the OP's request, this thread is now CLOSED