BritTim

Vientiane is absolutely fine (even best) if you can get an appointment. You cannot apply there otherwise. Savannakhet is OK if you apply on a Tuesday or Wednesday (assuming they are not preceded or followed by public holidays). They can be unbelievably busy when visa run companies bring groups. Travel is a bit of a hassle. Last I heard, Yangon is pretty good, but you need to arrange a Myanmar visa. Also, you will be returning to Thailand by air, which might conceivably be an issue if you are an extreme long stay tourist. In my opinion, you are asking about the three leading contenders.

I have never heard of anyone losing time on a regular extension of an existing permission to stay. Where you do lose time is when applying for a Non Immigrant visa at Immigration to convert from a tourist entry. That is where you get a totally new 90-day permission to stay starting at the application date.

You will not have a problem at Nong Khai (or Mukdahan/Savannakhet or Chong Mek). You would be fine at Mai Sai (or Mae Sot, if open: rumours of fighting). You would have a problem at Aran/Poipet. Aggravations at Cambodian crossings (other than Poipet) and Malaysian crossings, but still doable.

As you suspect, yes, they will want you to show proof that a TM30 notification has been done. Other than that, you should be all set.

There is no specific mechanism for typical digital nomads in Thailand. You might, however, qualify. There is an LTR (Long Term Resident) visa that has a category called "Work from Thailand Professionals"). If you can meet the following requirements, it might be worth investigating: Leaving that aside, as others have mentioned above, the Thai authorities are well aware that they do not formally accommodate digital nomads. While not explicitly supported, they are 100% tolerated under the conditions that 100% of the work you do is for overseas employers, and you have no Thai customers. Under those circumstances, they consider you positive for the Thai economy and not competing with Thai companies or workers. It is not a matter of relying on kind officials. The decision has been made at the highest levels to leave you alone. The main question is the visa to allow you to stay, not the work permit. If you have a Thai spouse, a marriage visa/extension is a good option. The Thailand Elite visa is convenient, but costly if not sure you will be here at least several years. If over age 50, there is also a retirement visa/extension.

The 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry will usually only be given, at best, during the last `14 days of the initial 30-day stay (and it can be less, possibly only the last 7 days, at a few immigration offices, especially if they are busy). If you have already submitted a TM30 for your guest, forget about guesthouses. That will not be necessary. Just make sure he has a copy of the TM30 receipt you received.

I find that extremely strange. It implies, for instance, that Chinese nationals taking cruises that stop in Thailand cannot have a tourist visa to enter Thailand during a stopover here. Further, the TAT promoted train journey from China via Vientiane to Thailand would not be possible. Are you, perhaps, confusing the tourist e-visa with the (totally different) visa on arrival which (to save time) can be applied for in advance online? That is available only for those not eligible for visa exempt entry but eligible for visa on arrival, and can, indeed, only be used at the airport on arrival.

You can be the director of as many companies as you like simultaneously. What you are able to do without a work permit is a grey area, and has changed over the years. In general, attending meetings and signing documents as a director does not require a work permit. Actual administration and management over and above this generally does need a work permit, but seems to be tolerated without if infrequent. I do not recall there ever being a problem with bank documents provided a directors' meeting has appointed you as one of the authorised signatories for documents with those criteria. It has been a long time ...

Almost no digital nomads qualify for SMART visas (like the Work from Thailand Professional visas) that were originally described as suitable for digital nomads. Unless you work for a decent size company (or own one yourself) you do not qualify. The typical freelance professional who enjoys combining work and pleasure must find other solutions to stay in Thailand.

Mae Sot opened a little before Mae Sai did. The little information that has trickled through suggests that it remains a great place for a border bounce.

Sure you can. However, note that the visa application is taken under consideration. You do not have the 90-day stay from the Non O visa until your application is officially accepted which is typically about 30 days after you make the application. Thus, a trip out of Thailand during the under consideration period will only be possible if you return before the report back date. Once the Non O visa is officially accepted, and the relevant stamps inserted in your passport, you will have, perhaps, 10 weeks or so before the 90-day permission to stay expires. You can apply up until the last day of the initial permission to stay. The earliest you can apply varies between offices, typically 30-45 days. It is prudent to apply two to four weeks before it expires just in case there is a problem that needs addressing, but many leave it until the last minute without repercussions. Unlimited. You can also, if your plans suddenly change, get a multiple re-entry permit after using a single one. Not exactly as you describe it. You would need to be in Thailand for about a month for the Non O visa application (or, possibly make two visits about three weeks apart). Once you have the 90-day permission to stay, leaving and returning in time for the one-year extension is perfectly feasible.

When I was 33 years old, following a Europe wide job technically based out of Germany, the company wanted to move me to an R&D group outside Boston. I had an excellent relationship with management, but the vacation question was difficult to navigate. I had been with the company only about three years, and my official vacation when I became a US employee was limited by company policy to four weeks maximum. This was not acceptable to me. Luckily, when experienced management want something to happen, there is always a way. I routinely worked up to 60 hour weeks at times (of course, no overtime pay as I was a salaried employee). It was agreed that I could keep track of the extra hours worked, and combine the hours to amass time off in lieu that, in effect, became extra weeks of paid vacation. Management trusted me. I kept mum around the office about what I had negotiated. I did not take every possible day that I could have under this arrangement. I was also flexible about when I took the time off. However, I ended up with around seven weeks per year of paid vacation while in that position (pretty much the same as when I was in Europe). The system worked well for all concerned. I sometimes wonder how many other people in high stress jobs manage to convince their US companies to find ways around standard HR policy. People who work flat out need adequate time to unwind and recharge their batteries.

As far as I know, all the temporary changes that were slated to revert after March 31st have done so.

I sympathise with your experience, and would never accuse you of stupidity for failing to know the visa exempt permission to stay was reverting to normal. That said, you were arguably careless. It is the fact that it was easy to be aware that the 45-day visa exemption was temporary. The last official announcement said that it would end at 23:59 on March 31st. No official announcement to the contrary was ever issued. Assuming that it would be extended because of media reports that some advocated this, in my view, was most unwise. It smacks of wishful thinking. Actually, if you had checked this forum in the last couple of weeks before your trip you would be aware that experienced observers did not expect the temporary 45-day visa exemption to be retained.

This is not correct. You are considered to be on the same unbroken permission to stay, with the single permitted 60-day extension to visit your wife already used, when you enter with a re-entry permit. It is only a fresh entry for a new permission to stay that qualifies you for the 60-day extension.

If you are only eligible for a 15-day visa on arrival (not a 30-day visa exemption) you will not be able to resolve your problem with a border bounce. The visa on arrival is not extendable, and cannot be used to apply for a "conversion" Non O visa at Immigration on the basis of marriage. Your best solution will probably be to go to Savannakhet Laos for a Non O visa (giving a 90 day permission to stay) followed by one-year extensions in the normal way. A (risky) alternative is to discuss this with Chiang Mai immigration with a view to overstaying until the funds are seasoned, pay the overstay fine, and get the extension then. After a denied extension request, and being given seven days to leave the country, a subsequent application for an extension will be refused out of hand. EDIT (should have mentioned this first): Have you ever received the 60-day extension to visit your Thai spouse? If not, use that now. It does not require financial proof, and will solve your problem.

Bear in mind that you can get 90 days (even 120 days) without financial proof. You enter visa exempt (30 days); get the 30-day automatic extension (optional); and then get a 60-day extension to visit your wife. Unlike a Non O visa application at Immigration, this is all very straightforward.

A visa exemption and a visa on arrival are completely different animals. As German citizens, they are eligible for visa exemptions (i.e. entering without a visa) which costs nothing. The 2,000 baht fee is applicable only for nationals of countries that cannot receive visa exemptions, but are allowed to queue up and buy a tourist visa on arrival at the airport.

My first visit to Thailand was in 1982. At that time, visa exempt entry for those from the UK was already possible, though I think it was only for 10 days. Further, at that time, getting visas was a breeze. If desired, you could turn up at one of the honorary consulates and request a one year multiple entry Non O to visit Thai friends (no proof needed that you actually had any Thai friends) and walk out an hour later with a visa stamp making it easy to spend over a year enjoying Thailand if you had no commitments elsewhere. The visa exemption scheme has experienced improvements at times, but (unlike in the past) is not usable to stay in Thailand indefinitely.

At some immigration offices, they might stupidly refuse the application if you do not have a long term rental contract. However, most will accept a verbal explanation that you are staying in a hotel while looking for a permanent place to stay. Worst case, most hotels will be happy to furnish you with a rental agreement for an extended stay (with a verbal agreement that you will be able to break the agreement without penalty). Only ask the hotel to help in this way if the immigration office proves difficult.

For the paranoid, I can understand wanting to do the re-entry permit in advance at the immigration office. However, I have literally never heard of anyone missing a flight because the re-entry permit took too long at Suvarnabhumi or Don Muang. In fact, when the immigration counters are swamped, using the re-entry desk may get you through faster at Suvarnabhumi where they can get you an express exit stamp if they see you are cutting things fine. I have not applied for a re-entry permit at an immigration office for about 10 years unless planning to exit by land.

For others who find themselves without US dollars, but having a little time, it is possible to change baht into US dollars in Mukdahan. It will be difficult if you are trying at 6:00 am, of course.

The order to leave the country within seven days has zero negative connotations. Some officials at airports, however, might take the short overstay into account if there is a close decision on whether to grant you a visa exemption. If you want to return immediately, it might be prudent to use a land crossing.

If planning this well in advance, you can easily get a tourist visa in Vientiane Laos. You need an appointment to apply there, and will not be able to do so if you only decide a week or two in advance that this is your best option.

A re-entry permit is always tied to your permission to stay at the time you acquire the re-entry permit. This is one of the few rules of Thai immigration which is invariant. You seem to be asking what happens if you apply for a re-entry permit and leave Thailand during the "under consideration" period for a new extension. At that point, your permission to stay has been extended until the report back date at the end of the under consideration period. That is usually around 30 days after the expiry of the old permission to stay. As usual, your re-entry permit acquired during the under consideration period will expire on the report back date. (Note: if you intend doing this, discuss it with your immigration office in advance. They often want to do home visits, and will expect to find you there if you have not warned them of your plans.)