BritTim

There are no circumstances I can think of where I would need to explain a flight reservation to an official at an Immigration office, with the single possible exception of my flight being cancelled, and needing the seven days to leave the country.

Sigh! I wish I had a pound for every time someone has asked Thai consular officials for information on anything other than services provided by themselves and has been given an incorrect answer. People assume that the Thai embassy (and its website) should be the oracle on all things Thai. In reality, they will invariably give you a confident answer and frequently that answer will be incorrect. When applying for a visa (something the embassy does know something about) your passport requires six month's validity. At the time you enter Thailand, the passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your intended stay. That is not a recommendation to travel with less than six months remaining on your passport, a practice that can lead to all kinds of complications as a majority of the world's countries do apply a six month validity rule.

The reservation as it stands, is not fully paid up. It is held for 48 to 72 hours, and cancelled if payment is not made by then. In that sense, the reservation (as with one made through a travel agent) is not automatically valid to travel on. It is a valid reserved flight ticket, but is cancelled if no further action is taken.

There is no fine (if leaving by air from one of the Bangkok airports). However, usually there will be an overstay stamp. Assuming you are not an habitual overstayer, there will be no questioning or criticism.

A rental ticket is a genuine reservation that could be used if fully paid for.

In your opinion, is buying a fully refundable ticket, intending to cancel, also fraud? Or, is it only reserving a genuine ticket through a rental service (that the rental service subsequently cancels) that is fraud?

The only location in a neighbouring country I feel comfortable recommending after an almost continuous six month stay is Vientiane. Note that you should definitely not use Savannakhet although it was good until relatively recently. Note that you need an appointment to apply in Vientiane. It is possible that Penang might be OK. I am unsure. What I do know is that the Penang consulate is usually extremely busy. If applying there, be prepared to queue well before the consulate opens. They only process a limited number per day, and it is on a first come basis.

That's a maybe. The Police Order simply indicates that you must have started with a Non Immigrant visa. In practice, Immigration almost always insist that a first extension be based on the same reason you received the Non O visa. It is fine to change the reason for your extended permission to stay on subsequent extensions.

I personally think it is a bad idea. Any police officer can ask to see your passport and, if you do not have it on you, insist that you promptly get it and show it. If you had immediately just produced your passport, opened to the data page, it is extremely unlikely that they would go through all the stamps to see if you are on overstay. You can bet they will if they went to the effort of forcing you to produce it. Yes, most often, when stopped a copy of your passport will be accepted. Rarely will you be asked where your passport is, and asked to produce it. However, an intelligent police officer is going to figure out that something fishy is going on if he starts questioning. It is a good idea, by the way, to avoid a long distance bus or train journey by using a domestic flight. The airline staff at check in (even if you cannot check in online) have no interest in your immigration status.

I make no claim to be an equal replacement for the great ubonjoe, but I will do my best to help you with queries you have on these matters.

I do not understand. The requirement is for an onward flight reservation out of Thailand within 30 days. It is entirely normal that this might leave from a different departure airport than the arrival one. If denied entry, you cannot use a flight reservation 30 days in the future whatever airport the flight leaves from. In reality, any time you are denied entry, the airline that brought you to Thailand is responsible for your removal. That is irrespective of whether the airline was at fault. Asking "how will you get from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang to use the onward flight ticket if denied entry" sounds like a joke.

An emergency travel document is issued within a day or two. It is restricted both to a one year validity, and with respect to the countries it is valid for. You would need to verify that the embassy will issue you an emergency travel document that is valid for your planned itinerary, and that countries you intend to visit will accept emergency travel documents (not all countries will, but Thailand is OK with this).

You might possibly run into a problem with Immigration at the airport when obviously using tourist visas for a long term stay, but you are going to find your applications for tourist visas in most neighbouring countries being refused before you reach the point of being denied entry on a tourist visa. After six months almost continuous stay in Thailand as a tourist, you will likely be denied a tourist visa in Malaysia. You would be OK for one or two more tourist visas from the Thai embassy in Vientiane. For absolute safety, even with a visa, returning by land rather than by air avoids the unlikely experience of being denied entry at the airport on arrival. Definitely, if refused a visa somewhere, and you need to return visa exempt, ensure you do so by land. The 30-day extension at the local Immigration Office is virtually never denied.

An insulting post, and replies to it have been removed.

If you fly to Vientiane, the permission to stay will automatically be cancelled at the airport, no problem. If planning to leave by land, you should also be OK as your permission to stay is based on marriage (though you may be asked to confirm wanting to do this with no re-entry permit. Since the work permit will continue unchanged, there is no concern with the Labour Office. Your employer is incorrect. If your current permission to stay was based on working, then cancelling the extension before leaving, especially if doing so by land, would be necessary.

The alternative is to do the TM30 notification in person at the immigration office (where the report within 24 hours of arrival is not enforced). The online system assumes scrupulous adherence to the law.

Yes, it seems excessive, but those are the advertised rules.

Vientiane is generally a good location to apply for visas. If you have all the required documents, it should go smoothly. Note that you need an appointment to apply in Vientiane (https://thaivisavientiane.com/)

You are required to lie and state that the TM30 notification was done within 24 hours of arrival at the property (as required by the law). Do not worry about it. Just specify today's date as the check in date and, if queried, state that you are making a new report after a short domestic trip.

Yes, correct.

It really varies, depending on the official. A common issue encountered by offshore oil workers, who decide to spend their off time in Thailand, is being told they cannot do it with visa exemptions. I believe they are a classic case of people Immigration ought to have no problem with: less than half the year in Thailand, and gaps of a month, or so, between visits (and lots of money).

They do not care. For an easy life, just pay 200 baht and let them fill in the form.

A failure to do 90-day reports is punished with a fine. Even if an official is incensed at your failure to report, they cannot lock you up for it.

I agree. On the other hand, what reason does he give for wanting to come so often? Sure, Bangkok has great food options, but Singapore does too. Historically, a Thai girlfriend was seen as one of the legitimate reasons for frequent visits. The problem is that the wrong official might interpret this as "I am a sex tourist".

It is up to the discretion of the immigration official when you arrive. You may be able to continue to use visa exemptions indefinitely, or may run into an official who decides your use of visa exemptions is inappropriate. Should the worst happen, you will likely be told this is the last time they will allow you to enter visa exempt, and you will need to find an alternative (perhaps, a multiple entry tourist visa, though I appreciate that the Thai embassy in Singapore is tough).