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2 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Looks like Lisa will have to do a lot of heavy lifting assuming she would ever want the role.

She had to join a Korean group to achieve fame and success.  What if she had never left Buriram?  She is an example of Korean Soft Power. 

On 12/14/2023 at 5:46 PM, charleskerins said:

Do you have a link to corroborate? I found an instance of a male using the female facilities and the females complained to command.

It was a documentary I saw online about 10 years ago.  I believe the Airman was with OSI.  Let me see if the documentary is still available or not.

11 hours ago, deptrai said:

 

For the non-Immigrant O-A visa, are both local (California) and federal (FBI) criminal background checks required?

No.  Either is acceptable.  I just chose the FBI fingerprint check.

The US Air Force had a transgender member deploy to Afghanistan about 10 years ago.  A separate bathrooms and shower had to be built just to accommodate this one member.  As I recall this member was born female but serving as a male.  Not surprised and more to come. 

“Killing the enemy and blowing things up that need to be blown up” 

This was the actual purpose of having a military but times have changed. 

Kantary Hills hotel in Nimman has a  Christmas Dinner Buffet for 1500 Baht per person.  Dec 24 from 600 PM.  

A new/old idea for soberiing up: Jail Cell. 

3 hours ago, andy said:

How easy is it to get California criminal record clearance these days?  I had to get a couple for work many years ago, and I remember being able to go to a digital fingerprint scanner and the whole process being fairly quick.  Is this still the case?

 

I got one two years ago.   Digital Fingerprints submitted at a Print/Notary type place at 200 PM and the results were emailed to me in two hours.  I got the FBI fingerprint background check and it was $47 dollars.  It should be the same for a California DOJ check.  There are two main companies that provide this service. 

17 hours ago, andy said:

Does the LA consulate accept US bank accounts with the 30k?  Or does this money need to be in Thailand?

 

Has anyone done the "foreign insurance certificate form" with their non-Thai insurance?  How much of a hassle was this?  Having lived in Thailand before, I'd never sign up with a Thai insurance company...

#1 Yes

#2. Agree with you and I have been with Pacific Cross for years and the last time I up loaded the insurance document from Pac Cross(page 2 was in Thai) and the consulate still wanted the Foreign Insurance Document?  Pac Cross was nice enough to complete this document for me.  "TIT".

40 minutes ago, NextG said:

You don’t need to stay in your seat for the whole flight 😊

 

 

 

This looks like Singapore Airlines?

Fly from Thailand to LAX twice a year.  The 7 hour limit is the problem.  Have flown the following routes over the years.

1. BKK-SIN-LAX.  BKK to SIN is about 3 hours but the SIN to LAX can be 17 hours nontstop or a two hour stop in NRT(NRT to LAX is 10 hours)

2. BKK-HKG-LAX (BKK to HKG is under 7 hours)

3. BKK-TPE-LAX and this is similar to #2

4. BKK-ICN-LAX. BKK to ICN is 5 hours and then 10 hours to LAX

i can only recommend paying for Premium Economy or go reallly big and pay for Business.   The cheapest Business Class on this route is usually PAL with a stop in Manila.  Of course the experience on PAL can vary.  

So she is a thigh quality Elite Visa holder?  Someone paid 600,000 Baht for her Elite  Visa.  Otherwise why is she an online seller and/or YouTube influencer?  Gotta sella a lot of stuff online or get a lot views on YouTube to make 600,000 Baht. If she gets deported then I guess no refund for the Elite Visa.  

2 hours ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

I just checked my US consulate and the DC page still shows 800K THB. The LA consulate has always been sketchy with the info so I wonder if you just apply with the standard 800K USD equivalent, you get it nonetheless.

Doubt it.  They now require bank statements showing the $30,000 in the account or direct deposit of $2500 or more if one is using the income/pension method. 

9 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

I'm saying Thai Embassy/Consulate exchange rates are stupidly wrong all over the World. LA is not special and it's not an increase in the 800k baht requirement

 

35 to 1 versus 26 to 1 is beyond stupid. 

1 hour ago, Pattaya57 said:

As is 800,000 Baht / A$54,545 = 14.67 instead of 23 for Australia but it is what it is (application fee seems to use 16.67 exchange)

 

Note that Australia has 2 choices to apply. Sydney is $54,545 (1.25 million baht) or Canberra which says 800,000 Baht equivalent. Likely different thai embassies in US also differ between Baht and $ equivelent 

Ok. I am not talking about the AUD.  This information was posted on the Los Angeles Thai Consulate website.  So the relevant currencies would the USD and THB.  Currently the THB to USD exchange rate is 35 to 1. 

1 hour ago, Pattaya57 said:

As I said in my post above, it's just the poor exchange rate the embassies use. Another example is O-A visa officially costs 5000 baht, which is A$217, but embassy in Australia charge A$300

800,000 Baht / $30,000 = 26.67 Baht and 65,000 Baht / $2500 = 26 Baht.  Currently $1 = 35.14 Baht.  This is a major fluctuation in Thai Baht to USD exchange rates. 

46 minutes ago, Jaggg88 said:

and they get 90 days in Malaysia

US also gets  90 Days in Malaysia.  

3 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

How is any of that new? Seems the same requirements for O-A visa since they upped the health insurance to 3 million baht a couple of years ago

 

Note: all embassies seem to use a poor exchange rate so more required than 800k baht. Australia requires A$54,545 for O-A which is about 1.25 million baht instead of 800k

First time I have seen the LA Consulate post financial requirements in US Dollars. 800,000 Baht in today’s rate is $22,764 and 65,000 Baht is $1849.  These numbers are way different than $30,000 and $2500.  These numbers might disqualify some. Or this is an indication of future requirements? 

4 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

Obviously, there is special preference for the Russian, Chinese and Kazakhstani nationals to stay in Thailand for a very long time! I think this is not good at all. What do you think?

I think in the race for Influence in LOS the west has lost.  China won that battle and when Beijing calls Bangkok will pickup in 3 rings.  If Washington calls Bangkok they will be put on hold.  “time to read the writing on the wall”. 

I thought this would be interesting to anyone who is considering a new OA Visa:

Required documents to upload in the system (Large and clear JPEG or PDF format): 

1. Passport Biodata Page or Travel Document (Must be valid within 18 months from travel date)
2. Photograph of the applicant, taken within the past six months
3. Document indicating current location (driving license, bank statement, or proof of stay)
4. Recent bank statement showing the applicant's name and ending balance of no less than $30,000 or proof of monthly income of not less than $2,500/month) along with the current bank statement showing incoming income
5. FBI or certificate of criminal record clearance issued from State or Federal Bureau of Investigation only (Issue within 3 months).
   An online criminal record without an authorized signature is unacceptable
6. Medical certificates showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No.14 (B.E. 2535) certificate shall be valid for not more than three months. All applicants are required to use our form only (Download) and signed by the medical provider with hospital or medical stamp
7. Health Insurance requirement for Non-Immigrant O-A 

• Effective from 1 October 2021, the applicant must be insured for the entire period of stay in Thailand with the following coverage:
  – Health insurance must cover COVID-19 disease with the total sum insured of no less than 3,000,000 THB or $100,000 per policy year

The applicants must submit the following:

• Health insurance policy document issued by a Thai or foreign insurance company, stating that the applicant is medically insured for the period and with coverage as mentioned above:

(a) In case of a foreign insurance company, the applicant must submit the insurance policy document; Foreign Insurance Certificate as stipulated by the Office of Insurance Commission and Health Insurance of Thailand, which must be completed, signed, and stamped by the insurance company. The form can be downloaded here: Foreign Insurance Certificate Form. Please contact your insurance company since this Foreign Insurance Certificate is mandatory. 

(b) In the case of a Thai insurance company that is on the list, the applicant must submit the insurance policy document. A list of Thai insurance companies participating in the scheme can be found here: http://longstay.tgia.org

If you notice an applicant now has to prove bank balance of $30,000 USD(approximately 1 Million Baht) or $2500 per month income(approximately 88,000 Baht).

11 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

They give Thais 90 as well.

 

Panama gives 180 days but The Nicest is Georgia - 360 days -:)

I was planing to open an hotel there for love sick farangs who love Thais....

 

 

I just found out about Georgia. US Passport  holders  can be stamped in for 1 year on arrival.  

56 minutes ago, arick said:

Are Canadians on the 90 day entry (visa exempt) like the Europeans and Chinese and Russians?  

There is one country where a Canadian can get 6 months Visa Exempt.  This is in S. Korea.  Americans can get 90 days.  So if you want a really long stay without a visa S Korea is the answer for Canadians.  

Had this recent interaction at a Starbucks at a mall in Chiang Mai.  I said to the employee “tall, hot latte”.  She gave me a puzzled look.  I then said the samd but slowly.  The reply I got was “you want Americano”?  I have been to Starbucks in many countries where English is not the primary language and have always been understood but as they say “TIT”.  Instead I just ordered on the SBUX app. 

9 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Being American/Californian/whatever, of course, you would!

Of course.  You know me so well.