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sandyf
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Posts posted by sandyf
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You say it is time to go home and exactly what you should do ASAP. Getting picked up on leaving carries a lesser penalty than getting caught out.
Think it is 20K to be paid and deported, should be able to travel to home country on an expired passport.
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On 3/18/2024 at 8:54 PM, Bday Prang said:
What does that actually mean ? if you don't mind me asking Why would anybody need a "base" in Thailand if travelling around Asia ? and what form would this "base " take? would you maintain some form of rented accommodation here whilst day tripping (or longer) to Laos and Cambodia sounds a bit bizarre to me but each to their own
Years ago it was quite a common practice with low accommodation prices and saved lugging all belongings around. When the tsunami struck quite a few accommodation providers never saw some of their customers again.
Unfortunately inflation has taken it's toll and not so viable these days.
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18 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:
countersignature is only required for a passport renewal if you are not recognizable from your previous passport photo.
Exactly, and as I said the applicant would need to be present for recognition to be established by VFS staff, unless the application had been countersigned.
Applications via an agent may well be seen by VFS as having been verified if the agents details are recorded in leu of countersignature.
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On 3/21/2024 at 2:03 PM, NoshowJones said:
I tried to get an account with TTB accompanied by my wife and was told I needed to have a job, so refused me because I am retired.
TTB came from a merger of TMB an Thanachart a couple of years ago. I was with TMB and shortly after I went to the usual branch to get the stuff for immigration but the senior staff had all been replaced from Thanachart. My wife was with me and they didn't have a clue about what we were asking for, took an hour on the phone with head office before anything was done. What you say doesn't surprise me.
Last extension in Dec we went to a different branch near Sri Ratcha and a completely different experience, they knew exactly what was required and extremely efficient.
If you can, may be worth trying another branch.
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11 minutes ago, topt said:
Thanks for mentioning that as my PEA bill changed last week. Was a purpleish colour and the latest was more pink. Also they have finally managed to make it smaller by about 40%.
This is in Pattaya.
I am in Muang Chonburi and ours have also changed in size, about 50% larger.
Started off just getting a bill then some years ago started getting a bill and a receipt when the meter read. Now the receipt is printed on the bill.
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1 hour ago, jacko45k said:
Yes of course, my bank app does too. I do not use the PEA App. But I do just scan the QR code on the bill. Up it pops confirming PEA payment... could not be more convenient
Must be a Bangkok problem.
My bills do not have a QR code or barcode, been paying by direct debit for 14 years without a problem.
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5 hours ago, thecyclist said:
That is total BS.You do not need an agent. Yes, filling out the e-visa form for the first time is a pain in the behind, but you will get through it.
Obviously you would rather shout BS than read what was posted.
If you had bothered to read the posts you would have been aware it wasn't, as you want to make out, my first time.
There was a period in time in January when the only option was to use the new Government Portal, which requires a local ID number, or use an agent as you need to do for a VOA.
As I have already posted above, that now appears to have gone back to the way it was for the time being. It cannot be ruled out as an indication of things to come.
This was the instructions from the only government website operational at the time.
Step 1: Foreigners access the electronic visa information page of the Ministry of Public Security's public service portal (with the Vietnamese domain name "https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/", in English it is "" https://e-services.mps.gov.vn/”) to enter electronic visa application information, download portrait photo and passport identification page. After completing this step, foreigners will be issued an electronic file code by the system.
https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/bocongan/bothutuc/tthc?matt=26277
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21 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:
I applied for 30 day tourist visa for Vietnam 10 days ago using government web site.
Took 5 days to process.
Applied on a Monday and received e-Visa approval later in the week Friday.
Just checked the old link I had and it now appears to open.
A few weeks ago this site could not be accessed and referred you to the new government portal.
https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/bocongan/bothutuc/tthc?matt=26277
This new site requires registration which needs an ID number,
Hopefully things are now back to the way they were but caution will always be required.
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16 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:
I applied for 30 day tourist visa for Vietnam 10 days ago using government web site.
Took 5 days to process.
Applied on a Monday and received e-Visa approval later in the week Friday.
What link did you use to the government site?
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12 hours ago, Liquorice said:
Entering VE, then applying for Non Immigrant status (Non O) they accept 800K funds, overseas transfers and Embassy Income letters.
The only method they don't accept is the combination method.
If @Red Phoenix friend has proof of 12 x 65K monthly overseas transfers, as he states, then that would be accepted for the conversion to Non O.
If you wish to misinterpret "overseas transfers" as income that is up to you, but does not make it fact.
Take it you didn't bother to read the post from @smokeandice.
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14 hours ago, SmokeandIce said:
however, the office would not accept the twelve months of THB 65,000 as financial proof.
Confirming what I said in a previous post.
I have always returned with a new visa, sorry if that wasn't clear.
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13 hours ago, Marty0707 said:
Thanks upnotover for advice as well as you guys can see I'm useless. Ubon joe used to help me a lot in years past but haven't seen him on lately or maybe I'm looking wrong. Hope he's well. I'm down near sissaket here kantharalak is nearest town. Not that far from Cambodia . So I don't need a visa for Vietnam. Did read that but always need second opinion and thanks guys
I have just come back from Vietnam and on a British passport got 45 days visa exempt. They didn't ask to see my return ticket this time but they did last time, bit awkward as my wife had it and she was already through immigration.
Best to have it handy in case they ask.
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14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:
If yes then you need to obtain 30 day tourist e-visa.
Very simple. I just received mine. 5 days process. $25 usd.
It is no longer simple. I have done it twice for an Irish friend and a couple of years ago was very easy.
A few weeks ago I found they had made it similar to the VOA in that you need to use an agent, you now need a Vietnamese ID number to access the government website.
I found an agent that did it for $45 in 7 days but there others with prices over $100. Bit of a minefield now and have to be careful. Some were advertising an e-visa but reading the small print they were selling a letter for the VOA.
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59 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:
Thanks Sandy. I booked a hotel and was pleased with the price and no add on's. I was really surprised to see it was Agoda. I had avoided them for years.
Generally speaking they are not that bad but if you do end up with a problem they can be difficult so have to be careful on the options.
In 2020 we had a booking with Agoda for a hotel at Gatwick and when everything got cancelled the hotel refused to provide any refund. My wife contacted Agoda and they said it was down to the hotel for a refund but in the end they gave us a credit for the amount which could be used against future bookings.
Not all bad.
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5 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:
Applying for the 1-year 'retirement' extension only requires 1 visit to CW.
That's obviously far more attractive to him than having to leave Thailand, and on return apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, with the 'under consideration' period. And then at the end of the 90 days apply for the 1-year extension based on that new 90-day Non Imm O Visa.
If he can do it in one visit without a problem, why start the thread.
My comment was based on entering thailand with a visa but you decided to change the context and turn that into visa exempt. That I believe is a non starter, it is my understanding that visa conversion has to be done on money in the bank rather than income.
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1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:
What exactly is enhanced screening ???...
The phrase means nothing... How are Immigration officers going to Screen us in any 'enhanced manner' more than they do so already ?
What more can immigration officers check for when we enter ?
What a deluded statement, just look at the UK.
My wife's visitor visa application is 16 pages plus having to go to Bangkok for biometrics. This is her 12th application in the last 15 years and every one treated like a terrorist.
The EU is now close behind the UK with almost the same amount of supporting docs for visiting non EU citizens.
Thailand has a lot of catching up to do in the enhanced screening arena.
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18 hours ago, Isan Farang said:
If i use the ATM out of province with Bangkok Bank they charge me 15 Baht per transaction.
Depends on bank and possibly type of account.
I am with TTB and main account is what they call "All Free" and don't pay in other provinces. I suspect that if I used my other account which is basic I would get charged.
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21 hours ago, NoshowJones said:
i used to always avoid Agoda because of their small print tax add on's of 17%. But last week I booked with Agoda by mistake and found their were none of this small print nonsense and everything went through just fine. Would I be right in saying that Agoda is now upfront with their hotel room prices?
Not really. I heard one time that there was a setting where you could have total price displayed but never did find it. I have found that sometimes prices displayed are the total and sometimes it is before the fees are added, you need to be careful.
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17 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:
that he would have no option but to leave Thailand, and on return start the application process from scratch again for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa.
What do you mean "from scratch"?
There is very little difference between an extension renewal and a new extension, done it several times in the last few years. In fact last extension in Dec with new passport from UK and new visa probably easiest I have ever done.
Can't understand why many go to great lengths to avoid what can often be the easiest option.
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12 minutes ago, Dolf said:
Owned by the same company. Agoda is cheaper normally. Booking.com as you say offers more pay at hotel.
With conglomerates ownership is a bit irrelevant, companies are autonomous. The parent company used to be called Priceline and is currently in dispute with the UK over an intention to aquire "GotoGate" and "Getaroom".
In 2021 I had to book a quarantine hotel which I did through Agoda. A few days before I was due back the governemnt reduced the quarantine period from 2 weeks to one week, Agoda refused to refund the difference. They claimed I was outside the cancellation period and I argued that if they joined the government scheme they should follow the government rules. The bank pursued the case on my behalf and resolved it in my favour, took about 6 months. I made a complaint to the "owners" but never got any response.
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16 hours ago, it is what it is said:
been coming and going for 20 odd years, old airport and new, and can honestly say i've never had a problem with the airport or immigration. it's basically fit for purpose.
i don't particularly like the aesthetic or atmosphere of the place, to much concrete, chrome and metal, but that's subjective.
Quite. When it opened it was a vast improvement on DM, well apart from the 500 baht fiasco.
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On 3/16/2024 at 9:11 PM, Dolf said:
Same companies. Both have apps.
They are not the same companies, they are both subsidiaries of the holding company Booking Holdings Inc based in the US.
Agoda operates out of Singapore and Booking,com from the Netherlands.
Price is variable depending on location required and your status with Booking.com. I use both and have had problems with Agoda and they can be very difficult to deal with, yet to encounter a problem with Booking.com.
Booking.com tends to offer more pay at the hotel than Agoda does and free cancellation tends to be closer to check-in than Agoda but Agoda generally is a bit cheaper in this area.
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13 hours ago, geisha said:
Imagine a western country asking the airlines to fix their immigration screw ups.
Obviously out of the question.
Western countries are not interested in fixing their immigration screw ups.
Airports however can be a bit more prudent.
"The latest forecasts indicate that even despite the amnesty, daily departing seats over the summer will average 104,000 -- giving a daily excess of 4,000 seats. On average only about 1,500 of these 4,000 daily seats have currently been sold to passengers, and so we are asking our airline partners to stop selling summer tickets to limit the impact on passengers."
https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Heathrow-Airport-summer-passenger-cap
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On 3/16/2024 at 2:37 PM, jimn said:
There has to be a better way. For example on exit from the UK no one passes through an immigration desk. Whilst I have always wondered how overstayed are checked, it must satisfy the requirements of the UK immigration.
Its apples and oranges with Thailand haveing a much larger influx of foreigners.
The UK makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country in the first place and only issues around 2 million visitor visas a year. What checks that are carried out are done from Airline data. The visa waiver arrangement in place for some nationalities is quite different to the bilateral arrangement that Thailand has in place.
Anyone overstaying in UK for a short period is unlikely to see any repercussion until they try and re-enter. Long term overstayers probably just disappear into a bigger problem, join the list of iIllegals that have absconded.
The authorities of the United Kingdom demand as a requisite to entry and departure that all reservations with flights originating, ending or transiting through the United Kingdom include the following information:
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Travel document information including:
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Number of travel document
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Country travel document was issued in
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Travel document's expiry date
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Name (as it appears on the travel document)
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Surname
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Sex
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Date of birth
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Nationality
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https://www.iberia.com/se/advance-passenger-information-api/#UnitedKingdom
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Overstay and new passport
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
It is a breach of the Immigration Act, unless you are in one of the 3 groups of aliens allowed to be in Thailand without a valid passport.
Somehow I doubt that woud apply to anyone on this forum.