sandyf

Apples and oranges. Since when did not having a re-entry permit stop you going through immigration.

Every country decides on how immigration laws will be implemented but there are common factors among most countries, entry being one of them. Visas are issued subject to conditions and provided the conditions are complied with there are no grounds for denial. When the tennis guy was refused entry to Australia he was held for a few days while they decided if he was compliant, not up to airport immigration. One of the big issues with Thailand is the ability to enter without a visa, many try to abuse the facility and then start complaining, hardly a valid argument.

I came across from Laos at Nong Khai on 26th Jan. Extremely quiet and very straightforward apart from the TM6. I used to have a spare but couldn't find it before going.

It is not semantics if the context is wrong. People need to be clear if the term "visa" is an adjective or a noun.

The post you referred to was referring to SE visas which were stamped "used", not a ME visa which will remain vailid until expiry.

Without dispute. There was a time when the terminology brigade were a bit pedantic but things have become a bit slack recently.

No further use is dependent on personal circumstances. Visas are global entity and how they are used is not determined by Thailand. My wife has visas for Burma, Korea, China and even Vietnam going back many years that had to be listed. As it happens Korea is not on the UK dropdown but it was for Canada but no requirement for the EU.

Quite. They have a simplistic approach when speaking which should be borne in mind and not take quite literally. Many of their own words have multiple meanings, which can be a bit embarrassing.

Quite right. However it is quite valid to refer to a "visa extension", effectively as an abreviation, as the extension of the permission to stay refers to a particular visa. Single entry visas become invalid on entry but they are not cancelled, they remain on your travel history. In order to obtain a visitor visa for the UK my wife has to list previous visas.

Good one - with keyboard brevity. Extending the permission to stay granted by a visa will reset the clock, extending the permission to stay granted on a previous extension will not.

Exactly, there are a multitude of reasons why there may not be time. Apart from flight changes we have also had delays due to flat tyre and accidents on the motorway. Catching a flight may not be the simple exercise that some would make out.

No you didn't, the visa could never be used, it was invalidated the moment you got it. It was a paperwork exercise to convert your visa status from "exempt" to "Non-O".

You are quite free to believe what you want but would advise against trying to enter the country with that stamp. Even immigration say you need a re-entry permit. Bottom line, it is a paperwork exercise, you are not issued a valid visa.

Exactly.

Absolute garbage and the mods should stop this false information being posted, it is what leads to the confusion. The slip in passport states quite clearly that submission of a TM7 is taken as notification at the first time. Extending a visa will reset the clock, extending an extension will not.

You need to be careful with the language being used as this is what creates the confusion. This statement is incorrect. "I didn't know that you could apply for a Non O Retirement Visa while in Thailand?" You cannot apply for a Non O visa, of any type, while in Thailand. When you enter the country you have a visa status, if you still hold a valid visa would depend on the type of visa you originally had. If you had no visa then your visa status would be "exempt", or tourist visa if that was the case. What you can do, is apply to immigration to change your visa status to Non O, which is a requirement to obtain a 12 month extension. I know the form says "Change of Visa" but this is the way immigration talk, no actual visa is issued. Visas come under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If you need to get a visa as such, it would need to be done outside the country. I lived here for the first 6 years on a visa, no need to go anywhere near immigration, not quite so easy these days.

My account was with TMB and never a problem. However when I went along in Nov it was a bit of a nightmare. All the staff had been replaced under the restructure to TTB and they didn't have a clue what to do. The manager was on the phone to head office before anything got done and then it took forever. Sorry, I appreciate another bank to avoid is not particularly helpful.

Only a certain mentality would plan to go to the airport with a recent extension and no re-entry permit. Even in normal circumstances if it is busy could be problematic. Over the years several times I have turned up at the airport and been off loaded and re-routed which has often been a panic to get you on an aircraft already boarding.

I would agree with your assessment, and this line also supports your view. "Avoid this place, do your visa with time ahead, and online." Vietnam is not on the Thai E-visa platform but you can get a visa online for Vietnam.

Maybe if western countries offered the same number of visa options as Thailand does then Thailand would have a better idea on how to do it properly. After all western administration is faultless.

Stay in context. My point was regarding the comparison between USA and Europe, both continents have rich and poor. Of course you are free to disagree.

So you are telling me that everyone in the USA gets paid the same, gets the same number of days annual holiday, the same social benefits and has exactly the same contract of employment. Yes, that I didn't know.

Irrelevant, Texans are citizens of the USA and spend USD Germans are citizens of the of the European Union and spend Euro. Canadians and Brits are out of it.

ditto

Another quiet day for news so have to fill the pages with something. A lot depends on where you are. When I first came to this area in 2008 the dry season started in November and there would be no rain at all until at least April, with temperatures regularly into the 40s. One year no there was no rain until June. We are self sufficient, normally, on water but that year had to start buying it but fortunately we went to UK mid May. Since 2016 we have not gone through the winter months without some rain of varying degrees in Jan or Feb with temperatures being relatively lower, not run out of water in that time. In 2011 our wells run out during my father in law's funeral end of Dec, still going strong at the moment so who knows. It was forecast last Wednesday that we would have rain, never materialised just a bit cloudy. So much for predictions.