sandyf

OP was a bit off, hadn't done the homework.

If you are referring to the relatively new Smart ferries then that is a different company. https://www.minesmartferry.com/ I have used them and thought they were quite good, very quiet and air conditioned, also very cheap. I went from one end to the other, think it was 40 baht. Only potential problem, they are card payment and the day we went a lot of problems with contactless. PS. Brings a whole new meaning to EV.

"Dual pricing" is nothing more than a falang interpretation for "local" discounting, something that happens worldwide. Currently Thailand has no tourist tax in place so they are quite justified in collecting additional revenue at tourist attractions. There is no dispute that in some cases the differential can be seen as excessive but it is up to you if you wish to enter. If they don't allow the Thai price with yellow book I don't go, simple as that. Having been to several countries that have a tourist tax in place, it is not something I would want to see here. As far as the OP is concerned there has been an official "local" discounting scheme for hotels in place for most of the pandemic. There is nothing out of order with the government advocating the continuance of local discounting unofficially. With the OP saying "prices returning to pre- pandemic levels" they are hardly pushing for a specific increase aimed at foreigners, although many choose to see it that way.

Obviously missing from your vocabulary. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/when-in-rome--do-as-the-romans-do

And why would that be?, countries have similar sized populations. Off course it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the reluctance to wear a mask. Hospitals are filling up again with huge waiting lists, people should be careful what they wish for.

Choices are getting limited, over 40 countries have tourist tax, some here in Asia. Scotland and Wales have tourist tax proposals in the pipeline, way of the world, not just Thailand.

When you leave the country your 90 days came to an end. When you arrive back you will be on day one of a new 90 day period, no need for a report until end of new period. When you arrive at immigration, if you are not already aware you should put the re-entry permit number on the TM6 where it asks for visa number. TM30 is another matter, where I live it is not necessary if returning to the same address but it varies and someone from Udon may advise.

The thread title is about reinstatement Bill. If it is reinstated people will have to accept the new ruling or go elsewhere. Whinging and derogatory comments will not change the ruling, only give foreigners in general a worse name than they have already.

You are right to a certain extent, it is about signalling, signalling respect for the local population, but that would be an alien concept to many.

Their country their rules, if you do not like the rules you have options. If obsession is a mental illness, it is in foreigners that travel abroad and expect to get things done the way they want.

Maybe in your world. It would be “sensible” for hospitals to reintroduce mandatory mask-wearing, the chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said, as several trusts in England and Wales announced the move. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/05/covid-surge-jcvi-chief-andrew-pollard-mandatory-masks-hospital-call

That must be something new.

Where in the OP does it mention VFS fees?

Quite. The UK government has always been problematic. Nothing more bizarre than the way it was for visas. If you applied in Thailand you paid in USD. If you applied in China you paid in Yuan. If you applied in Gibraltar you paid in GBP.

You are quite right, it wouldn't be any different to a transfer to any other UK bank. The problem is getting the Thai bank to agree to the transfer and there has been many different tales on that over the years. It is some years since I did it and had to prove to the Thai bank that funds had been credited to my Thai account from outside the country. People tend to forget there is an exchange control act in place. The regulations regarding the amount of foreign money you can take out of Thailand, and the amount of Thai currency you can take out, are different. Although you can take up to the equivalent of $20,000 out of the country if it's in a foreign currency, different rules apply if you’re planning on taking out Thai baht. You’re only able to take up to THB 50,000 if you’re leaving the country with Thai currency. To give an idea, that’s around about USD 1500. The rules are slightly relaxed if you’re only going into one of the bordering countries - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia, as well as Vietnam, or the Yunnan province of China. In this case, you can take up to THB 2,000,000 - but you must make a declaration to Thai Customs Authorities, if you’re planning on taking more than THB 450,000 to these countries. https://wise.com/gb/blog/taking-cash-in-or-out-of-thailand

VFS fees have always been separate to visa and passport fees. Visa fees up until recently were paid to UK immigration in USD via Worldpay, this year however I paid in Thai baht. HMPO use a payment authorisation arrangement, different altogether, payment will be taken by the passport office as and when, will charge you what they think is required, not what you put on the form. You will not know if the payment has been successful until some time after your passport application reaches HMPO.

Yes, on the surface it shouldn't be a problem. If you look at it from the banks point of view, to them an unknown source asking for an international transaction without the support of OTP, the reaction may not be what is required. I suspect it is one of those situations that may work for some and not others.

I don't think he said anything has happened. I believe the passport application still requires a payment authorisation form to be submitted. In other words you give the passport office all your card details, or someone else's, and they will charge the card the amount required. The OP is looking for experiences with this type of payment using a Thai card.

You will have to wait and see on that one. I used a UK card for mine and personally I would think there is a high chance of the transaction being rejected by a foreign bank.

That may well have been a result of routing. If your payment had been routed via the BOT Bahtnet service then receipt can only happen during BOT business hours when the service is online. All transfers I have ever made from my UK bank have come via Bahtnet and when I had my pension direct from the DWP, that came via Bahtnet. https://www.bot.or.th/English/PaymentSystems/PSServices/bahtnet/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=BAHTNET (Bank of Thailand Automated,Bank of Thailand (BOT).

BA did not cancel flights to Thailand. They are flying in conjunction with Qatar Airways which is in the same group, extremely good business sense under the circumstances. There is some possibility they may reinstate direct flights at some point. I am no fan of BA, took them to court a few years ago, but they have become very adapt at using the group to wriggle out of trouble. It was Qatar that loaned them aircraft and crew during the strike.

Yes, but they don't stop buying fuel and it is my understanding that fuel is paid for upfront. Higher revenues will be required to avoid a cash flow problem. Every chance there is also some anticipation of further increases. Very little chance of prices falling anytime soon. What is more of a concern for people flying into the UK is potential wage settlements in the travel industry that could lead to increases of a more permanent nature. Heathrow is already the most expensive landing in the world.

It will be an evolving situation, much the same as other countries. Last time I went to Malta about 6 years ago, the only EVs were in Valetta, most of the taxi ranks were EVs hooked up waiting for customers. When I came back from LHR last year I had to get a PCR at the airport. A temporary facility had been set up on the perimeter road and to get to it I had to walk through a huge car park. That had been set up with a charging point on every slot specifically for taxis. The bulk vehicle purchasers will get priority and the general public will be at the tail end of the project, if ever.

Not going to happen overnight Bill, nothing wrong with making a start. At the end of the day it will not be up to the PM, the public will determine the rate of change. That as you pointed out will be determined by the charging infrastructure. There wouldn't be any LPG vehicles if they couldn't be refueled. My son and his wife have a petrol and an EV. He says the EV has been a godsend since the price of petrol shot up. Only ever use his car now when they cannot go and come back on a full charge. He has his own point on white meter and says mileage about half that of petrol. With adequate charging facilities they will go a long way to improving air quality in cities, but not a single solution for other problems.

Someone did , some years ago. Renewables have been rising steadily , currently about 10% so who know what level by the time EV's take the lead. Concurrent development is the key, just hope the charging infrastructure doesn't get left behind.