sandyf

The time I went with the wife and nieces, I got my visa in NK the day before crossing the bridge.

Indeed, we had a close call with the bus. I was with my wife and her 2 nieces, one of them didn't have a passport so the 3 of them went through the temporary pass control which had quite a queue. I had to plead with the bus not to go without them. The woman from the bus took me back through immigration to find them and she took them to the front of the queue, all a bit fraught. There is a border post at Thanaleng station and I suspect that is what will be used, a bit like it was at Pedang Besar on the Butterworth train. These days they are going to want the ability to do a luggage check. When I went to Pakse on a bus we had all to get off with our luggage at the border.

Yes I meant after covid, was running last time I went to NK before covid, didn't bother with it as it only went to Thanaleng. Took the bus from NK bus station to Vientiane bus station. Last year when I got off at the new HS station was told it wasn't running, only buses to Vientiane bus station and the border post at the bridge. Looks like the new service goes a bit nearer the town.

Thanks, the article gave no indication which station was going to be used. When I came back last year from Luang prabang there was no passenger train over the bridge.

The gazette is a website and items are posted Mon to Fri. Generally speaking about 100 items a day, only 5 so far today. https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/#list-tab

More to do with the other end, I think the train will stop at Thanaleng, as far as I am aware there is no station in the town.

Depends where you want to go. There used to be a train from Nong Khai to Vientiane, but it just went across the river, think you did immigration on the Laos side and then you had to make your way into the town. That was stopped before covid and don't think it ever resumed. The new service may be of benefit to some. If however you plan on getting the HS train the station is some distance out of the town and you would be better off getting off at Nong Khai, a tuk tuk to the bridge and then the bus from the Laos border post to the new HS station. You could be across the bridge in the 40 minutes the train is sat there.

First mention of tax in the thread, your words, an unsubstantiated claim, obviously aimed at scaremongering. "Seems this is related to ... TAXES." Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia

Amazing what can be dreamed up to suit an agenda.

Debating an issue, not creating an issue.

Earlier in the year my marriage extension went over the 30 days. My wife was told to phone up twice a day to see if it had come back. After a few days she asked what was the holdup and was told there was a backlog due to an investigation on extension funding by agents.

Quite Bill. I also do marriage extensions and until last year also on income. However I wouldn't relate the same tale of woe, not all about the rules, sometimes more to do with how the rules are implemented. Also I can get the bank documents over the counter, I do it on the way to immigration, no appointment necessary and takes about 30 minutes. It can all be a bit tedious but at the end of the day, an awful lot easier for me to stay here than the bureaucracy and cost of my wife going to the UK.

Exactly. Until it is people should refrain from unsubstantiated speculation. Too many threads are being distorted with someone trying to turn it into a tax issue. Personal taxation is exactly that, personal. No two people's circumstances are the same and each will have to deal with it individually. The paranoid should keep their thoughts to themselves.

Obviously you can back that up with some indication of the proposal to apply import duty to goods under 1500 baht. It doesn't help anyone creating unsubstantiated rumours.

You would need to explain. What is the difference(tax wise) on how people are treated between a retirement extension and a marriage extension?

A lot of it is more about the immigration office. If the person in charge of the office takes a certain line, then that is the line that will be taken. Jomtien and Sri Ratcha are both Chonburi Immigration but on some issues they about as close at the North and South poles.

The recent proposals on items coming into Thailand were only regarding VAT, the exemption from import duty for goods under 1500 baht was to remain.

Quite. When I cleared my flat out in 2010 I came across some notes that I had brought back from the gulf in 1970. I had got them from a bank so circulated but in very good condition. I had 3x 1 Qatar & Dubai Riyal and 1 x 5 Riyal notes, only worth a few pence when I got them, but I hadn't realised the currency was only in use for about 5 years. I got £800 from a dealer for them. He said I should have gone to auction, possibly £1500 - £2000 but I wasn't in a position to take that option.

At the end of the day it is a bit irrelevant who makes up the rules, you either want a stamp or you don't. Shouting BS is not going to make a difference, adapting to change is one of life's necessities.

Thailand had a polymer note 20 years ago, the 50 baht. The people didn't like it and became a paper note about 2011. Surprised I haven't heard u-turn mentioned.

You need to check with who told you that on what basis, you sure they are not talking about the road border? I have never heard of any "border fee". If you go by train the immigration is on the platform, I just went through both and then walked over the road to the market area for a few hours. I was on ME Non O and when I went back through Thai immigration the IO just asked where was my wife. I said her sister was ill and she had to stay at home, IO just smiled and said have a good trip.

In order to get an OTP you have to be recognised by the website. A "permission denied" message means you haven't been allowed anywhere near the website, often the result of a geographical block.

You need to go back to square one, you are all over the place and full of misinformation. You started on retirement and then started talking about marriage, you need to decide what it is you want. There are 2 separate scenarios, a visa obtained in the UK and a visa extension obtained from immigration in Thailand. Visas from the UK can be Non O for marriage or retirement, They used to be available for one year multi entry or 90 days single entry but the ME is unavailable at the moment. The financial requirements shown on the website are the baht equivalents for a one year retirement extension obtained in Thailand. If you search the forum for threads on UK e-visas you will see that visas have been obtained for a fraction of that. If you are married and you can satisfy the requirements that would be the obvious first step. Once you get to Thailand you would have 90 days to prepare for an extension application. You would need to open a bank account and being in possession of a Non O visa that should be a bit easier. The financial requirement for a Non O marriage extension is 400K in a bank account OR an income of over 40K baht/month. You have to prove the income by showing transfers to a Thai bank every month for 12 months but this is reduced on your very first extension application. You do not, as you mentioned, have to be registered on any housebook, just have proof of residence. If you prefer to take the retirement option, the financial requirements for extension are 800K in the bank OR an income of 65K baht/month. This is a list of the questions that need to be addressed for a marriage visa. Note that Q10 says £10K, this was for the one year. You should deal with funds in Q4 and then in Q10 upload a note referring to Q4.

Yes and no. The money does not have to be in an account in your home country, it can be anywhere. I use my Thai account.

Very unlikely on point one, many would be on indirect flights and only the boarding pass for arrival in Thailand is required. You are quite right on point 2, a dilligent IO could spot that the visa was issued before leaving Thailand.