Goethe

If you fly into BKK from the UK and transfer to a flight to Vietnam a few hours later (i.e. you remain in transit), do you have to register with TDAC?

Agents charge various fees for filing a 90-day report on your behalf, ranging from zero to 500 Baht.

The Canadian Embassy ceased issuing the income verification letter quite some time ago. You would be wise to ask your local Immigration Office what they require, because they are not all the same. For Jomtien, for example, I have to supply a 12-month bank statement.

The advice that a surviving spouse should use the ATM card after the other spouse's death to withdraw money out of an account (any account, joint or not!) was something I heard a lawyer state to a farang i was helping recently to prepare a last Will and Testament.

Tik tok (Jomtien) will take your photograph at the Immigration Building the first time you go, but thereafter you do not gave to go.

I know people who do it -- and who keep very quiet...

According to my agent (last week) both the TM 30 and TM 47 are now required.

You asked for advice, and when you received some very sound advice from people who have considerable expertise, you reject it. Your immigration record is in the computer for every immigration officer to see. That record will certainly raise a red flag, whether you have a visa or not. It is, of course, your decision to make, but if you want to be sure of being admitted into Thailand again, the only safe course of action is to use the safe entry option.

Using Wise, the permitted transfer amount differs according to the country. From Canada, for example, the limit is just over 200 000 THB.

The confusion arises because in Thailand there is no consistency in the use of the term "visa". Although the terms "retirement visa" and "marriage visa" are commonly used (especially on this forum), the Immigration Act (Section 35) refers only to "permission to stay" and "extension of permission to stay" -- and it lists the purposes for which such permissions may be granted and the permissible length (one year).

"You'll once a year need an balance confirmation letter from your bank together with a 3-month statement (typically 200 baht cost, valid for 7 days) and copy of (all pages) on your bankbook, which also need to be updated, often same day or day before applying for extension of stay." Procedure may be different, depending on the Immigration Office. At Jomtien, if you have the 800 000 baht in an FDA. the procedure is as follows: 1. Deposit 100 baht in the FDA. 2. Request the bank to update your bank book. 3. Request a letter stating that you are the holder of the account and how much is in it. (Cost: 200 baht.) 4. Request a 12-month statement. (Cost: 200 baht.) 5. If you are applying for an Extension of Stay yourself, you will need to copy every page of your bank book. 6. If you are using an agent #5 is not necessary. Source: Recent personal experience.

The simplest, "cleanest" way for you to proceed is to deposit 800 000 baht in a Fixed Deposit Account and to leave it there untouched for ever. Then every year when you apply for your extension of stay, you go to your bank and request a letter stating that you have this account and how much is in it, plus a 12-month statement showing that the money was untouched. Many people do this and they sleep well.

This discussion demonstrates an eternal truth: different offices have different requirements, so before you apply for an extension of stay, it is wise to enquire about what they currently are. Current requirements at Jomtien with 800 000 baht in a Fixed Deposit account are as follows: 1. Deposit 100 baht in the account and update bank book. 2. Request from the bank a letter stating that you are the owner of the account and how much is in it. 3. Request a 12-month bank statement. Different banks levy different fees. At my SCB branch I paid 200 baht for items 1 & 2, and another 200 baht for item 3.

Free shipping: you have to spend only 180 baht. Prices: very cheap, often cheaper than Lazada or Shopee. Quality: cheap goods from China are ... cheap goods. Sizes: you must be extra careful when ordering. Delivery times: reasonable, but often longer than advertised.

The thrust of this post is: "This is the way I like to travel. Why doesn't the world accommodate me?" That is the height of narcissism.