JulieM

I am here on a 60 day visa free entry and would like to have the option to stay another 30 or 60 days without going to Immigration. I would like to visit Lao for a few days as soon as my current entry is about to expire. When I re-enter by land, will I be give 30 days or 60 days? I am a US citizen currently in Chiang Mai. This is my first visit in years if that helps.

Let us know how it goes. I'm applying in a few weeks, also from the US.

I don't think this is exactly what you are looking for, but there is a boutique hotel on Nmmen Soi 5 that has a door feature in their garden/front yard. The doors aren't attached to anything, but they are rather nice. Probably less than 50 meters away from Nimmen,, but I don't remember the name of the place. It is a single storey structure, I believe.  After that, walk around the Nimmen area for other options.

Same answer for the Euro and the Pound:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ecb-qe/ecb-primes-money-printing-gun-to-combat-coronavirus-idUSKBN21D0J4

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/10/coronavirus-crisis-truth-eu-union-financial-rescue

US currency is weaker due to the Federal Reserve printing a lot of new money. Dollar was slightly higher yesterday as investors fled the stock market (6.5% decline) and, for some reason, put money into the US dollar instead of gold.

7 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

So the facebook page has been deleted?

I hope the Thai police is going to dig in this story

the false statement of Thais abusing an old pensioner

is at least an attempt at the country reputation.

The Thai immigration has already all the datas about this crook

it's time now to stop it and get him out of the country

The Facebook page has not been deleted. The link works for me. Search Facebook for Declan Jamrs Theodore. That is not a typo. The second name is shown as Jamrs on Facebook.

Here is the relevant Facebook page:  

Vans with drivers can be hired at Get Van Go, based in Chiang Mai. Google it and you will find contact details. Not sure about the size of the van.

You've posted in the right place. Don't be discouraged by the lack of response since it is the middle of the night in Chiang Mai. I suspect you might have more luck in the older condo buildings or renting a townhouse from a private owner. As a dog lover I hope you are able to keep your dog.

Guys, you may have missed the post above but the OP is a troll. This is not a real person with a real problem.

I left CM months ago, but I follow the air quality daily at airvisual.com. I don't know if it's accurate. While the air is still bad in CM, the entire region of northern Thailand and the border areas with Laos and Myanmar looks so much better than it did last month. I think CM is only weeks away from having decent air again. I've pretty much decided to stay away Feb. - mid-May but we'll see what happens next year.

You might want to check out Kindle Direct Publishing. They won't accept a PDF but it shouldn't be too hard if you have digital text. It's a free service but of course you have to pay for a copy of the book. People use this when they self-publish books. Paperback might be the only option they offer. 600 pages is a lot. Not sure what problems that might cause.

The only question that the OP asked is what neighborhood would be best for a 22-year-old. Nimmanhaemin and Santitham have been suggested. Personally, if I were 22 I think I'd go with Santitham. There may be other areas that are also appropriate.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

He also wrote this,

Perhaps they don't to chase after visas and get new entries every few months to stay here.

With a OA visa he would not have to deal with immigration for a extension. His wife would get her non-o visa when he obtains the OA visa and then a extension equal to the remainder of his one year entry from the OA visa.

Perhaps. Getting an OA is a bit of a drag when you consider three of the requirements:

1.  Medical certificate showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No.14(B.E. 2535) certificate shall be valid for not more than three months 

2.  Letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record (verification have to valid for not more than three months and must be issued from a state or Federal Bureau of Investigation only. Online criminal record without authorizer’s signature is unacceptable )

3.  Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht or an income certificate (an original copy) with a monthly income of not less than 65,000 Baht, or a deposit account plus a monthly income totaling not less than 800,000 Baht In the case of submitting a bank statement, a letter of guarantee from the bank (an original copy) is required

The next time I'm at my bank I will ask if they will provide a "letter of guarantee." I suppose they might. 

The OA comes with another disadvantage:

Recommendations for foreigners with Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) while staying in the Kingdom:
Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry. During the one-year period, if he or she wishes to leave and re-enter the country, he or she is required to apply at the Immigration office for re-entry permit (single or multiple) before departure. In the case of leaving the country without a re-entry permit, the permit to stay for 1 year shall be considered void.

At the end of the 90-day stay , the foreigner must report to the immigration officer in his or her residence area and report again every 90 days during his or her stay in Thailand . The foreigner may report to the police station if there is no immigration office in his or her residence area.

I got this info from here and I don't know if this source is correct:  http://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-oa/

I think the original post has been misunderstood. Although he is retiring, he only wants to spend a year (maybe a bit more) in Thailand with his wife.  This post was originally posted to the Chiang Mai forum, so I am guessing that's where they want to stay. If he is willing to travel a bit, here is what I would do:

1.  Get a 60-day tourist visa in your country before you leave.

2. Extend for 30 days at Chiang Mai Immigration = 90 days.

3. Take a bus to Mae Sai and cross at the land border = an additional 30 days (I think it's 30 but I may be wrong.) Once this visa expires you have now been in Thailand for 120 days (4 months.)

4. Go to Laos (Vientienne) to get a new 60-day tourist visa and repeat steps 2 and 3. Once these visas and extensions expire you have now been in Thailand for 8 months.

5. Return to Laos for your final tourist visa and repeat step 2. Do not return to Mae Sai since you already have two land crossing extensions. You have now been in Thailand for 11 months.

6. Return to your home country for a while.

Going to Vientienne is very easy from Chiang Mai. Fly to Udon Thai (Thailand) and take the airport bus to the border. Cheap and easy.

I hope this helps. I only posted this advice since I thought there was too much emphasis on getting a retirement visa. That seems overkill if the original poster only wants to spend about a year in Thailand. Please let me know if I have something wrong since this will also help me next time I travel to Thailand.

The METV (multiple entry tourist visa) might be a better option. I need to study that option.

I once saw a Thai man stop construction at a site after 5 PM. My understanding was that there is nothing you can do from 9 AM - 5 PM, but after 5 PM you might have a case. I have no idea if this is true or not.

Yeah, the Immigration Officer is following the rules.  If I couldn't accept these rules, I'd have to travel somewhere else.

Google "Chiang Mai Camera Shops" and quite a few places pop up on the map outside of the malls.