kmw

I have a friend on the PE elite Visa, no need to do the 90 day report, they take care of it for you, I think by law its necessary but they have some kind of agreement with immigration so they do it for you,

Also the PE Visa once issued cannot and has not been revoked, from what I know thier are about 4900 people on this Visa currently, 

Yes the 90 day medical extensions can be extended indefinitely, I only did it back to back twice, as I felt I was gaming the system,  just thinking, it would be a PR distaster if someone was deported who was unfit to fly or needed medication attention,

however a 12 month medical extension is also available

Hey OP,

I'm in the same boat as you, and seriously considering the PE elite Visa, I've been here now 4 years, but mainly on the metv 6 month Visa that can be pushed out to 9-12 months with a bit of planning however I feel I'm pushing my luck a bit,

I am 35 years old and receive a foreign income from Australia, I also dont qualify for any other Visa, I'm not married, not old enough for a retirement Visa, and not willing to park the 10 million thb in a thai bank account that earns terrible interest, 

As your thinking about moving here I reccomend go for at least the metv Visa and see if you enjoy life here, if all ok then obtain the PE elite Visa, the 20 year is definiaty much better value, best to break it down and align it with your home country CPI, inflation, income etc and it's a no brainer, cheers 

1 hour ago, Danthai said:

Can one get a long term visa to stay with permanent medical conditions and requiring permanent monthly treatment, sometimes twice a month. 

This is a grey area, legally Thailand does not offer any long term medical visas, however thier are ways around this as I mentioned before. regardless of what Visa you arrive here on a, 90 day medical extension can be obtained at a hospital, they do all the paperwork for you and your passport is back the next day, no need to go to immigration, this can also be continually extended however dont push your luck, I've done this twice (180 days in total) as it's easier and cheaper for me to do this, instead of flying back to Australia to obtain another Visa, the medical extension Visa also heavily depends on the actual doctor/specialist and more importantly the hospital you are at, and the relationship they have with immigration, I live in chiang mai, and know that ram hospital and bangkok hospital chiang mai offer this service, I doubt unfortunately any of the public hospitals, or GPs/clinics would be able to offer the service.

Generally you would need a medical condition that would require at least monthly visits to the hospital along with prescription only medication thats not available at the usual pharmacy's,

I think it depends on the hospital and doctor who applies for the medical extension with the immigration department, I've had no issues at all with bangkok hospital chiang mai, yes they over service and overcharge

I personally need to see my doctor at least once per month to obtain medication, as I've been here for about 4 years they understand that its financially easier and better for me to stay in Thailand, also not to mention the hospital financially gains as well, as we all know its generally a user pays system here, and I do feel sorry for people who may need a medical extension and were not able to obtain it.

Enter a few days prior the expiry, on the metv so that's 6 months plus 60 days, then extent the tr for another 30 days(1900 thb) then it's possible to extend another 90 days on a medical extension, bangkok hospital chiang can do this, the medical extension is 1900 thb but they charge in total 5000thb inc the 1900 ext fee, they do it all for you

Wondering why dont you just fly back to Canada and get a metv? You can then stretch this out to 9 months, and possibly 12 months, I've been doing this for the last several years with no issues at immigration 

20k thb reality is nothing, it's less then a weeks work!!! (In relation to Australian median income), especially for peace of mind, myself being on back to back metv always carry 20k thb or equivalent, never been asked to show though, this being immigration at bkk and cnx,

Ah ok, was not to sure as it's all in thai, but I got it the 90 days on top of the 30 day extension that was on top of the 60 day by entering a few days prior to the metv running out, so in all I got just under one year in total

Yes that's correct, medical extension is max 90 days,

Tourist extension is 30 days,

Also sorry I dont know what paperwork was filled out, as I was in ICU so the hospital did everything for me, but from what I know my Visa was changed from tourist to medical 

On 8/3/2018 at 8:37 AM, bbi1 said:

Sydney is fine with you not giving them a outgoing flight ticket out of the country within 60 days of your 1st entry and just writing on the form that you will make a land crossing? When was that??

 

Two months ago when I called them before applying for a new METV they repeatedly told me that I must show them a flight ticket out of the country within 60 days even though you can extend another 30 days at immigration, which that lady seemed a bit surprised it could be done even though I've told her I did it for many years.......but that's another story. Anyway, I had to waste money on buying a ticket out of the country within 60 days to fulfill their requirements.

Hi, Visa was issued on the 15th March 2018 with the consulate in Sydney, from experience consulates tend to be more relaxed then embassies,

When at the counter the representative checks all the details, to ensure the Visa will be approved, this has started in the last 2 years, the application form is a bit confusing as it does not ask for exit, only for single and double, but not for metv, well that was the last time I checked, the main things they want are bank statement and entry flight, 

I always fly into chiang mai and I have never had a problem, I'm currently on my 4 metv back to back and all seems fine so far, I think I may be pushing it a bit so am considering the elite/pe visa 

2 hours ago, Yeahbutwhytho said:

Just wondering if people have been giving consulates flight details of their 2nd in/out entries in order to get their METV's?

In Sydney, while the form does ask for a departure date, I just added a note stating as its a 6 month(9 month max) metv my departure is usually a land crossing for the departure, and they are fine with that 

On 7/19/2018 at 8:23 PM, bbi1 said:

How much does it cost for these "Agents" to go to immigration for you and do the 30 day extension of stay? I always get annoyed when these "Agents" come in with 10 passports and jump the queue and take forever while others have to wait half a day or more.

In chiang mai it cost about 1000 thb, so its peanuts and totally worth it, I've extended my metv 4 times so far and in and out within 15 minutes, just turn up and immigration takes a photo of you then your out 10 minutes later 

I can understand your concern however it's a service worth paying for, 

Hey all, sorry for the late reply, I am the guy that has been doing back to back metv for the last few years and on my 4th metv the Visa label was accidently stamped as used at chiang mai airport, 

Anyway all is fine, on my 60 day entry everything was fine however the IO did state that the previous IO must have accidentally stamped my Visa, he said it wont be any issues as it's clear I have a metv and that its obvious the other IO stamped it by mistake 

thanks for your reply, ive never used a SETV, only visa exempt(30 days), this was many years ago before I decided to move to thailand,  and now METV, so this is the first time I have seen a stamp on my METV visa label, 

Hey All, I spend 8 days in Sydney, the consulate takes 3 business days to issue the visa label in my passport but I always stay a few more days in the event of any delays,

I flew Sydney Singapore Chiang mai, so immigration was done in Chiang mai

Hi all,

Its that time of year again when im going to try for another back to back METV, this will now be my 4th METV back to back, flying back to Sydney for about a week, obtain the visa label then will try to get back into Thailand, you may remember I got a bit grilled by the IO last time with my 3rd back to back METV, but she let me in anyway, as its blatantly obvious that Im gaming the system, but not really, as the METV is the best option for me at the moment and I meet all the rules and are able to provide evidence that I dont work in Thailand as all my funds are sourced from Australia,

I am unable to get a retirement visa as im 34 years old and live in Thailand, and am not willing to park the 10 million THB in a thai bank account or buy some overpriced crappy property, as that amount can return a better result with other investment vehicles. 

Will have the 20k THB cash with me on arrival and also 500K THB in a Thai bank account ready for the PE/Elite visa in the event I get denied,

Will keep you all updated and lets see how I go, hopefully I can get another 9 months in the Kingdom!

200,000 thb per month is not that much, works out to be about 112,000 aud, per year, the average median income for Australia is 75-80k aud per year, so this is a better option then the elite visa 

1 hour ago, HeavyHands said:

I have applied & received METV 3 times in Melbourne each with no onward flights required, just arrival details & a Visa card statement with sufficient credit. This is a troubling development. 

same with me, but with the syd consulate, just arrival details, bank statment and forms with photo, i didnt even need to provide them my one way flight into thailand.

HI, I also posted about this yesterday, it seems the embassy in canberrra is still using the old forms, the sydney consulates new requirements are looking like a nightmare,  as with my previous 3 back to back metv all I had was a one way flight into thailand, and didnt even have to give an itinerary, 

also I make my 60 day in/out via land crossing, wondering if they will accept "I will drive from chiang mai to mae sai on xxx date"???

22 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

for what it's worth... i've had METV's for six months of every year since they started. the last three entries i've been steadily questioned more about why i'm here. i've decided i avoid the hassle and get a retirement visa.

Hi, thanks for your reply, i am in my mid 30's so the retirement visa is not an option for me unfortunately 

Hi All, 

The time is soon approaching where I am considering trying to obtain another metv visa back to back, I plan on flying back to my home country mid march next year 2017, this if successful this will be my 4th time on the 6 month(well actually 9 month visa if played right)

I usually fly back to sydney for about a week to obtain the visa, however as i like to get my ducks in a row well in advance, its seems the thai sydney consulate has cracked down, well i guess they are asking for more evidence to prove your a "tourist" . for my last 3 visas, all I needed was the form, photo, and bank statement, however looking at the visa form now its somewhat asking for way to much information, 

You can view the pdf here,

https://thaiconsulatesydney.org/docs/forms/visitor-visa/visa-application-form.pdf

However it seem the actual embassy in canberra is currently using the old forms that dont require so much information,

http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/Home/visa

Perhaps I should just use the embassy? but I have a feeling they might update the forms on the website soon,  however in the past the sydney consulate were very relxaed about handing out metv,

Another option I am considering is just to bite the bullet and buy the pe/elite 5 year visa, as it almost cost the same flying back to sydney, ie flights, accommodation,

Your thoughts? has anyone tried obtaining a 4th metv from sydney back to back?