richard_smith237

Who, to be fair, often ask better, stronger, more pertinent questions of the evidence, those involved and the legal systems in general than those whose job it is !!! Something definitely does not look right at all....

This has a strong whiff of 2003/4 Thaksin's war on drugs when approximately 2800 ‘suspects’ where extra judicially ‘killed’ (murdered) bringing Thailand to the forefront of international humans rights concerns... https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/03/12/thailands-war-drugs

???? Sometimes in my experience they do and even have got confused as to whether I had valid extension of permission to stay and re entry stamp. They kept looking at the expired visa on which these were based. Next level up had to be consulted before my check in was allowed. Respected airline, but not direct flight which may have had something to do with it. I've had similar issues in the past. When checking in using a return ticket, I was told I needed an onward ticket. The check-in staff called their supervisor who then also had to get on the phone to confirm that I didn’t need an onward ticket when holding a visa. I’ve flown out of this particular destination in the Middle East and they’re extremely fastidious and have got it wrong on a few occasions, particularly when the regulations were changing and evolving through Covid.

Its the vendors.... many of them are just scam artists trying to get ‘site traffic’... I commonly have the issue of finding the item I want for a reasonable price... I put in the order... Wait for a week, still the order is not processed, then I am told they are out of stock. When searching again, I see the same item in the same store for more money... they’re just trying to draw in traffic... some of this makes using these shops on Lazada a PITA time waster.

Your comment presented a degree of validation towards someones ‘personal experience’ which contradicts official advice....

I thought so... the Emergency Decree has been lifted. ... I think visa exempt is still 45 days (the issue is that Thailand is pretty slack when it comes to updating official information). For example: the MFA page below states 45 days (yet most of the MFA webpage itself doesn’t work !) https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/zE6021nSnu/เอกสาร/VOA.pdf The Immigration webpage states 30 days. https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=2771 And this is why some of the best information can be found on forums such as this. That said: there is an IATA* list of information that the airlines themselves use - its is the information on this site that the Airlines rely on when checking documentation. *I can’t seem to find that IATA site.

You said it.... “If you feel lucky and wanna roll the dice”.... I think most people don’t want to roll the dice when it concerns international travel.

And because ‘it can go either way’.... the intelligent choice is to air on the side of caution... Thus: The comments such as “I’ve been flying for years and never been checked” only serve to offer flawed influence... ... in any such situation following the regulations and safeguarding against potential issues is the only intelligent option, anything else is simply a gamble.

You would if you read the thread & realised its not about your situation

Photos get taken at the point of application.

Ah... the ‘seat belt’ argument.... I never had a crash so never needed a seatbelt !!... Op: As UbonJoe and DrJack54 wrote... - Visa exempt = you should have a a return ticket - With visa = no need an onward ticket The reason for this are the immigration requirements: - If entering with a Visa, Immigration requirement do not require you to have an onward flight. - If entering Visa, Immigration requirements state that you must have an onward flight (within 30 days). The reality is Immigration very rarely check this (if ever, but they can). The reality also is that Airlines can and do check this as they are the ones on the hook for the cost of your return should immigration reject your visa exempt entry. Mileage clearly varies - some posters will argue they have never been asked to show an Onward / return ticket when travelling into Thailand Visa exempt (as per Deserted), others, myself included have been checked.... Nearly every time I fly to Thailand the Check-In staff check for my Visa (I’m flying into Thailand about 8 times per year - so thats pretty regular checks when travelling from Middle East, UK, Japan). In the past (about 15 years ago before I held a long term visa and I was entering visa exempt I was regularly I asked to show an onward ticket, not every time - but perhaps about 4 out of 10 times.

Really, now ??.... Really, now ??..... the K1 visa, right ?

Why even bother with any of that when its so easy for her to renew her passport in a day or two in her home province (or Bangkok if she wishes) ???? There is very little ‘pleasing’ of the Thai Bureaucracy to do... A Thai Passport renewal is a quick and relatively painless process compared to time and hassle it takes for many of us from Western nations. The Op's wife is already doing the correct thing. The Op has enquired about travel into Thailand - a non-issue. The return to US with a new passport is a non-issue given the Wife’s existing paperwork. The Op can simply enjoy his holiday with is wife... nothing to worry about at all.

Not an issue for a national travelling to their home country (in the vast majority of cases).

My Wife (Thai) had her old passport returned to her. She travelled with both Passports to the UK and showed both Passports upon entry, the new Passport which was stamped, the old Passport which shows the Visa (that was about 7 or 8 years ago, she has since got a new visa in her latest passport so I don’t know if that rule has altered for British Visas). You’ll need to check IF the US accept the Visa in her old Passport - maybe other forum members with Thai Wive’s and US visa’s can offer information on this. I don't know about the employment authorisation card (if thats ok or not - I guess the airline are looking for the US Visa to permit boarding when travelling back to the states).

IF those in positions of responsibility and decision making power were held responsible for such issues they would be dealt with very quickly. There is slow improvement - but its starting decades too late.

With this kind of fear I’m surprised you made it onto a plane.... let alone crossing a road in Thailand !!!... Why would my insurance not cover me for injury ?

Loads of great Thai food all over Bangkok... From high end fine dining Thai to standard street food... There are gems all over the city... way too many to list primarily because your question is rather unspecific... So... Starting off... Sabai Jai Gai Yang (on Ekammai)... inexpensive, cheerful, good food, shorts and flip-flops type of place..... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d3355144-Reviews-Sa_Bai_Jai-Bangkok.html Or another Place.... Ton Krueng (deep on Sukhumvit 49)... moderately price, comfortable, good food, shorts n t-shirt or suit n tie straight from work type of place... https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d1396816-Reviews-Thon_Krueng_Restaurant-Bangkok.html Or this place... Big Ha Mor (Sukhumvit 71)... shop front noodles... very popular, loads of GrabBikes waiting outside.

The Wife is Thai, flying to Thailand - theoretically the Wife would not be prevented entry on an expired passport - the only thing the airline are interested in is their responsibility should the passenger be refused entry. Thus: No, the potential for 6 month issue is a non-issue (additionally, the 6 month issue you mentioned is not an issue for all countries - my (Thai) Wife flew to Japan for 2 weeks with 3 months left on her passport, yet if she wanted to go to Singapore, she’d be rejected under the 6 month rule).

As your Wife is Thai, flying to Thailand the date of her return travel and passport validity is irrelvant. She cannot be denied boarding a flight for this reason. Additionally, if I’m not mistaken, if she wanted to, I believe she could fast-track a passport application - i.e. Submit it and collect it the next day (or possibly the same afternoon). Anyway, the expiry your Wife’s Thai Passport is not going to be an issue as far as travel to Thailand. Does the USA require transference of her US Visa into her new Passport or is carrying the Visa in her expired passport acceptable ? (I assume you looked into this already).

You are using yet further strawman fallacy to excuse inexcusable behaviour. Using your examples: It's discrimination if he is rejected an entry visa at Don Muang Airport when he is can get a Visa at Suvarnabumi.... the example is still highly flawed and ridiculous. That would be racism and sexism (discrimination based on race / gender).... The Op was refused mediation based on his nationality alone, that is very much a discriminatory practice which would be illegal in any of the (western) countries we come from.

Yes, 620 Baht for Paracetamol and Cough mixture is expensive.... but thats the markup everyone knows at any hospital - usually at hospitals (when under inpatient insurance only) I go refuse to take the medication buy the medication at the hospital pharmacy if I know I can’t get it elsewhere.... ....But, if feeling particularly unwell, no one wants to have to run around to additional places. The hospital would also have made a profit on the molnupiravir medication had they not prevented the Op from receiving such medication - its still just very strange that they had a policy which prevented this (maybe an old Policy from last year when anti-virals were more scarce). He did, the Dr. told him he could get it at a Pharmacy and wrote the name (molnupiravir) on a piece of paper for the Op - the Pharmacy didn’t stock it, so the Op had to go to another hospital.

He can’t get those meds from a Pharmacy.... I’m not sure how many times this needs to be repeated. The only thing ?? the whole policy not to prescribe necessary medication to someone who needs it based on him being ‘a farang’ (non-Thai) is wholly wrong !!!.... ..... it is that ‘degree of clumsiness and discrimination which the Op is suggesting is ’Thainess’... It's not the ‘minor little misunderstanding' you seem to have implied it is, particularly when someone is quite sick. I imagine anyone of us would feel aggrieved in the same situation - perhaps some of us have no learned not to ‘chance it’ at a government hospital if we feel particularly unwell - just incase we are refused treatment because we are a farang. Perhaps the same hospital would refuse prescribe one of those to him as well !!!!...

Thats good... And of course no one has the right to raise their voice or be impolite in such situations (and we know thats not the case here). But, the Op had every right to feel upset and voice that (not express it) to the person who is the representative of the establishment treating him with discrimination. In this case, it would be fair of the Op to calmly and politely tell the Doctor that the act of discrimination to deny him needed medication is atrocious and ask that she pass that on to her supervisors. Of course, we know that Thai culture and Kraeng-jai prevents such information from travelling up the chain which is why we witness such clumsy policies so frequently.... ultimately the decision makers operate in their own echo-chamber and never learn how wrong they often are until social media gets a hold of these things.

No.. the Op was not given a Prescription for molnupiravir. That was written on a piece of paper for him - the Op called a Fascino pharmacy which did not have the medication he was told he needed. No.. the Op wasn’t confused, you are (sorry for ‘getting ratty’ again).... The Op went to Memorial Hospital (a private / non-government hospital), saw another Doctor who prescribed molnupiravir (which cost approx 4000 baht). Not really, the Op needed medical advice and treatment and was refused medication at one hospital and forced to go to another..... Thats not as it ’needs to be’ at all. Indeed... particularly when people seem to have gone native and respond with a cognitive bias and attempt to defend the indefensible.