ptcarter

Does anyone know what procedures the Chiang Mai train station personnel are taking for people stepping off the train from Bangkok, other than the App registration and informing you that you must quarantine for 14 days?  Unlike flying from Bkk where a negative PCR test is required, the train station in Bkk said a PCR test is not required to board a train to CM.

Does anyone have any good intell on what is required (and what is actually transpiring) of/to travelers arriving to CM via train from a red zone, other than the "quarantine" and app usage?  Three weeks ago I arrived to CM from Bkk on the morning train, and was told at the CM train terminal to self-quarantine and use the app.  Next week, I will be coming to CM, arriving on the morning train again.  I'm just wondering what is practically happening each day to travelers who are arriving, other than "quarantine" and use app.  Information is so scattered here in Bkk, on the one hand I understood I needed a covid test taken in Bkk to enter CM, but the train station here yesterday stated the test was not required to board the train to CM, leading me to believe it must not be required.  Thanks in advance all.

Regarding the arriving plane personnel not requiring a swab, could that be because to fly one is required to provide a negative test to board?  I live in Bangkok and the airline told me two days ago to fly to CM one needed a covid test.  

Helpful hint......I went back into the Thai immigration website and my account.  I looked for TM-30 data, there was none in the spreadsheet on me.  I then did a search with the search function using dates.....bingo, the spreadsheet populated with 5 different entries.....meaning it did accept my three google chrome entries (as well as my Firefox and Explorer).

Helpful hint......I went back into the Thai immigration website and my account.  I looked for TM-30 data, there was none in the spreadsheet on me.  I then did a search with the search function using dates.....bingo, the spreadsheet populated with 5 different entries.....meaning it did accept my three google chrome entries (as well as my Firefox and Explorer).

Thai immigration told me to use Section 38 App for my TM-30 reporting, as the immigration website was not working. When I go to the Apple Store to download, it says the App is unavailable in the US store, go to Thai Store, I click yes, it then says I don't have access to the Thai Apple Store, go to US Apple store. I then go to Google Play to download the App, it says "device not available." Finally, thanks to the guys who told me not to use google chrome for the TM 30 reporting, I used Explorer and got one step further, when I click "save" it says "Do you want to save?" I click save and presumably saves, but when I look at the bottom spreadsheet, there is no data (disapears), and when I exit and go to TM-30 data, it is blank. I have no where to turn. I guess I will not do it.

I have the 5 year Thai Elite Visa which gets extended for a year every time I exit/enter the country (up until the fifth year), so I guess my only choice is to exit/enter the country every 90 days to avoid the 90 day report and avoid immigration. Seems every avenue I have taken to electronically do the TM 30 has been stymied.

Guys, this is so helpful - by the way, I emailed Thai Elite Visa (the type I have) saying the problem and could immigration provide a fix recommendation.  The word I got back from them is immigration says "the website is not capable at the moment, use the application."  Thank you all so much.

All, how do I correct online TM-30 registration error in subject line? My realtor set me up with an online account to do my TM-30, I logged on this morning, my account was there, all looked good, but no TM-30 info so I entered all the required fields, clicked "insert into speadsheet," the data populated successfully.  All looked good, but when I go to save, it will not allow Save because the error message "Import Data in sequence (1) is incorrect" comes up. After several attempts, I gave up. Any solutions? (thanks in advance)  

7 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

We swing dead cats in Australia as well.

 

I saw the article in the NYT or WAPO about how you all are dealing with the "cat problem" now.  Good job, direct solutions are the best solution. 

Can anyone be so kind as to recommend a reputable Visa agent/agency here in Bkk that you or yours personally have experience with? I am not looking for anything under the table or a shady procedure.  Rather, I'm lazy and wish to pay for convenience. 

I have done the "retirement visa" four years straight, on my own, at Chaeng Wattana, and simply would like to hire an agency/agent this time to make it less time-consuming.  As you know, you can't swing a dead cat in Bkk without hitting an agent/agency, so I would greatly appreciate any recommendations (does anyone other than us American southerners use the 'swing a dead cat' phrase? On second thought...never mind).  All, thank you in advance!!! (and I hope my request doesn't breach any forum protocol, if so, forgiveness in advance as well, as I will be headed to Bot Wattana church in two hours, as is my custom on Sundays).

16 hours ago, Thailand Outcast said:

 

Despite the travel back to their home country, I think this will be a popular visa choice to move to, under the new new laws, so I can definitely see a tightening up on this visa. 

 

Agree that it will be a popular move for those with the capability (money, health, no anchors here) to go back to home country. Given that the new immigration requirements squeeze those with less money, and this option we are talking about requires more money and capability (because of travel to home country), I'm not sure those who are most affected by the new rules will be able to afford to take advantage. So, there may be less migration to this method than we anticipate.  Thank you - and all - for previous comments.

Well, I do appreciate the replies everyone.  It begs the question why everyone isn't doing it this way (barring inability/non-desire to go back to home/any country), it sounds like a preferable option.

On several occasions I have seen posters state as fact that if one obtains a Thai Non-IM OA visa for retirement from their home country, one can stretch that for two years.  Could someone please kindly state how this works, the mechanics of it?  I don't understand at all how this would be done.  I have lived in Thailand on a "retirement visa" for 4 years now, and the above is an option for me, I just can't wrap my head around the particulars of how this works, and how one can stretch a one-year visa into two.   

A poster recently stated: "The non-im OA visa is technically good for one year but will last for two years if you leave and reenter Thailand just before the visa expires at the end of the first year. If you want to leave and reenter Thailand during the second year of the OA visa, you need to first get a reentry permit from the Immigration Office."

A hearty thanks in advance.

Last night, Saturday night, July 1 around 2000, I used my U.S. ATM card to pull money from a Krungthai ATM (don't have an account with them)  at an MRT station.  The bank wanted the exchange rate (dollar to baht) to be - and provided me a notification - of 32.35!!  I was skeptical the dollar had fallen that low and admitting I used bad judgment, I pulled 10,000 baht from the ATM and went online later to my bank, and sure enough that's what they charged me.

This morning the Bkk bank Site Bill is 33.74,  and the Krungthai Bank buying rate is 33.53 (buying and selling are the only two stats I see posted) so for some reason Krunthai bank (arbitrarily or by design?)  decided to gouge an extra baht per dollar from me.  I have used this specific ATM for awhile and never experienced this gouging, and in fact in the past almost-three years living in Bkk have typically used Krungthai bank without problems.  I don't have an explanation for this, but wanted to post my experience for the broader community.  Is there something I am missing here?

Bottom line: How can I find out the actual dollar amount that was sent to my Bkk Bank account, since it will show the money in baht?

Details: I initiated a link from my U.S. Capitol One account, to my Bangkok bank.  Two trial deposits (always under a dollar) will be sent to my Bkk bank account, at which time I will log back onto my Capitol One account, and submit the actual amount of the trial deposits, at which time Capitol One bank will authorize the link.  The problem of course is that the Bkk  deposits in my Bkk Bank book will be shown as baht, not cents, so I won't know the actual amount deposited.  I can already see the nut roll in going to Bkk bank and trying to discover what the cent amounts were.

Anyone had any experience with this?  Thank you very much in advance.

Paul

Capitol One in the US is currently offering 1.24% on their savings accounts, for 10K minimum. I have found with Capitol One that they never advertise these good rates, you have to go to customer service - in person or online - and inquire. Secondly, I have my US military retirement coming here direct deposit because it is a good conversion rate (compared to the rest) but each month I pulled almost all the baht out and put it under the mattress.....I don't want any of my capital tied up in any foreign country.