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As per everything @Liquorice has detailed above, this is incorrect - and is contradictory to everything I've read and heard. But it certainly adds to the confusion... Also, since my visa expired 1.5 months ago, it's a bit late to pay for a new visa while in the country! Besides, I have no intention of ever paying for another Elite Visa and will switch to a Non-O at some point before September.

This is true - at least in Chiang Mai. But that assistance is telling you to contact Star Visa, there 'partner' in Chiang Mai. And, for me, that help would be me driving further than I'd need to to get to immigration, then having to return the following day to pick up my passport. If I do it myself early one morning, it's all done there in minutes. Then, the next one, if required, can be done online. They also assist you with other things, like obtaining a Certificate of Residence, and only charge a mere 3000 THB for this service... Maybe some people on a Thailand Privilege visa have more money than sense and are happy to throw money around. But I only bought mine out of necessity. It certainly feels that way - to the point I'd rather ask anyone but them for advice.

Thanks, @DrJack54. I've always done my own 90-day reporting, as I live in Chiang Mai, so it's no big issue. The biggest issue is whether I can obtain a re-entry permit. There's definitely a lot lost in translation. But I think the "leave Thailand" part is literal. Based on other threads I've read, I doubt they'd be giving me advice on how to maximise my time in Thailand.

My Thailand Privilege visa expires early next year, but I will still have permission to stay in Thailand for much of next year. The "6th year" of the Thailand Privilege visa. I've been married to my Thai partner of 8 years for several years now, but I wasn't planning to convert to a marriage visa immediately for a number of reasons. Once my Privilege Visa has expired, will I still be able to apply for a marriage visa in Thailand or will I need to do that outside Thailand? I'm assuming it's the latter, as I'll no longer have a valid visa to convert. But I'd be happy if I'm wrong!

Has anyone obtained a re-entry permit after their Thailand Privilege (Thailand Elite) visa has expired, but while still permitted to stay in Thailand (as per the permission of stay stamp)? I read through another thread that mentioned someone else on here had posted about doing so at an airport, but that their request had been rejected at an immigration department. I couldn't find the original post. Any advice would be much appreciated.

@richard_smith237 @BMW Overlander @Liquorice - thank you all for your help. This is as I'd thought. I knew when I paid for the visa I was just paying for peace of mind and, at that point, there were no other options available for me to stay in Thailand. But, given the cost of the visa, it'd be nice if the staff could give correct and clear responses. This is the latest response from Thailand Elite when I questioned their first response to my query: What? I can't do a 90-day report. This is wrong. I can't do a 90-day report using THEIR service is presumably what this person means? But that's definitely not what they've said - probably due to language issues. Also, why do they suggest I leave Thailand? Because they want me to extend my visa now?!

My 5-year Thailand Privilege visa (formally Thailand Elite visa) expires on 03/01/2025, but because my last arrival in Thailand was 3rd September, my permission-of-stay stamp is until 2/09/2025. Based on this and on my research before I originally paid for this visa, I'd understood I could stay in Thailand without issue until 2/09/2025. That's exactly 8 months after my visa expires. But I thought I'd double check with the Thailand Privilege Member Contact Centre first. This is the response I received: To be honest, I don't trust anything I'm told by the staff in the office as I've been told so many conflicting and wrong things over the years. It's not always their fault, as there's so much confusion and wrong information put out by immigration departments and officials. So, can anyone else with similar circumstances confirm whether I can stay in Thailand until 2/09/2025? I've also read of some people getting reentry permits in their "6th year". is this still possible? If so, how and where? Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

A quick update for anyone else in Chiang Mai going through this exact same thing. Having updated my TM.30 record online (see above), my resubmitted online 90-day report was accepted. Hoorah! Something actually worked. So, albeit ridiculous, every time I need to do a 90-day report, I'll just update my TM.30 record online first. Until any other rules are changed, created or made up, that is.

Well, I've tried online. Because, presumably, if I was to stay in another hotel, it'd be updated to that. So, hopefully (I know hope means little with all this, but...), my online TM.30 submission will work. Either way, I'll report back here.

That works with the Section38 app, but not the immigration website. Having successfully submitted a TM.30 form using the website, I then re-downloaded the app via my wife's google account and this link. As others have reported, it otherwise doesn't show up in the Play store. I then signed into the app and tried to do another TM.30 report there, in case the first hadn't worked. But there was already an existing TM.30 recorded for me today, so it did work! Something actually worked... But it remains to be seen if my new online 90-day report will now be accepted. It's all a bit if a lottery.

Ah, yes, thank you very much. I meant Section38, but in my haste and frustration, I made a typo. I'm currently attempting to do it via the web form. You wouldn't happen to know what we do with the TM.6 number field? I saw a comment somewhere from someone on what letters and numbers to add (something like XX0000), but cannot find it anywhere now. EDIT: I tried TM00000, and it worked for adding the TM.30 entry. Whether my 90-day report will now be accepted is an entirely different matter!

So, I've seen other people posting about this re. Chiang Mai Immigration. I'm in Chiang Mai and submitted my online 90-day report a few days ago. It was rejected this afternoon. Reason stated: "Contact immigration to update the (TM30) accommodation notification to date. The last declaration of accommodation at Ben guesthouse 351/10 Road 4/sankongnoi, Rob Wiang Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province not Chiang Mai Province." This is my second 90-day report since I returned to Thailand in September. All I did was go away for 3 days, then return to my home, where I've been based for the past 2 years and from where I've done multiple 90-day reports in person before. So, does this mean that literally every time I leave my house and stay somewhere else, I'll have to do a new TM30 report? Which is in complete contradiction to the TM30 rules having been relaxed. And how do I now do the TM30 report? The Section 30 app I used to use appears to have been deleted. This is all just so ridiculous.

Many thanks, @ianh68 and @ThailandRyan - particularly for the directions! Coincidently, after doing some googling and sending a few enquiry emails, that's the agency I'd already chosen. Should I decide to do this in Bangkok, that is. They charge 700 THB for the Affirmation and 600 THB for the passport. And I was told it'd be a 24-hour turnaround after payment.

Absolutely. I've found a good agency in CM, near the temporary immigration centre here. I may just pay the agency to do the translation and legalisation for me - to save the hassle and toing and froing. They'd charge 750 THB for the translation and 3000 THB total for everything, including the legalisation. And I really loath sitting in immigration centres or district offices. I've done it too many times.

I'm not sure whether the same is necessary for pre-marital process. But I have just read that elsewhere re. birth certificates. Once we've got out marriage certificate(s), I'll get it translated and legalised. Although, as of recently, I believe government departments/offices are apparently now also issuing legalised documents in English on request. So, that'd remove the translation step and be preferable. It may be hit and miss though.

@NoDisplayName "Your four pages will cost you 200 baht/page for legalization at the MFS. I believe they have EMS return service if you don't want to make another trip to pick up your documents 3 days later." All good to know, thanks. And I take it both the original documents and the translations need to be legalised - hence the 4 pages? I think I read that somewhere.

Thanks for the advice. I don't plan to head to CW, but that's good to know for future reference. I've found an agency that's just west of Lumpini that will do both translations within 24 hours for 1400 (total). I'd then planned to head to the MFA office at Khlong Toei MRT. The Express Service is still given as an option. But there are no appointments available for the next 3 weeks, which is far as the calendar goes. I don't know if they're released each morning for 21 days ahead. I also didn't know it was necessary to book an appointment. I'm now considering just heading to the MFA office in Chiang Mai, where I'm based.

Yes, thanks @ThailandRyan. I'm not sure why I'd read "certified" so literally - I've certified things myself in the past. But, with all the bureaucracy I'm wading through for various different things, it can sometimes get a little confusing ????

So it seems. But since the British Embassy states the translation must be certified and agencies offering this service indicate they add a stamp to that effect, I assumed there was some professional accreditation for translators. But it seems not.

Can anyone recommend a certified translation agency for English to Thai? Somewhere with a reliable 48-hour turnaround. I'll be heading to the British embassy in Sathon, so ideally it'd be somewhere near there or accessible via the BTS/MRT. I'm looking to get a certified copy of my passport translated, as well as the Affirmation of Freedom to Marry certificate. (I realise this could have been posted in The marriage forum, but my main question is more general.) Cost isn't the most important thing, but I don't want to be ripped off. So far, I've seen costs of 450-800 per page for the translation. But the agency offering 450 THB has terrible English on their website. So...! Many thanks in advance.

A district office is the local amphur office, yes. The local governmental office where any marriage in a given district/amphur would be registered, a long with many other personal admin related things. I've heard different things. One that if one of the couple is Thai, no check will be done, but if both are foreign, further checks are done. But, then, when enquiring with a friend who's a civil servant in Bangkok, a colleague of his who recently registered a marriage between a Japanese person and Thai person (in Bangkok) said the documents were sent to the Japanese embassy for further checks. It took 3 weeks. Apparently, that's the standard procedure there. So, perhaps it varies between offices or regions. I was going to do it in Bangkok, but maybe in Chiang Mai province might be better. Or maybe it's just a lottery!

I'm a British/UK citizen planning to register my marriage in Thailand at some point soon - this year or early next year. I think I understand everything that's required of me to do this. However, one thing I'm not sure of is this: The affirmation of Freedom to Marry document is valid for 3 months from the day I sign it at the British embassy. According to the embassy's FAQ, this means I must register my marriage within 3 months of that date. However, does "registration" mean the date I hand over all the documents to the district office for them to do their checks or the day I actually return to the district office to officially register the marriage? I ask, as the checking process can take up to a month (the district office apparently send the documents back to the foreigner's embassy, even though everything has already been certified and legalised - seems like typical bureaucracy) and there can sometimes be a lengthy queue of 10-15 couples or more waiting to get married. So, that 3-month period could pass quickly. If it's the date we hand over all the documents to the district office, that'd make more sense to me. Does anyone have any experience of this? Many thanks in advance.

Does anyone have any recent experience of marrying in Thailand and both you and your husband and wife adopting a hyphenated surname? At present, I'm considering changing my surname by deed poll in the UK to a hyphenated version, with an abbreviated version of her surname, a hyphen, then mine. After marrying, would there be an issue with her using that (my) new surname? I've read contradicting things elsewhere from: "this may have once been possible, but some new law prohibits it", to "there may be problems at some amphoes", to "there won't be any problems". Any useful pointers would be much appreciated.