AlexCanada

You may want to do a search in the Hit and Run Restaurant review thread.

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The holding rooms have bed. Think they charge 800baht/day. Not sure re amount.

but how would someone pay 800 baht per night if they supposedly have no access to an ATM?  

Another question I understand Thailand Immigration requires you to 20,000 Thai baht to enter Thailand.  I have always abided by this rule since I heard about it.  Would a person be denied entry for the sole reason they are not carrying 20,000 Thai baht when they enter Thailand?

10 hours ago, BritTim said:

While this is subject to change without notice, historically U-Tapao has been an excellent airport to enter through.

Which other countries fly directly in to UTP?  Since I go to Pattaya that would be useful information for me.  Would save me 1000 cab fare from BKK and 1700 from DMK.

4 hours ago, Russell17au said:

You will be sent back to the originating departure point. This is the procedure that is followed and why.

1: you will be held in a holding cell at the airport

2: your documents will be handed to the airline that brought you into the country

3: you cannot access the airlines booking desk to book to another destination

4: you cannot access the airlines check-in to check in even if you could book to another destination

5: you cannot access an ATM

6: you cannot obtain a visa for the country that you may wish to be sent as you cannot leave the detention area at the airport, so there is no guarantee that you will be accepted in that country, so the airline will only fly you to your original departure point as that is the country that has accepted you previously.

If for example you did from L.A. to Hong Kong and changed planes there on one ticket booking that is classified as in transit

Unless you booked two separate bookings with a ticket from L.A. to Hong Kong and another separate booking and ticket from Hong Kong to Bangkok. Then your flight would originate in Hong Kong

Items 3. 4. and 5. require you to be able to enter the country for which you have been denied.

At the end there is no guarantee that you will be accepted in any other country without a current visa except the one that you departed from so that is where the airline will take you to.

Thanks for your post. 

What if the country your flight came from was Vietnam where you need an Invitation Letter to get a Visa.  You would not have another Invitation Letter to re-enter as you were not expecting to return to Vietnam.  What would the airline do then or does Vietnam have an obligation in the global agreement to take you back in?

What if you flew LA to Tokyo Narita airport then your connecting flight was from Tokyo Haneda to Bangkok.  It is on 1 single ticket.  Would a person from the airline actually follow you from Haneda to Narita so you could catch a flight back to LA?

What if you did not have enough cash to buy a ticket back to USA.  Since you have no access to an ATM how would you pay for a ticket out of Bangkok?  Is what a previous poster saying correct that if you are denied entry in to Bangkok the airline has to fly you back for free?

On 2/10/2020 at 10:53 PM, fforest1 said:

 at age 83 the annual premium would be 380.000 THB for a 400.000 THB max coverage

On 2/10/2020 at 10:48 PM, Dcheech said:

Ah, a 40,000 (+) Baht per year fee, for retirees. Great! 

On 2/10/2020 at 10:24 PM, JustAnotherHun said:

The only possible plan B would be to buy that insurance <deleted> or leave the country.

Or buy an Elite Visa and enjoy airport transfers in BMW 7 for just 500k - as long as they don't extend their b.s. to that kind of visa too. 

Does the Elite Visa not have medical insurance requirements or is it included in the Elite Visa?  At an average of 100,000 baht per year over 5 years sounds like it's a better option than someone older paying 380,000 baht for 1 year of insurance coverage.  Even at a 40,000 baht premium per year for a younger person the Elite Visa doesn't seem so terrible any more.

Maybe this is an option for OP.

What if OP was say flying from Los Angeles to Bangkok with a quick stopover and plane change in say Hong Kong.  Would Immigration send OP back to LA or where he last was, Hong Kong.

.

Apologies if this has been discussed ad nauseam.  Some OA Visa questions.  This will be my first application.

1.  Does the 800k need to be in a Thai bank account when I originally apply or is a confirmation on a Canadian bank letterhead confirming I have the funds in my Canadian bank account sufficient.  

2.  Mandatory medical insurance.  As I understand it my medical insurance can only be from 1 of the listed Thai insurance companies on longstay.tgia.org.  Is that correct?  If so, some feedback on which is the best Thai insurance company would be appreciated.

3.  Re-entry permit.  Does this have to be done only at the airport right when I am leaving on a plane or can it be done before I arrive at the airport?  Where exactly is this process completed at BKK and DMK?  

4.  If I am out of the Thailand for 4 months during my 1 year OA Visa do I assume there is no 90 day reporting required.  I know a silly question but better safe than sorry.

5.  If I live in Bangkok and stay in a Pattaya hotel for 1 night do I need to go to the Immigration office the day I return to Bangkok?  do I need to go to immigration even if I stayed in a hotel in the same city?

6.  I have no rental property at this time.  Do I just put the name and address of the hotel I will be staying at as my Thailand address when I apply?

Thanks to UbonJoe and others who may be answering my questions. 

OP wrote "5mill sitting gathering dust "

Why not throw a huge party for us TV members?  Money likely better invested.

My apologies for bumping a very old thread but I figured it's better than starting a new one.  

I'm looking for a basic First Aid course for my Thai girlfriend to cover things like CPR, EFR, choking, bleeding.  I asked her to do some of these on me and the results were amusing to say the least.  I figure this is an investment on my part in case she needs to administer some of these techniques on myself or others one day.  

I looked up Mogit and it was 7900 baht for First Aid 1.  No problem paying that but it is not in Pattaya AFAIK.  Then I found http://firstaidtrainingpattaya.com/cpr-first-aid-courses/cpr-first-aid-course/ .  which is located in Central Pattaya.  About the same price as Mogit but local.

My girlfriend doesn't want me to pay and she said she is sure she can learn this for free.  Maybe that school in Naklua?  Could not find anything on Google.  

Anyone have any experience with either of these places or others? 

Coco fitness in Mike's mall and Fitness 7 in Avenue Mall both offer free yoga classes along with their membership. 

Is there any advantage of having a Kasikorn account over my Bangkok Bank account?

I can recommend 3 around the Soi Diana area.  One is in the Lek Apartment on Soi Diana across from LK Metro.  They charge 50 baht per kg not ironed and 90 baht per kg ironed.  Another is Nana Laundry in the back of Lee's Diner on Soi Diana.  They charge per piece but do a great job.  I personally stopped going there because I got very poor customer service from one of the ladies and I was a regular customer!  A third place is on Soi Honey near Second Road.  I believe it's in Honey Inn.  Indoor facility.  I moved away from the area but that was always my go to place for collared shirts.

Forcing taxis in Pattaya to use meters OR legalizing Uber.  

Just returned from Hoi An and Da Nang.  I didn't do any research before leaving thinking I could easily exchange Thai Baht to Dong.  Wrong!  

Some things I learned.

1. ATM max withdrawals usually 2 million Dong which is not much money at all.  I did find ACB allows 3 million Dong per transaction.  If anyone knows an ATM machine that allows a larger withdrawal that would be greatly appreciated.

2. Many hotels can only change USD for Dong.  This is a moot point really since most vendors accept USD.  I went to several before I could find one that accepted Canadian dollars and it was at a very poor rate.  No choice.  I needed Dong.  Did not find any that accepted Thai baht.  Very few exchange stands and no banks within walking distance from where I was staying.  Thanks for the tip on the Gold shops.

3. most vendors in Vietnam I encountered accept USD and are fair about the exchange rates as opposed to using Dong.  I will bring USD with me next trip!

Enjoy Vietnam.  I really enjoyed Hoi An and Bana Hills in Da Nang.

I will be going back to Canada to get my 3rd METV next month.  Anyone in Canada had any issues getting a 3rd or 4th METV in Canada?

7 hours ago, BritTim said:

You can spend as much or little of your time outside Thailand as you like. Unless you are in Thailand for 90 consecutive days, the address reporting is not required.

Let me see if I have this correct.  Here is a scenario:

1.  stay in Thailand for 80 days

2.  on the 80th day I fly to Japan and stay 2 weeks

3.  fly back to Thailand and stay 85 days

4.  on day 85 I fly to Cambodia and stay 2 days

5. fly back to Thailand and stay 89 days

If I did the above I am not required to do the 90 day reporting since I have not stayed over 90 consecutive days in Thailand?

.

Have spent a few hours going through the most recent 200 posts.  Some questions popped in my head that I couldn't clearly find an answer for.  I am considering the TE program either for 5 or 20 years.

Questions:

1.  My passport has about 8 pages remaining.  The Visa will take one page and every time I go to visit my buddy in Cambodia that takes up a page.  If I run out of pages in my passport would I be able to get a new TE Visa in a new passport or how would that work?

2.  There are times when I may have extended periods over 90 days outside of Thailand.  Is this ok as long as I continue with 90 day reporting online?

3.  Is there anywhere to apply for the TE Visa in Pattaya or must I go to Suvarnabhumi to apply?  Do I just go to the Immigration office when I arrive in BKK?

As always, thanks for your help.

OK cool.  Thank you, Joe.

I will be 50 within the next year or so.  With the new 10 year Visa for anyone over the age of 50 there is no need for the Elite Card, correct?

Anyone have any insight what ballpark range this new Visa may cost?

I believe the criteria is over 50, have Health Insurance and have 3M baht in your account for 1 year.

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

After the enter before date shown on you visa  you will not get a new 60 day entry. You would only get a 30 day visa exempt entry that can be extended for 30 days.

If you plan staying longer you should get a new METV while you are in Canada.

Thank you Joe.  After these stays I plan on going back to Canada until Summer then will get a new METV before returning.

Will Thai immigration give me a difficult time re-entering Thailand twice right after my METV expires?

My METV expires Dec. 6 (from Canada).  If I re-enter Thailand again AFTER Dec 6 will there be any issues of re-entry if I re-enter again on Dec 16 (from Canada) and Jan 4 (from Cambodia)?  I guess my concern is Thailand looking at me doing multiple entries again right after my METV expired.

Thanks for all your help.

I am from Canada and planning on staying in Thailand for at least 1 year. I am not retired so a Retirement Visa is not an option. I see the METV is only good for 6 months with border crossings every 60 days. My question is if I want to get a second METV for another 6 months can I get that while still in Thailand or do I need to come back to Canada to get it?

Hopefully this makes sense I am still trying to wrap my head around my options.

• You would have to go back to Canada to get a second METV.
• If you do a border hop at the end of the 6 months you can get a new 60 day stay that can be extended by 30 days at immigration for 1,900 baht. That gives nearly 9 months possible from one METV.
• You could get SETV's from Thai Embassies/Consulates in countries neighbouring Thailand.
• You do not need to be retired to get a 'retirement visa'. You just need to be over 50 and meet the financial requirements.

Thank you for the quick reply. Unfortunately, I am on the wrong side of 50 so can not apply for a Retirement Visa. Having to fly all the way back to Canada to get another METV seems difficult. What do you mean I can get SETV from a Thai Consulate in other countries? Does that mean I can fly to Singapore and get a 30 day extension after my 9 months are up?

From the Thai Consulate website in Canada, I read "A copy of a bank statement showing a deposit of the amount equal to no less than 200,000 (Baht) per person". Does this have to be a deposit in to a Thai bank like Bangkok Bank or just a deposit into a Canadian bank like Bank of Montreal?

Also, if I get a METV, do I still need to fly in and out of Thailand every 30 days / check into Thai consulate in Bangkok every 90 days?

I am from Canada and planning on staying in Thailand for at least 1 year. I am not retired so a Retirement Visa is not an option. I see the METV is only good for 6 months with border crossings every 60 days. My question is if I want to get a second METV for another 6 months can I get that while still in Thailand or do I need to come back to Canada to get it?

Hopefully this makes sense I am still trying to wrap my head around my options.