mangpono

Have an appointment for stay extension next month and was given the same statement by Thai Elite staff this week, that an ATK test is required to enter, and if have it then appointment will be canceled.  

Any one have any new information or share any recent experiances at Building B? I really would not prefer the inconvenance of an ATK test days before the appointment.  Are they still sending about 1 in 20 or 1 in 30 people over to ATK test on site?

I would like to add that I very much agree with the OP and supporting comments.  In my opinion, it will be a bit sad if it stays this way.  To me, the vendors are part of the magic and life of Thailand. Does anyone think vendors will be allowed again (in perhaps a more regulated and limited way than before), in the coming years after a change of government?

Just curious, as I can't remember - are there ATMs at Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi after you get off the plan and before immigration, so one can hit up the ATM before getting in the immigration queue if you feel the need or for peace of mind?

After experiencing issues with my entry level Samsung phone supporting G4 outside the US, I realized after some research that different phones support different bands, and each phone network supports different sets of bands, meaning that not all phones that support 4G in one country can support 4G in another.  I found one phone that supports 4G in the US (t-mobile) and Thailand (AIS and DTAC) according to willmyphonework.net, the LG model G5 H860N.  I intend to buy this phone, as I have not found a better one according to the specs I am looking for.

Does anyone know a similar phone to the model G5 H860N, preferably Samsung, that you have good experience working with 4G in Thailand and the US?  Assuming price is no issue, I may want to buy another phone that works well for 4G on the carriers mentioned.

To give an update what happened: I arrived on the "enter before" date. It seemed the immigration officer was unsure also about if the visa was still valid, maybe he wondered the same issue I asked previously about the "enter before", so he asked some of the other nearby officers to take a look. I guess they were not sure, so they asked me to come to the back office and wait while they check the visa.

I saw them looking carefully at my visa with a magnifying glass, apparently the issue was the person who originally wrote the date information on the visa did not write clearly and then overwrote more strongly to write over their error (this error caused me only minor delays in the past). I was told that corrections need a special seal next to the error, showing the error was corrected officially. Only one of the errors had the special seal next to it, so they gave me a choice: wait a few hours at the immigration office for them to verify the visa status and possibly get the 90 day stamp, or ignore the visa and get stamped 30 days exemption.

An error occurred in the first instance you mention. It could have been easily corrected at an immigration office.

On the second occasion no error was made and you were given permission to stay for 90 days (not three months)

FYI there are no 30 day "tourist visas" only 30 day"visa exempt entries" for those who qualify.

That makes sense, thank you. I am happy I was stamped correctly this time, but wish I had known about this sooner, (as I already spent some money on a trip it seems I no longer need to take).

Another minor question: if I enter Thailand any time before midnight on the date of the "enter before" date (example: 20 March), it should be a 90 day stamp? Or must I enter literally before the date on the "enter before" date (enter 19 March if the "enter before" date is 20 March) to get the 90 day stamp?

In 2012 I had a 1 year multiple non-B visa with 3 month stamps each time I entered Thailand. The last time I used the visa, I arrived into Suvarnabhumi about 2 weeks before the "enter before" date (expiration date) on the visa and the immigration officer stamped me only for about 2 weeks - making the visa expiration date and the date I needed to leave by were the same day. I thought it was a bit odd, as I could have been stamped longer if I arrived on an automatic 30 days tourist visa.

This week, the same situation: same visa type, same airport, same 2 weeks before the "enter before" date, but different outcome: I was stamped 3 months. My question: which way is currently the "normal way"? Has anything changed since 2012 that would cause a different length of stay stamp? Or is it up to the the immigration officer?