Bchef82

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

I share your assessmeny that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

There is no Wavier? Did they end it? The Bangkok Post article dated the 27 Jan says that foreigners affected by corona Virus will receive a Wavier of overstay penalty.

<Edit by Maestro: deleted link to a web page of a news publications that does not allow ThaiVisa members to post such links>

Hey quick question.  I’m an American in Thailand currently on visa exempt.  My stamp to leave Thailand is dated March 18th.  I have a flight out tomorrow (today) however with the situation in the USA I’m honestly hesitant to go back to the United States at this time and risk traveling internationally.  I saw that there is a Wavier for overstay penalties currently, what are the stipulations for waiver over overstay currently?  Is it only applying to foreigners who are stranded here due to canceled flights and left no other choice? Or would my situation qualify as well?  I understand that I can get a 30 day extension, however I’d be worried that in 30 days from now the situation has worsened and I would not be able to get a flight out and be in danger of overstaying. I should note that I’m not out spreading any illnesses throughout Thailand, my wife and I have been self isolated and have only went out a handful of times for necessities. Advice?

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

For them to do the report for you they would need your passport.

Copies are only accepted for mailed in reports. You could mail your report to Saraburi immigration assuming they accept them.

You also have the option of doing the report online.

I contacted the office earlier, they told me they don’t accept online or mail in 90 day reports. 

I believe that it’s possible to have my mother in law go to do my 90 day report in Saraburi, I’ll be unable to make it all the way to Saraburi to do the 90 day report. My question is, I have to send her with the filled out TM47, photo copies of my passport and entry stamp and current visa, photocopies of my tm6 front and back, and a note explaining that I’m authorizing her to do my 90 day report.  Do I have to send her with my actual passport too? I won’t be back to Saraburi for several weeks and I’ll need my passport for some other documents I’m working on in Bangkok. Is it required to send her with my passport to do the 90 day report for me or just the photocopies and filled out paperwork? Thanks.

I have a misdemeanor DUI conviction on my record from the USA from nearly eight years ago, other than that my record in virtually clean. When i apply for a Non Imm B visa (either in Thailand or outside of Thailand at a neighboring consulate) would they require a Police Clearance from my home in the U.S. or just a Thai police clearance? If they require a U.S. police record would a misdemeanor DUI nullify me from a k12 teaching position? Thanks in advance for thoughts on the subject.

18 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I don't recall that being one of the requirement to register your marriage though.

Yea I’ve seen some websites saying this is a requirement and others that don’t mention it. Just want to be prepared for anything. Thank you. 

Just a real quick question here regarding one of the requirements for having my wife and I registering our marriage and getting our marriage certificate. We have nearly everything taken care of, tomorrow we will be going back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office to pick up the notarized documents and translations of copies. The next step will be to go to the district office Amphoe at Bang Rak to have the marriage registered. I think we have all the necessary requirements, except i keep reading that one of the requirements for the foreigner is that i must bring my arrival card and a photo copy of arrival card. What are they looking for when they ask for arrival card? Is this different from the Departure Card that i received back at the airport upon entry? The only arrival card that i know about is the one that you fill out prior to entering the country that you don't receive back. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. 

59 minutes ago, SantiSuk said:

old bu$$er here (but no techno phobe) has never used Grab as I only visit condo and usually with car - can you get bigger vehicles with them?

You absolutely can, I actually just used Grab this past weekend to bring my folks to the airport. You can usually request anything from a standard 4 door to a 6-8 seat van. Heck, you can even request a motorbike with grab if that’s what your looking for. Love grab, they usually arrive right at your doorstep within 5 minutes of summons. Most Grab drivers will even go out of their way to get out and carry your bags for you, they rely on good ratings to stay competitive so they are super attentive and most even stock bottles of water or sometimes even snacks free for their passengers. 

I think that you may have trouble in being able to properly communicate which Centre Point Hotel that you are referring to. As KhunBENQ stated above, there are quite a number of different Centre Point Locations throughout Bangkok, this may further confuse an conversation regarding the hotel. My best bit of advice is to download the Grab Taxi app on your smart phone, its a bit like using Uber if you are at all familiar. I like using "Grab" because you input the location your going to into the app and the driver gets the GPS directions there on their smartphone. Also, Grab is nice as it will let you know before you book the trip how much the end fare will be. I use Grab all the time and find often the prices are better than that of the Meter Taxis or at least comparable. I have not however ever used Grab from the Airport and i'm not sure if Grab Drivers are allowed to pick up there. If not you could always take the airport rail link to Lat Krabang station and then use the app to get a Grab taxi from there. Good luck, hope this helped.

8 minutes ago, Cyclone88 said:

Did I read that correct?        US$20,000  Sin Sot?

Sin sod is purely for display purposes only during reception, her family has no interest in taking our money. Do you have any advice in regard to the issue above? Any insight would be appreciated.

I'll be coming to Thailand in two weeks on a tourist visa, i'll be getting married in Thailand to a Thai national and will then begin the process of switching my visa status to Non Imm O and then getting the year long extension based on marriage. I was looking for advice as to how i should 1.) Best bring over 20 thousand USD to Thailand for the use as Sin Sod a week after arrival.   2.) Find a bank in Bangkok that will allow me to open an account whilst i'm still on a tourist visa ( in the process of getting a Non Imm O).  I know in order to have my tourist visa switched to a non imm O you must show proof of over 400k in a Thai bank account, however, it seems that most banks will not allow you to open an account unless you have a work permit or at least the Non Imm O visa.  Please help.

16 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You will need a letter from the bank confirming the money came from abroad when you apply.

I was just planning on bringing a cashiers check from my home bank with me when i arrive and open my Thai bank account. If i bring a cashiers check with the amount in USD will they be able to confirm the money is from abroad? Or should i have the money wired from my home bank to my new bank in Thailand?

Just a quick question regarding converting a Tourist Visa entry to a Non immigrant Visa entry, followed by an application for an extension of stay based on marriage in Bangkok.  During the initial visit to the immigration office to have the tourist visa status switched to Non Imm O, will i need to show proof of 400k in a Thai bank for 2 months? or will the 2 months not be required until the one year extension application?

Looks like they like to be thorough. 

Just now, Lite Beer said:

You might be able to convert to a Non Imm Visa in Thailand.

You need at least 15 days left on your stay.

Otherwise a trip to Laos or Penang will be needed

Thanks for the info!

The 400,000 isn't an issue for me. 

However, I don't think i can get a Non Imm O visa in the USA before our wedding.

So, basically, I would come to Thailand on a Tourist Visa obtained from Chicago, then after the wedding travel to a neighbouring country, apply for the Non Imm O visa there, travel back to Thailand, then apply for the 12 month extension of stay based on Marriage? 

So, I am a 35 year old male from the USA, I have been together with my Thai fiancee for over 5 years now. We have finally decided to get married (next year) and have choose our wedding venue (in Saraburi) in my fiancee's home town, we are now finalizing the details of the wedding. Anyhow, to cut to the question, I will be flying from the USA to Thailand in March of 2018, our wedding will be a week after my arrival into Thailand.  My question is, what kind of Visa should i get from the Chicago Consulate in my home country prior to flying into Thailand for the wedding?  I've read that it should just be a 90 day visa that can be extended after the wedding in Thailand, "1 year extension of stay based on marriage"? Is this correct? After the wedding i do not plan on having to leave Thailand again in the immediate future unless it cannot be avoided. Any advice concerning what kind of Visa I should attain would be helpful. I understand that there is information available concerning this issue on Google, however, after i did a quick Google search i was simply left with more questions, and as the laws in Thailand regarding visas and extensions change so frequently i was hoping to get some advice from a real person who has first hand knowledge regarding the situation. Thank you all in advance.

To Preface:

I'm from the United States, In the last two years I have 2 SETV's issued from Chicago and a Double Entry Tourist Visa from the Chicago Consulate (which was extend by 30 days twice on each entry) and two separate visa exempt stamps from two years ago.

This July i will be arriving in Thailand on what will be my 3rd SETV issued from Chicago and fourth total in two years. I've never had any issues procuring any of my previous visa's and never had any issues entering or leaving Thailand. When my 60 days are up in September I am planning on flying to Hong Kong for a week to vacation and will attempt to receive another SETV that i will extend by 30 days, I have flights booked flying out of Thailand within 90 days from when i will return from Hong Kong. I've heard in the past that there might be issues with the amount of tourist visas in my passport and that they might have issue with the fact that my flight leaving Thailand is 90 days from entry into Thailand. Any insight as to whether or not i will likely face any scrutiny getting my single entry tourist visa from Hong Kong?

Thanks in advance.