Tod Daniels

As people said, the real benefit is you get OUT and BACK without having to stay in the other country for as many days as the thai border guards say, without having to show proof you're leaving the country in 60 days (which more and more borders are asking for if you come in free stamp) and without having to show proof of lodging (another thing that borders are starting to ask for when people come in free stamp) The services that bounce you out and back have "pre-greased" the wheels (the border knows your passport, nationality, etc BEFORE you get there as the service sends it to them) Of course you still have to "go thru the process"; stamp out of thailand, go to the cambodian side, get the visa stuck in, stamp in and out of cambodia then come back to thailand to stamp in. BUT You did it without any issues and that's what you pay the service for

Switching from the proof of funds by banked money method on a retirement extension to the proof of funds by monthly income (by international transfer) is one of the hardest switches to do That's because you have to meet the requirements for the banked money on the extension you're currently ON now (have kept the 800K baht in a thai bank account in your name only for 3 months after the extension was granted, then not let the balance go below 400K baht the rest of the year) AND you have to transfer IN to a thai bank account in your name only from abroad a minimum of 65K baht a month, each month, every month, for the previous 12 months so you can show proof of funds by monthly income method on this next (the upcoming) extension

This is how the official rules are written; For banked money method on retirement extensions you need 800k in the bank 2 months before you apply for the extension. The 800k stays in the account for 3 months after the extension is granted. And then the balance cannot go below 400k for the rest of the year. So in your case you would have had to kept 800k in the bank for 3 months after your extension was issued last year and then not let the balance go below 400k the rest of the year. Plus as you are stretching mysterious for proof of funds you would have to had transferred in a minimum of 65k per month, each month, every month, for the previous 12 months before you apply for this next extension In essence you are meeting requirements for two extensions the one you're currently on that you used banked money method and the monthly income method that you will be using to apply for the next extension that requires monthly international transfers.

You got your border crossings mixed up a little bit, Chian Saen you cross by boat to the special economic zone (where kings Roman casino is) and at Chiang Khong you cross by bridge to Huay Xai. Right now if you bounce your self they are indeed asking you to stay out two days (sometimes one), and when you stamp back in they are asking you to show proof that you're going back to your country in 60 days, plus they are asking proof of lodging for the time you will be here on your new 60-day stamp You can use a service like Chiang Mai Visa Run, they have it set up so you can get out and back the same day and not show proof of onward travel or proof of lodging when you stamp back in. That is the reason you use a service because the wheels are pre-greased at the border when you show up versus the I will bounce myself and save money ideas that don't often work out saving you anything. Even the easiest land border in all of Thailand in Nong Khai is tightening up and having people stay out overnight.

I am seeing a LOT of posts on the tiny part of the inter-web that is thai related where people are confusing THREE completely different things 😮 1; Visa Exempt Entry The switch from 30 to 60 day visa exempt entries (that started 15th July last year) is STILL in effect for the 90+ countries they listed. So if you're from one of those countries you can just show up, get stamped in free stamp (Visa Exempt) for 60 days and get one 30 day extension on it at the immigration office like normal for 1900baht 2; ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) program This WAS a program which was to pilot at the end of Dec. It was for people coming in to thailand on a visa exempt entry and set up so that people would apply online for pre-approval to enter. This program has been 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗗 and there is no current projected date for it to start. We know it will roll out sometime this year but have no news about it 3; eVisa online program All the remaining thai consulates in the world (who weren't on the eVisa portal) switched over to the online web program on Jan 1st 2025 <- this means there are no longer any "walk up and apply" Thai consulates to get visas at anymore 😮 So if you want to BUY a visa for thailand from a thai consulate; you GO to the country whose consulate you're going to use, you log in to the online web-portal, select your passport and the country you're in, (then the correct consulate if there are more than one) upload your documents, upload proof you're in that country (visa/entry stamp) pay and then wait IN that country for the visa to be approved**. ** You will note I stated after you apply you WAIT in that country until the eVisa is approved or rejected. The consulates are catching on that people were going to their country applying then coming back to thailand to wait for the eVisa to be approved (for some reason especially with the DTV demographic 😛 ) AND to check that the person is still in the country of the thai consulate they applied for the visa, thru we are seeing more and more reports that about 3 to 5 days after you submit the application you get an email "request for additional documents" 😮 They ask for copies of every page of your passport (blank pages too) so they can see if you bailed out and went back to thailand. People have had their visas rejected because they did 😕 My advice is just wait it out, get the email with the eVisa PDF, print it out, then present the PDF with your passport to the officer when you stamp in.. AND always check your stamp to make sure you were stamped in the correct amount of time, and on the correct visa type <- it is the passport holders responsibility to check the entry stamp is correct Hope this helps people understand the difference between those 3 things 🙂 , Have a safe and healthy new year !!!

that was totally NOT correct 😞 Most offices require you have a minimum of 15 days left on your current stamp (Chiang Mai requires you have a minimum of 21 days) Many people have to bounce out/back to get a new visa exempt entry stamp so that they can do the Non-Immigrant visa application INSIDE the country at the immigration office because the stamp they're on doesn't have the required time. That is a totally valid reason for bouncing out and back, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 . you couldn't have "already begun" anything as far as the in country visa, because you didn't have the time on your stamp to start the process 😞 I think that is what messed him up, you needed a NEW stamp to START the process

You search for the data with the date you filed it in BOTH search date boxes, You use the passport and nationality only Then it will call up the data

did you read the user manual? It's pretty self explanatory with photos of the screens etc

Of the two the Ranong Pier/Kawthaung is one you would probably have the least issue getting out and back the same day Although it is tightly controlled and you pay what they tell you or you don't get to get in the boat to go

He most likely WILL need a new TM30, and it's far better for you to just file a new TM 30 online for him, then search for the data you saved and export that file which will give you a PDF like this You have 7 days from the date a TM30 is filed to go back into the system and access it, after that you can't Last thing you need is for him to go for his extension and be knocked back because he doesn't have a TM30 receipt

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS EVisa online system UP and RUNNING for S/E Asian consulates You can now select, the thai consulates in Singapore, Taipei, Burma, Lao, Philippines along with the rest of the S/E Asian consulates that went online before Keep in mind there are NO thai consulates in S/E Asia that have walk up, apply in person service any longer ALL are on the eVisa system for applications Vientiane, Savannakhet, and Yangon have in person payment systems at this time you cannot pay for the visa thru the online application portal E Visa Online Portal

Sadly, as people are finding out, it's not so easy "living here" on free stamp 60 day visa exempt entries. Doesn't matter what your excuse is 😮 (married, family, what ever) it cuts no ice with passport control IF you're trying to bounce for a free stamp 60 day entry This isn't the thailand it was when they guaranteed you got two 30 day visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year. Once they switched to 60 days they eliminated the guaranteed land entries and you are no better off entering by land than you are entering by air anymore.. There's only a couple borders that are "soft touch" and will let people out/back the same day without much trouble at all.

Don't confuse VIP entry (where they meet you at the gate) with SAFE entry (where they get you IN to thailand) Most VIP entry or "fast track" services cannot guarantee you get in just that you can jump the queue You specifically want a service that advertises as SAFE ENTRY They have you send your passport data page, your most recent entry stamp, a photo of you dressed in the clothes you'll fly in and your flight number. They will check IF they can get you in, and if so you pay, and they'll let you know where to meet them after you land, It works, in fact it works so well that most of the safe entry companies you see advertising on F/B are running their clients thru SR Services (and you don't even know it) 😛

Both Chiang Khong and Chaeng Saen (up in Chiang Rai province) have restrictive "rules" in place for people bouncing themselves (they want you to stay out 1 or 2 nights, show where you're going to stay for the next 60 days AND want proof you're going back to where you come from (not just onward travel) in the 60 days they will stamp you in This is why I always recommend using a service to bounce you at the Chiang Khong border, they have the "wheel greased" so you get out, back in, aren't asked for proof of lodging, OR that you're going back to your country. That's why you pay a service Many times those "I will bounce myself and save money" ideas turn into not saving you any money and costing you quite a bit more than using a service to bounce out/back would cost you AND We have gotten more and more reports from Nong Khai that it is no longer the "soft touch" border it used to be before free stamps went from 30 to 60 days. People are being turned back to Lao regularly, being told to spend xxx days there before trying to come back OR being told outright go to vientiane and fly back in. AFAIK there is no agent operating up at the Nong Khai border that can "facilitate" someone bouncing out and back in the same day.

They broker their people thru SR Services 😛 SR Services is the REAL DEAL, they can get you in when other people can't, AND they can even get you back in at the same airport IF you were denied entry and shipped out the day before 😮 They really can do what they say, for the price they quote