Tod Daniels

The way the 90 day reporting rule works IS If you're still in thailand on the 90th day you report, end of story. There is no grace period, no nothing, you either have to report or you don't Now with that being said, if you don't do anything and just fly out, no one is gonna say anything to you at passport control when you stamp out, nor will they say anything to you when you stamp back in They COULD catch it on the next 90 day report you do after you come back (which will be due 89 days from the date you stamp back in) and they might see you failed to report last time before you left the country and fine you the 2000baht fine for failure to file a 90 day report on time. Good news is even if they do catch you and fine you the fine is always just 2000baht and doesn't go up, so not the end of the world Personally I'd say, follow the rules, you can report in person from 2 weeks before the due date until 1 week after so get it done before you fly out but I will leave it to you to decide your course of action

We're seeing more and more visa run companies put up notices on their websites that they won't run to Savannakhet anymore It seems FEW people are actually getting the available bookings which come up at between 12 and 2 am every day. Plus they only let you book 14 days in advance so tonight when the open up the 27th will be the only day that opens. There does appear to be a few companies that are able to get bookings for Savannakhet though Sadly because Savannakhet went to 400K baht in a thai bank account for 2 months before you apply for the year/multi-Non-O based on marriage AND went to 3 day processing (2 business days after the day you apply) there's almost no advantage to go there, you might as well go to Vientiane, and it's way easier to get appts there

You shouldn't have any issue bouncing out and back at 6PM using the Nong Khai Friendship bridge with Lao.

Okay this is how 90 day reporting really works (whether it was your experience or not) You can apply for a 90 day report in person from 2 weeks before down until 1 week after the due date with no fine, BUT That does not mean if you leave within a week of your report being due you have a 'grace period' and don't report. The rule is written that if you're in thailand on the 90th day you are obligated to report. However with that being said, the people at passport control stamping you out of the country don't care in the least if you EVER filed a 90 day report or not (it's not their job). You won't face any scrutiny stamping out of thailand and back in when you return about not having filed a 90 day report within the prescribed time frame Your next 90 day report will be due 89 days from the date you stamp back IN to the country, <- and it's at that time they might catch you failed to report on time for the previous 90 day report and they could fine you 2000baht before they let you file again. Chances are they won't catch it when you come back and go to do the next 90 day report and you won't be fined but just wanted you to know that is a possibility. The up side is the fine is 2000 baht and doesn't increase. So if they do catch that you didn't file on time before leaving it's just the 2000baht

Ahhh there we go, you are "reverse bouncing" and would NEVER see a problem coming from that way, until you hit your two land entries per year (if you're from a country that is limited like that) and get told you can't enter by land but have to fly It's the people who live IN thailand that have the issue bouncing out back to continue staying in thailand at that border 😛

Just go to Nong Khai and use the main border with Lao up there at the friendship bridge

there is NO fast way to Mukdahan (which is like Nakhon Nowhere Thailand 😮 ) It's the province across from Savannakhet Lao, and people go to that border who live up there, NOT from bangkok as there's no train, and there's no fast way there.. Take a regular bus to Nong Khai (which is the same hours to get to as Mukdahan) Like the company Nakhon Chai Air. They have really NICE buses and good pricing too

That no mini van sure throws a wrench in the gears 😕 Sure take the train to Nong Khai, stamp out of thailand, buy the VOA for Lao, take the bus across the bridge, stamp in, stamp out, take the bus back and stamp back into thailand. There is no amount of time you have to be out of the country only that you can only get TWO free 30 day visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year (Jan 1 - Dec 31) so as long as you haven't burned your two land entries this year you're good As far as the 30 day visa exempt switching to 60 days the last update from the Thai Public Relations Dept said that it was "expected" to take place at the end of June or the beginning of July

wanna answer when you bounced last or just leave it at that?

If indeed you are going to Cambodia and will spend some time there being a tourist, you shouldn't have an issue with comin' back in by air. The thing is just because you possess a valid visa to thailand doesn't mean you get IN to the country on that visa (if they think you're living here on it). All it means is if they let you in they stamp you in for the time that visa allows (in your case 60 days) I am not saying you're going to get hassled or denied entry, just that if you're only after another stamp to stay here in thailand 60 more days bounce with a border bounce service by land out and back for it.

you need to have that PDF file they emailed you when you got the visa approved (if it was via the eVisa online website) because that IS your visa and you have to show it every time you stamp in to the country and if you're going to get a 30 day extension at the immigration office too

I tell you that Aranyaprathet/ Poipet border was bad BEFORE the countries closed during covid and since that border re-opened it's only gotten worse. It's so bad even border run companies that lug foreigners to the border every day will not use that crossing. Usually what happens is you stamp out of Cambodia, go to the thai stamp in, get denied entry, get the denial of entry based on no visible means of support (really the only reason they can deny you) ไม่มีปัจจัยในการยังชีพตามสมควร is the reason they put on the stamp. BUT As soon as you get back to the Cambo side (where they cancel your exit stamp and let you back in) you're approached by a couple guys who say for xxxx baht they can get you in TOMORROW morning when the border opens (most people report 300USD as the price asked) It's just plain and simple a bad crossing and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Pay a service that runs to the border from bangkok to get you to the border, get you out and back in, and bring you back. There are 4 or 5 that make that run.

Just curious when you last did this bargain basement, I'll bounce myself run to Aranyaprathet/Poipet? I usually get a couple messages a week from people stuck on the Cambo side who got denied entry comin' back in at that border. AND they hadn't used their two entries a year, by land, OR had extensive entry/stay histories

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS THAI CONSULATE SAVANNAKHET POLICY CHANGE The thai consulate in Savannakhet Lao will go to online appointment booking only effective June 1st (actually on Tuesday June 4th which is the first day they're open after the holiday). They will no longer allow walk up service, you have to book an appt to get in the gate. At this time the appointment booking website is "under construction" but here's the link Online Appointment Booking Savannakhet Also their processing time for visas have changed and they have the same processing time as Vientiane. Apply for a visa and get the passport back two business days after the application (NOT including the day you apply, so what I call 3 day processing) Examplez; Apply Monday morning/passport returned Wednesday afternoon Apply Thursday morning/ passport returned Monday afternoon Apply Friday morning/passport returned Tuesday afternoon

Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Buriram, Samut Prakan offices all allow you to get an extension when you have 45 days or less left on your current stamp. That means IF you show up free entry (30 day visa exempt) you can go the very next day if you want to and apply for a 30 day extension at those offices. Where as if you have a real 60 day tourist visa entry (TR60) you can go for the extension 2 weeks after you stamp in Keep in mind there are a couple offices Jomtien which requires you have a week or less left on your 30 day entry or 60 day tourist visa stamp and Samui that wants you to go when you have 2 weeks or less left on those stamps

It was not uncommon (before the online 90 day reporting program came live) for the Thai immigration offices to take weeks and weeks to mail that receipt of a 90 day report back to the applicant. I once waited 10 weeks to get the receipt and got it just days before I'd decided to go in and apply for the next report in person 🙂 If you don't get the receipt back in the mail you DO have your receipt from Thai post showing the EMS tracking number and what day they received the previous report, so even if you don't get it in the mail before your next report, when you go to apply (which you WILL have to do in person) next time you can show you did indeed apply previously. I have also seen people going out to report, saying they never got their receipt mailed back and have the officer pull out a BIG BOX of 90 day report return receipt envelope that they had returned to them by thai post as un-deliverable and pull their envelope out of it 😮

There is no minimum amount of time between applying for another METV posted on any website. SOME consulates are adopting the 1-n-done policy where if you get an METV you can't get another one for a year from the date they gave the first one but some are not All you can do is apply and see how it goes. They'll either issue it OR message and say you can't get it OR just sell you a single entry if they feel you don't show the 'need' for one. I'd be much more worried about getting pulled aside by passport control flying back in on a new METV after just having maxed one out a few months before (because you can stay almost 9 months on an METV if you work the bounces/extensions right) You run a much higher risk of being questioned by passport control about if you're trying to live here on tourist visas.

sadly when the Thai consulate in the UK went to eVisa online applications they eliminated the multiple entry choice for Non-O visas based on marriage to a thai. The system defaults to a single entry and there is no way to change the field to multiple These are the choices to get the 90 day single entry

I just did TWO passport renewals by mail thru the ACS division of the US Embassy here in bangkok One was a replacement for a stolen passport and the person got that in 15 days from the date I mailed off the packet to ACS via EMS Thai Post The other person was just a renewal, and they got both passports delivered to their door 42 days from the date I mailed the packet in to ACS. (so that 6 week estimated time is pretty accurate) In BOTH cases the issue date of the passport was just like a week after the application was mailed to ACS All I can say is if you're doing it by mail follow the directions TO THE LETTER.. That means take your time, get it right, it's not a race, because skipping a step or getting a step wrong is what makes those renewals DRAG out. You start here: Click the link on the bottom to see if you can renew by mail US Passport Renewal

Just so everyone is clear DMK and BKK airports deny HUNDREDS of people every week and send 'em back out to where they flew in from. You BIG mistake was doing a bounce out and back by AIR to get a new free entry stamp after the entry/stay history you have 😕 You are unlikely to be able to get a tourist visa from either consulate in Vietnam (Hanoi or HCMC) with a denial of entry stamp in your passport I'd say if you're hell-bent on flying in do it to Chiang Mai <- that airport has NO confirmed denial of entries and is the softest touch airport to get in at. Otherwise, fly to Malaysia or Lao and enter by LAND. Cambodia is gonna bot be the border to try to enter from with your denial of entry. That Aranyaprathet/Poipet border is the WORST border crossing to thailand out of all of them so avoid trying to come in there You're allowed 2 free visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year (so there's no way you've used those seeing as it's Feb 3 😛 ) fly to Vientiane Lao and enter at Nong Khai OR fly to Penang and enter at Sadao

Sadly you can't get a Non-O visa issued for "trailing spouse" to a foreigner on a "retirement visa" inside the country AND the only consulate that used to sell them (Penang) stopped.. 😕 What I have seen "creative" agencies do 😮 is get the trailing spouse a non-ED visa for 90 days, get ONE extension on it based on education (because the first extension has to be for the reason it's issued) THEN what they do is "CHANGE THE REASON" for the extension from education to "trailing spouse". 😛 There are reports agencies are doing it for people in Pattaya and Phuket. Never seen it in bangkok or Chiang Mai though One thing you WILL need to do is get that marriage to a foreigner certified by the embassy of the country you married in because without that you can't get the "trailing spouse" extension against your retirement visa That's IF the embassy of the country you married in here will do it. FWIW; the UK and US embassies won't certify marriages anymore. You have to send it back to those countries and do the process there, get them stamped by the thai embassy there and then sent back here).. Hated to be the bearer of bad news but that "trailing spouse" Non-O is a TOUGH visa to get, no consulate in S/E Asia will issue it for a person married to a retirement visa holder 😕

I can confirm with 100% certainty that to get a year long, multi-entry, non-o visa based on marriage to a Thai they require a bank book updated shortly before you go there showing you have 400k baht in a Thai bank account in your name only for 2 months before you apply or you will only get a 90-day single entry.

This is an image from the poster on the wall at Chaengwattana Bangkok Bank showing the letter (which can be in thai or engrish) It is just a simple letter stating the account, your name (sometimes your passport number) and the balance of the account the date you got the letter.

𝟭) 𝗔𝘀 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 "𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲"( 𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹) 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺? You can enter visa exempt, FIND a school, enroll, pay the tuition, have them apply to the Ministry of Education and once that paperwork comes back you can apply for a 90 day ED visa at the immigration office in the area where the school is and where you live 𝟮) 𝗜𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 (𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹) 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁? That is between you and the air carrier.. SOME carriers have a policy that if you come in "free stamp" (no valid visa in your passport) that you have to show onward travel within the number of days you will get stamped in for (in your case 30) 𝟯) 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗗 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮? Most schools take between 2 and 4 weeks to get the paperwork from the MOE once they submit your packet for approval you also need to have between 2 and 3 weeks left on your current stamp once the paperwork comes back to apply for the ED visa inside the country at the immigration office 𝟰) 𝗜𝗳 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗗 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶 𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱? Yes, no problem and in reality you should probably get a single entry tourist visa before you come here because that stamps you in for 60 days when you arrive and you can get one 30 day extension for 1900baht at the immigration office. That will give you plenty of time to find a school, have them process the paperwork, and to still have the time you need on your stamp to apply for the ED visa at the immigration office

The LTR BOI website has a pop-up stating they have a list of approved companies that are authorized to "push paper" (apply for the LTR for you) They list them under Certified Agency tab https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/ca.html