Tod Daniels

1 minute ago, 2long said:

However, if I end up with a single entry, I presume a re-entry permit will fix that, will it?

 

And does the 400k have to be seasoned if applying (first application) in HCMC?

 

Thanks again

Sadly for you a re-entry permit will not do a thing 😞
All a re-entry permit would do on a single entry 90 day Non-O visa is give you the ability to exit/re-enter DURING that 90 days and get stamped in for the same expiration date <- it does NOT add time to that 90 day stamp. re-entry permit or not you're done after 90 days 😮 

Since all the consulates switched over to the eVisa online web-portal the year-long, multi-entry Non-O visa (for marriage, retirement) was discontinued 

The funds to get the single entry Non-O visa DO NOT need to be seasoned (and can indeed be in a bank account in your country).

Unless you're going to meet the requirements to get the year extension inside the country once that 90 days runs down, (by having 400k baht in a thai bank account in your name only for 2 months) about all you can get from that 90 day Non-O would be a "visit thai family" extension at the immigration office where you live for 60 days <- that doesn't require proof of funds

Then when that runs down you'd go buy another 90 day Non-O single entry again. (OR you'd meet the requirements and get the year extension in country)

Heads up people thinking of getting their DTV extension in Bangkok out at Chaengwattana Section J

Some people are now reporting that they are getting a 2 week "under consideration" stamp and then have to show up that date to get the extension inked in 

I do not know if this is dependent on category you have your DTV for or what, BUT it is definitely happening

Here's a stamp from Wednesday the 5th 

Okay after multiple tries to get the DTV extension of stay criteria paperwork from the main immigration at Chaengwattana Section J over about a month, going there every week to the section that does Tourist Visa & DTV extensions, I finally got it today.
 

The first two pages are the Thai language and the last two are the english

Could have already been posted sorry if it was  

That's the best I could do people 🙂

Just in case people are not familiar with what I call "one-n-done" (a Non-O 90 day visa, one year extension and re-entry permit all issued the same day at the immigration office) 
This is what the stamps look like.

Every immigration officer/office in the country can take one look at those and know you didn't "push your own paper" <- get the visa/extension/re-entry on your own.
Remember the standard "time line" for that whole process would be

• Apply for the 90 day Non-O visa for 2000baht
• WAIT 2 weeks for the under review period
• go back get the Non-O visa and new 90 day stamp inked in
• WAIT 2 months or until you have 30 days or less left on that 90 day stamp
• go back and apply for the year extension for 1900baht
• get the re-entry permit

That's how people do it when they push their own paper and get their own visa/extensions and it spaces the stamps out over a 2 1/2 month period  

It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be able to get a year extension on your own with "same day" Non-O / year extension stamps

Those "one-n-done" 15 month retirement visas (even banking your own money) EVERY immigration officer in the country can see the time line is not correct on those stamps. There's no way you could have walked in to immigrations on your own and got those stamps, they will 100% know they were agent gotten by the out of sequence date stamps
 

This is exactly why pattaya agents hold your passport for a month when they do Non-O with year extension, it spreads the stamps out to something that looks at least semi normal 🙂  

You clearly didn't follow the 3 months after the extension was issued; which in "real time" (not make believe same day agent gotten time 😮 ) would have  been counted from about 2 months after you got the initial Non-O issued)

Let's do the math as if you had gotten the Non-O and extension above the table 😉
Getting the Non-O on June 5th, that meant you could have applied for the year extension when you had 30 days or less left on that SO about August 5 would be the soonest at most offices (although some offices allow you to apply for an extension when you have 45 days or less)

That means counting from the earliest date you could have really applied for the extension if you did it above the table versus under it, you needed to have the funds in from June 5 to Aug 5 to hit the 2 month before requirement and then keep the funds in for 3 months after that to about 5 Nov before you could have pulled the balance down to 400K baht

When you go to get your next yearly extension your immigration office will certainly see that you got a "one-n-done" Non-O/year extension issued the same day. They will know it was agent gotten. If by some wild reasoning they still let you apply for the year extension, when you give them the year detail transaction report from the bank you will not meet the seasoning requirements no matter how you want to count it (actual day you got the year OR actual day you SHOULD have been able to get the year)

 

I've had several people use bangkok agents to get those one-n-done 15 month retirement visas in a day and most people get told by their immigration office next year to either bounce out/back and start OVER above the table or go back to the agent again to get the next year extension. <- meaning you're saddled with an agent for the foreseeable future on the stamps you had 

Sorry that was long, hopefully marginally helpful

Finally they have the DTV extension requirements posted on the Bangkok Immigration website
It's under #39

DTV Extension Requirements

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

On 1/9/2025 at 1:23 PM, tygerstar said:

I understand that we may need to stay a night or two if we cross the border into Huay Xai, Laos before we can come back into Chiang Saen, Thailand. Is this rule still in force and, if so, how many nights do we have to stay in Huay Xai, Laos? 

 

Thank you.

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 !!!

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