CMBob

Yes, open early for applications this year. Opened Monday (17th).

At CM Immigration last (2021) October, I converted from exempt to a Non-O and, while they could see from the bank passbook copies that the 800k had been in there for several years, there was nothing in the passbook (SCB) that reflected the funds came from abroad (the funds were deposited 10-12 years ago and the passbook CM Immigration saw only covered the last several years). Perhaps I got a break because they could see that the funds had been there for many years and/or that they could see I had many prior extensions based on retirement and gave me a break due to covid. Not sure.

According to the translation I've seen of the current Immigration Act (BE 2522), it says that one must report one's address upon "completion" of a ninety day period." In the OP's case, he/she hasn't completed a 90-day time period when leaving on the 90th day. And, while I never concerned myself with calculating the exact time before, I just looked at a couple of my 90-day Receipts of Notification and indeed the next report dates are on the 91st day (counting the first day).

I realize you have no need for a long time to renew your US passport but currently the answer to your question is easily obtained by a simple review of the Bangkok Embassy website section dealing with passport renewals. To assist, I'll paste the following from the website: Q: What payment methods are available for use via Pay.gov? A: You can pay the $130 fee by electronic check/transfer, credit/debit card, PayPal, or Amazon Pay on Pay.gov. This amount cannot be altered. You must pay the fee in U.S. dollars.

As has been noted, renewing a US passport must be done by mail absent some unusual factors (using the Embassy website section for renewal will tell you if you have certain factors that would require you to go to the Embassy/Consulate.....but only a small minority would be allowed to do so). Personally, I found the mail-in deal to be easy and quick (DHL on a Monday from Chiangmai to the Embassy in Bangkok and return of the new and punched old passport (and Immigration letter) on a Thursday 11 days later). A lot faster and easier than renewing it in the states (would note that renewal in the US appears to be heading to an online procedure for all/most next year although the process there is not anticipated to be anywhere near as fast as getting it done here in Thailand). You pay for the new passport itself online with a credit card (before you could do the credit card thing or pay via a bank draft) and you must include a bank draft for 100 baht for return of the new and old passports (I don't see how an agent can get the bank draft for you although I have no clue if the Embassy would have a problem if the bank draft was from somebody other than the person applying for the passport). Anyway, the process is easy.

Don't believe so.....the 30 day extension will be tacked onto the end of the visa exempt time period. When one converts to a Non-O (from an exempt or tourist visa), the Non-O will run from either the date of application or within a week or so after the date of application. And, as you know, annual extensions (based on retirement or whatever) will run from the date of expiration of your current permission to stay or extension even if you apply for it 30-45 days before the expiration date.

I asked that very question last week and was told that the flu season here is "now"; as such, I went and got a flu shot this past Friday.

Between October 1st and March 30th, you'll get visa exempt entry of 45 days (it's simply an exempt entry and it's not any type of visa). And, yes, you can extend for another 30 days at CM Immigration for 1,900 baht and some paperwork. Would recommend going for your 30-day extension 10+ days before your 45-day exempt time expires just in case you run into a paperwork problem (not likely but it could happen). Mae Sai border is not currently open for farang but, then again, you certainly don't need to do a border run if you're only staying 60 days.

Renewed my US passport here this past December and used the bank draft option for both the renewal fee and the 100 baht return mailing fee; however, checking the Embassy website info, the bankdraft option for the renewal fee isn't available anymore (although one still has to go get a bankdraft for the 100 baht return mailing fee). Would obviously be helpful simply to allow a credit/debit card for both fees and that'd eliminate the need to go get a bankdraft. And, yea, anybody without a workable credit/debit card apparentlyl simply can't renew their US passport here.

Ignore....double post

And I'm so sad that you poor devils in Nong Hay (ones anywhere near the Ping river) need a kayak to get around. As to the prior poster's question, absent some big rains or water flows from the north, you'll have zero problem getting to the airport.

Was down at Worarot an hour ago and, while the river is high and looking angry (photo attached), saw no flooding near there (or as far down both Charoen Prathet and Chang Klan as I could see from Thaphae Road. But still significant flooding farther south. But understand the Mae Tang river basin is jammed full and the water is heading this way....and apparently they expect the river to rise some more. Hopefully not too much.

Based on what I read, the highest level of Thailand's foreign reserves was 245 billion (US) during 2022 and the balance was still 215 billion (US) as of this September (2022). The sky is not falling and I'd hardly call that decrease "well down."

This past fall (after converting from visa exempt to a Non-O visa) I opened an account at Bangkok Bank here in CM without any hassle at all. Just had to present my passport with the Non-O stamp along with my local address and local telephone number (no need for a residency certificate, work permit, agent, or anything else).

There's a leather shop in Maya Mall that will do that. I've also seen a "belt" place by Worarot that made belts but I'm not sure if those are real leather. I've seen others over the years but don't recall where they are.

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/[email protected]/bookings/

As I understand it from various historical texts, all of the walls and gates were pretty much destroyed by the Burmese (and likely destroyed by the many attempts of the Siamese to retake the city during the couple hundred years of occupation by the Burmese) and the walls and gates were rebuilt by the Siamese appointed Lanna King Kawila in and after 1801. I really doubt that there is anything that we have seen standing would date prior to 1800 (and most of what we've seen was likely built well after 1900).

Yep, and reads as follows: Chang Phuak Gate This gate, located on the northern wall of the city, dates back to the year 1296 when King Mangrai founded Chiang Mai. The name of the gate was originally Hua Wiang because, according to traditional belief, the head (hua) of the city (wiang) was located in this direction. Under King Saen Muang Ma (1385-1401), the White Elephant (Chang Phuak) Monument was erected outside the gate to the north. The name of the gate was thereafter changed to Chang Phuak Gate. Prior to the coronation, new Kings ceremoniously entered the city through this gate. The gate was reconstructed in the years around 1800 and was completely rebuilt between 1966-1969.

Not that it matters but think the names are Aod & Dan.

Might also be a cooking school......

Couple questions: (1) Does one need to go through the outside inspection-of-documents line if one has an appointment? (2) It seems the appointment system only allows appointments for the next 30 days (or slightly less). Is that correct?

As has been noted, it appears the daughter went to Phuket for fun and then flew back to Bangkok to board her international flight and that's where the overstay problem occurred. But I too bet she was stamped in with her UK passport as that's the only thing that makes sense. Without that happening, there is no way for Immigration to know let alone calculate the amount of days in an overstay. And, yea, there is no way the daughter entered Thailand only with a Thai ID card. OP.....given you've doubted that, why not return to the thread to advise when you view your daughter's passport?

I was in the same boat as the OP.....my retirement extension based on retirement expired while I was essentially trapped back in the states for 16 months due to the covid junk and, although nothing on the bank letter or current bank book reflected that the money originally came from overseas (arrived 12+ years ago), perhaps CM Immigration either didn't care about the "overseas" requirement or essentially waived it due to seeing I had been getting annual extensions for more than a decade based on those funds (the current bank book copies I used only covered a few years). I suspect the OP won't have a problem either with the supposed "overseas" requirement.

The 90-day Non-O you will get will not start at the end of your 45-day visa exempt period but rather within about 10 days of the time you actually apply. I applied on or about September 28th and, even though I didn't actually get the stamp until about October 19th, the Non-O had a start date of October 8th. So I'm guessing the beginning date is the date it's approved in Bangkok (or, perhaps, when CM Immigration gets it done after Bangkok approval)? So OP, if you apply (let's say) November 18th, you will on that date get a paper stapled into your passport that essentially says you're on a 21-day waiting period (it signals the date you come back to get the actual Non-O visa stamp). But I would bet that the Non-O stamp you get will have a beginning date of of about November 28th, thus technically giving you until about February 28th (or so, I'm not counting the days) to do your annual extension. And, if February 28th is the ending date, then you could go to CM Immigration 45 days before that to apply for your annual extension based on retirement on or after January 17th (or perhaps the prior Friday depending on the exact ending date). So sounds like it'll work out fine for your mentioned schedule.

With respect to Nok Air's website, I tried just yesterday to fill in some dates and got the same non-working situation the OP mentions. I'm guessing it's a temporary problem as I know it was working a week or two ago. OP, try again (maybe they've fixed it).