buick

i used a Foreign Currency Account at Bangkok Bank to support my extensions at CW. all they require is the bank letter confirming the balance. no statement. maybe other offices are different.

if i initiate a SWIFT transfer on Mon or Tues night BKK time, it's in my BKK account by the time i wake up in the morning - very quick. once i did it on Thurs night and it didn't make it by Fri am (arrived Monday). one of the banks involved wanted to hold that money over the weekend ! this is USA to BKK. my SWIFT transfers are free (long time customer at Wells Fargo). as to the broader topic, i've never noticed an intermediary. my BKK account is at Bangkok Bank HQ on Silom Raod.

leaving via the airport, paying the fine, and finding a new spot to stay is a good option. it may also be possible to find an agent that can clear an overstay and provide a Non Imm O plus extension based on retirement. this would be an expensive option.

would appreciate a reference to one of the 'safe entry services', i did a search in the forum but didn't have much success (saw this thread). this is for a friend (you can laugh but it is true), he's entered twice visa exempt and has done the 30 day extension on both. a few months ago i started a thread about a guy who was looking for a visa of some sort to stay long term to assist his father - who had a medical event and was in a nursing home in Pattaya area. the father passed on not long after i started that thread. the son is still here and would like to stay some more. i told him he should use the safe entry service for next visa run. he's planning on another visa exempt + 30 day extension. any help is appreciated. thanks.

i was hoping to update the thread at some point with regard to the immigration clause 2.25, was the Son able to get a letter from doctor and get 90 day stays, etc... unfortunately, the update is the Father passed away this morning. thanks again for the input.

right, i did tell him about the safe entry and informed him of carrying cash and a flight out in order to minimize risk of getting denied entry. obviously safe entry is a great option if he decides to try one more visa exempt.

he has done the first 60+30, flew to Hanoi, and is now on his 60 day. will do the +30. so he's got some time as he just returned from Hanoi this week. when he returned, the IO told him he needed a visa so that got this ball rolling, being new to thailand, he wasn't well versed on the 'rules'. probably time for the METV. but he'll talk with the nursing home staff to see about this immigration clause 2.25 discussed herein.

the son is a teacher in the US. university degree in education. at some point, he may consider a teaching position in thailand but that decision is a ways out. the father had a stroke and can't talk so not much for the son to do except sit with his dad for a couple hrs a day. he will need something to keep himself occupied at some point. he's been here a little over 90 days now.

the father had a stroke and isn't able to talk. his desires are unknown, although friends suggest he'd prefer to stay in Thailand based on conversations they had on this topic over the years. he's been in thailand for 20+ years.

the son is a teacher in the US. has a university degree in education. he took leave to help with his father. it's probably a little early to jump on the Elite visa.

thanks for the addtl info on the immigration clause. the son will be following up with the nursing home staff soon. he was a bit surprised at how quickly immigration put him on notice: 'you need visa'. but most of us here on this site are not surprised. the Father had a stroke. a maid found him in his room, he'd been in there for a couple days. he can't really talk, was on a feeding tube for weeks, now off the tube. he does recognize his son and a close friend that is here, he was able to say the friend's name. if this clause won't apply, the METV seems to be a fairly simple solution.

i don't want to get too far off track here but i thought i add recent experience of mine. i had some issues with anxiety attacks a couple years ago. long story short, i went to the ER twice in the USA and once in Bangkok. i've got good insurance in the USA, the ER visit cost me $400 each time in USA - insurance covered the rest (i think the total charge was $2,000+/- for each visit). in Bangkok at Bumrungrad, the visit cost 12,000thb, no insurance. roughly the same as USA with insurance. in all three cases, nothing major was done, told me i was fine.

as i understand it, the family (siblings of the father) are assisting financially and i believe the father has a Trust of some sort that assists also. their financial status is superior to that of the son and perhaps could support the son in one way or another. so i'll say son's financial status is limited but the overall family is solid. the medical issue hasn't created a financial problem for the the Father and/or the Family. it sounds like the staff at the nursing home might be able to prepare a document that would help the son qualify for 90 day stay(s) under the cited immigration clause. if i'm reading that right. i'll have to see what discussions he's had with the folks at the nursing home.

the nursing home could be just outside Pattaya, i think he's been in two of them so far.

he'd have to fly back to USA but that might be his best option and perhaps a trip back home for a bit is something that would happen anyway.