Aswellian

On 12/12/2020 at 7:56 AM, George36 said:

Thanks for the replies.  Hmmmm, this sets up a real conundrum for us.  Leave in February without vaccine and return to U.S. in three or so months to get vaccine or leave only after we get the vaccine here which could be Mayish?  After getting vaccine in states, we would return to Thailand and have to go through another quarantine.
 

We are really ready to make the move now.  We would look to stay initially for a year.

In case it's helpful, there is a statement from the MFA at the recent Forbes forum that discusses their vaccine efforts, among other things, here: https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/remarksatforbesthailandforum2020

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Only visa exempt or tourist visa can be changed to to a non immigrant visa at immigration. You wife would be applying for a non-o visa not a OA visa.

Okay, that is good to know. Definitely the best way to proceed.

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You were not trying to change the type of non immigrant visa entry you had. You were trying to apply for a extension of stay based upon attending a school with non-o visa entry instead of having a non-ed visa.

Actually just looked at my old Passport, in 2015 when entering the Thai language course at Chiang Mai University, they did give me paperwork that converted to a non-Ed, and I had that done in HK. The visa received in HK in my old passport is a non-Ed. Not sure why they recommended that route instead of extending the non-O as you mention, but it does make sense that I had to leave, as it was a completely different visa type...

Maybe that is it, depends on the type of visa you have and what it's being converted to.

I entered with an O visa back in 2015, and had to make a trip out of the country to convert it to an Education visa, in order to take a Thai language course at Chiang Mai University. However, can see how it could be easier for me to convert from tourist to a Smart visa, and her to a OA. Think the issue last time was switching to Education...

Thanks ubonjoe, very helpful info as usual.

I have a year before hitting the 50 mark, and am therefore not yet eligible for any of the O visa types listed at the DC Embassy website. I did check my passport, which contains the O visa issued by the Boston consulate, and it is a plain O. Maybe the age requirement changed in the last 5 years.

Good to know the tourist visa is able to be changed at Immigration, that seems to be the best way to handle as we can convert once in country. For some reason I thought tourist visas could only be converted to another visa type out of the country, but I could be mistaken, or perhaps that has changed in recent years.

From what I understand it's most common to switch from whatever visa one enters the Kingdom with to a Smart visa while in country. I was told it was possible to get a Smart visa from outside of the country, but it involves Immigration in Thailand working with the local Embassy, as those visas are handled by a special department. Assuming I understood correctly, handling the Smart visa once in country seems the least complicated way to proceed.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Unsure of how to proceed with Visa Application process, hoping to get some constructive feedback from some of you good folks...

Myself and my non-Thai partner are returning to Thailand after 4 years away. This time I will be getting a Smart-S Visa, and she will be getting a non-O for retirement. We are not exactly sure what our travel dates are (within the next 2-3 months), but would like to start the process now to ensure there are no issues. It seems the best way forward is to get the type of non-O that allows one 90-day entry, and then convert to the desired Visa type when in country, as we have done before. That would, theoretically, allow us to travel and quarantine together, and to handle the details of our desired Visa types in country, where we can be face-to-face with people.

The questions are:

1) What type of non-O allows a single 90-day entry? We were issued a single-entry 90-day non-O on previous occasions at the Portland and Boston consulates, but they are closed and I am unclear which non-O Visa type to select on the Embassy site (perhaps O-A or O-X?): https://thaiembdc.org/onlinevisaapplication/

2) Are there known reports of couples quarantining together? Perhaps something can be communicated during the ASQ signup process?

3) I have already communicated with, and am ready to proceed with a firm that works with Immigration and the BOI for Smart Visas and company formation, but it seems handling those details in country would be easier, and would allow more time to get settled before the clock starts ticking for getting the business started. Any disadvantage to converting our Visas in country versus applying from abroad?

Thanks in advance, as these current times are complicating things a bit...

Was just here to look at the weather and smoke reports, but want to respond to this, in case it is helpful...

One other possibility is Expat Auto. I had heard good things from another customer when first visiting CM, so back in 2015 when we returned on a longer term basis we bought a used 2002 CRV from them for ~290,000B. Apparently SUV's in particular hold their value so it was a lot for an older vehicle, but it was a trade-in from an existing customer who kept repair records from the Honda dealer, so we knew it had been taken care of.

The process was amazingly smooth as they took care of all the registration paperwork and got us first class insurance. The vehicle was in great shape for it's age, no complaints at all, and it was a pleasure to drive. When we left for Canada a little over a year later, they listed it on their website and within a week sold it for ~30,000B less than we paid for it, then they wire transferred the money to us. Great people, smooth process, no complaints.

If they don't have a car on the lot that you like, they also do car location, or at least they did a few years ago. Give them a make/model, year and price range, and they will attempt to locate something for you. They also inspect cars from other dealers, to make sure there aren't major issues hidden beneath a fresh paint job. In short, if you don't speak much Thai, and need help with anything vehicle related, they make the process very easy... https://expatautocm.com/