DFPhuket

I was asked for my passport once last year (I have Phuket license tags) coming into Phuket. I handed over my driver's license instead and it was fine.

Here is what my AIG Travel Guard policy says about exclusions. I assume other policies have similar exclusions. The insurance under this agreement does not cover the following expenses: 16. Injury arising from the action of the insured while the insured is under the influence of alcohol, addictive substance, or narcotics to the extent of being unable to control one's mind. 17. The term "under the influence of alcohol" in case of having a blood test refers to an alcohol level of 150 mg percent and over. (Note: that is a 0.15% blood alcohol level, which is 3 times over the driving limit)

Those "servicing in the area against rules and regulations" mean that they hadn't paid the required taxi fee to the Phuket airport taxi mafia authorities. Why is it that Grab/Bolt/InDrive can freely service BKK, DMK, CNX and other airports, but they can't do the same thing in Phuket? It's a rhetorical question.

It took my friend arriving Tuesday at 3 PM well over an hour to get through immigration at BKK. The good news was that his bag was out by the time he finally got through.

When I was departing this week I noticed a sign to the far left (next to the air crew/diplomatic immigration lines) that said "Overstay and Re-Entry Permits". I would assume you'd need to tell the person directing people at the queue that you need to go there rather than the regular immigration line.

I would only do a minimum of 3 hours with checked luggage. That can mitigate problems of a late flight and your bag being the last one off the belt. For international flights, you must be at the check in desk a minimum of between 45 minutes and an hour before departure.

On my iPhone I have both an eSIM with my Thai DTAC number and Ting as a hard SIM installed in my phone. I've never had an issue getting OTP's via Ting and have used it in multiple countries. It's charged to my US credit card monthly. As others have said, you need to get it (and I think Mint is similar) setup before you leave the US. Obviously leave data roaming turned off. My typical charge is about $11 unless I'm in the US and then it can jump to about $20-40 depending on usage. It's great to have a US mobile number/data plan as soon as I land in the US. I've had it for about 10 years and there has been no issue even though I live full time overseas.

I landed at BKK today and the immigration queue was stretching down the arrival hall. It did move fairly quickly, but it took nearly an hour. There is no doubt that whatever process they come up with is going to increase the processing time since it's clear to everyone who flies that the 300 baht can't be made part of the ticket (since it varies by work permit/passport). It will have to be paid or checked at arrival.

I can't see how this can be collected by the airlines. I travel in and out of Thailand a lot. No airline website is setup to ask about work permits, etc., and charge a different fee for different passport and work permit status. I already have a ticket for a round trip with a return in June. Obviously no 300 baht was collected. That means the only viable option is to have a place at the airport to collect 300 baht upon arrival. Will they accept other currencies? Credit cards? Or will they tell airlines "do this" even though it's nearly impossible to implement - and what about people like me who already have a June ticket? This sort of reminds me of the Covid Sandbox rollout where they made decisions but didn't think though the implementation and the startup was a complete mess.

In Phuket, I applied and got mine exactly 45 days before the expiry date since I was traveling in the weeks before it was expiring. No questions asked about why I was doing it early. They extended it by a year from the date is was to expire and I got my multiple re-entry that was also good until the new expiry date.

Yes. Bangkok Airways has check-in in both terminals. With a through ticket and connection in BKK, your bags will be checked to your final destination, you’ll get a CIQ sticker, go through immigration in Phuket and in Bangkok they will direct you to your connecting international gate.

In Phuket, they asked me to provide proof of my flight booking, so make sure you take that. Phuket allows renewals 45 days in advance. I went in 46 days in advance prior to a long trip and they processed mine the same day - with no special "service charge".

The SCB fixed deposit is now paying 1.15% interest so on 800,000 that’s 9,200 baht per year. The EZ SCB Savings Account with no passbook, pays 1.5% or 12,000 baht per year. Like you, I’d switch and pocket the 2,800 difference if I knew it wouldn’t cause headaches at immigration (I’m in Phuket). Please report back on how it went.

When using Western Union, make sure you are using the Western Union site for Thailand. If you try to use the website setup for a different country it won't work. To register your account, you may have to physically go and show them your passport. I recall having to do that when I set mine up (sometime before Covid). Due to the competition from Wise and other online systems the Western Union fees/exchange rates are now on par with other online transfer services.

It's like it was in 2019 before Covid. If you're on a one way ticket, the airline will likely ask for proof of onward travel before you can board. Any ticket will do. There are no Covid vaccination or other requirements. Upon landing, at immigration hand over your passport and boarding pass (so your flight details can be added). There is no more white TM6 card to be filled out on the plane. Have your fingerprints and photo taken, and you'll be given a 45 day visa exemption (if arriving before the end of March). Once you're in the country you can go through the process of getting your status changed to Non-O based on retirement.

This suggested ended my frustration as I was doing my FBAR for 22 (I mean 2022). I got the validation error but couldn't figure it out until I read your comment and changed the year to four digits. Then it worked fine. Thanks.

I book a lot of tickets on a lot of airlines. I know of no booking site that is set up to calculate a different rate of taxes or fees based upon a person's passport or work permit status. On full service carriers, the cost you see on the first page is what you pay. But I doubt that any government official proposing this idea has ever used an airline booking engine and has any idea how it works. The fee would have to be paid upon arrival by credit card or multiple currencies (since most don't arrive with baht). If they only accept baht, that means a queue for exchanging money, a queue for paying the fee, and a queue for immigration. Thailand, smooth as silk.

Contact your carriers call center, and tell them you want international roaming, but that you don't want data roaming. For many carriers, international roaming is off by default. I have no issues receiving an SMS when outside of Thailand with DTAC. Incoming SMS's are free. Data roaming is not free and I always leave it off. Most of the features of your phone package (along with paying your bill) can be done with the app when you're outside the countries.

The check for an onward flight is routinely done by the airline at check in, almost never at immigration. If you have a round trip ticket (regardless of the return date) the question is rarely asked. People who say they are never asked are usually flying on round trip tickets so the check in agent can see you have a departure flight and wouldn't bother to ask. On a one way ticket into Thailand the question about onward travel is typical. In 9 out of 10 of my one way flights into Thailand in the past 12 months, I was questioned (Scoot was the carrier not asking). I point out my re-entry permit and it's fine, but first they asked about my flight leaving Thailand. Booking a flight or purchasing a ticket on a site like https://onwardticket.com/ is less stressful than dealing with the issue at the check in counter.

A fee that only applies to certain groups of people (non-Thai, non work permit holders) cannot be added by the airline when the ticket is purchased. I've already purchased a ticket to return to Thailand in June. That only leaves the option of everyone queuing up before or after immigration to pay the fee. They would also need to accept credit cards and other currencies since few people arrive with baht and most ATMs are after customs. I'd imagine this has been as carefully thought out as last weeks vaccination requirement that was added and then dropped.

You will be able to add a new bank when you actually start a transfer. On the fourth step when it asks "how do you want to pay" it asks if you'd like to use an account you have already used or create a new one. You add the new bank details and it will "stick" and be there in the future.

If it’s one ticket/confirmation number with two flights you’ll check in at the international terminal, get a CIQ sticker and go through immigration. Upon arrival in BKK you’ll be directed to a transit counter and be sent to the international terminal and on to your gate.

I had a friend run his passport through the washing machine at my place when he was staying with me. The stamps were faded, but the data page was fine. He had no difficulties leaving Thailand. I assume they could see his data on their computer and they told him he should replace the passport. He was returning to his home country and renewed his passport at home. It might have been a different story had he tried to leave Thailand and go to a third country.

I've also used my Thai drivers license. However, if you're traveling and checking into a hotel, the hotel seems to always want the passport.

This site will give you the daily exchange rates in Thai banks and several exchange booths. As you can see, exchange booths are better. Unfortunately, it's for Bangkok locations, not Pattaya.