Mike Teavee

Where he will have to sit until he can arrange to pay the 20K fine (may be able to lower this if it goes to court) & his deportation flight. Its a sad reminder to all of us that we either need to make sure we can (comfortably) stay here until our time is up or have a plan B for when we can no longer live here, I would say that all but 1 of my mates plan to return to the UK if they’re still here at 75 (easy to say when it’s 20 years away, time will tell if they feel the same or are even able to return then).

For 7.900b (includes the 1,900b Immigration fee) they completed all of the paperwork & hand held me through the process at CW, In 2020 they also included transport to/from CW but in 2021 they didn't offer this service due to Covid cuts, don't know if it's included again now as my latest extension was done at Jomtien. It is (obviously) worth it to me as that is how I choose to do my Extensions (This year it was 8,000b via Maneerat in Pattaya & I didn't even have to go to Immigration)... But to some people it's not worth the expense, to each his own. To give an example of the value I personally got using them, in August 2021 they spotted a problem with amalgamated entries in my bank book (I didn't even know that was a thing) & took me to Bangkok Bank to get what I needed to keep Immigration happy, they also managed to get me my extension 44 days before it was due at a time CW was only allowing people to do their extensions 3 days before the due date (Which would have seriously messed up my travel plans). Maybe when you get to the ripe old age of 56 you'll use an agent for convenience as well ???? , but joking aside the last time I had this conversation was with 2 mates as they sat there smoking away & I pointed out that they spent at least 55K pa on cigarettes whereas I don't smoke... Again, to each his own.

It would be worthwhile stating your current basis of permission to stay & what you're looking for (i.e. are you already on a Visa that you're looking to extend or are you looking to convert from a TR/Visa Exempt to a longer term Visa). I used to use (& Highly Recommend) AsiaVisa Tour on Soi 24 (3 minute walk from Phrom Phong BTS Station) but they told me that they couldn't help me unless I could meet the Visa Finance requirements (In my case extending a Non-Imm O with the 800K in the bank).

I think you're reasoning makes absolute sense when you're over 50 & earning > $80,000 pa but if you're under 50 (& so need to invest $500K) or > 50 but earn between $40-80,000 pa (so need to invest $250K) then I would suggest that the additional returns you'd get from these investments in your own country would probably more than cover the 50K it would cost for the 20 year 1Million baht TE Visa (You'd need an extra $1,350 in returns to cover it). Plus as discussed above there's the Health Insurance requirement but really everybody should have at least this level of cover anyway (Be it via an insurance policy or a decent amount set aside to self insure)

You need $50,000 of Health Insurance cover or Social Security coverage or deposit $100,000 to "Self Insure"

+ he'd have to stay in IDC until he could arrange/pay for his own Deportation flight which costs a lot more than 27K nowadays, especially if he's forced to fly direct (some deportation scenarios insist on you having to do this). (As an aside, I'm sure I read once that Laos will refuse you entry if you're leaving Thailand on an overstay, can somebody confirm)? If he has a long term partner here would getting married offer him any better options in the longer term (I doubt he's going to do any better than the 27K he's been quoted to resolve the current situation).

Apologies (in my defense I really hadn't had a coffee before posting!!!) - I have posted a list in answer to a question about where to get a PCR test in Pattaya that I could have sworn was from the MOPH but can't find it now. Will try to dig through my previous posts to see if I can find it.

Whilst searching for an approved lab to do a Covid test for travelling I came across this list on the MOPH website... https://www.moph.gov.lb/en/Pages/127/41714/list-of-the-laboratories-authorized-by-the-ministry-of-public-health Appreciate this isn't an exact answer to your question but if such a list exists then I would expect it to be found somewhere on this site (It's not 6am & I haven't had coffee yet so I'll leave it to somebody else to find it).

Dutch passport so Visa on Arrival in Laos, Visa Exempt in Thailand It might sound pedantic but the Visa Exempt most countries get is very different than the Visa on Arrival people with Indian/Chinese etc... passports get when coming to Thailand E.g. A Visa on Arrival cannot be extended (you'd be given 7 days if you tried) whereas a Visa Exempt can be extended once for 30 days (I suppose if you tried again you'd also get the 7 days for extension denied).

Please note that he'll only be able to do a border run using a land border twice in any one calendar year so that would be a max of 150 days (assuming he can get 45 day Visa exempt & extend it by 30 days twice) for the other 215 days he'll need to do border runs via air. I know it's probably a lot of money to him but It really does sound like the best & cheapest/easiest option overall is for him to pay the agent the 27k (+20K fine which he'll have to pay anyway) to get a new Non-Imm-O visa + 12 month extension so he'll be good for 15 months stay.

If he is caught he will be blacklisted from Thailand for 5 years, he'll get a 1 year blacklist if he doesn't get his Overstay sorted by 13th December (14th September + 90 days) What are the penalties? The fine for overstaying is 500 Baht per day, reaching a maximum fine of 20,000 Baht (when overstaying 40 or more days). When overstaying for a significant amount of time (90 days or more days), it is a serious offense that you could face deportation and ban from entering Thailand. Here are the current guidelines for overstaying and entry ban: When surrendering at airport immigration when leaving Thailand: Overstay less than 90 Days = 500 Thai baht/day overstay fine (maximum 20,000 Thai baht) Overstay more than 90 Days = 1 year ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine Overstay more than 1 Year = 3 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine Overstay more than 3 Years = 5 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine Overstay more than 5 Years = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine When caught while overstaying Overstay of 1 day to 1 Year = 5 years ban from Thailand and 500 to 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine Overstay more than 1 Year = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine TBH this is the 1st time I'm hearing that an Agent can clear an overstay without somebody leaving the country so 27K sounds like an absolute bargain (given his current situation)

Same here, great service & very cheap to run.

He's talking about the Visa to get into Laos, not the Visa Exempt he got on his return to Thailand.

1980 without a doubt... Nobody should ever have to wear flares ever again ???? Lol, I was 4 in 1970, much preferred being 14 in 1980 ????, hate being 56 in 2022....

I'm another one who uses an agent purely for the convenience & the cost is 7.900b in Bangkok, 8,000b in Pattaya. (The amounts you quoted are for people who don't meet the Finance and/or Insurance requirements to extend their Non-Imm O / OAs). Worth it to me... ... E.g. Last Year I hadn't updated my Bank Book often enough so there were some amalgamated entries in there which would have been unacceptable to Immigration, my Agent spotted this and took me to Bangkok Bank to explain what I needed to fix the problem - Saved me at least one additional trip to CW... ... Maybe it isn't to you, but I'm sure I could point to things that you spend your money on that I wouldn't consider to be worth it to me. Too each his own. Back to the OP... It is not Illegal to use an Agent, it's not even Illegal to get an extension without the necessary finances being in place (Senior IOs have the discretion to wave the requirement) BUT there have been instances in the past where Agents have done some very illegal things (e.g. Using fake immigration stamps or sending passports on border runs) so if you're going to use one, use a reputable one even if you are maybe straying into "Grey Areas"

Pretty sure this was mentioned a long, long time ago but I've only just got around to watching it when it popped up on my Netflix recommendations Suburra... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4025514/ A gangster known as "Samurai" wants to turn the waterfront of Rome into a new Las Vegas. All the local mob bosses have agreed to work for this common goal. But peace is not to last long.

I'm assuming you've been there & have the T-Shirt, Baseball cap to prove it ???? Sorry to drag the conversation away from the original subject, some great info on here, my agent keeps making my annual Non-Imm O extension easy (8K as I keep the 800K in the Bank all year round) but every year I am reviewing my options. As I've said I don't qualify for this one until 2025 (Well I could, but I'm not moving $1M US to Thailand anytime soon) so I'll keep the PE 20 year one in the back pocket ???? As an aside, the biggest issue Ex-Pats seem to have with the longer tern visas is the Insurance, I use Pacific Cross "Visa Friendly" policy, cost me 27K last year (55) but I took out all the outpatient cover + added a 200K voluntary excess for $100K USD cover.

It's exactly the fact that the 800K is of so little use to me that I'm writing it off as a irrelevant What would you suggest doing with it bearing in mind that you're a Retiree so safety is more important to you than returns... How much is securing your next 20 years of tenure worth in returns? (Please don't tell me to invest it in higher yielding assets, that's what the rest of any assets I have is doing, including re-investing dividends).

I get that, but the 800K in my mind is dead (written off in my mind as I'll never see it again, I understand that it's money that could be passed on to my heirs but It's a fraction of what they will get so thinking maybe I'll spend it on me ???? ) ... To me it's the difference between investing 200K to get 20 years Vs investing 50K to get 10 in the hope that you'll be able to do the same in 10 years time (Odds on that?) Hand's up, if I had 40/80k income in 2020/2021 (no problem this year) I would probably have a different view on things, as it was (with Covid decimating dividends) I had about a 20k (GBP) income in 2020 so the 1Million PE is a lot easier for me to get. (2021 was approx. 35K GBP so I'd need to wait until 2025 If I'm honest) Again, it was a genuine question, I'm not trying to call out anybody's personal situations or decisions out, I don't qualify so am asking what I'm missing if I did ???? Could be worse, the GF keeps telling me we should gett married so we can spend 1/2 of the 800K in the bank... How much is that going to cost me ????

Genuine question, Is this visa worth jumping through all the hoops to get over the 1Million Baht 20 year PE visa? As a 56yr old retiree who has no interest in working again (certainly not in Thailand) & no interest in buying Property in my own name does it offer anything beyond the fact that I’d need to pay 1Million THB for the alternative (in reality its only 200k as I keep a deadweight 800k in the bank for the “Retirement” visa anyway) I’m assuming it comes with Fast Track Airport lane access so I guess that would save me 20k pa (oh wait, the PE visa has that as well).

Well if Arnie won’t say it, I will… I’ll be Bach… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

Just one of those things where as a Kid I wouldn’t eat it (my neighbour kept all kinds of birds & raced pigeons & it somehow get wrong to eat a bird - though I do like duck ????)

In no real order as it depends what kind of mood I’m in… Massaman, Penang & Pad Siew (all Moo/Pork as I don’t eat chicken). Like @LacessitI add chilli to the Pad Siew to turn a pretty plain dish into a fiery inferno.

I haven't watched the video yet, but Everything Pattaya has just released a video where he's looking at a condo in City Garden so might be of interest to you in your search...