Caldera

Yes I agree with you, that could very well happen down the line. The DTV will likely become the most abused visa, and the officialdom will react in crackdown mode as per usual.

It was the Minister of the Interior himself who countersigned the cabinet resolution that created the DTV, so the provision for an extension was definitely made with involvement of his ministry.

The order seems elusive (I haven't seen it either), but there's no doubt that it was enacted. The proof is in the pudding - countless people have done 3-4 overland visa exempt entries this year. People who had already maxed out their land border entries before the change were later allowed to enter again. Both border run agencies and IOs at land borders across Thailand have advised people that the limit is no longer in force. So let me turn this on its head for you: Can you post a link to a credible report by anyone refused entry specifically for exceeding this limit since the new rules went into effect? Genuinely curious, I haven't seen any.

No, you have to pay that to a middleman (agent) before you fly, giving cash to IOs at the airport would be a bit too much in everyone's face.

I don't see this as a game changer. If you have enough money (doesn't matter if it's fiat or crypto), you always find ways to transfer it to Thailand and live here if that's what you choose to do.

But the money doesn't go to those countries, it goes to Thai embassies and consulates. They've never accepted local currencies in those two countries, so Myanmar and Laos cannot even benefit from any money exchange.

You're younger than most, but have been married for almost two decades? Come again? I'm not sure what your reference to 2015 is all about. In Savannakhet, you could easily get a multi-entry Non-O visa based on being married to a Thai until 1-2 years ago. Only then did they change their policy to require financials (400,000 baht in the bank, same as for an extension based on marriage). With the progressing rollout of the eVisa system, the writing was on the wall - they want foreigners who live here with their families to be on extensions, not on multi-entry visas. I wouldn't read anything more sinister into that.

Yes, but once you are a permanent resident, you won't need proof of address for immigration any longer.

No end date has been announced. Check again a bit closer to your trip, chances are the 60-day visa exempt entries will still be in place but who knows!

It's mind-boggling, almost as if they tried very hard to create an opportunity to discreetly ask applicants for some extra tea money. If their only concern had been that many applicants in Laos and Myanmar are unable to pay online, they could have made it an option to pay in person, not a requirement.

I need to do the same. Did Kasikorn Bank ask you for any documents confirming your new address in order to change it in their system? I could give or show them things like a TM30 receipt, my Thai driving license - but I have no idea what if anything is required. When I opened my accounts, I just told them my address without having to prove it.

Amazing, thanks!

Are you sure about that? Usually the Lao visa on arrival is valid for two months (yes, that's as funny as it sounds, as people use it immediately), but the ENTRY is for 30 days only.

No idea why you replied to this topic after such a long time, but nowadays, you can get your copies and printouts right there at BluPort Mall, just a few minutes walk on the same floor as immigration.

That sucks, pay what is no doubt a huge amount for a Burmese migrant worker only to get scammed and end up in prison.

Most likely they'd warn you before denying you entry outright, so you could take the wait and see approach. How long you'll get away with it is anyone's guess - there's no official limit and reports are all over the place. What works in your favor is that you return to your home country instead of just bouncing around the region. What doesn't work in your favor is that you spend more time in Thailand than outside.

Well yes, I can see how 124 men entering the same hotel room at about the same time could look somewhat suspicious. Thankfully the police showed up early into the night, so at least we didn't have to read about the number of used condoms they found - apparently the party goers were still busy warming up with drugs.

If you're currently on overstay, you obviously don't have the required 15-21 days left on your current permission to stay that you need to apply for a non-immigrant visa at a Thai immigration office. So a current overstay can't really be what they have in mind with that rule. I'd go with "no overstay stamp in your current passport", but I could be wrong or it could be different from one immigration office to the next.

Immigration won't tolerate such a "45 days in, 30 days out" pattern of visa exempt visits forever. As the OP intends to spend a lot of time in Thailand, going the retirement route would make sense.

Only God knows, yes. But if I had to guess, it's because they love to collect that agent money. By creating a problem, they can sell the solution.

And that's why they told him that <deleted>. He'll have no problem doing it on his own.

Because Chong Mek is the name on the Thai side. On the Lao side, the border crossing is called Vang Tao (#26 on that Lao web page). You can go there, no problem.

Not sure what your question is. You won't be able to get an extension if your passport is about to expire (or if you aren't able to physically take it along to immigration for any reason). One option might be to get an emergency passport from the Canadian embassy if your regular passport is delayed too much. Other than that, you'd be on overstay and get fined for that.

It's a horrible drug and it has become way too cheap as there's a ready supply. I don't see anyone in charge making serious efforts to fix it; families and communities are pretty much left to deal with the fallout of this epidemic.

Some foreign bank apps can be used to make Thai PromptPay QR code payments, and vice versa. If you search for "cross-border QR code payments", you can find information about it by some Thai and foreign banks. For example, I can use my Bangkok Bank app to make QR code payments in Vietnam. And I can use my Cambodian ABA Bank app to make QR code payments here in Thailand.