Caldera

Ah, yet another ranking. For what it's worth, I've been happy in Thailand.

Reckless to do this in times of Covid and stupid enough to post about it. Mind boggling stuff.

1 minute ago, Steps said:

Its a UK card!

Yes, my point being, as it doesn't even work with local Thai cards, I think there's no chance of it working with a foreign issued card.

Unless I've missed something, this form of cash back that the OP has in mind doesn't even work with Thai cards.

Since they've mentioned China and Vietnam - I'm pretty sure people from those countries ALSO need to quarantine back home under government care upon their return.

So I'll say it again, such a move will do almost nothing to increase the number of regular tourists that would be willing and able to holiday in Thailand.

It's actually quite annoying when a few people using this "scheme" are in front of you in a queue - it takes them quite some time to work their app magic / scan the QR code.

Clever move by the government though. Many vendors weren't registered previously. I wouldn't be surprised if the data collected will be used by the tax man later on.

Some law firms and agents offer help with opening a bank account for a few thousand baht. If I urgently needed an account and wanted to avoid running the branch gauntlet, I'd probably use one of them. Doesn't apply to me as I was lucky enough to open a few accounts when it was still easy even visa exempt, but those days are gone.

Oh look, another committee. Wasn't the Spider Card supposed to be rolled out already? Ten years ago? Five years ago? Last year? Never mind.

I opened a Thai PayPal account more than 10 years ago and I've never had a problem with it. I got the impression that it wouldn't be wise to continue using my home country PayPal account from Thailand, so I've rarely used it since.

Much as I'd like to see him get dragged out kicking and screaming, that he's prepared to leave on his own devices is definitely better for the country.

Good riddance, either way.

11 minutes ago, ThomasPaine said:

I firmly believe that this whole COVID situation has made a lot of people reconsider living in Thailand. Before that was the sentiment now COVID has accelerated it. 

In my case, I did reconsider, but it ended up in Thailand's favor. Given the choice between paying a little bit of money for an extension or enduring a winter Covid lockdown back home, it was a no-brainer!

Some people who lament having to shell out an extra 1000 or 2000 baht could use a bit of perspective.

32 minutes ago, vermin on arrival said:

Counter K. It's up to IO discretion I think. My friends who went yesterday were asked for it.

That, and it might also depend on what shows up in their system. If it's the same Bangkok address written down on the form, there's no need to ask for proof of address.

Hope springs eternal, and hope is all they got... Back in the real Thailand, people love their sugary drinks and snacks. It's unhealthy, it's insane, but so is not wearing a crash helmet.

No wonder that creative young minds are fed up with those killjoy dinosaurs.

Assuming that his son will succeed him as planned, I could see him become a very successful lawyer - he simply writes the verdict for the judge same as he's more or less doing now. A guaranteed win each and every time, I'd hire him!

As immigration hasn't published anything about this special extension anywhere, things are as clear as mud.

OP, thanks for your report. Not the first that mentions getting the extension right away, but it doesn't seem to be common.

How come that some immigration offices have the authority to issue that extension on the spot, while others (most?) give an under consideration stamp first to seek approval?

The catch is that people from low risk countries either cannot leave for holidays (e.g. Australia) or are required to quarantine on return (e.g. China).

The reason being, low risk countries want to remain low risk. No matter what Thailand does, it's not possible to attract significant numbers of tourists from low risk countries at this time.