Caldera

It will make me a lot of money. Everything else remains to be seen.

You can't transfer the visa itself. If it's a classic sticker visa (Vientiane and Savannakhet don't issue eVisas yet), you'll need to carry both your then canceled passport with the visa and your new passport for as long as the visa will remain valid to re-enter Thailand on that visa. You might want to consider getting your new passport before applying for a 5-year visa.

Okay, so in your particular situation, the only potential downside of switching to a DTV is that the requirements for marriage and retirement extensions might change for the worse and you won't be grandfathered in. Other than that and assuming that you will still qualify, you could always just switch back when and if you choose to. Many people who have Thai bank accounts and a driving license in place switch to even being just a visitor on visa exempt at some point, which doesn't cause them to lose them - they just wouldn't qualify for a new bank account or for a 5-year driving license renewal for the time being. So even if the DTV will be treated more like a tourist visa by banks and the DLT, that's not really an immediate concern if you're all set up already.

Excellent news.

As far as the suitability of the DTV for residing in Thailand hassle-free (near) full-time is concerned, the jury is still out because the visa is so new. For someone who previously didn't qualify for any longterm visa to live in Thailand other than Elite, it's a great option. Especially after the insane price hike the Elite muppets came up with. For someone who already qualifies for a non-immigrant visa and subsequent 1-year extensions, not so much in my opinion. Too much uncertainty, the need to leave once per year, just to avoid a yearly visit to immigration?

If you haven't extended since Non-Ed Plus came into effect, I'd imagine that you still need a re-entry permit to keep your current extension alive. I haven't read that the change is being applied retroactively to existing extensions, and it would be a bad idea to rely on that.

Yes, the road from Koh Kong to Sre Ambel is still a mess and has been for a long time. The OP has indicated flying to Phnom Penh, so from there to Koh Kong, the first stretch on the new Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway to Sre Ambel would be great, then the second stretch from Sre Ambel to Koh Kong would be a pain.

Yes Poi Pet definitely wouldn't be a good idea with your history. Do you plan to stay in Phnom Penh or travel elsewhere in Cambodia? There are other border crossings besides Koh Kong that are relaxed and not too busy, depending on where you are in Cambodia they would be more or less of a hassle to get to. If your primary goal is a new visa exempt entry into Thailand, not a holiday in Cambodia, do a border run from Bangkok with a company that offers them and you're pretty much guaranteed a hassle-free experience.

I wouldn't risk flying in with that kind of history and after having been questioned already. If you want to holiday in Cambodia instead of joining an organized border run, the Koh Kong border crossing you've mentioned is a good option. You shouldn't have any issues there.

And yet, despite all your praise for them, you aren't even willing to spend 1-2 nights in their beautiful country every 90 days or so. And you are not the only one, that's why Thai IOs don't need to make any effort to welcome (back) foreigners lol.

Sure, it's only of interest for those who aren't already citizens or residents of an EU country.

I've never seen any report about a refused re-entry permit. As long as you're willing to pay...

Unwitting? Sure, you must be sorely lacking in the wits department if you think someone treats you to a free Thailand holiday out of the goodness of their heart. If it sounds too good to be true... you should know there's a catch!

I've used Agoda to book domestic flights and regional international flights many times. One flight during the busy Songkran travel period got "retimed" and Agoda duly informed me about the change well ahead of time. So far, I've got no complaints.

Spain seems like a good choice for an EU citizen wishing to return to Europe, best of luck to you there.

When re-entering Thailand on a re-entry permit, the only stamp you are supposed to get is an entry stamp with the entry date and the expiration date of your current permission to stay. There's no stamp given to remind you of your next due 90-day notification. As you just did, you're supposed to calculate that yourself.

State terrorism plain and simple; I think an adequate response would be an assassination plot to rid the world of the terrorist and war criminal in chief.

Yes.

You cannot switch passports at a land border.

So you moved the entire family to Thailand before even securing a job here? Wow. Hiring a foreigner is not exactly something most Thai companies take lightly, not least because of the administrative overhead that comes with it. There are also restrictions on what kind of work foreigners can legally do in Thailand, how many foreigners Thai companies can hire, etc.

That must be the umpteenth campaign of this nature I've seen. If anything, the police farce is less professional and more corrupt than ever.

An unnecessarily sensational article published after the plane landed safely.

Do a border bounce to buy yourself and your family some time. Then research your options for a longterm stay if that's what your plan is.

If that happens and they "allow you back" without having entered and exited Laos, they will cancel your Thai exit stamp, so you won't get a new entry. They could also refuse to let you exit right away if they realize that Laos won't admit you. Not a good idea.

That's definitely an issue. Some banks have internal regulations that specifically require a non-immigrant visa. When the Smart Visa and the LTR Visa (which are equivalent to non-immigrant visas) were introduced, it took some banks a while to update their regulations and some people reported issues initially as well. The DTV isn't equivalent to a non-immigrant visa though, so such an update might never come. I'd guess it will continue to be hit and miss.