Caldera

An immigration office is pretty much run like a fiefdom, deviation from the official rules is pretty much accepted. You'd have to explain what specifically your complaint is. Some "misunderstandings" are easier to sort out than others.

Unfortunately they've failed to make gradual increases to the amounts they require, in line with inflation. So I'd suspect that whenever the next increase will happen, it will be substantial. Of course checking criminal records of first-time applicants would make a lot more sense to weed out criminals than increasing the amounts. Also, unless they get rid of agents, the required amounts are quite meaningless anyway.

What a farce. Is anyone even still interested?

Nonsense, it's all in your head. My local Big C is as busy as ever. They don't really need salami buyers to survive.

I'm sure you'll be missed. ????

Okay. Just what this has to do with this topic is anyone's guess.

While they're probably within their rights to make this change, they could have given their valued members a bit more than two weeks advance notice.

That email doesn't seem to mention the address, which is an important part. As @DrJack54 said, getting past the document check could be a challenge unless they're familiar with that. The IO processing your application, on the other hand, can look up your TM30 notification in their system to verify you're registered at the address you write down in your application, so no problem there if you make it past the document check.

Yeah well that's fairly obvious. Nobody in their right mind would have given the hapless <deleted>-up Hunter that kind of a job if it wasn't for his daddy. On his own, he could have bagged a job as a janitor or something. Maybe.

I don't wish to be insensitive, but how can you use both? Do I get to choose if I refer to them as "they" or "he", or do they get to choose what offends them the least on any given day?

If you have the screenshot of an online TM30 notification and take a printout of that with you, you should be good to go to get an extension of a visa exempt entry at IT Square Laksi. It's important that the TM30 notification is for your current entry. They will send you away if you produce one that had been filed before you last entered the country visa exempt. You've mentioned a fine, probably for late reporting? I don't think that would come up.

I have a hard time believing that to be honest. First you said you didn't know what you signed, so it didn't sound like you even had a copy to peruse to check. Now you're saying you actually got one but binned it? Come on.

Funny you should say that. You obviously haven't been around very long, because one million was EXACTLY their target, to be reached within a few short years, when the program was launched. They've become more realistic in the meantime, but out of necessity, not because they wouldn't just love to take a million people's money for the privilege.

I'm just guessing but maybe the OP wasn't yet 50 years old at the time? That's typically the reason for getting a Non-ED visa first.

You shouldn't have a problem, your previous stays weren't anywhere near consecutive, you spent significant time out of Thailand in between. As you plan to stay less than 30 days, it would be a good idea to book your outbound ticket before re-entering. In case you get questioned, that will be helpful.

Another lost year would mean a lost decade of "returning happiness".

It's a pointless exercise. Those who want to come will come despite the visa fee. Those who don't want to come won't be lured by a free visa either.

That looks like an insanely risky approach at age 79. It's also unnecessarily stressful. Wouldn't you sleep better (both at night and during your afternoon nap 555) if you simply kept 400,000 baht in a Thai bank for immigration purposes?

It's available again, in K-Plus. Banking > Debit Card

Are there any other countries within the region that don't require a minimum of 6 months passport validity though? Entering or transiting another country within the region might well be a problem.

As you're talking about the LTR visa, all those amounts are USD, not THB.

You can't apply for a non-immigrant visa in-country, because you already have one. You should be able to change the reason of your stay from studying to retirement and get a retirement extension.

Current age gap 27 years and that seems pretty ideal. Once I'm 50+ I would probably tolerate a somewhat larger age gap, but I wouldn't actively chase it.

If they raise prices too aggressively, it might well end in tears. It would not be the first time that their projections are way off and based on nonsensical assumptions. I think they'll have a hard time sustaining demand at the current level anyway, as it's mostly due to special circumstances like Covid and Russian warmongering. Marketing-wise they've done what they could, so the target group is long aware it exists amd either bought one already or wasn't interested. Also, a good number of 5-year packages came up for renewal in the last few years, which created demand and generated revenue without leading to any net gain in members. Then there's new visa schemes like Smart and LTR. While flawed in their own way, for those who qualify they are usually more attractive than the Elite visa.

This thread is in desperate need of a cleanup, with all those dumb and irrelevant discussions of tax residency etc. Focus on immigration.