Caldera

I have my Thai DL in my wallet, plus pictures of my passport (data page and relevant stamps) on my phone. My passport stays at home unless I need it (e.g. for a bank or immigration). When I'm traveling within Thailand for more than a day trip, I take it along. I'm pretty sure the law doesn't actually say you have to carry it at all times, but something like you need to be able to produce it on demand. I wouldn't change my habit in any case, as it has worked well for me for 17+ years!

Pretty steep prices for the atrocious service provided, based on countless reports.

Probably the best prime minister Thailand has ever had. What a shame that his term was cut short.

The coin so shiny, the mug so ugly.

You're wrong about that, a tourist can have his entry stamp transferred at the airport when flying out. There's no need for a tourist to visit a local immigration office. That being said, for the sake of argument, I'd say a traveler generally should get a new passport in his country of residence, not in a random country he's just passing through. Embarking on a trip with a passport that covers the entire trip (with regards to both expiration AND free pages) makes traveling much less stressful.

I've done the passport transfer three times over the years and it was quick & painless each and every time. If you don't know about the letter required or which immigration office to attend to, that's hardly immigration's fault, just poor planning by the OP.

It's pointless to go to immigration with passport copies but withoutthe original, they can't process the extension with copies and will just tell you to get a replacement passport first.

Yes. With a valid eVisa, you will not be able to enter visa exempt.

You were conned? She isn't Thai, so if you attempted to obtain the kind of ID that Thai citizens have, THAT would have been fraudulent.

If you've never applied there, don't have extensive history as a tourist in Thailand in your passport and want to make a fun holiday out of it instead of just a visa run, then by all means, go for it. Make sure you meet their requirements as listed on their website.

She would be better than the current lot in every conceivable way. And she would be an elected leader. That's good enough for me.

If you like tuk-tuks, you could haggle for one. Otherwise that Grab car sounds like a pretty good deal.

I've read this kind of report too many times. The only real solution is to make the TM30 registration part of the moving in procedure. No report, no money, that's the last time you have any real leverage to get it done. My current landlord as well as my previous landlady had the TM30 form ready unprompted, no doubt assisted by the respective condo offices. But if that doesn't happen, you really need to bring up the subject before moving in.

Good question! I only recall seeing those reports you mentioned, too, nothing specifically about Nong Khai.

Spot on. A key difference is that the eVisa for Vietnam is issued by their immigration department and that they use a centralized system without any involvement of local Vietnamese embassies. So the question of jurisdiction of any particular embassy doesn't arise when applying for an eVisa for Vietnam. I agree that the process is much easier and smoother than the convoluted Thai eVisa process.

Good decision. It's about time to chase away the undemocratic dinosaurs and to restore hope.

Saying that you plan to work here and that you own a condo here would NOT work in your favor in case of being questioned when attempting a visa exempt entry. Visa exempts are for tourists who stay in hotels; they would probably tell you to get a Non-B visa first.

Out of curiosity, where do you go skiing here in Thailand?

This case says a lot more about the inadequacies of the NHS than about the dangers of holidaying in Thailand. I do get that it's a very rare parasite, but there's no excuse for taking 7 years to diagnose it. Bumbling fools.

There's a search function, and once you've found your record, just take a screenshot of it.

Laos allows it, no problem.

Leaving on the same day might be a problem with Cambodia's immigration. At land borders you have to pay extra for an exception, I don't know how they handle this at the airports. Why Cambodia, anyway? You probably (depending on your nationality) need to pay for a visa. Malaysia might be a better option.

I'm not sure it's "better", as they're prone to being exploited as cheap labor and that's basically the whole idea of this legal framework for migrant workers. I think I prefer staying in Thailand as a Westerner, it feels more like a holiday than a labor camp!

Just like with any other similar program before (Elite, Smart Visa), they'll attract a few thousand qualifying applicants and that's it. Or in other words, they will miss their target by orders of magnitude. Two reasons: Most of those who qualify for the new LTR visa would have qualified for one of the previously existing visas as well. If they had been interested, they would already be here, or maybe they switch from their current visa to the LTR - no net gain in wealthy foreigners for Thailand! Some conditions don't make sense and/or put off potential applicants. As always, they start with a grand idea, only to let the bureaucracy spoil it. It's comical and saddening at the same time.

With AIS, in my experience receiving Thai bank SMS messages (including OTPs) while roaming abroad was hit and miss. Depending on the country I was in, as well as possibly the roaming partner. My solution: I activated "Voice over WiFi" (VoWiFi), which covers SMS as well, despite the name. That has worked reliably ever since. https://www.ais.th/4g/vowifi/en/ Nowadays I just need that as a fallback, however, as I'm mostly using the apps which don't require OTPs.