koratkarlos

Hi Gents. I need some advice here. I'm looking at working in America for two years but do not want to leave the Mrs. Ideally she would come with me. So I went to the visa agency here in Chiang Mai and they gave me the following information; 1) que for B2 Tourist visa 12 months now, 2) difficult to get B2 visa for my spouse as she is retired without bank book or job, 3) they are not giving out K3 visas now. You must apply to get a green card at this costs around $ 3000. We don't want to get a green card. We plan on staying in Thailand. We just want to go visit my mom and maybe I work a bit. I think a tourist visa might be difficult but I have a chance at a K3 Visa and maybe I just do this myself. Any advice, feedback or other form of wisdom is greatly appreciated.

If it is a storm you can simply unplug it. This is clearly the best protection. But if you are working and you need more reliability you can buy a power strip with surge protection which willl give you some protection. The next step would be "on lazada" search for an uninterrupted power supply. You should check the power supply rating inside your machine, maybe 800 W or less, I don't know and make sure the power supply has enough capacity for your computer. If you really want to be safe, then run a surge protector into an uniterrupted power supply then your computer. I hope this helps. I think it is a good idea to do if you are having power issues at home.

I use AIS, 3BB and Lazada. Their computer systems work pretty much flawlessly at perhaps at a higher level of complexity. So why can the government not get this right on the self-admitted important task to increase tourism. They really must get some competent help and better manage the affairs of this lovely country.

Did you know that half a pill works as well as the full dose. Amazing.

I was planning to use my existing health insurance policy. I have received a letter from the insurance company stating "We confirm that ********** health insurance does provide cover for Coronavirus (Covid-19) under and subject to the standard terms, conditions, exclusions and warranties of the policy." The letter also contains my policy number and maximum annual benefit which exceeds the $ 50,000. Does anyone know if this is acceptable? I have a relatively standard non-Thai expat policy underwritten by Allianz. Thank you in advance.

Sorry guys but this headline angers me. They make such a big deal about 6 COVID positives when where I live (Chiang Mai) the schools are still closed, the virus is getting worse and the AstraZeneca/Pfizer vaccination sites are undersupplied choatic super spreader events. I truly believe the community focus is entirely wrong and I truly hope Thailand starts worrying more about Thailand than the vaccinated folks entering the country.

Perhaps there is a misunderstanding. The people coming into Thailand are vaccinated and tested. Clearly masks, social distancing and alchohol shoul be used by all. But HAZMAT suits. Really. I wish such efforts would be used at the local schools, markets and shopping areas where the real COVID transmission is taking place. The central issue is to open up Thailand for the people living here now. And do it safely. The people arriving into Thailand under the current protocol will not adversely affect the spread of COVID, in my humble opinion.

It is not so hard. You must first get a certificate of residency, either at Thai immigration or your embassy. Immigration is cheaper. Then you must go to the office of Land Transport in your area and fill out all of the forms. It is easier if you have another license, in my case I had a German driving license. There are a few tests to take which are easy but there is some paperwork. You first get a 2 year license then afterwards you can apply for a 5 year license. There are many specific websites that tell you exactly how to get this done. I think it is a good thing to have, along with car insurance as the driving here is quite challenging.

What I wanted to say is that the doctor's are probably measuring antibody levels shortly after the booster dose. This may or may not correspond to adequate protection from the vaccine. So I really wish they would stop playing these games and go with established global procedures and get the people of Thailand properly vaccinated.

You clearly make a good point here. Perhaps there are two issues outstanding; 1) Thailand wants to retest the original PCR to make sure the visitor is actually COVID negative and 2) you may catch COVID on the flight. If they are concerned about catching COVID on the flight then I believe Smedley is correct and that the test should be performed 3 to 5 days after landing. But in the end I feel that the risks of a visitor bringing COVID into Thailand after being vaccinated and tested are far less than the risks of getting COVID here after arrival. So I believe the government should open up and worry more about opening the school system safely then bringing in tourists for revenue. But this is just my opinion.

Is that the best you can come up with? Honouring a clause in the donation's contract? You would be better thanking Turkey/Germany/US who made the Pfizer vaccine not the country that pulled out of Covax. TVF twisting of the facts at it's finest. I am not sure it is the best I can come up with. But for me it was the most important as I received my vaccination before many Thai people. So I feel quite lucky. It is clear that your point against Thailand is not correct so just man up and admit that you were wrong. No facts are twisted. 30 year old foreigners are receiving Pfizer in Chiang Mai when my older Thai friends wait for Moderna.

It appears that Thailand has honored its word giving 10% of the donated US Pfizer vaccine to foreigners. That is how I received my vaccination. And for me this was quite constructive.

Same for me. We stay at home always. It is starting to drive me crazy but she seems to be just fine with staying at home. And she won't take Sinovac so she is unvaccinated. I bought her Moderna but it will be next year before it arrives. So I bicycle every day. And every day I seem to go a longer distance. Hopefully COVID will end soon enough.

What is this new revenue projection based upon? Perhaps this is a good goal but it would be better if there was a real plan in place. I also think many people are not yet vaccinated and do not want to travel. And traveling to cities that are closed is really no fun. But a great time to see the beautiful nature in Thailand.

I am confused. I thought the country is opening up.

This is good news for sure. Does anyone know the status of Siam Biosciece production? I want to know how this is going.

As an American citizen I find it frustrating that I took my Thai wife to Germany twice over the last three years but it appears to be a random process regarding travel to America. My wife is not going anywhere until she gets properly vaccinated as I do not trust the airlplane travel. Maybe I will try an Immigrant visa for her in case the visa rules change in Thailand like they did in Vietnam and Malaysia.

This is a good question. I hope people respond to this. And I hope things are different with Biden.

Does anyone know what the official requirements are now to travel within Thailand? I saw something on the TAT website that states vaccinations are not required, masks are - so is the Thai Chana app but nothing else. It appears to depend on what provinces you are traveling around. In my specific case we want to travel from Chiang Mai to Nakhon Ratchasima. Thank you.

Today I discussed the "under the skin" reduced dose method of vaccination with my sister, an accomplished doctor from N. America. She stated that this method makes little sense as the vaccine is designed to stimulate antibody production from manufacture inside muscle cells. Under the skin is mainly fat and the required cells to initiate the antibody production are not so present. She also stated that limited testing was most likely done using this method and that measurement of antibodies does not necessarily correlate to a healthy immune response against COVID. Currently to my understanding this new "under the skin" method is only being used as a booster shot. It is my strong opinion that before this method is used as a primary method of vaccination adequate testing must be done to insure proper immune response, not just the testing of antibody production. With the projected surplus of vaccine in Thailand over the next several months it appears that the risks of undergoing this new method are not justified and I hope that the people in Thailand receive the proper amount of vaccine as is practiced around the rest of the world.

I agree. Schools, establishment of local businesses and getting the economy moving forward should be the focus. Fully vaccinated, tested foreigners are not the problem while also not the solution.

Same for me. I applied for my extension on June 15, 2021 and was given a 30 day consideration period starting July 15, 2021. So I was stamped with the extension August 15, 2021. So at least in Chiang Mai the under consideration period is exactly as ubonjoe states.

As always thank you for your advice which I have used so many times. So I have the extension now and I am in Thailand. Let's consider the end of May, 2022. I would apply for a 60 day extension and also get a re-entry permit. My current extension is good until July 15, 2022. So after I get another 60 days, I would still have my visa in tact until September 15, 2022. And this would be fine. Or as you say I would apply for the one year extension shortly after June 15, 2022 and would have to return by August 15, 2022 to get my stamp. This would also be OK. I just want to make sure I understand what you are saying. I will also go to immigration and see what they say. Thanks again.

Currently I am on my second marriage extension and this expires on 15-July 2022. I would like to travel back to the USA next summer but this will be in the middle of my next extension application. Is there a way to change the date of the extension, or maybe extend the extension or something else? The problem is that I usually apply one month before the expiration, ie. June 15, 2022 and need to wait until August 15, 2022 to get stamped. This is exactly when I want to travel back home. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Concerning the delay with the US Pfizer second shipment, it really does not matter who said what. The bottom line is that this vaccine is in the US and not here. And the Thai people suffer. Good managers cut through this confusion and make things happen. But nothing happens, just empty promises. Always delays and excuses. The Thai people deserve better. We all do.