treetops

A year old topic, but I have a similar requirement in a few weeks time.  Can anyone give an update on Grab availability/ease of use or any other options to get from the airport to Lamai?

Mine was a single entry and has been used.

32 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

Approved at 5:09pm.

on a Saturday ?

 

Also this is the first time I am able to do the first 90 days online after a trip outside of Thailand.

Had one submitted on a Saturday and approved on a Sunday before so appears to be weekend working on occasions if not all the time, and have had approvals first time after a trip overseas too, as have others I know/post on here.

On 9/26/2023 at 11:01 AM, DrJack54 said:

Not in a hurry. 

Flight is Oct 25.

My mate entered on 27th Sep and was stamped in until 21st December which seems over 90 days to me if that's any help.

Requirements screen from Thursday arrival.

2 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Some Emirates business class fares don't even include lounge access either.

The Finnair ones I mentioned were the same - no lounge.  However I have Oneworld Sapphire status through Qatar and that got me the lounge and hold baggage for no extra cost.  Similar with Emirates Business Special tickets I've booked in the past when I had Emirates Skywards Gold status.

1 hour ago, bunnydrops said:

Every time I booked my seat first in the non fee seats, it would blank out any seat next to me, even what was other non fee seats. But when I booked a seat for my wife first, I was able to book an aisle. A glitch? I don't know, but it worked on two legs of the trip.

Did you have frequent flyer status with the airline?  They often block seats next to them (although they release them if the flight gets full) as a perk, so maybe they thought they were doing you a favour at the time.

34 minutes ago, BenStark said:

. . . . but in the near future Thai banks will have no other choice than to close their online banking, for the simple reason that BOT has changed some rules that will make it difficult for online banking to comply with.

 

How many people have a PC that is capable of facial recognition?

Most laptops have a built in camera.  Those that don't, and desktops, could be equipped with a webcam and the banks would just have to integrate facial recognition into their web interfaces.  They do have the choice if they want to exercise it.

However I don't think they will as it's easier for them to support one platform rather than two.

On 9/3/2023 at 4:35 AM, 5davidhen1 said:

Firstly, I don't think that checking any particular box for "reasons for the transfer" influences the time factor of the transfer process. What DOES influence the time factor is which method one opts for to action the transfer.

I believe that the debit card method is instantaneous (I used it a couple of years ago) but if one opts for the bank transfer (UK sterling bank to Wise, then onto my BK bank) the money arrives about 1400hrs the next day (26th) at 14:01 as expected.  There is no doubt in my mind that the long term stay option is what makes this happen despite the amount of doubters over the years.

On 9/3/2023 at 1:29 PM, treetops said:

There's too much evidence to the contrary.  I can't comment on debit card payment as I've never used it, but when Wise is funded from my UK bank transfer the money is almost instantly in my BBL account, with monthly expenses selected as the reason.

 

It'll be a few weeks before I'm sending again but will try the long term stay and see it it still defaults to 2:00pm the next day and shows up as international.

 

As I mentioned I would do in the quotes, I've just repeated the oft mentioned process which should result in the International Transfer annotation with BBL and it worked as expected.

Instigated transfer with Wise (Monday 25th about 16:00 Thailand time), selected  the long term stay option, paid by bank transfer and it arrived the next day (today, Tuesday 26th) as expected at 14:01.

There's no doubt in my mind that the long term stay selection still results in the International Transfer annotation with BBL despite the deniers on here over the years.

2 minutes ago, BenStark said:

I'm not a Brit, but my EU bank closed my accounts 2 years ago because I live in Thailand, although my postal address was with my sister. I never used the account to send money to Thailand.

 

Several other banks did the same.

Do you know how they got on to you?

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Sounds ridiculous but I'm not sure how a multi entry 90 day eVisa will work for Vietnam.

I do not want to apply too early in case it works same way as eg non O-A to Thailand.

I tried to get the mate who has just got one to explain that to me but I still ended up confused.  I'll be meeting up with him in the next week or two so will maybe get some clarification then.

10 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

and how many more banks will start and follow Barclays Bank announcement of closing all accounts for those expats no longer residing in the UK? It's only a matter of time until that happens and you'll have to permanently transfer your money here anyway.

That's only an issue if you havent prepared for it by ensuring you have an ongoing "presence" in the UK and an array of bank accounts to use.

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I plan to use this one. 

 

https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/khai-thi-thuc-dien-tu/cap-thi-thuc-dien-tu

I'm not sure where I got the other site from, but I definitely have it filed under "new" application route.  Let us know how you get on with the original one.

On 9/23/2023 at 6:09 PM, MichaelHunt said:

According to this website, which appears to be the official site for applying for the Vietnam e-visa, it says that it takes three days to process it.

 

https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/khai-thi-thuc-dien-tu/cap-thi-thuc-dien-tu

I've not applied for a while, but I think that's the old site.  I've got a note that the new one is:

https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/bocongan/bothutuc/tthc?matt=26277

They're both .gov.vn sites and maybe one leads to the other or maybe they both work, I honestly don't know.

A mate received his last night (Monday 25th Sep) at 23:10.  Applied 20th Sep at 09:00.

17 hours ago, Eff1n2ret said:

The real question is how centralised is it? I'm sure that the reminders come from some central system, but where your report is approved is anybody's guess. A lot of posters seem to believe it's done at their local office, I'm not so sure.

If you look at your approval receipt you will see the job title of the approver.  On my latest one this translates as "Deputy Inspector/Immigration, Chonburi Province".

This indicates to me it's being done locally.

10 hours ago, lordblackader said:

Airport Taxis from CNX don't use the meter, they run on fixed prices. 

Cheers, I may have mixed it up with Chiang Rai now I think about it (definitely the airport surcharge bit applies there) or maybe just getting forgetful.  Been to both several times and easily confused.

1 hour ago, THAIPHUKET said:

So you take off where flying Emirates via?

Via Dubai as mentioned by KhunBENQ, but my origin is in the UK.  They haven't yet returned to Edinburgh since Covid so I would have to travel to/from Glasgow.  Not a great hardship but a bit of a pain.

Pre-Covid I would often fly out of GLA purely to use their lounge there, and back to EDI for the convenience, but I'm sure  many would not.  It's all down to personal preferences.

16 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Fly Business Class never a worry about seats or luggage.

I've flown on Business Class tickets that didn't include hold baggage a couple of times.  Finnair.

On 9/23/2023 at 2:04 AM, THAIPHUKET said:

Treetops, that's been my way..

You confirm my past decisions.

What for you the deciding issue?

Price is always up there, but convenience for me too.

My local airport is no longer served by Emirates so it's an extra complication getting to/from their starting point.  You mention NYC so there's a choice of airports but EK and QR both only fly in to JFK, so both equal there (Emirates fly to Newark but it would mean an extra stop in Athens).

No stopovers longer than 3 hours for me.

On board Qatar are probably better (dine on demand for example) but Emirates are much more proactive and helpful if things go wrong.  Qatar are also renowned for changing planes so what you book might not be what you get.

It all boils down to personal preferences but when all other things are equal I prefer Emirates.

10 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

I did not have a flight within 30 days. I did have a flight out 90 days later but boarding pass machine didn't ask me that

The airline would have used that to fly you out if immigration rejected you.  Maybe if you didn't have that a further check would have been required.

Currently a dummy booking on Bolt is shown below but it seems very cheap for a 20 mile journey.  Grab say they won't pick up at the airport.  Regular taxi on the meter would be over 700 baht including the airport surcharge (32kms x 20 baht plus 50 baht standing charge).

It's unlikely immigration will ask for proof of onward travel, but they will want to see your passport and boarding pass.  Knowing what passport and/or visa you hold may get you more information.

26 minutes ago, mikem20 said:

If I take the agent route, will any Pattaya agents offer 1 year extension of stay from a 90 days non O visa for retirement from a Thai embassy? So I would not be paying them for the initial 90 days stay? And at the same prices that they normally charge for extensions, 12-14K baht? Anybody have experience with that?

It was a few years ago now, but that's what I did.  The price was reduced from that charged if they got the Non Imm O as well, but I don't recall by how much.