asiacurious

7 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Admittedly there is no direct linkage, but the regime did just extend the COVID Emergency Decree a 17th time last week, for the period April 1, 2022 through May 31, 2022.

 

Makes sense to keep the COVID extensions in place until there is full border normalization, maybe July 1, 2022? And/or until the COVID Emergency Decree is lifted.

 

I'd probably recommend some additions though, require a renewal every 30 days or double or triple the fee (1,900 for 30 days, 3,800 for 60 days), require health insurance for the term of the extension, require some form of income proof (at least 40,000 per month).

Or, or, or... oh, OH!  Maybe they could require people to bring a box of chocolates - enough for each Immigration Officer to each have at least 3 pieces.

 

 

While waiting for a good translation I did a quick Google translate.  Was this kind of language (in bold below) in earlier orders extending?

 

When traveling back out of the Kingdom and there is a necessity to stay in the Kingdom, the following guidelines are therefore prescribed: 1. Extending the period of time for the execution of the above letter until 24 May 25  2. Increasing rigor in considering permission to stay in the Kingdom to prevent aliens from using it as an opportunity to avoid reasons for applying to stay in the Kingdom without meeting the objectives of the immigration law

If you live in the south within 40-50km of the Andaman Sea or the Gulf of Thailand, you might want to avoid putting it outside.  The salt in the air can cause corrosion on the compressor and other hardware.

 

A good chest freezer uses very little energy once it's fully frozen and I doubt where you place it will make much of a difference.  In fact, you can keep a well insulated fully packed chest freezer frozen for a couple of days without power.  (The fuller the freezer, the longer it'll stay frozen.)

 

If you want to compare the energy consumption of indoors vs out, you can buy a cheap plug in energy meter to monitor the energy consumption for a couple of weeks each way.  If the difference is negligible, then keeping outside shouldn't be much of an issue.  You can get a second (wired in) meter to monitor the AC unit's energy consumption and factor that into your calculations too.

 

I'd suggest starting the metering after the freezer is fully frozen (in each location) to get an accurate measure of the true ongoing operating cost.

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Puccini said:

3 hours ago, Ashokan said:

Please let us know where Lazada touched you and how it made you feel.

I can't make any sense of this post. Can anybody else? Or ist just a troll post?

Neither can I.  I was wonder who "us" is.  It seems like a very odd thread for a new user with (checks post count) only 8 posts to their name as of now.

13 hours ago, alex8912 said:

What about this place another poster suggested??

https://www.medconsultasia.com/covidtesting/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html

On 3/16/2022 at 10:56 PM, alex8912 said:

I'm sorry but you are confusing me.

Sorry I've confused you.  Let me try to clarify....

 

On 3/16/2022 at 10:56 PM, alex8912 said:

When you say before your departing flight do you mean from Thailand to USA?

Yes.  You must take a Covid test no more than 1 day before the time you leave Thailand headed for the US.

 

On 3/16/2022 at 10:56 PM, alex8912 said:

Second thousands of people were never in the USA to get/buy these tests and will be returning home tomorrow/ next day etc.  I live in USA I am here right now. I'm returning April 20. What you just texted means I can't return home.

There is no ATK test that you can buy AND self administer in Thailand that is acceptable for entry into the US.  You need a certificate from a testing facility that shows the results.  So there's no point in trying to figure out which ATK sold at local pharmacies you can use.  You can't.

 

For others who are in the US planning a trip to Thailand (with a return to the US)....  Those people can buy certain specific ATK test kits in the US and bring the kit with them to use before their return flight to the US.  Those test kits include video conferencing with someone who remotely administers the test (watches you do it) and then verifies the results.  That clearly doesn't apply to you, but it might help others already in the US.

 

On 3/16/2022 at 10:56 PM, alex8912 said:

also I am 100% sure you are wrong about the 24 hours. It is one day before!!

You are correct.  It's not 24 hours, it's 1 day.

17 hours ago, nightfox said:

I hope they don't replace Carl Jr's with Jollibee's as at least the burgers at Carl's are decent. 

I'd be happy with a Jollibee in Bangkok, as long as they offer a decent halo halo.  Alas, I imagine they would offer a rather crappy one.

28 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

You are saying you take the test at the airport AFTER arriving in the USA? I don't get it? Hundreds of people can be landing at Kennedy airport in the same hour!  Can you be clearer on this? 

I don't think that's what they were saying, though if that is what they were saying, they are wrong.  The only ATK tests that can be used must be purchased in the US (and delivered to the US).  And they must be taken at most, 24 hours BEFORE you first departing flight.  See my previous post above for more information on this.

31 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

If ATK which exact one can you buy in BKK?  And do you just bring the cartridge showing neg to airport?

My understanding is that you can only use an ATK test if purchased from specific vendors in the US.  The ATK tests in the US allowed include virtual assisted testing.  Basically, you connect to a site with your phone or computer and use your camera to video conference with someone who watches you do the test correctly. They then look at the results and issue you a certificate you can print and use to fly.

 

If your flight starts in the US, you can buy several kits and bring them with you and use one internationally for the return flight.  But you can't buy them and have them shipped internationally.

 

The United site has the details.  https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/restrictions-map.html  Enter in your origin and destination and it'll pop up all the requirements.  From that site....

 

 

You can find more information here: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/covid-testing.html#to_us

 

 

And here's information from United on ordering tests (if your flight starts in the US)....

 

21 hours ago, BudRight said:

It's a strange treaty then, because normally, treaty countries have a treaty to arrange for some mutual benefit. But I suppose if the treaty is almost impossible to use in Thailand and in return, nothing was offered to Thailand then it would be a fair trade.

 

Regarding foreign land ownership in the United States, Americans don't seem to realize that their system is very unusual among countries or that it could be a potential cause of soaring land prices. It has simply never entered in the conversation. 

There is mutual benefit.  It gives US citizens (and US corporations) the right to wholly own companies here (in many sectors, but not all).  On the flipside, it gives Thailand the benefit of having more investment from US citizens/companies while being able to protect certain sectors from competition.

 

Yeah, most American's don't get the foreign land ownership thing.  Most real estate agents get it, but the average person on the street doesn't.  That said, I recall that back in the late 1980's there was a mad frenzy of xenophobia about foreigners/foreign companies (especially from Japan) were buying up all the best property.

8 hours ago, TravelerEastWest said:

We should have Thais follow the same land rules etc. to be fair...

Yeah, I've thought about that a lot in the past.  On the one hand I agree.  Fair's fair.

 

On the other hand, if Thailand opened up large land purchases to foreigners, the rush to buy that would ensue would result in a huge price increase and essentially make land too expensive for all but the wealthiest Thais.

 

Perhaps a better solution is for the US to have the same land rules as Thailand.  Anyone can buy up to 1 rai (or let's be generous and say 1/2 acre) of land in the US.  But only US Citizens/Permanent Residents can buy more.  Of course, since corporations are "people" in America, there would be a great big loophole to that idea. 

56 minutes ago, BudRight said:

It's a treaty, so presumably Thais got some sort of reciprocal benefit in the United States. Do you know what it is, and is it also basically impossible to use? 

Not really.  The US allows pretty much anyone from anywhere in the world to set up any kind of (legal) business in the US.  Of course, they'll need to obtain the proper kind of visa to actually work while physically present in the US, but they're free to set something up in the US and can of course work on the business from abroad.

 

Also, no restrictions on land ownership.

On 2/27/2022 at 7:25 AM, kwonitoy said:

Foreigners can apply for permission to buy up to 1 rai of land in specific areas of Thailand after they have invested 40 million baht of funds that have been remitted from outside Thailand. The investment must be an approved investment.

This has nothing to do with the US-Thai Treaty of Amity.

On 2/26/2022 at 11:45 AM, bbko said:

Cause if I'm allowed to own/operate a business over 2mil baht in the open fields, just like a Thai,  look out world, here I come.

Some kinds of businesses, but some you definitely can't own.  And owning doesn't mean you can work.  For that you need to get a work permit, which requires having 4 Thai employees and a bunch of other things....

On 2/26/2022 at 11:45 AM, bbko said:

Here's something I've never heard of or mentioned here on this forum; "Treaty of Amity"

It has been discussed elsewhere on the forums.  An easy way to find links is to search google adding "site:aseannow.com" at the end of the search, like this:

 

 

         treaty of Amity site:aseannow.com

 

That will limit results to the site you specify.

 

On 3/8/2022 at 1:29 PM, Leon1980 said:

If I book a return flight with the same airline for 50 days later they will know the temporary ticket not real. 

Why?  Could you not just say that you're flying into Thailand and then flying out on the temporary ticket to somewhere else before returning to Thailand some days later?  That's a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why you have a return ticket that is 50 days after your original flight.

1 hour ago, ChristianPFC said:

The extension replaces 90-day-reporting, I got a paper stapled in my passport with date for 90-day-

reporting stamped in.

Congratulations!

 

The paper stapled in your passport is the 90 day report receipt.   Probably has a notice that you need to report again in 90 days (even though you only have a 60 day visa extension).  If they're still offering covid extensions in 60 days and you decide to extend again, they'll do another 90 day report as a part of the extension.  Yes, things here can be that ridiculously silly sometimes.

 

Also, if they offer covid extensions past March 26th, you can go up to 30 days before the end of your current extension to get it.  The 2nd covid extension will add 60 days to your current extension (it won't start the day you apply).  So if you apply 30 days before the end of your current extension, you would leave immigration with a new extension date 90 days out.  No real rhyme or reason why they couldn't do that for the 1st extension.  Just more of the that ridiculous silliness.

On 3/5/2022 at 7:52 AM, DrJack54 said:

That's not true.

You would only need to report if you change address or reenter with new visa or visa exempt..

Whether it's true or not, sometimes immigration likes to make up/change rules on a whim.

 

I know someone who was hassled at CW Immigration in BKK about the TM30.  He went to a province for a trip and the hotel filed a TM30 for him.  He later returned to his home in Bangkok (which his landlord had previously sent in a TM30 for).  When he went to CW Immigration for an extension, he was told his TM30 was filed in the province and his previous TM30 in Bangkok was no longer valid.   He was told he needed to file a new TM30 at MTT.

 

He went to MTT and the IO told him did NOT need to file a new one, but went ahead and did a new TM30 anyway.

 

FYI, the links to the June 2020 law change found elsewhere on this site (English / Thai) might have help him.  I suggest everyone should probably download copies of these files ASAP as they aren't always available.  For whatever reason, when I checked after my friend's experience, they were broken links.  But they're working now.

You can also pay via Lazada.  Just top up enough to cover the balance you think is due.  You can top up the following companies....

 

 

Screenshot....

 

I'm only going to address immigration for Bangkok (CW & MTT), as that's the office my friends and I all deal with.

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

For tourist visa holders, Government Complex in Chaeng Wattana is the place to go for both regular and Covid extension.

Correct.

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

Whereas for visa free entry, Mueang Thong Thani for both regular and Covid extension (this fact is often lost in reports).

Correct.

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

No need for 90 day reporting because the extension (i.e. my presence at Immigration Office) counts as report?

Correct.  When you do a Covid extension, they'll also give you a NEW receipt for your next 90 day report which is... 90 days later from the day you got the extension.

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

I'm going to Pattaya next week, is it better to get the extension in Bangkok (Chaeng Wattana) or Pattaya (Jomtien)?

CW is better IMO.  BUT....  If you are staying at a hotel, ask the hotel for a copy of the screen showing they submitted the TM30 form within 24 hours of your checking in.  If you're staying at an AirBNB, make sure the host did the TM30 and bring proof.  If you're staying in an apartment, get it from the landlord.

 

A lot of people over the past month or two have been asked for proof that a TM30 was filed.  So be prepared with that proof.

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

I certainly want to avoid 'under consideration' and getting extension counting from the day of application (I go two weeks before expiry), how to do? Any recent experience?

CW has been giving out extensions, not "under consideration" stamps.  And those extensions are days added on to the end of your current extension.  So if you go to CW with 20 days still left on your current extension, you should leave with a total of 80 days.  (20 days left + 60 additional days = 80 days)

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

I will bring TM.30 (even though it was not required for regular extension), but I have no health insurance and no flight out of Thailand. That was no problem for regular extension, will it be for Covid extension?

Good!  I assume you mean proof of the already filed TM30 and not the TM30 forms to file.  BUT... If you were given the forms to file by a landlord, you'll need to go to MTT and get it filed first (2nd floor, same room as the 90 day reports, but a different/much shorter line).  You could be fined for late reporting.

 

Another option if you don't want to mess with MTT is to stay at a hotel in Bangkok the night before.  They'll do a TM30 and you can get a print from them (basically a print of a screenshot) showing they filed it.  (Hotels like to do the TM30 reporting in one big batch of all new check-ins at the end of the evening, but if you explain the need for proof for Immigration, they'll hopefully be willing to do yours on the spot.)

 

The proof of flight out has sometimes been asked for at CW when doing covid extensions, but not always.  I think they recently stopped asking for them.  Insurance has never been asked for, as I think that's a requirement only to enter Thailand and now that you're here.... ????

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

All links to the affidavit on Aseannnow and Thethaiger are broken, but the forms are available at immigration?

I've been wondering about the increased number of broken links to publically available forms and documents!  Even links to official announcements published in the official Thai government Gazette have in recent days become broken on this and other sites.  Very strange!

 

The documents you will need will all be given to you by CW immigration.  In fact, if you bring the forms found online, they'll give you new ones to fill out.  My best guess is they want their "official" forms used because they're printed on thinner paper and take less space to store them.

 

Oh hell, what am I saying!  They want you to use their "official" forms because it's more of a hassle for you!

 

8 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

Nonetheless, I would like to have a look at the form in advance, can someone post a working link?

No letter from embassy required any more?

I believe this is the form you're talking about (see images below).  Not a great copy and it may have changed since I first saw it.  ALSO SEE PAGES 3 & 4 of the attached pdf, which you may be given at CW.  (I believe you write "Covid" on the blank line where it says "for the reason of............" 

 

Good luck, and I hope you'll let us know how it goes and give an update if any of the information above has changed!

 

 

1d แบบฟอร์ม ตม.7 , สตม.2.pdf

Not 100% certain, but I believe you want to reach an international operator by dialing 110 on your phone.  Then give the operator the number on your credit card (not they 800 number but the regular long distance number) and tell them it's a collect call.  They should connect you.

 

Do please post back if you are able to connect using this method.

 

Otherwise, as Danderman said, Skype should also work.  Other VoIP services too. 

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

You will be required to obtain standard 30 day extension prior to covid extension.

It's not an option. 

Normally, yeah.  But it seems the OP already got a 60 day Covid based extension....

 

9 hours ago, ray richards said:

I arrived in Thailand with a tourist visa for 60 days on 1/Dec/2021, I was giving a 60 days Covid extension to stay on deadline date 25/Jan/2022 up to end of March

Perhaps the IO missed doing the normal 30 day extension first?  Or maybe some IO's are skipping the 30 and just going with the 60?

 

Never much rhyme or reason it seems.

On 2/15/2022 at 1:29 PM, EVENKEEL said:

Nope, 800K in bank. I even had to draw a map to my house. Something I've been chuckling about when I read about guys with marriage visa.

 

On 2/15/2022 at 2:38 PM, buick said:

i don't understand the handrawn map thing, is that to prove i know where i live ?

 

On 2/15/2022 at 3:05 PM, DrJack54 said:

3. Map of my condo location (not hand drawn)

4. Copy first page of lease. (not looked at and I doubt if was required).

I've never understood the map thing.  First time I gave them a printed Google Map that I had annotated clearly.  They rejected it and had me draw a map by hand, which basically looked no more detailed than this....

 

 

So what do people think the reason is for the map?

 

My personal theory is similar to what buick said.  It's to test see if you have familiarity with the area you live in (in which case bluffing with any map would probably satisfy).