FalangTingTong

Update for posterity: there were four beers in the minibar and the hotel would have let me order more (of presumably whatever) to the room had I wanted.  All other sales were prohibited.  I didn't try any bars/restaurants because I stayed in to watch the fights from Singapore anyway.

Thank you all for the tips.  Unless I stumble upon some entrepreneurial activity, I think I'm gonna just tough it out.  More brain cells left to kill on Saturday that way!

Hello! I will be released from quarantine straight into Maka Bucha this Friday.  And yet bars are hopefully opening this week.

Question for Bangkokians: how long should I expect the holiday booze ban to last, and how seriously is it likely to be enforced?

Can I ask for a special mojito coffee mug if I find a tourist bar open? Should I just give up?

I'm flying solo and staying at Asoke.  Not looking to party, just chill with a drink or two in the afternoon or evening and watch life unfold after sixteen days of lockup. I can wait until Saturday if need be, but I'd rather not! ????

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

Aside from the North Asian market, Singapore, and Oz/NZ, I can't think of many other places where people would even be thinking of taking vacations anywhere...

I'm currently planning to leave a locked-down EU country in order to vacation in a not-yet-locked-down one, and I know a bunch of people who are planning the same.  Ticket prices are going up really fast for those routes: my preferred route doubled in price over the week when our lockdown was announced.

Only special requirement is some not very strict contact tracing.  Of course this could backfire, but so far at least a few of the warmer destinations are betting it won't.

I'm also planning to go to Thailand in January/February and have no problem with the quarantine (I'd go now but for family obligations elsewhere).  Obviously it would be nice to just have a few tests or whatever, but considering how jumpy the locals are I'd much rather just deal with quarantine and then be treated "normally" than have a test I could have bribed into negativity and then be suspect.

I have no idea how many people look at it like I do, and I know we're not going to make that big a difference to the tourism industry, but surely if lots of Europeans are happy to country-hop while it's still possible, then some subset of that would be happy to go to Thailand even with the various hoops to jump through.

And I'd bet the Chinese Jab is going to be a requirement for entry in 2021.  Maybe they'll let you take it at the airport.

6 minutes ago, Visarghhhh said:

Other countries are shutdown to international visitors... such as Vietnam, New Zealand, etc  So why should Thailand be first to open up?  Europe won't allow Americans... and I'm an American, so its looking  bad for me going anywhere!

Europe won't allow American tourists, but if you have a legitimate non-touristic reason to be in the EU, most countries will let you in, with the notable exception of Hungary which is closed to non-citizens.

Coming from the US you might be subject to 14 days of "home" quarantine, the seriousness of which varies greatly by country and even by region.  Some let you out with a single negative test. Some don't bother to check.

In my opinion the EU member states are doing a bunch of dumb small things but getting the big thing right: don't shut down travel for people who have a legitimate reason to be traveling.  (Hungary, again, excepted, which is sort of a general-use caveat for EU affairs.)

Posting here because I didn't see it elsewhere on the forum.  This is from the Longstay Facebook page which is TLMcompany.  Note that it is what they "believe" and might well change; first Falang flight is apparently November 1st out of Copenhagen, to be preceded by a flight from Singapore.  That sort of implies the list is ordered but who knows.

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone knows anything about repatriation flights from Germany, presumably Frankfurt.  Or charter flights of course, but I guess it's still early for that.

I will probably apply for the Elite soon, it was my original plan anyway, but the STV would be more than enough time for my next trip and maybe that's faster.

Ideally I'd like to go in November but I'm starting to think that's not realistic and I should rather think in terms of Jan/Feb, which would be my next window of availability.

I was able to find info on the two August flights out of Frankfurt, but nothing more recent.  The embassy website still has the July info from CAAT. Maybe they repatriated everybody already?

Related question for the old hands: if there is an STV flight from, say, Helsinki, does it seem likely (i.e. typical for Thailand) that the STV would be available only to Finnish residents, or only to Finnish citizens, or to anybody who can pay up and make it to the gate with their Covid test?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Just to add anecdata:  I have no deep ties to Thailand but was planning to try living there from November.  If I can still do that then I’m fine with the quarantine and the cost.  I can’t stay more than 5 months at a time anyway so this visa could work.

However I am not fine with the hoop jumping and uncertainty. This is a great first step, now somebody please sell me a package deal FRA BKK with full insurance and freedom after the 15 days.  I’m happy to pay and I think they could use the money over there. I even find it a little weird the Elite folks aren’t offering this at a premium.

But if I’m still left guessing by mid-October then it’s a Greco-Iberian winter for me and I’ll see what Thailand says in March.

6 hours ago, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

There seems to be a lot of questions that are all listed on the Thailand Elite Visa site.

 

Here is the link to the FAQ.

The FAQ is quite useful but unfortunately it's missing the Most Frequently Asked Question, which seems to be:

"Will they let me in with an Elite Visa now and if so, subject to what restrictions?"

Does anybody know of an official source for that one?

What I see on this forum is mostly positive but then occasionally (as above) someone hears the opposite.  My local embassy (Germany) still has the rules from July 1st up, though in fairness I haven't phoned them yet.

(And honestly it seems like the easiest thing for them to do: let Eliters in with business tickets and ASQ and insurance, you have probably $6K per head before they drink their first Chang, and by definition they're going to spend money right?  Not to mention all the people like me who are applying for new ones. Start with a trickle of tourists who like to spend, then maybe open the gate a little, add some flights and some ASQ hotels, wash rinse repeat... anyway I certainly hope they both allow tourists to return, and keep the quarantine requirement. Catering to the Elite holders is the obvious way to start doing it.)

On 8/13/2020 at 11:27 PM, unsubscribe said:

I'm sort of ok with that if they aren't inflating the prices.

From what I have seen online it’s about 2500 EUR for one way business class from e.g. Frankfurt, I believe London was similar.  That’s more than I would normally pay but it’s not inflated compared to full-fare Business.  Hoping to do it in November myself.

I guess this may be an unpopular opinion, but if they would give me a METV for say October with a requirement that I do 14 days of quarantine in a luxury hotel at my expense, I’d accept with a smile, even prepaid.

Thanks for all the (mostly thoughtful) input here!

I am considering the Elite but probably going to do a METV first to test the waters.

I only wish to add: as an American who's lived in Europe half his life, the idea of about 3K EUR per year in order to come and go as you please as long as you don't "work" locally, is, well, sort of an impossibly great bargain!  (And that's for the more expensive 5Y one.)

My only hesitation is due to the minimum 5-year commitment, since I've not spent that much time in the Kingdom and not when the air was really bad.  Think I should probably do METV first to test my conviction.  But there's also something to be said for over-committing if you like an idea. ????

15 hours ago, shadowofacloud said:

If such a visa was introduced and promoted in relevant circles, they would be earning (tens of) millions USD pa. Remote work is a major trend in the workforce these days and is predicted to grow steadily in the next decade.

Practically speaking, isn't that the Elite Visa?

I agree it would be cool -- and great publicity -- if they made a "Digital Work Permit" that allowed you to work only for companies outside Thailand, and cost a couple thousand Euros per year, and was renewable annually.  Maybe require a proper rental contract if you stay past 90 days.

If they played their cards right they could charge a whole lot more -- how much would a remote worker from say the UK pay in order to not be physically present in the UK and thus not pay taxes?  How many employers would happily pay that worker via their favorite offshore in order to avoid payroll taxes?

Probably not a good result for humanity, but when I was younger I'd have happily shelled out 10 grand a year for something like that, and they could totally one-up Estonia!

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, had another read of your initial post. Very sensible. Yes an METV would be good option if easy for you to tick all the requirements. 

On side note if you went setv along with extension etc, your future plans re non O will not be impacted. Either way your safe as houses. 

Thank you!

Yes it appears the METV is the correct thing to ask for, I will plan around that barring surprises.

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A multiple entry tourist visa allows unlimited 60 day entries for 6 months from the date it is issued. No need to do a 30 day a extension unless you want to. Just do a border hop for a new entry. Entering at most border crossing is not a problem using one.  You can get almost 9 months from it by getting a new 60 day entry just before it expires and a 30 day extension of it.

You would have to get a new single entry visa every 90 days if you extended the 60 day entry from one.

 

 

Thanks.

As it happens I would have no need of getting more than two 60-day stays within six months, but I find this border-crossing-extension theme interesting, I've noticed it on this forum but haven't seen anything about it on the Embassy sites.

Do I understand correctly that in general, if you enter on an N-Day visa that would expire during your stay, you get permission to stay for N days anyway?  Or to put it differently, the six-month (or whatever) validity of the visas is in general the time you have to *enter* as opposed to the time by which you must finally *leave*?

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Get a single entry tourist visa. If wish to travel outside of Thailand or Vietnam obtain a multi reentry permit here in Thailand. This visa can be extended by 30 days giving total of 3 months. After that just exit Thailand (best by border) and re-enter obtain 30 day visa exempt. That can be extended by 30. That's 5 month.

Forget ed visa.

You can attend class without ed visa

What's the advantage of a single-entry tourist visa over a multiple-entry one?  Just that it's a bit cheaper, or is there some other factor?

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I'd like to avoid doing a set of visa extensions and/or visa runs.  I'm considering living in Thailand later on (depending on how this trip goes) and it sounds like there is increasing vigilance around using extensions and border crossings to make a two-month visa work for five months.

I do understand that it'd probably work, and thanks for the suggestion.

9 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You can attend a school with any type of visa entry. Getting a non-ed visa and then 90 day extensions of stay at immigration would be difficult to do since proof of attendance in classes is required for the extensions.

A multiple entry tourist visa would be a good choice if you can meet the requirements to apply for one.

I assume you mean a multiple entry non-o visa. Upon what basis would you be applying for it. Very few embassies and consulatess will issue one based upon being 50 year old or over for retirement.

What is your status in the European country that you are staying in now? Many embassies and consulates in Europe require proof of legal residency in the country where you apply for it. That would certainly be required to a apply for a METV.

Is there some special requirement for the multiple-entry tourist visa other than having a job and the bank statements?  The embassy (in Berlin) doesn't list any.

On the METV, as I understand it, I wouldn't need any extensions for a four-month stay as long as I leave the country before the first 60 days is up: say 55 days in, 5 days out, 60 days in.

The longer one (which seems impractical) is "NON-IMMIGRANT-O VISA M" per the Embassy website.  It just says "other purposes," and I sort of assume if I said "for learning Thai and visiting stuff" they might ask why I don't get an ED.

I am a Permanent Resident of Germany and am employed there.

Thanks for your reply!

Hello!  Please forgive the stupid question(s), I'm new here and have only been to Thailand once, under the Visa Exemption.

I am contemplating a trip of about 3-4 months starting around November 2020, so I have plenty of time to figure this out.  

My goal is to do a combination of Thai classes (school and/or private) and travel, where the travel would be both within Thailand and internationally (by air).  I will be 50 by the time I go, US citizen living in the EU.  I want to be as flexible as possible, while also being completely within the law and not creating any patterns that might hurt me later should I want to move to Thailand and need a different visa.

At first I assumed the "ED Visa" would be the best option, but according to the Thai Embassy you have to have at least a five-month course, with 2h/day, 4d/week instruction.  Actually doing that would be a bad fit for my 3-4 month time budget which includes travel time.

A "Tourist Visa M" looks like a good option –– 60 days per entry, multiple entry within 6 months, so it's an exact fit time-wise; I have noted the "METV Topic" and am looking around there for additional info.

A "Non-Immigrant-O Visa M" would probably also work -- 90 days per entry, multiple entry within 1 year; but for this one the proof of local address might be complicated to get from, say, an AirBNB / VRBO host. (I am aware of the TM30 requirements.)

The Thailand Elite Visa for ฿฿฿฿ would surely work -- I have noted the strong opinions on the Elite Visa here. I may want to visit Thailand enough in the next years to make it worth the money (to me) but I'd rather not pay that much up front without first being there for a season.

Thanks in advance for any advice!