Phillip9

On 2/8/2024 at 5:51 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

You can book into a hotel and get a TM30 from them 

Both times I've tried to get a TM30 from a hotel, the hotel refused to give it to me and repeatedly tried to tell me that it was not necessary to extend my permission to stay because they mistakenly thought immigration could actually access it themselves in their own database.

On 2/6/2024 at 6:20 PM, popel said:

still not sure about Chiang Mai per air or Vientiane per Land..

all day busy googling..

Entering Thailand by land from Vientiane is easy.  I just did it.  It's 2 or 3 hours by direct bus from Vientiane to Udon Thani in Thailand.  From Udon Thani there are cheap flights to Bangkok.  

39 minutes ago, zzzzz said:

its such a hassle using a refundable ticket , getting ur $$ back an than see they still charged u credit card fee
Prefer to just shell out $7 and be done with it

Have you ever actually tried it yourself?  Requesting a refund on all of the airlines I mentioned literally takes less time than writing this message-- Its about three taps on your phone.

None of those airlines I mentioned charge any credit card fee, and many give you the option to pay in your own currency, so you can even avoid any international fees your own credit card might charge.

11 hours ago, novacova said:

I’ve only ever flown on EVA, China Air(Taiwan carrier), China Southern, Singapore air and KAL at least 20 times, 4x on tourist on arrival, the other flights with non-o stamp, 2 of which were round trip tickets all from SEA, LAX & SFO. Never been asked for a return ticket and I don’t recall the check-in counter ever looking at any other page than the main id page of the passport. Just wondering what airline/airport are asking for these return/onward vouchers?

I fly out of SFO on EVA or Singapore 2-3 times per year.  I'm always travelling on a one way ticket, and I am always asked if I have a return ticket at check in.  Sometimes they will ask to see the ticket, but other times they will just ask me the date of the return flight.

1 hour ago, BethanySoto said:

I understand the situation can be a bit tricky, especially with the TM30 requirement. Staying at a hotel for a day before your visa extension could potentially work. It's essential to ensure that the hotel files your TM30 correctly, just like you mentioned during your previous stay.

Why are you posting to a 2 year old thread?????  Bizare

Earlier is definitely better.  I last extended there about 6 months ago.  We arrived at about 9am and it wasn't too bad.   Then it continued to get busier after we arrived.

If I remember correctly, they only accept applications in the morning.

On 1/19/2024 at 10:40 AM, rexpotter said:

Beware....US Embassy says two 30 day tourist extensions.

I doubt they say that because its wrong.  Only one 30 day extension is allowed anywhere in Thailand. 

9 hours ago, grain said:

Hi Phillip9, are there any danger spots doing this. You do hear of people being refused entry and told they're coming too often and need to get the correct visa. So what are the legal limits? Only one extension at an immigration office for 1900 THB? And how many land border crossings allowed in a 12-month period? I believe it is 2, is that correct? 

People posting here that have been refused entry are usually spending a lot more time in Thailand than you are planning.

The only defined limit is 2 land borded entries per calander year. 

No set limit to air entries.  Personally, I don't enter by air unless I've spent some significant time out of the country. 

Correct, you can only extend once per entry, 1900 baht.

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Out of interest where did you spend time "elsewhere" 

I often suggest Vietnam as a good option. 

I like to travel.  It's often somewhere new and usually multiple countries.  My only frequent repeats are Indonesia, Phillipines (both because I like scuba diving), Japan, and New Zealand.

For about the last 10 years, I've been doing 5-6 months a year in Thailand using visa exempts exactly as you describe.  I spend a few months in Thailand follwed by a few months elsewhere.  The only exception was the covid year I spent entirely in Thailand.  I've never had any problems.

9 hours ago, Vaio62 said:

A single A4 paper is 0.0193 cubic meters (0.02 m x 0.297 m x 0.0007 m).

All that thinking and typing and you still got the width of the paper, the thickness of the paper, and simple multiplication wrong.

It should be 0.0000044 cubic meters (0.21m x 0.297m x 0.00007m).  So you mistakenly calculated more than 4000 times the actual value.  

3 hours ago, tmax said:

This is incorrect, if I should not have told them that then why did they let me in? Staying long term on tourist visas and transitioning to marriage visa is very normal

Ok, so now it is obvious you are just a troll who made up a fake story.   Get a life.

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

so you arrived with an onward proof of travel?....but not a return ticket? Did you have the POOT when you boarded the plane in San Francisco?

I purchased a one way fully refundable ticket from Bangkok back to San Francisco before I checked in for my flight.  Then I refunded that ticket when I arrived.  That's my normal strategy when traveling on a one way ticket, and I don't know how long I will stay in a country because usually the airline will ask for an onward or return ticket at checkin.

1 hour ago, kwilco said:

to be clear - were you on a visa exempt entry?

where was your POOT to?

Will you buy your ticket home in Thailand or are you continuing on?

I arrived visa exempt.  I flew from San Francisco to Bangkok.  This was my third trip to Thailand this year visa exempt, and I extended last time, which is my guess why they asked me.

I will be continuing on to another destination, but didn't decide when or where yet.

8 hours ago, Jaggg88 said:

First of all, immigration never asks about return or onward tickets only the airlines. 

I just arrived to Thailand yesterday, and I was asked by immigration to show my onward ticket.  This was the first time I have ever been asked to show it by immigration.

I was travelling on a oneway ticket, so I was quite happy I had purchased a real fully refundable return ticket which I promptly refunded after I collected my luggage.

3 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

Non Imm O Visa and do 12 month extensions in Thailand.

800,000 Baht in a Thai bank or proof of 65,000 Baht monthly income for the extensions.

No need for expensive agent.

If you consider the money in interest he would lose by parking 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and earning next to nothing compared to leaving it in a US bank and earning 5 - 6 percent, it's actually cheaper to use an agent.

I don't think the income method is available to US citizens.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Obtain a METV while in USA.

The METV will provide 9 months.

Important to note that the METV only provides 9 months if you do 2 border bounces and 3 extensions during that 9 months.  Each entry with that visa gives you 60 days which you can extend once for 30 days.

Probably still your best option if you are under 50.

5 minutes ago, Harry Om said:

I've done this multiple times with expedia. I have an Australian bank account and if the ticket costs $120.34 I get refunded exactly $120.34. I have never been charged any extra/hidden fee.

It is listed as an "expired pending amount".

However, I can't promise what your bank will do.

I have the same experience with tickets refunded within 24 hr on Expedia.  It looks like they are reversing the original transaction and the exact amount is refunded with no extra fees.

Fyi, Priceline.com is another good website to use for that strategy.  Priceline gives you a minimum of 24hr to refund a ticket, but usually longer, and can be as much as 72hr depending on when you book.  The exact time you have is very clearly displayed when you search for flights.

4 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

Never lost a single baht? Are you paying in baht and if so how do you avoid the usual foreign currency loading fee of 2.75%? Or is your bank account USD?

Sorry, I quoted baht here just because it is a Thailand forum.  My account is in USD.  

I double checked my recent purchase and refund of my ticket on Malaysian Airlines.  The fare was charged in USD, and refunded down to the exact penny in USD within a few days of when I requested the refund.  I think there was an option to choose your currency somewhere in the process of purchasing the ticket, but I can't remember for sure.

1 hour ago, zzzzz said:

NOTE:
fully refundable tickets- credit card charge ????

I've booked and refunded fully refundable tickets on at least 5 different airlines, and I have never lost a single Baht to a credit card charge or fee.  

Do you have any example of an Airline that charges and won't refund some credit card fee for a ticket they say is fully refundable? 

2 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

However the small print states: "We understand that sometimes plans change. We do not charge a cancel or change fee. When the airline charges such fees in accordance with its own policies, the cost will be passed on to you." So it the ticket itself has cancellation fees you'll still end up paying.

That small print only applies after the 24hr free cancellation window.

As long as you pick a ticket on Expedia that is clearly marked as refundable for 24Hr, its is easy to cancel within 24 hr of purchase and get a full refund with no fees at all.  I've done it dozens of times.