thanaka

I am well aware, I was just responding to the guy who asked me to clarify on my current visa status. Obviously I would not work with that Thai company anymore on DTV

That is a good point, thank you. I'm not sure if I am missunderstaing your post but I do not intend on re-entering with exemption. I plan on re-entering with DTV. I am on a non-immigrant visa category B and I currently work for a Thai company yes. I have a separate Re-entry stamp that I applied separately for. It is my first year working with this company, so I'm not sure if it is an extension. The main thing I want to make sure is that I have a valid visa when re-entering. If it's not possible to change this visa on re-entry I guess it's probably safest to leave for a few days, apply for DTV, come back on my non-b visa, if I get DTV approval cancel everything correctly inside Thailand, leave and then re-enter on DTV.

Since I can basically stay in Thailand for 5 years on the DTV visa with the annual bounce I don't really see the benefit anymore for me to stay on a business visa apart from it being a path to citizenship. Does anyone know the correct procedure to convert from Business to DTV visa for people who are inside Thailand? Can I technically just use a bordering country to apply through the e-visa system? Then if I get the DTV approval, I just fly out and back in, then tell them to use the DTV visa and not the multiple entry business visa to stamp me back in? Would that nullify the business visa and the DTV would start at that point?

You are 100% correct but they're probably less likely to check up on someone with a clean passport than someone with a passport full of Thailand stamps. I know of two people who were denied entry on the volunteer visa but got in without any problems when they tried it again a few months later with a new passport. But you are correct if they already have suspicion they can check up on someones past entries, a new passport won't help. A new one may just reduce the inclination to do so

To extend my education visa I would have had to leave the country. I couldn't because all borders were shut due to covid. The government didn't propose any solution for the hundreds of thousands of foreigners in the country in similar situations, therefore many started using agents. It's unrelated to the denial for the Elite visa, at least as far as I know.

Not sure what you mean. Those two are unrelated (at least in my case)

I think there's a lot of us. I found a lot of information on various expat facebook groups. Some regarding the elite application but most about entry problems with a volunteer visa history. I do know of two people who could enter the country again after getting a new passport, but I still wonder if people with a volunteer visa history are now blocked from all sorts of non-o visas or if it's "just" Elite visas

I'm in the exact same spot. I was on ED visa where I was (legitimately) learning Thai and attending school. I even had to go to the provincial school ministry (or however thats called) where I was tested in reading, writing and speaking Thai to get approved to the next level. I passed the test but could never get the visa for the next level (which I already paid for), because I couldn't leave the country at that time due to covid. My visa expired the exact month where the Thai government couldn't decide on what to do with all the foreigners where everyone went on overstay and got a free visa afterwards when the government realized they had hundreds of thousands of foreigners still here. I always tried to do things correctly here so I didn't want to go on overstay, that's when I started using an agent. Had I just sat on my lazy bum I would have not only gotten free visas (that's when covid extension were introduced), but i wouldn't have these kind of problems right now. That being said, I was also rejected at Elite visa. This situation sucks and I also don't know what to do.

Curious too if anyone ever got an update on this

To add to this: As far as I understand, the airline carrying you to Thailand is responsible for you in case you get denied entry. At least that's what they explained to my friend when he once got asked for an onward flight when checking in to a flight to Thailand. He didn't have an onward flight but showed them his bank statement and signed a paper that he would cover the costs himself in case he gets denied entry, basically transferring the responsibility from the airline to himself. That was sufficient enough. Maybe the low cost carriers have a higher probability of asking for entry requirements since they have a higher risk of carrying passengers that may not have the necessary funds to pay for a flight back in case they get denied entry. Personally I only got asked once for an onward flight, and that was not too long ago when I flew in from Manila with Philippine Airlines. Never got asked for anything in Thailand, though I do always keep ~1000 USD with me when traveling internationally in case they will ask for proof of money. At least for Thailand it's part of the entry requirements so better be safe. The same goes for an onward flight, technically you are required to show one if you plan to land on a visa exempt, so better be prepared.

In theory it's an excellent visa for independent remote workers. I would get it in an instant if there wouldn't be the criteria that you need a huge corporation (150m revenue) as an employer, which makes it virtually impossible to get it. Even if you earn above 100k a year for the past 10 years - which should be enough to proof that you have stable income - you will not get it if you're not backed by a huge corporation. Kinda sucks.