Expat2B

Without wishing to tempt fate the ducks are now lining up ready for my gf's student visa to the UK. Since we would like to travel together to other EU countries, when she is here, how can she best go about securing a visitors visa so that we can travel in the EU.

It seems only Switzerland has no visa requirement, and that she will need a visa for all other EU countries. Is there an "ideal" country to apply to, by gut feel I think our first trip will be to France but really we could go anywhere. I understand that it is best to apply for the schengen visa before leaving Thailand, but would it be possible to have this processed in the UK?

Also do the application requirements differ between countries? What sort of info is typically requested?

She will be studying for a Bachelors degree at a UK university, with course fees and a "salary"/bursary of £7k per annum paid by my company.

Any help or assistance would be appreciated, and my fingers are firmly crossed that nothing goes wrong with her UK visa app.

Expat2B,

You're correct that it's not necessary for an applicant to have an individual sponsor. What is needed is for the applicant to demonstrate that they have the ability to fund the course and sustain themselves financially whilst in the UK, irrespective of the source. Also, genuine students are allowed to work part-time in the UK so she could legitimately work for your company in the UK for up to 20 hrs p.w. but I wouldn't mention that to the visa officer who may conclude that the work is the motivating factor rather than the studies.

Cheers,

Scouse.

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Scouse

Were my company to cover her fees etc. just what would the ECO be looking at to support the application. Would a simple letter from the company stating that she had been selected for sponsorship (in the student sense of the word) and that the Company will cover costs be adequate or would more information be necessary? I would imagine that companies sponsoring individual students is not a totally unheard of thing in any event, and I cannot belive that the company in this case would need to demonstrate essentially escrow funding for the duration of the course, or am I wrong?

I do have a good reason to employ a Thai in any event since I am seeking to expand my consulting services into Thailand and it seems necessary for me to have a member of Thai staff who is familiar with my business who can assist with this. The timing following completion of her degree should work out well since this will be the time my delayed relocation to BKK will occur. Whilst admittedly I am using the company as a device to avoid immediate connection with her (for immigration purposes) there is a genuine business reason underlying things. Admittedly though I wouldnt normally choose to sponsor a Thai Student for 2 years + if I wasn't closely connected with them

I see you are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.....

Let them know that your are 'involved' and they start thinking the student visa is a ploy to get her over to the UK (this is the most common way people abuse the stystem - for one reason or another).  Indicate that you are not  and that you are JUST a sponsor and they will suspect something within the story line is missing.

In these cases my personal view is that honesty is the best poilcy - you are the best of frineds and she needs to get to the UK so that her qualifications can be granted more quickly and with the benifit of learning more of the language and culture.

As others have said you need to get enroled at a uni who would take her - get the low down on everything that would be required of her during terms and what qualifications she could expect to obtain by the end of it.  Its best to pay the deposit (the uni/college will return if her application is rejected) so that you can demonstate that she is deffinately a real student.  In my experioance the ECO will be keen to know how these qualifications (once obtained) will be put to good use upon return to Thailand.

Nothing can be taken for granted and so I would work hard to prepare.

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I think I will take some advice here in the UK before deciding how to present this. I do have the option of my UK company sponsoring her application and paying her fees as a "scholarship". This distances me personally from the applicaton and the "sponsorship" can be clearly framed with conditions such as her working for my company for a period in Thailand upon graduation, or a reimbursement of fess etc will be required, in order to give comfort surrounding her return. In a way this would be a useful thing for my company to do anyway, my concern is not to create too elaborate a scenario such that my GF will have difficulty at an interview. I had understood though that sponsorship per se was unnecessary for a Student Visa (since effectively the institution sponsors the application), what she needs to do is demonstrate ability to support herself, which is where I/my company come in.

In reality it is virtually certain that my company WILL pay the fees (for sound tax reasons ). So this is not an entirely manufactured set up.

As to acceptance by a UK Uni, work on this is well underway, her TOEFL test is due soon, the results of which should assist with the decision making.

It is 2005 and way past 9/11. See how you go now. Your risk.

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My ONLY experience has been flying this way well after 9/11, prior to this I was stupidly paying full ex UK fares. If you have an open return ticket and you buy (technical term being nest) another itinerary or itineraries within it, then no-one has any cause to complain since you technically do possess a return ticket.

But I come again to the the question of e-ticketing, how does one "produce" an e-ticket it is impossible. A zealous check in agent could look up your reservation code on Sabre/Galileo/Amadeus but how many will really bother. All they are looking for is a convincing explanation of your apparent "one way" ticket. Of course if you are wearing a jallaba and a luxuriant beard, then you could be in for some trouble. A bit like if you are english and wearing a suit and tie trying to enter the US

Finally given recent IATA changes it is now possible to purchase your ex BKK ticket in your country of origin (at BKK prices), neatly bypassing the whole "return ticket" issue anyway for those of a paranoid disposition.

Return flights on Thai airways currently 50% cheaper from UK to Bangkok than Bangkok to UK. Insentive for tourists to come in wake of Tsunami presumably.No such discount on a one way, only 50 pounds less than a return!

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Not in Business or First they aren''t I presume those passengers don't need much incentive TG is very expensive anyway on direct flights ex BKK for obvious reasons. Some excellent deals are normally available with Cathay tho.

For those looking to make the best of fares ex BKK it is better not to book a one way necessarily, but rather to book an open dated return with 12 month validity, then make several return trips ex BKK within the validity period of your return ticket, eventually using it to start the whole process again (and thus only buying one ex-UK fare per year). In economy at least you are correct in saying that one way fares tend not to be that much lower (and often not in other classes either), so it is best to make the most of a return ticket. Of course then the "possession of ticket" issues also fade away.

This probably isn't worth the hassle if travelling economy, to me it seems a lot of trouble to save a few quid, but in the premium cabins, the fare savings can be breathtaking. For example (all BKK-LHR) flexible economy plus with BA ex BKK c.£800, the same ticket ex London, on a totally non flexible basis is typically £1250. Flexible business with Cathay ex BKK runs to about £1300 as against ccloser to £3000 ex UK. I have had situations where I have saved close to £6k on flexible BA First tickets (alas the deals now are not quite so good).

Travelling ex BKK can save a LOT of money if you are a frequent traveller.

Have a search for earlier threads. The problem , as Dr P points out , will be at the check-in desk.

I have tried to check-in , with a visa , but a one-way ticket, only to be told by the Airline staff that I need a ticket out of the country.

They are allowed to insist on this , I then had to buy a ticket from Bkk-Png , from the airport before they allowed me to board. This has happened twice out og 40 odd flights.

The reason , I am told, is IF you are refused entry to the desination Country , the Airline are resonsible for your return flight ( ie they have to stump up for the seat )

Obviously I have never been asked for a return ticket at Thai Immigration.

But that's the reason for a return ticket.

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I would restate my post above, I have only ever had 30 day visa waiver and never had a problem after saying yes I do have a ticket. Unless you are coming from somewhere weird, I would imagine the conversation would go something like this.

"I see you do not have a return ticket do you have a visa etc?"

"No I actually have a return ticket"

"Can I see it"

"I am sorry but it is an e-ticket and I do not have a printed copy" Plan B here is to use the format of an existing e-ticket and make up a printout yourself

"Ok sir that is fine"

When I have been questioned about the return ticket (on less than 25% of occassions this is how the conversation has run, except that they always ended after I said yes I have an onward ticket. Maybe this is because I only fly buiness and first class and maybe because I am a top tier frequent flyer in 2 of the 3 global alliances, but in 40+ flights it has never been a problem.

If it is a problem I suggest changing airlines. Alternatively buy a fully refundable one way and refund it immediately upon your return, (this has never been an issue for me because I always actually had an open return I could use if necessary).

There is a revenu protection issue in play here for the airlines, which I am also sure is part of the rationale for their approach. Ex BKK fares are always considerably cheaper than ex EU or ex US fares. As a result it is cost effective to originate flights ex BKK as much as possible. As a frequent traveller I have saved £1000's in this way.

For more specific airline related information, help and advice I would suggest a browse at www.flyertalk.com may pay dividends.

Hi I'm a business man who's been to thailand a few times ,this time I'll be ariving with a one way ticket because I want to fly home a different route, is this a problem?

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If you get a visa you will be OK. Airlines are anti one way tickets. A visa overcomes their reluctance to carry the pax.

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It also depends on the airline, since many tickets are now issued electronically, increasingly few people have a "real" ticket to show. I have never had a problem with BA, QF, AY, LX or CX when I pointed out at check in that I had an independant return ticket. No airline has ever requested to see my return ticket (which in all cases I actually had, albeit often in electronic form).

Since it is cheaper to ticket ex BKK, I tend to leave at least one ex UK return open so that I can if necessary "show" a return ticket and buy my subsequent trips BKK-LON-BKK. In several years now travelling multiple times a yearI have never once been requested to prove this by either an airline or Thai Immigration. I think the airlines are concerned at the implications of the 30 day visa waiver, and if Thai Immigration suddenly started to apply the rules re: return tickets strictly. Few check in agents (if any) will have the knowledge to probe deeper than suggested by the check in screen. YMMV.

Incidentally, it should also be possible to ticket yourself ex BKK before actually arrving, especially if you use an airline/agent with offices in your home country or you buy an e-ticket. Whilst as statedabove this would not seem to be strictly necessary, it is another option.

One important point from the Guidance Notes

"To apply for a visa you will need the following:

a letter from the university, college or school confirming you have been accepted on a course of study in the UK and a statement of charges for the course"

Although it does also say "You can travel to the UK as a prospective student to arrange your studies for up to six months. You will need to show that:

you plan to enrol on a course of study within six months of arriving in the UK

you can pay for your course, support yourself and your dependants without working or any help from public funds

you plan to leave the UK when you finish your studies or when your permission to stay ends if you do not qualify to stay in the UK as a student." As already mentioned, you acting as her sponsor will already cast doubt in the ECO's mind as to her real intentions. Using this option will only, I fear, confirm those doubts.

Were I an ECO, I would also be concerned that she is giving up a course of study in Thailand. I would expect her to finish her course in Thailand first.

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It is almost certain that she will be travelliing to the UK after acceptance on the course, so I don't really think this is an issue.

As to the change of course, well it seems fairly straightforward to me, that rather than having 3 to 4 years of study in Thailand she would only have 2 in the UK and gain the benefit of daily english conversation which will make her more employable upon her return to Thailand.

She will almost certainly arrive before her course is due to start, but this seems reasonable to settle in and acclimitise (and it will not be more than 1 to 2 months in advance of her course commencement).

I can see the suspicions as I have previously said. The problem is this is an absolutely bona fide student visa situation, I have no intention of staying in the UK a day longer than absolutely necessary, and in reality I think my GF would prefer not to come here but sees some advantages. Whilst her move here would be very closely connected with our relationship , that is just because neither of us thinks a distance thing can work in the medium to long term and for 2 years there are better opportunities for us both here (work for me, study for her).

I would feel much happier if the Immigration people would see us both together so that they could at least ask me any of these questions, but I understand they do not do that.

If you have an Amex card (Credit or Charge), you can obtain a replacement temporary card at the Amex Office in Ari within 24 hours. Other banks and card issuers offer similar emergency card replacement services. Perhaps look at alternative card providers, it might also save you money.

Hi Expat2B,

You've hit the nail on the head. If the visa officer were looking to refuse the application then the lack of intention to return because of your relationship is precisely the angle from which he'd approach it. However, what is in your g/f's favour is that she is already a student in Thailand, not someone, for example, who having left school at 12 suddenly decides at the age of 42 that they need to go and study English in the UK.

You should write a letter to accompany the application which explains how your g/f's studies in the UK are a natural extension of those in Thailand. You should also state that your g/f has no intention of seeking to remain in the UK in any other capacity and that all things being equal you intend to accompany her to Thailand on a permanaent basis upon the completion of her course.

The one question that I would have is how good is her English? If it is not sufficient to undertake a degree course in the UK the visa officer may also use this against her although many UK universities do offer intensive English language course for students who are speakers of foreign languages.

Best of luck,

Scouse.

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Scouse

Thanks for that, so it isn't just me being paranoid then? Her English is very good but I guess the TOEFL as part of the application process will demonstrate that, in the event that her English doesnt hit certain standards then the Uni in question will require pre course attendance on their English Programme (timing dependant upon a sliding scale of TOEFL scores). I am reasonably confident that she will do very well at TOEFL, her conversational and written English skills are first rate (including the colloquial).

Her studying here isn't really a logical extension of her study there rather a replacement (although complete honesty may not always be best). The simple fact is that she can graduate here in 2 years rather than the 3 to 4 remaining in Thailand even starting again from scratch. So it just seems to make a lot of sense especially when one years fees is probably equal to around 1 month of income which I could accrue in the UK.

Fortunately (for me maybe ) she is 20 rather than 42 so clearly "of student age".

Going down this particular route is likely to seriously annoy her parents (who will be less than pleased she will be staying with me), so I wouldn't like to progress this too far and then find my GF had real visa difficulties.

On a related point I guess are any of the Visa Agencies there any good?

Not only is a fiance visa pointless, it is the wrong visa altogether. A fiance visa is issued for the express purpose of allowing the applicant to come to the UK to marry. The marriage must take place within the life of the visa, which is usually 6 months.

If your g/f is coming to the UK for a legitimate course of study, then a student visa is the right one. Full details can be found on Guidance - Students (INF 5) on the UK visas website.

Qualification is important. From the guidance:

"How do I qualify to travel to the UK as a student?

You must be able to show that you have been accepted on a course of study at an educational establishment that is on the UK's Department for Education and Skills (DfES) Register of Education and Training Providers. You can search the register on the DfES website at www.dfes.gov.uk/providersregister.

You must be able to show that you are going to follow:

a recognised full-time degree course; or

a course run during the week involving at least 15 hours of organised daytime study each week; or

a full-time course at an independent fee-paying school.

And that you are going to follow:

a recognised full-time degree course

a course run during the week involving at least 15 hours organised daytime study per week

a full-time course of study at an independent fee paying school

You must also:

be able to pay for your course and support yourself and any dependants and live in the UK without working or any help from public funds

plan to leave the UK when you complete your studies, but if you are a degree student who successfully completes your studies you may be able to take work permit employment if you meet the requirements."

In other words, you can't use it as a sort of glorified visit visa.

If she doesn't qualify as a student, then the only other choice is to marry her and apply for a spouse visa.

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Thanks for that it is a legitimate undergraduate degree course at a UK University and she would be a bona fide student (and would also be giving up her existing place at Chula to make this move).

I take the point re the fiance visa and that was my opinion too, I just wondered whether her visa application would be dealt with more harshly since her study would be financed by me (still cheaper than giving up income here) and she would also be living with me. My understanding is that a core test for UK immigration (indeed maybe all immigration services) is "intention to return" to a home country. Clearly someone commencing study here (however bona fide that may be) whilst residing with a partner is almost de facto less likely to return at the end of their course. Whilst this would not be the case for us (since neither of us really wants to be in the UK and my GF would be to a large extent doing me a big favour by moving here for 24 months, rather than me moving to BKK as originally planned) I don't want some petty bureauracrat making her miserable into the bargain, which is why I am seeking the information. My strong temptation in any event would be to use a visa service to expedite matters, especially if I could not be in Bangkok personally at the appropriate time.

As for the the other visa, would prefer to re-assess that at the end of 2 years

Following some work related developments, I am now possibly committed to remaining in the UK for longer than originally expected. An option that presents itself is for my GF to move to the UK with me and study here. I had assumed that obtaining a Student Visa was relatively straightforward, however I have noticed that the UK embassy request evidence of funding for the course and stay.

Since I will be funding this, it raises the issue of our relationship with the immigration folks at a very early stage. Is this likely to be a big problem? I can demonstrate savings in excess of £100k, and provide accounts for my business (however I only have one full year of company accounts).

It seems pointless applying for a fiance visa, since my GF's course will last 2 years and in all other respects (apart from her living in me) she will be a regular international student.

Does anyone have any experience of this situation, or can make any suggestions? If her coming to the UK to study is not a viable propossition I will possibly end up walking away from an interesting business opportunity and relocating to Thailand (which is not the end of the world ) but I am trying to explore all options before committing myself.

I am planning my relocation to Thailand and am looking to rent a mailbox here so that I can give a forwarding address for my UK mail. The UK mail will only use a single address for mail redirection, it cannot easily be changed later (as far as I am aware). This causes a problem since my intention is to rent a serviced place for 2 months whilst finding a more permanent regular apartment.

I think the solution is to have a dedicated mailbox, and I have seen some places offering this service. Does anyone have any experience regarding reliability etc. and likely costs?

You pay bills by cash or money transfer using phone or atm or direct debit.  Very few people in Thailand are willing to accept checks so not having them is not a problem of major proportions.  For those without atm or phone or debit ability there is the local 7-11 with bill payment service for very low fee.

Electron type debit cards are the only freely available type of cards for foreigners and protection from fraud seems to be more your problem than the bank so do not use myself.

Overseas credit cards, as least from the USA, have found they can charge a foreign use fee making many useless for long term use here (plus many places not accepting foreign cards or requesting you pay the bank fees of 3-5 percent off bill).

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Ok well that clears up part of what I was thinking, I had assumed that Direct Debits would be problematic on a non current account (as can be the case in the UK), so provided that you obtain a savings account with direct debit potential then bill payments should be fairly straightforward.

I agree with the Debit Card comment, I never use them in the UK myself and have no intention of bearing sole responsibility for fraud etc that seems to accompany their use.

Some transactions however are essentially credit card related I am particularly thinking of things like hotels or car hire. I can imagine that car hire would be a lesser problem here, but surely every decent hotel requests a credit card upon check in and would view cash settlement of bills a little odd?

I guess another question raised is the difficulty in obtaining a current account for business use (Thai Company) but I guess that is another topic

My current plan is to relocate to Thailand within the next 2 to 3 months where I will be both a bona fide student (Chula Masters) and intend to establish a Thai Company for consulting work and obtain a work permit on the back of this. As a result I will almost certainly opt for a B rather than ED Visa.

My query is how do Expats here manage their banking? As I understand it a proper current account is hard to get and local credit cards all but impossible without lots of history here (and even difficult then). I find it hard to imagine not having a current account for regular payments (e.g. contract mobile, rental payments, utilities etc.), and the lack of a current account must cause problems when obtaining said services.

I know I can keep my UK based credit cards, but I wonder how willing the card companies will be to maintain accounts once they know I am no longer UK resident (i.e. once I formally change my address with them). Is there any way to obtain a Thai based credit card (to avoid currency translation fees and simplify banking arrangements)? Given the riskiness of the local market I would have thought that arrangements similar to those for the credit impaired elsewhere in the world (e.g. credit card account opened initially with a cash deposit with increasing credit limit for good conduct, etc.) could work well here.

All advice would be appreciated. I could probably sort out something with HSBC my UK bank, but for various reasons would prefer not to use them if there is any other alternative.

If you're in the States, the easiest visa to get is a "B" visa. At one of the honourary consulates (Denver highly recommended), where zero extra paperwork is required, or like LA, where only a letter of intent or a letter of invitation on a business letterhead is required, last I heard. Things have changed a lot in this area lately, so....

My last visa from the States was a "B", and I've had no problems getting extensions, and tomorrow I'll be using it to get my retirement visa. Pretty flexible, it seems. Maybe more flexible than an 'Ed'...

Have fun being a student at Chula. Certainly a campus teeming with beautiful sights 

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Will be getting the visa in the UK but assuming I will have no problems at Hull. My current GF is I think one of the nicer sights at Chula Thanks for the advice

I am currently trying to decide between 2 visa approaches for what i expect to become an open ended stay in Thailand based in Bangkok. My intention is to complete a Masters Programme at Chula (to add to my existing MBA) whilst further researching business opportunities and learning Thai. I would like if at all possible to have the option to gain new clients for my existing consultancy business (obviously having established a Thai Company and obtained a Work Permit, prior to doing any work).

I seem to have 2 choices, either an ED or Non IMM B Visa. I assume that if I choose an ED visa I will have problems with the work element of my plan, and should I find an appropriate business or recruit local clients I will then need to obtain a Non IMM B visa at a later date in order to obtain a work permit? I am thus considering ignoring the possibility of the ED Visa and just taking a Non IMM B (which I assume will not be too problematic since I have a potential $300k to invest).

I wonder in the longer term though which approach would be preferable, particularly in respect of building a residence history for a potential PR application at a later date.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Please accept my apologies but I am probably about to unleash several tedious threads as I try to get better hard information on likely monthly costs of life in Bangkok before relocating in the next 2 to 3 months.

I am interested in finding the typical cost of a maid (both live in and live out) in Bangkok and also the typical cost of a driver for a normal 5 day a week gig. I have run a search but didn't find anything particularly helpful so I have had to post here.

It would be enormously helpful also to get a feel for the typical cost of electricity (2 to 3 bed apartment, using AC quite a bit) and other utilities e.g. High Speed Internet, Telephone, UBC etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

For me the best fast food is:-

Sandwiches - O'Briens - Urban Kitchen, Hyatt Erewan for British/Irish style sandwiches rather than the more US oriented fare on offer at Subway

Thai - S&P Patio

Sushi - Fuji, never been a fan of Oishi or Zen for some reason, Oishi Grand is nice but more like a pigathon than fast food

Pizza - Pizza Company, better Pizza here than in UK IMHO, if only there was a Dominos or Pizza Express

Starbucks - since I just hate Thai coffee and am partial to a cake or 2

I try and avoid the burger emporia if possible, McD's is especilly poor here, I really must try a BK one day but it's not the most important thing on my to do list.

Places I would like to see here: -

Nando's Piri Piri - I suspect this could be popular with local tastes and operates as a cheap fast food outlet in ZA where it originated

Harry Ramsden's or other good quality fish and chip shop

The aforementioned Dominos or Pizza Express

What is your academic background? Do you have a first degree? If so one way of going about things would be to consider pitching a PhD on SE AsiAn anthropology, pick an area of interest and use your work to test a hypothesis. The problem is if this is not an academic project it isn't really education in the purest sense is it? If it was I am sure there would be a number of PROSPECTIVE MA's in the field of GoGo Bar interaction etc. seeking ED visas too

Just because something is a learning experience does not make it "education" per se. As I understand it the ED visa is about formal study rather than self directed learning of the type you propose. Your area of "study" may have more credibility if you had some concrete results of your time in Africa (e.g. a thesis) rather than simply observations.

I don't want to be offensive but what you propose sounds much more like "directed backpacking" to me rather than study in any normal sense. Why not get a multi entry tourist visa?

I in no way intend to belittle the suffering of those who have been through a dreadful experience with the Tsunami but as a business person and being a bit mercenary about this, I assume similar properties are over extended around the Andaman region and are ill placed to cope with the loss of tourist numbers. This strikes me as a great opportunity to buy a hotel at Fire Sale prices (and of course, philanthropist that I am re-engage those poor staff who have been fired).

The question I suppose is one of timing, at this stage in the cycle following the disaster and clarification of immediate property damage, the unprepared may be depending upon hope/reckless optimism for a reasonable finish to the high season. My assumption is that the best time to be looking to buy would be mid way through the low season when things should really start to bite. What do others think?

Again I will add the caveat that the only misfortune I am seeking to profit from here is those who were greedy/foolish enough to overextend themselves in the first place. I appreciate that this could be a very sensitive subject. Buying a tourist business in this region even at a low price would not be without significant risk (in estimating when tourist numbers would start to grow strongly again), but perhaps offers a way of helping the employees of that business as well as myself. If anyone feels this is offensive or in poor taste I will be happy to delete this post, but i hope it is clear where I am coming from here.

Thai Air has highest prices I've seen by far.  Great airline, but seriously over priced!

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Great airline? R U 4 real?

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Obviously doesn't get to fly with the good ones to see what real service is like!!

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Actually I think TG F is pretty fantastic overall service and on the refitted aircraft which fly to LHR, FRA and sometimes HKG even the seat is an acceptable 180 degree flatbed.

I fly mainly with BA, QF and AY (Finnair) and hold gold status with all 3 major airline alliances. I would still choose Thai in F over any other carrier at a comparable price. As well as fantastic onboard service (although unfortunately the cuter cabin crew seem stuck at the back), the overall package is pretty amazing too

1) Return Limo Transfers to/from Don Muang in a good quality mercedes

2) Helpful concierge at BKK to meet you from the kerbside and escort you all the way to the lounge

3) The best lounge of any airline at BKK

4) Complimentary in lounge massage

5) Private transfer to the plane if it is not on an airbridge

6) Expedited immigration upon arrival at BKK

7) Complimentary golf cart and hand luggage assitance upon arrival into Don Muang (and some other international destinations)

8) Choice of 20+ pre orderable menu items as well as around 8 onboard meal selections

9) Great wine selection (unlike BA increasingly these days)

I could go on but as a BKK-LHR-BKK return all at a price below that for business class ex LHR. Service at least in F on TG IS fantastic.

Thai Air has highest prices I've seen by far.  Great airline, but seriously over priced!

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All airlines charge relatively high rates from their home base. BA do it in London, Emirates in Dubai etc etc. Simple economics really, the assumption being that most customers would rather travel with their "national carrier" and will pay a premium for the privilege.

I entered Thailand on this trip on the 3rd December and due to unforseen issues had to extend my stay. I thus travelled to Singapore on the 2nd Jan (but found I had inadvertently overstayed by 1 day). This caused no problem and no fee was charged.

Upon my return from Singapore after spending the day and night there, I had a strange experience at Immigration. As my passport was scanned there was a beep, and this happened several times. I was a bit worried because of the previous accidental overstay and the fact that this was the first time I have needed to do a visa run in this way.

I was then asked which flight I arrived on, which seemed to cause some confusion. I should have been flying with Finnair from Singapore but had been rebooked with Swiss due to a cancellation, as a result the times had changed and made my arrival earlier than expected (this is part of my problem which I will come to later). It seemed as though they expected me to be arriving on the later flight though, which makes me slightly paranoid.

Because my flight arrived at 10.30pm rather than midnight as expected I have "lost" a day of my stay. I really need to stay for a further day (due to my onward tickets) and this is my core problem.

Do I try to extend my stay here officially by a few days, or do I take my chances at the airport again? I am reluctant to just take my chances because I am going home to arrange my B visa next month and I do not want any complications. Nor do I really want to deliberately overstay.

If I officially extend my stay again, how do I go about this?

Hope someone can help.

Thanks for advice, I want to travel Dubai-Bangkok one way, I only intend to stay in Thailand a few weeks then onward to Tokyo then back to Thailand again with full visa.

Have you not purchased the BKK-Tokyo ticket yet? If you have then you have nothing to worry about. If you havn't your taking a chance by trying to board in Dubai without an onward ticket...........if they do insist on an onward ticket your going to have a mad rush around Dubai airport to buy one. Why dont you get a double entry visa before leaving then your fully covered for the first and second visit when you return from Tokyo.

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But in the age of electronic tickets what do you have physically to show anyone? If you are travelling across 2 different carriers, then there is no way you can "prove" you have an onward ticket even if you possess one, if it has been e-ticketed.

The printed e-ticket itinerary could be knocked up by anyone with MS Word, not that I am suggesting this in any way. It just seems a bit of an anachronism that this requirement exists (and in my experience is rarely enforced), but TIT so obviously could become strict at any time.