PadPrikKhing

I just re-entered Thailand from a 2-day trip to Malaysia. It was uneventful; the immigration officer simply stamped me in on a visa-exempt entry. But now I have my landlady urging me to update my TM.30. The thing is, when I study a TM.30, I see that it is a form that is meant to be filled out and submitted by the Thai property owner, not by me as a foreigner. So why would I have to update it? It sounds like the landlord/owner's responsibility. I think I've gotten her to agree that it is she who has to submit it, but she (correctly) points out that one thing the form requires is a TM.6 (arrival card) number, and she says I need to give that to her. The problem with that is, no one ever presented me with a TM.6 anywhere... not on the plane I was on coming back from Malaysia today, or anywhere else. It has never been mentioned. I recall that in the distant past these were handed out on the plane as it approached Thailand to land, but I have not seen that happen at all on my current trip (which started in October last year). I finally gave her a photograph of the Receipt of Notification that I was given on my last trip to Immigration, and she says that this is what they need to update. But I don't think she understands the process any better than I do.

It certainly does for me (though I only vape and don't smoke)... my voice becomes low and husky and almost unrecognizable to me. And I speak more slowly because that coating of resin slows the reaction time of the vocal cords.

This is what I am really wanting, but when I approached two different agents in Chiang Mai now that the time is ripe, I was told by both that there is some kind of crackdown on this deal going on right now. One of them suggested if I just wait a month or so, the tension around this will have eased and I can probably get it again. So I am thinking of getting the 30-day ext, then about 26 days from now go out of the country for a couple days by plane, come back on a plane, then do 45 or maybe 45+30 again, and then during that period do the Non-O thing either the conventional way or the "unconventional way."

Got it, thanks for your help.

Yes, retirement. I don't yet have a Thai bank account, no. That was always described as being something that would be taken care of by whatever agent I got. To be perfectly candid, I had been planning to go with the agent workaround deal where I wouldn't have to actually put the money in the bank. But now that I'm here and asking agents about that, I'm suddenly hearing that there are difficulties in getting that deal, so I will probably have to do it the conventional way. I see you're not mentioning the two months or whatever of "seasoning" the funds had to do before, so I'm guessing that requirement is not there anymore and I merely have to transfer the money...?

Okay yes, that makes sense... because I don't recall having a TM30 on me at the time back then. This time I will have one in my hand. Thanks.

Noted, thanks. Everyone likes a helpful immigration office (as oppsoed to a hostile, unhelpful one! Which I've heard some can be)

Yes, hopefully all they will want is the TM30 which I will have. Would you mind addressing the following? It is really my main concern: I obviously do not not have that 21 days right now. Can I get this 30-day extension on my current stay and then immediately apply for the Non-O, at that point having 30 more days to afford me that 21 days? Or do I need to leave the country again for a short time and then come in and do the visa-exempt entry yet again? My passport is quite clean, it was totally empty and new when I got to Thailand October 4, so it's not like this is my 10th time leaving and coming back in or anything like that. What I would like to do is get this 30-day extension, then before that runs out, just fly to Cambodia for a couple of days and then come back in and do another 45+30, which will give me plenty of time to do the Non-O process. Can I do that?

DrJack54 said: This is tourist type extensions and most tourists would not have a lease. Yes, most wouldn't, but is it risky to admit that my longer-term plan is to get a Non-O and retirement extension, so I'm renting a house in order to save money? Does that set off alarms of some kind? (Not that I've said that to anyone in immigration, but it seems they will know the difference between a house and hotels for sure)

Good point What I recall was that I had to show them a printed-out copy of the rental agreement, but that there was also a requirement for something called "house registration" and/or "copy of owner's ID," but I was renting a condo at the time and something the condo management sent was sufficient to satisfy it, not sure if it was a TM-30 or something else.

DrJack54 or anyone: Does Chiang Mai not require a copy of the rental agreement? You didn't mention that. It was necessary in Jomtien the last time I did this. You also didn't reply regarding the "house registration" thingy... also something I experienced having demanded from me in Jomtien... but maybe I don't recall well and a TM-30 took care of that. It was a whirlwind and I don't remember exactly how that shook out. But now I'm in Chiang Mai and I know different provincial immigration offices can have different policies.

I d I did. I did a border run to Laos at Chiang Khong/Huay Xai on December 16. Okay, that resolves that one since I left Thailand for an hour and came back in on Dec 16, it was not yet 90 days (I arrived in Thailand on October 4). I will actually have a paper copy, so all the better. Thanks. The above all seems easy enough. There is a TM6 stub stapled into my passport It is going to be a retirement based Non-O, but I obviously don't have time this cycle to do that. Right now I'm just getting the 30-day extension so that I can have breathing room and time to get the Non-O. If I have to fly to Cambodia and spend a couple of days to do it all again and get 75 more days, I will. I obviously do not not have that 21 days right now. Can I get this 30-day extension on my current stay and then immediately apply for the Non-O, at that point having 30 more days to afford me that 21 days? Or do I need to leave the country again for a short time and then come in and do the visa-exempt entry yet again? My passport is quite clean, it was totally empty and new when I got to Thailand October 4, so it's not like this is my 10th time leaving and coming back in or anything like that. What I would like to do is get this 30-day extension, then before that runs out, just fly to Cambodia for a couple of days and then come back in and do another 45+30, which will give me plenty of time to do the Non-O process. Can I do that?

I'm concerned because I don't feel like I have a grip on this. My current (visa-exempt entry) stamp expires on January 29th. I'm in Chiang Mai. I have rented a house here. My end goal here is the 1-year retirement extension. I did this (30-day extension) process before in Jomtien (this is my second round of visa exempt/30-day extension; I did a border run before, but this time I hope to get the Non-O before that would be necessary but if I need to do another run to get 75 more days in which to get the Non-O, I will) and there was a document required called "house owner registration" and/or "house owner's ID"... I am not sure my landlady even knows what this is and so I'm worried about getting it from her in time. I plan to go to immigration on Monday. A printed TM-30 will be supplied to me Monday before I enter the immigration office; am I mixed up and that somehow takes care of the "house registration" thing as well? Do I also need a copy of the rental agreement? I seem to recall that from Jomtien also. Possibly complicating matters (?) is that I failed to recognize January 4 as my 90-day mark being in the country and I did not file a TM-90. Is this going to complicate my request for an extension? Should I hurry and do it right now online? Is there a penalty for being late with it? Thank you

I want to use a 500W one to run a Sony stereo receiver that I shipped over here (I know, I know...) that draws 220W max power. I don't want to use a 300W transformer with it, as that's not enough margin for my taste. Also, 500W models are only a couple of hundred baht more than 300W models. So that one would only be in use when I watch TV or a movie and run sound through it. The smaller one I am going to use to just run a small 40W dry herb vaporizer, and it, again, will always be "supervised" when on.

Right, I keep my eye on that too.