Leveraged

Pretty cool site right there, but are you actually booked on a flight or is it just a "dummy ticket" with no actual booking? My employer issued me a ticket to thailand last time and used a "dummy ticket" for the return leg, as proof of onward travel, and the airline actually held me up and called around to confirm if this was a real booked ticket. They found out it wasn't and I had to buy a legitimate ticket standing right at the check in counter or they wouldnt let me board the flight. Might be ok for the visa application though.

What about this question, which is kinda important to me and im struggling to find a firm answer:

@ubonjoe I just want to confirm that I can use any ole refundable ticket to obtain the e-visa, then once obtained, refund the ticket and then once Im actually ready to travel and apply for the Thailand Pass, buy the necessary flights. Obviously these flights would be completely different than the ones used for the e-visa, both in airline and date. Second question, since ill be going on a 90 day Non-O, will I be required to show proof of onward travel? The airlines have been seriously cracking down on this in my experience thus far.

What about the validity length of the visa? Is it one year like normal with the 90 clock starting the day you stamp in? Other than the flight booking requirement, this is the second important question. If its good for a year then Ill use my second passport and apply right now, but if not, then I need to know.....

Couple of questions regarding getting this non-o based on marriage through the e-visa site. Early in the process on the site it asks for flight details. Due to the nature of my work, it’s not possible to book tickets 15 days out. I’d need to buy refundable tickets to apply for the visa, then once the visa is obtained, refund the flights. Then once my travel date is confirmed, buy new tickets for the Thailand pass system. Is the above statement ok to do? Or is the visa itself completely tied to the flights booked and used to apply for the visa itself on the evisa website? Another question, the visa is a single entry Non-O for 90 days. How long is the visa itself valid for? 1 year? 6 months? 3 months? Need to know this so I know how far out I can apply for the evisa. It it’s valid for a year then I’ll apply for it as soon as I leave Thailand. If it’s only 3 months then I’ve got to pay attention to the timing and apply in such a manner that I arrive before the visa validity expires. Lastly, the Thailand pass and Thailand e visa are separate entities right? I can get the visa on one set of tickets, then apply for Thailand pass on another set of tickets and this is ok right? I really want to get the non-o AND THEN book the real flights for the Thailand pass. otherwise if I’ve got to use the same flights for both the e visa AND Thailand pass, this becomes impossible. I would then have to come to Thailand on 30 day exempt then apply for a non-o in country which is a massive pain in the ass and ultimately what I’m trying to avoid. Any advice or answers very much appreciated.

@ubonjoe How long from start to finish does it take to get a Non-O on the e-visa website? 15 days? Longer? Shorter? Going through the website right now they are demanding flight numbers (paid for!) and fixed entry dates and exit dates for a Non-O.... Can these dates be easily adjusted later or is it a one time thing where you need to confirm it and stay with it.

Ive got the seasoned money, but its concerning about only having 3 days to apply for the 1 year extention. Everything ive read states that a persons needs to start the process at least 15 days before the end of the visa, and phuket immigration says 21 days before the end of the visa.

Most likely more than 90 days. so you’re saying I can get a single re-entry permit on a 90 day single entry Non-o visa, issued in-country, from either phuket immigration or suvarnabhumi airport (?) and as long as I re-enter before the 90 days are up, I can then still do the 1 year extention? Say I re-enter on the 87th day, now long will they stamp my passport for? Will it be enough time remaining to actually apply for the 1 year extention?

Because I am never here long enough to get to the point of 1 year extension. Right now for example I go back to phuket immigration on the 16th of Feb to get the 90 day Non-O stamp, but my employer wants me to travel on March 10th-March 15th. So Ill have to leave before I can get to the point where I can even apply for the 1 year extension. Im never here long enough to get that far. So getting a 90 day single entry Non-O based on marriage is done online now? All documents are uploaded online? Nothing sent by mail or in person?

The last 3 times I entered thailand, I came on a 30 day exempt entry, then painstakingly swapped from that to an in-country Non-O. The process is maddening, overly time consuming, and im tired of it. I am now looking for recommendations from anyone at all who has used a local American agency in the USA to get their Non-O from Washington DC ( or any embassy for that matter ) I never go back to the USA so would need to use an agent, and I have a second valid American passport, so I would be using that as well so that I can still travel around for work on my origional main 10 year passport. Can anyone recommend an agency in the US that can handle all this for me? I figured I would ask this forum first before I start calling around to different agencies asking questions and spending alot of time on it. Obviously once the visa is in the second passport I would have either the agent, or a friend in the States, DHL me the passport to the country Im working in so that when I do go back to thailand I have the second passport in hand for entry. Any advice would be appreciated, and I have all documents needed, just looking for agency advice or any way im not seeing to get this done.

The agent can compile all the documents, fill them out, send them to me to be signed, proofread and check everything, and then submit to the embassy. Once the time comes for the interview, we will all of course be there for it. My time is high valuable so if theres an agent (and I know there are) who can facilitate this, I would really appreciate reccomendations or personal stories.

Ok do you have a name or any kind of reference?

Im looking for an agent, a reputable one, to handle all the paperwork needed to get my daughter her American Passport. I want to provide them with the necessary info and have them fill out all the forms and do everything on my behalf and then send the the document package to sign and for them to take care of everything for me. I dont mind spending the money in exchange for the convenience of not having to spend hours on my computer while also trying to work and be productive. Can anyone recommend an agent they used personally, and the cost they paid? Im looking for minimal work on my part aside from signing where necessary and providing whatever proof documents are needed. Any assistance would be appreciated

Ok good news, went on Monday, last date stamped in the passport with all the docs needed (power of attorney & tax stamp, rental agreement, etc,) and was successful, then got the 3o day extension. Took several hours though, arrived at 08:40 and didnt get out until 12:00 when they took lunch. So everything is set for me to start the transfer to Non-O in about 7-10 days.

@DrJack54 Had advice that made seemed sound - book a hotel and ask for proof of TM30 before going to immigration. I was about to do just that before creating this.

Last time I went through this process it was 14 days before Non-O expires, but I think Phuket demands at least 21 days.

It is common everywhere, you just ask around for reliable agents, communicate the required paperwork, and send your passport and documents via EMS to them. Its risky, but if the alternative is being told to leave the country, its not so bad. Obviously one should do things the best way possible but if youre in a bind, there are options. Thats all the point im trying to make.

I do, and do my yearly FBAR on it as well.

I dont want to argue but in Phuket its done all the time. This is true, they send your docs to their "friends" at multiple immigration offices for a kickback. Also True, but in the future my comments can give him a viable option if he doest mind to spend a little money in return for simplicity.

Was it a regular extension or a "covid" extension? Im going tomorrow morning to see if I can get the extention to work with just the normal paperwork and what the landlord provided. If not, then Ill rush the TM30 myself at the 11th hour on monday. Either way Im going to do my damndest to get it sorted because in my case a week or so after I get this done I have to go straight into changing over to a Non-O Based on marriage, then 1 year extensions. So I need the TM30 sorted properly anyway.

Very much is the case. A good agent (and they cost 20K plus) can get around the 400k or 800k extension issue. Legality is questionable but its common enough practice that there are loads of locals who make a decent living getting foreigners around the problem.

The common way to solve the money issue is to use an Agent. Ask around on facebook expat groups for referrals. I commonly use agents to get around this because I cant stand dead useless money sitting around losing value.

Is the landlord supposed to provide some kind of receipt after he does the TM30 online? He sent me a screenshot from his phone of what looks like some kind of confirmation page with my name and passport number but its rather unofficial looking. Is he supposed to give me some kind of document or anything to take to immigration? Or will they just look at their database at immigration and see if im registered anywhere and I dont need to bring anything? This is so convoluted...

Can someone urgently let me know when exactly im on overstay? The date stamped in my Passport is January 17th. So I would be on overstay at midnight as soon as the date rolls over? Meaning I can still go to immigration on the 17th (last date in passport stamp) and get extended with no issues? Or is there some "rule" that you've got to go 1 day before your last stamped day? @ubonjoe

Couple of urgent questions: The last day of my 30 day visa exempt entry (American) is the 17th of January (Monday) I didn't realize (own fault) that I had to RE-DO the whole TM30 process (Power of attorney, tax stamp, Landlord documents) after doing it 6 months ago before I left Thailand. Because of this, I never checked with my landlord to make sure he did it online when I arrived. He naturally did not. So now its the 13th and I need to reprocess the TM30 so that I can ONLY THEN apply for a 30 day extension of stay at phuket immigration. Landlord is out of town, but is offering to report me online right now, but im not sure if this will be enough lead time to actually be registered into immigrations system before I need to apply for a 30 day extension. How long does it take to register online and be all accountable for at immigration? Can I to go immigration on my last day stamped on my passport? Or do I need to go one day before the last stamped date to get the 30 day extension? If I go a day or 2 overstay before I can manage to sort this all out, will this overstay exclude me from registering the TM30 and getting the 30 day extension?