expat_4_life

I guess each immigration office may have their own rules in this regard. But Chaeng Wattana and prior to that Suan Plu (before they moved) have always accepted prefilled and printed word formated forms dating back to over 20 years ago. Once upon a time these forms were shared widely on TV. I'm still using the same ones I got 20+ years ago, TM7 TM8 and TM47. I print them out and sign them in the presence of the IO with whatever pen they provide. Never had a problem.

Condo owner so no tax relief for solar possible, but Section 4 is interesting, pretty sure it applies to many things like AC's, refrigerators, TV's, rice cookers and all manner of electrical goods/appliances that have that 5 star label. At least that is what AI confirmed - All items with the 5 Star label. Wife gonna be saving up all her receipts.

Rather than worry about what could/might happen if the visa exempt is changed to 30 days you could consider applying for a single entry tourist visa (SETV) and put your mind at ease. You still have plenty of time to get one. It's all done online and should not take more than a week. Cost is 30 GBP. https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/tourist-single-entry-visa

Be sure to give consideration when Changing Banks for annual extension as outlined in this current thread. https://aseannow.com/topic/1387749-changing-banks-for-annual-extension/#comment-20383953

How long from the time you depart Singapore until you plan to enter Thailand? Last time I applied for a NON-O (long time ago) it was valid for 90 days, meaning you had 90 days to enter after it is issued. Think it still true. Depending on your schedule why not obtain your NON-O in Singapore before you depart for the UK, time permitting?

I find the topic interesting, my experience with LLMs have proved frustrating. There are studies appearing that look at various theories about the shortcomings of LLMs. Here are a few: 1) LLMs can get "Brain Rot" https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.13928 https://llm-brain-rot.github.io/ https://x.com/alex_prompter/status/1980224548550369376 2) Moloch's Bargain https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.06105 https://x.com/james_y_zou/status/1975939603363463659 3) Large Language Model Reasoning Failures https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2602.06176 https://x.com/godofprompt/status/2020764704130650600 Bottom line, don't rely on the LLMs to get anything right.

Look at it this way. Every time you obtain an extension you make an implicit promise to maintain financial requirements for the next year, which they retroactively check when you renew. Now you want to switch to money in the bank method. Well, then you would have to retroactively meet the 800k requirements when you show up at immigration for your next extension, which is 800k for 3 months after and 2 months before next application and never below 400k for the remaining time. The IO was correct - your account dropped below the 800k during the 3 months after requirement so you can not use the money in the bank method next time you renew. Keep making those transfers.

I think you might be leaving a bit of a tight schedule, arriving on Tuesday night (24th), paying on Wednesday morning (25th) and expecting to be all done on the Friday ... personal opinion. Guess it depends on how flexible your schedule/flights are and if you want to be potentially stuck there over a whole weekend. Here is a recent thread from a forum member obtaining a NON-O there https://aseannow.com/topic/1378342-proof-of-funds-non-o-laos-evisa/

Look, I don't know for sure, but I would not despair quite yet. Check your account again - on my internet banking there are 2 balances, Ledger Balance and Available Balance. I'm guessing 407k and 7k in your case. It's likely that the ledger balance will show the total amount and that when you update the passbook it will show the ledger balance, even though all the funds are not available (as you agreed to freeze 400k). I'd go update the passbook and see what it shows. Somehow I think you'll be OK. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

each time you enter through immigration you get 60 days, until the METV expires of course

No requirement to apply 2 weeks in advance for an extension. I've done it myself just a couple of days before it expires. You can still keep a close eye on the appointments, sometimes a time slot opens up. You might get lucky if you're looking to reschedule for an earlier date.

I was conflating obtaining a NON-O here with arriving on one. thanks guys

Have you skipped the fact this is his first extension and entered on a NON-O? My understanding was that the first extension must show funds originating abroad? Have I got that wrong?

ผมเรียนมาแล้วประมาณ 18 เดือน เหมือนกับคุณ แต่เป็นเมื่อนานมาแล้ว

ใช่ ใช่ ส่วนใหญ่พวกเขาขี้เกียจ แต่พวกเขามีข้ออ้างมากมาย เช่น - ผมแก่เกินไปแล้ว - ไม่มีเวลาศึกษา - ไม่สำคัญขนาดนั้น ภรรยาพูดอังกฤษได้ รายการข้ออ้างยาวเกินไป

OOPS, I somehow doubt that this was the kind of behavior/publicity the pageant organizers and contestants were expecting. 🤡 world

Personally, I never had a motivation to study Thai except as a practical matter because I always intended to make my home here. If it takes relationship building to motivate you, that's fine. There are plenty of other benefits that being able to speak and function without a wife/gf/partner along provide, gives you independence. If you feel like you're stuck and not progressing, then some amount of proper instruction is probably the only way forward. There are plenty of schools around. Consider it a long term project. Learning to read and write is a giant leap forward as the system is mostly phonetic, allows you to get correct tones etc. When I did my studies long ago they still had the government P6 exam, a 6th grade primary education exam. It was discontinued many years ago though and not sure it has any official replacement. Passing that exam was my personal goal. Assuming you have the time, language study is well worth the effort.

Sounds like a nice pretext to smear/sideline/eliminate/prosecute his political opposition as he runs for Prime Minister in the projected early 2026 elections.

I was up at a major bookstore (Barnes & Noble) recently, I asked the clerk if they had Trumps new book on how to deport illegal immigrants. She immediately replied "Get the fawk out and don't come back" To which I replied, yeah, that's the one, u have it in paperback?

It would have to be my Cannabis Styled Rolex Rolex Weed.mp4

wow, those comments are an eye opener, NGL Seems the Israelis are not exactly winning the "hearts and minds" of the Thais

Here I thought /s was short for short-timer - ya know like some peeps like ending their posts with their name, like Bob or Eric

Very misleading, he may well have made such statements but is not a Putin adviser. He is a Russian political scientist who heads the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy - a Russian think tank.

Unless there is a last minute political deal of some fashion, I expect chaos - perhaps not wide spread but in some areas for sure. Some states already don't criminalize shoplifting under $1,000 - so suspect there will be a noticeable rise in such incidents, at least in some places. A new X account @EBTofTikTok is posting videos of people voicing their opinions on the matter. This woman can't wait for the looting to start.

I anxiously await the day he openly admits that he regrets returning to Thailand and re-entering the political arena.