expat_4_life

Kinda does my head in too, one cud even argue that a permanent resident shud not require a re-entry at all - but the rules are what they are, cuz the bureaucrats the world over make the rules, we mugs are just here to follow them. And yeah, airport is a good option - one I've never availed myself of simply because I've always had time to get a re-entry beforehand and that gives me the comfort of no glitch at the airport.

Wouldn't have expected that, but live and learn - thanks for that tidbit/correction.

@MikeyIdeaIf you go to CW on any given day for any service without an appointment the only guarantee u get is that if u have a queue number, they will service u same day. Alternatively u can make an appointment, re-entry is advertised as 40 minutes. My experience for re-entry permits is usually about an hour (without appointment), but that's no guarantee. Except for bad luck, I would expect arriving at 10.30, getting in the queue, that I would be done before noon. Far as I know Immigration is not in the business of retaining passports for any reason - you submit your passport and wait until it is returned to you. If u want a Monday drop-off and to retrieve it some days later my best advice is use an agent. Far as I know (don't have permanent residency myself) you can obtain a re-entry at the airport if none of the above options are satisfactory.

Turning to German unification, Baker assures Gorbachev that “neither the president nor I intend to extract any unilateral advantages from the processes that are taking place,” and that the Americans understand the importance for the USSR and Europe of guarantees that “not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.”

It's also worth noting the date of the article, 2017, before the current conflict in Ukraine (since 2022 anyway). "Not one inch forward" was a deal that was made, pretty clear if one reads this article.

I'm thinking that these days almost every Thai "private" tutor is online, in that sense location does not matter. I looked at tutors some time back, average is about 5-600 baht @ hour. The thai language centers/schools in more central Bangkok offer courses typically about 4 weeks, 2 hours @ day, around 7000 Baht month. Prior to Covid I had some Sukhumvit area schools I would recommend, but the lockdowns put almost all of them out of business. A friend who recently arrived has been studying at ALA language school (located in the Trendy building Sukhumvit Soi 13), group lessons. He is steadily progressing.

It's in the "business operators" interest to complain about vendors, they offer a cheap alternative to boutique restaurants, hotel restaurants, shopping malls, you name it. They don't want you satisfying your hunger or shopping needs cheaper than they can do it. I for one do think they should be regulated in some fashion but not to the detriment of family supporting/run small business operators.

Bank offices are on a 3 day weekend, Fri-Sun, back to work on Monday. By law they cannot close in excess of 4 days.

Generally speaking I'm not a big fan of these "beautification" projects, they seem to avoid calling them what they are, which is more like "gentrification". I'm not saying that in some areas it is not out of control, it can become a nuisance, and maybe requires better regulation. However, it's the permanent structures today, then another excuse tomorrow - end goal it seems is frequently to be rid of them. On my Soi, they just came through and kicked out the remainder of the street stalls. They've been slowly chipping away at it for 10 years. They've also chased the local fresh market from one location to another - one day it too will be gone. IMHO they should find a creative way to keep the street food vendors and neighborhood markets in business. It's part of the culture, a major convenience and provides income for many Thai familys. Maybe it's just me, However these local businesses promote walking, allow the vendors to be self sufficient, and keeps cars off the road.

Of course the US is meddling in Thai elections, they inject millions of dollars into their pet NGOs. This is well known. The ambassador is telling porkies. Did it swing the election? Can't say. If Thailand is concerned about foreign influence in their elections then they should give all the NGOs the boot, kick them out.

Useful link, thanks.

Thanks for that, 2.23 is same as number 23 on the website, right? Is it available on visa exempt entry? Nice, one year, that should be more than sufficient to see to family matters.

They are a US passport holder, so visa exempt entry is an option. Are you saying that they can do a passport switch at the border, leave Thailand on their US passport and enter say Cambodia on their Thai passport? I like this option if I understand correctly as no visits to immigration if done in the first 30 days.

Dare I say, undetermined? Basically until the trip evolves into a requirement to extend their stay that involves international travel or border bounces.

I know a Thai national who will be visiting their elderly parents. They have been away for almost 3 decades and now have a foreign passport they wish to travel on. For whatever reason, renewing their Thai passport and ID card is not an option prior to travel - they plan to do it when they return. I know about 30 day extensions to visa exempt and tourist visas. I've also read threads about Thai family spouse and/or children and the 60 day extension option. I also know they may get asked for a TM30. I'm thinking the longest they can stay without leaving Thailand is visa exempt or tourist visa (30 or 60 days) + extension (30 days) + some sort of other extension (60 days) - 120 or 150 days total. Checking the immigration website at https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714 I find two extension options listed that I assume they can qualify for, numbers 4 and 23. In the case of a person who used to have Thai nationality or whose parent is or was of Thai nationality visiting relatives or returning to his or her original homeland. They would qualify under number 4 if entering on a tourist visa and I assume under number 23 if they enter visa exempt. Three questions: Can they qualify under number 23 on a visa exempt entry? (No entry condition specified) Are both of these "Thai Nationality" extension options 60 days? Is this all about right, have I missed anything else out?

Prigozhin over played his hand, that about the extent of the story. He's been a thorn in the side of the Russian Ministry of Defense for months with his public statements and outbursts. The MoD had already made moves to renew the Wagner forces contracts with the MOD and not the Wagner PMC group. Prigozhin knew his fame and fortune were coming to an end and thought he'd have his way. Lucky for him that his fate is living in exile and not rotting in a prison.

In the midst of a surge in inflation, increasing the money supply seems ill-advised.

Who knows, but a majority of murders are committed by people they know or were close to. Hope they find the husband, a likely suspect.

We may get another Shinawatra, and Tony may be back in town. If this happens I fear we are in for some serious political turmoil.

What would one expect Dorsey to say as he launches his own new social media platform in direct competition to twitter? Big attention grabbing headline but little or no substance to the article except that Dorsey supported Musks takeover when it happened. Only criticism seems to be of the subscription model.

I spoke to a legal firm here in Bangkok, the woman lawyer I spoke with advised to take your power of attorney to the Thai Embassy in the UK to get it completed. A consulate would likely suffice. Good luck, hope you see your wife and daughter soon

“Both countries have been Thailand’s good friends all along. Both are important to Thailand historically and economically. Therefore, we need to maintain our friendship with both,” said Korn Chatikavanij , leader of Chartpattanakla Party and its prime minister candidate. Korn Chatikavanij seems to understand that picking sides between China and the US is not beneficial to Thailand. I would agree. Nice campaign rhetoric. I notice he did not mention Russia though. I wonder what his position on the Ukraine war is?

I assume what you mean by "I entered Thailand previously on a "marriage visa" stayed in dozens of hotels and never had this problem." is that you reentered Thailand on a re-entry visa thus resuming your permission to stay based on marriage (you did mention extending 10 years). If this is true you would be doing TM47 and have an established address and there would be no reason to do a TM30. You could go stay in all the hotels you want and not run into a TM30 requirement. However what you're doing now is going through the process of obtaining a new extension, of course your official address has to be confirmed and you will be back doing TM47 again and obtaining re-entry visa to keep your new extension of stay valid. New extension, new TM30 - I don't expect you'll have any problem once your extension is approved with TM30 again, with the caveat that you don't change your address. Good luck today. You got this.

Now we are getting somewhere, what type of Evisa? Is it NON-O? Are you in the process of switching to NON-O or the final stage of an annual extension? Even though you mentioned 10 previous extensions of stay it now looks ore like you are applying for a new one, that right? I'm not surprised you were asked for a TM30 given as you have reentered on a new visa. Nothing really to do with your hotel stay in this instance. So it appears to me.