Red Phoenix

A little back-ground on that brilliant philantropic scientist: Institutions run by Dr Hotez have received well over 100 million dollars in grant funding over the years from the Gates Foundation and U.S. government health institutions, specifically focused on developing hookworm and parasite vaccines. And the government continues to give healthy sums of annual grant cash to Hotez, both for his Baylor entities and his parasite vaccine work. NOTE: Hotez has dedicated his career to developing vaccines for parasites, specifically hookworms. And what began as a doctoral dissertation on hookworm vaccination in 1987 (!) has transformed into a several decades quest to create vaccine-induced immunity against multicellular organisms. Unfortunately for Hotez, 35 years later, he still has nothing to show for his prized parasite vaccine ambitions, besides ongoing trials. Yep, a brilliant parasite if there ever was one...

The main criteria when opting for a broker are: 1 - He should be experienced and well acquainted with the different Insurance company conditions and fee-structures offering policies for what you want to insure. 2 - At least as important would be, that in case of claims that he would represent you and deal with the unbelievable quagmire of Thai bureaucracy in these matters. > So don't necessarily go for the broker that offers the cheapest policy, but have a personal talk/communication with the person that would handle your case (which can be different than the 'sales person'). When that talk/communication inspires confidence in his knowledge/abilities and the brokerage company he works for, that would be your man...

Your girlfriend brought up the marriage option. Obviously if you have some 2nd thoughts if she is the right one for you, you should not marry. But if you have already long time a loving relationship, you could indeed consider it. The benefits of getting married with her are: 1 - every woman in a long relationship would be very happy with that 'ultimate' confirmation that she is the one for you 2 - it will allow you to switch your current 1-year extension of stay from retirement to marriage, meaning that you do not need to semi-permanently keep 800K-400K on your personal thai bank-account, as a marriage extension only requires 400K during the 2 months prior to application renewal 3 - it would be easier when you are married, when you want to take her on a holiday to your home-country You also have to consider the consequences of being married when one of you comes to decease. 1 - If you decease first, your assets will go to her (and not to your family abroad, unless you have made a will to that effect after your married her) 2 - If she deceases first, you would have half of the houses (the other half would be for her son) - but as there would be little reason for you staying there, you might as well give that up. Finally, if you come to the conclusion that - besides the emotional aspect - getting married has too little benefits to go that road, you could also discuss with your girlfriend the following: 1 - Not marrying officially, but simply having a 'village marriage' complete with a big party for all family and friends. 2 - Making a will so that in case of your demise, that she is not left with empty hands. There are many ways to do this. Cheers!

Quote > Hotez compares the mass murders under those authoritarian regimes to the at least 200,000 Americans who died after COVID-19 vaccines were introduced, but who refused to get protective shots because they had been convinced not to. And if that does not convince you that Hotez is a hysterical idiot, nothing will!

Since you mention that you will get a new 1-year stamp on re-entering Thailand: Are you staying in Thailand on a 1-year Non Imm O-A Visa? In order to use that Visa on entry you will need to also show a Non Imm O-A compliant health-insurance policy. When the validity date of the Non Imm O-A Visa has not yet expired (valid 1 year from date of issuance), you will on entry then receive, either: - a 1-year Permission to stay stamp OR - a Permission to stay stamp till the expiry date of that HI policy whichever is shortest.

Yes, this might turn ugly for farangs that got their Permission to stay through a Fixer Agent that bribed these Khon Kaen Imm Officers to 'overlook' that the financial requirements were not met. Note that the complaint of these Imm Officers is NOT that the accusation is untrue, but that the NACC Senior Officer that filed the charges did not officialy report that he did so to his boss, according to procedure. And in their defence, NACC might well decide to build a stronger case against those Imm Officers, not only by addressing the Tua Hoa Chinese immigrant case that triggered this whole affair, but also zooming in on any other cases of corruption. Farangs staying in Thailand on an 'illegally acquired Permission to stay from the Khon Kaen Imm Office' might thus become the collateral damage of such a Thai Immigration in-fight.

'A Deadly Societal Force' - for once Hotez is honest using that title for his auto-biography outlining his career... He is currently working on a sequel, provisional title: 'Riding with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'.

There should be no reason for an Imm Office to deny you a 30-day extension of stay for your 60-day Tourist Visa. But this is Thailand and some Imm Offices might require that you have less than x days left on your Permission to stay in order to provide it. Anyway, in the OP's case (unless he is from a country for which Thailand does not provide 30-day Permission to stay when entering VisaExempt) it would be a waste of time/effort to apply for the 30-day extension when he plans to return from Vietnam with less than 30 days left on his Permission to stay. Because in that case it would be far easier to just exit Thailand without such Re-Entry Permit, and simply return VisaExempt from Vietnam.

My personal stance > Perfect memory and unforgiven!

The Covid-19 Pandemic - Are you ready to forgive and forget? > It is obvious that the mitigation measures to counter the Covid-19 pandemic have done much personal and societal harm (e.g. lockdowns, adverse covid-vaccine effects, etc.). Some will argue that these measures were and are worth it to prevent greater harm, while others are convinced that the cure was and is far worse than the illness. Irrespective of your opinion on the above, it is clear that mistakes have been made during the Covid-19 Pandemic. And so the question whether you are prepared to forgive and forget and carry on with your life, will be an interesting discussion topic! So this thread is not about facts or mis-information, but about AN Members OPINION on this issue.

Almost 3 years after the roll-out of the Covid-vaccines in CANADA, a Vaccine Injury Support Program has now been launched. https://vaccineinjurysupport.ca/en From the website: The purpose of the VISP is to ensure that all people in Canada who have experienced a serious and permanent injury as a result of receiving a Health Canada authorized vaccine, administered in Canada on or after December 8, 2020, have fair and timely access to financial support.

With a little twist that's good advice! Don't let the fact-checkers get in the way of your informed opinion.

It is unrealistic in the extreme to expect that his Thai partner would be able to explain to the OP the complex quagmire of Thai immigration regulations and Visa options. And trying to figure it out himself by reading the Visa regulations on the Thai Embassies websites will also provide him with more questions than answers. Hence the popularity of Immigration/Visa Forums like this one, where Newbies can post the questions they have and get response from members that have experience in these matters.

Yes, you are correct: it is not a 'criterium' but it helps to understand the grey area w.r.t. doing on-line work in Thailand. When you would be doing specialized on-line work in Thailand for foreign customers and you do not have a Work Permit, such work is condoned by Immigration [some high-ranking Imm Officers have made statements to that effect].

A bit of topic, but here a TIP worth its weight in gold. Never fly KLM, they are by far the worst airline ever with an antique fleet and customers are treated like <deleted> by all KLM staff (both at check-in counters and by cabin-staff). I have numerous unpleasant and actually almost unbelievable experiences with them, when the company I worked for booked tickets with them. And they are not even cheap (except in their behavior). And in the unlikely event that their ticket is the cheapest, I will gladly pay more for the privilege of NOT flying with that customer-unfriendly dinosaur.

Doing on-line work is condoned by Thai Immigration. The criterium being that the work that you are doing is not 'taking away work from Thai citizens'. So when staying in Thailand you would need a Work Permit when providing paid on-line consultancy to Thai customers when that work could also be done by Thai. But doing on-line work for foreign customers while staying in Thailand does not require a Work Permit. However, to avoid the hassle of possible investigation whether your on-line work is permitted, it is recommended to keep low profile when doing on-line work while on a Tourist Visa or Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement. - - - Taxation of the income from such on-line work is another matter. In principle you should declare that income also to the Thai Tax authorities. But if your on-line work is fully legal and you already pay income tax on it in your home-country, and your home-country has a 'non-double taxation' pact with Thailand, it would only be a time-waster for all involved when declaring it to the Thai Tax authorities. That would result in you being taxed by them and then you applying for the reimbursement as you already paid the taxes in your home-country.

When you apply for an eVisa it is a separate document e-mailed to you when your application is approved. Obviously that document then needs to be carried along with your passport. When applying in person the Visa is often a 'sticker' glued in your passport and stamped when provided. When you are eligible for a VisaExempt entry (without a Visa), you will be provided with a Permission to Stay stamp in your passport by border-immigration. Such VisaExempt entry is considered a 'tourist Visa' (your valid passport being the evidence, that you were eligible for it).

Hope you realize that with your post you joined the 'conspiracy theorists', albeit from the other side of the bench...

@khunjeff provided the answer to your query. Don't forget to get hold of a Re-Entry Permit to protect your current Permission to stay, when exiting Thailand for your Europe trip.

Just type the statement into the YANDEX search-engine, and you get the full context. #1 - DOCTOR Fauci's statement May 15, 2021 interview on MSNBC, where Fauci told news anchor Chris Hayes that "when people are vaccinated, they can feel safe that they are not [going to] get infected." #`2 - DOCTOR Walensky's statement > On March 29, 2021, Rochelle Walensky, Director of CDC, infamously claimed on MSNBC: "Vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don't get sick." #3 - Statement by Albert BOURLA > From the CNBC exclusive interview with Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert Bourla on CNBC’s “The Exchange” (M-F, 1PM-2PM ET), on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. "No variant identified so far that escapes our vaccine protection"

Attached the English version of the KhonKaen Marriage Extension requirements, as generated by Google translate from the Thai original as provided by KhunBENQ

Attached the English version of the KhonKaen Marriage Extension requirements, as generated by Google translate from the Thai original.

Nothing wrong with my memory... Here some statements made by influencers about Covid-Vaccine efficacy. Forget the 2 Talking Heads and the self-declared expert. But Fauci and Walensky are doctors and Bourla is a veterinarian. ~

@KhunBENQ Great! And thank you very much You can simply make a clear photo of each page and post those pictures here (or PM them to me). With Google translate it takes seconds to generate an english translation from a Thai text of photo. And I will then post them here as a service to you and other KhonKaen Marriage extension applicants.

In your case (not being officially married yet, and under 50 years of age so not eligible for a 'retirement' Visa) the 6-months MultipleEntry Tourist Visa (METV) would probably be your best option. When entering Thailand on that Visa you will be stamped in with a Permission to stay for 2 months. At the end of those 2 months you would then have to exit and re-enter Thailand (can be done same day, a so-called border-run) or alternatively apply for a once-per-entry 30-day extension of stay at a local Imm Office (1.900,- THB) with the 30-days on the spot added to your Permission to stay. When after those max 90 days re-entering Thailand you will once again be stamped in for 2 months, which once again can be extended again for 30-days. By re-entering Thailand on the last day of your Visa validity (6 months from date of issue), you are thus able to stay almost 9 months in Thailand, At the end of the period of you staying with an METV in Thailand, you can consider various options to remain there. E.g. if you are in mean time officially married, you could apply for a 90-day SingleEntry or 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O Visa for reason of marriage to a Thai national. Such Visa can be applied for in your home-country, at the local Thai Imm Office where you have your official address for immigration purposes, or at a Thai Embassy/Consulate in a near-by country. The Thai Consulate in Savannakhet, Laos (just across the Thai Friendship bridge from Mukdahan) is by far the easiest way to get hold of such Visum.