Red Phoenix

Not related to this thread. > I am aware that there is also the 1-year Multiple Entry Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, but as far as I know you can only apply for this one in some embassies/consulates of Thailand neighboring countries (e.g. Savannakhet Thai Consulate in Laos, but you need proof of income from pension when applying for it there). Are you sure you can apply for it in UK? I looked on the UK Thai Embassy site and it is not mentioned there.

Below a snip of what WISE would provide you when sending 1.000 GBP at this very moment (the Mid-Exchange rate changes every minute, so you can wait for a good rate or set an alarm to send you a mail when the rate of your choice is being reached). When I use WISE and click GO I will know exactly the amount of THB that will be transferred to my Thai Bank-account and it arrives in seconds (as I am banking with Kasikorn, which is a WISE partner-bank). https://wise.com/gb/send-money/?sourceCurrency=GBP&targetCurrency=THB&sourceAmount=1000

Hi drJack54, I have been considering to buy a NetFlix scratch-card in my local 7-11 and check out the content to see if I like it. Like yourself I am streaming movies to my TV (actually via my laptop connected with an HDMI-cable to my TV) by using my mobile phone as Hotspot. As I have a cheap 30 Mbps unlimited download SIM-card, I can watch movies in HiDef without any buffering. Reason that I did not yet check out NetFlix yet, is that I can watch movies/TV-series for free on https://fmovies.to And the available content there is gigantic. You can select from 25 genres and content from +30 Countries, so if you are a fan of scandinavian crimi-series you can browse what they have in that category. To watch the content of your choice you have 4 different servers to choose from (this in case one of them is down, or slow for some reason, so you can simply switch to another server). The large majority of the available movies/TV-series also have sub-title options for +50 languages. And all this for FREE, so I simply do not have the time for NetFlix as my 'Watchlist' with movies and TV-series will keep me busy for many evenings to come. Note that it is worth to register on the site (also for free) as that allows you to 'save' the movies/TV-series you are watching or would like to watch later. One TIP: When browsing the content, each movie/TV-series provides besides a description of the content also the IMDB-rating, which is quite useful because unknown content with a rating lower than 6.5 is in majority of cases not worth looking and a waste of your time. Cheers and happy viewing!

This was the full sentence that I wrote: > Banks that deal almost exclusively with Thai clientele (like GSD) are as good as always very busy and they will have little experience with how to deal with foreigners that are in need of specific Bank documents to meet Immigration requirements. #1 - My reference to GSD was a typo, I meant to refer to GSB - Thai Government Savings Bank (which were I reside, is always very crowded with Thai people doing their bank business there). #2 - I wrote 'as good as always very busy with Thai clientele' meaning 'almost always very busy'. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary > Synonyms for AS GOOD AS are: almost, nearly, practically, about, fairly, more or less, next to, most. But maybe the syntax of the sentence I wrote, was not clear as I am not a native english speaker. Hope this now solves the confusion.

From the context you provided one could deduct your Visa status, and you got correct answer. But it is not pedantry from drJack54 when he writes that there is no such thing as a 'retirement Visa', as it can be a source of confusion resulting in incorrect answers. This because there are 2 types of Visa for reason of retirement: a Non Imm O-A Visa (often even on Embassy websites incorrectly referred to as a 'retirement Visa') and a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement. On top of that there is a clear difference between a Visa and the extension of stay based on that Visa, and also here even Immigration often incorrectly refers to an extension as a Visa (probably because the word extension is too difficult for Thai speakers). The point being that when asking for info about your 'retirement Visa' when it is not clear from the context, that this can refer to 4 different statuses, and each of these can have different entry requirements.

Do read the FULL sentence that I wrote > Banks that deal almost exclusively with Thai clientele (like GSD) are as good as always very busy and they will have little experience with how to deal with foreigners that are in need of specific Bank documents to meet Immigration requirements. So the both of us are in agreement.

Obviously you want to open a Bank-Account at a Bank-branche in the vicinity of where you are staying (or alternatively close or on the way to the Imm Office of that province). Because when applying for a Non Imm O Visa or extension of such Visa, you always need to visit your Bank first to get hold of the required bank-documents for your application. As mentioned in previous posts a Visa Agent can help you with opening a Bank-Account, and in many cases the fee for such service (approx 4.000-5.000 THB) is well worth it. But what if you are staying in a non-touristy province where there are NO Visa-Agents, and you need to open a Bank-account in order to apply for your Non Imm O Visa? In that case you would need to do a tour of the Banks in your area in the hope to find one that is willing to open a Bank-account for you and not require impossible demands to do so (like a residence certificate or a Work Permit). Such a quest for a Bank-Account can be an extremely frustrating experience, hence some tips, that will considerably augment your chances of being successful at opening the required Bank-Account: - When visiting the Bank to open a Personal Bank-Account, make sure to be polite, never loose your temper and be dressed appropriately (no flip-flops or T-shirts); - Your chances to open a Bank-Account rise significantly when you are accompanied by a Thai friend/relative who has an account at that bank, and who can introduce you there; - IMPORTANT > Don't deal with the Bank desk-officers, but ask immediately on entry to talk with the Bank Manager and tell him/her that you want to open an account at their branche. The desk-officers are quick to say 'Not possible' when they are unsure about how to open an account for a foreigner and often don't want to lose face by having to ask their colleagues or the manager how to do it. But if the Bank Manager told you OK, he will assign you to a desk officer to open your account. - Be aware that EVERY bank-branche is a little fiefdom, and so it is well possible that when applying at branche X of Bank ZZZ that they tell you that it's not possible, while asking at branche Y of that same Bank at the other side of the street, that you might be successful. - Your best chances are with Thai Banks that are familiar with foreign customers, like Kasikorn Bank, Bangkok Bank, KrungSri Bank, KrungThep Bank, Siam Commercial Bank. ... Banks that deal almost exclusively with Thai clientele (like GSD) are as good as always very busy and they will have little experience with how to deal with foreigners that are in need of specific Bank documents to meet Immigration requirements. Cheers and success!

Yes, the requirements when having entered Thailand on a Tourist Visa/Visa Exempt entry and applying for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa, state: #8 - Rental Agreement between the Applicant and the Landlord ; A copy of house registration. Location map of the house and a rental receipt Past three months. But in practice, this is often not achievable and unless you are dealing with a dimwit Immigration Officer or with a rogue Imm Office, Immigration will accept alternatives. E.g.: # If you are staying at a Hotel and explain that you are still searching for a place to settle down. Friendly Hotels can even write a long-term rental agreement of you staying there, when you need such to meet Immigration requirements. # If you are not renting but staying at friends or at your girlfriend's house. In that case, the owner of the place where you are staying can register the address on the IO TM-30 website, which will allow him/her to submit a TM-30 of you staying at the premises. You can also do this yourself on behalf of the owner. The only thing needed to do so is a copy of the house-book of the place you are staying, and a signed front/back copy of the Thai ID-card of the owner.

When I applied in Belgium (my home-country) 4-5 years ago for the Non Imm O-A visa, the Police check was just a print-out from my local municipality showing that I had no criminal record, and it was provided on the spot at no cost. For the medical check, I simply asked my brother MD to write a statement that I did not have any prohibitive diseases. Simple as that, and both accepted. Due to the upped Health-Insurance policy coverage requirements (and corresponding higher fees) it was not beneficial anymore for me to apply every 1-2 year for a new Non Imm O-A Visa, and so I switched to a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement. NOTE: I did PM you a comprehensive document "Guideline for long-stay in Thailand on a Non Imm O-A Visa or a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement" outlining all the steps (and the available options) to apply for one of those Visas and subsequent extensions, as well as how to switch from a Non Imm O-A Visa to a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement (or vice versa).

I did PM you a comprehensive Guideline document on how to do exactly that > it outlines the complete process (including all options) of getting rid of your current Non Imm O-A Visa or extension, and then apply for a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.

Thanks for reporting your experience! The important thing being that the E-Visa Team accepted your explanation that you 'did not know the itinerary after the first flights as you would be travelling around'. And that's exactly the reason that the METV was created in the first place, for people wanting to explore South-East Asia while using Thailand as 'home-base'. So it is bureaucratic nonsense to require an onward-flight prior to the end of the 60-days your entry on an METV would provide you. But if your sensible explanation would not have been accepted you could have provided them with one of the following 3 options: #1 - Buy an on-line onward-flight booking reservation which can be bought for as little as 12-15 US $, #2 - Book the cheapest possible one-way flight out of Thailand to an international destination (e.g. you can buy a Bangkok - Ho Chi Minh city one-way flight for as little as 1.200 THB) #3 - Book a fully or partially refundable flight-ticket for a nearby international destination from Thailand, and cancel it once the METV has been provided.

De-Dollarization Kicks Into High Gear The US dollar is essential to US global power projection. But in 2022, the dollar share of reserve currencies slid 10 times faster than the average in the past two decades. https://www.lewrockwell.com/2023/04/no_author/de-dollarization-kicks-into-high-gear/

When entering Thailand on a Visa, there is no need for an onward ticket. An onward-ticket is only needed when entering Thailand VisaExempt (without a Visa) - as it can be asked for by the airline to let you board, or but less likely even by Thai border-immigration on entry. As you would be applying for a Visa (METV) an onward ticket will not be asked for. And it would be strange if the Embassy where you apply for the METV would require a return-ticket, as you can get almost 9 months out of an METV when you use it to the full.

That's where an onward-flight reservation booking comes in handy, which only costs 12 to 15 US $ and is a fully legit reservation (but it is automatically cancelled by the company providing that service 2-3 days before flight departure).

There are quite a number of UK series on the site. I recently watched the 3 series of Luther (with Idris Elba) on it. But the set-up of the site is a mess (and it also features a lot of pure trash series), so you really have to make specific selections. E.g. you can select UK as COUNTRY to get only (or primarily) UK content. And it's worthwhile to check the imdb rating of each movie or series, if it wasn't recommended to you by someone, as any series/movies with a rating under 6.5 are generally not worth it. Cheers and enjoy browsing.

I did PM you a comprehensive Guideline document on how to do exactly that > getting rid of your current Non Imm O-A Visa or extension, and then apply for a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.

Thanks Brittim, Reason for my caution was that after the first 60 days of his METV, he would already be 180 days in Thailand this year on TouristVisa/VisaExempt. So I was not sure whether it would be a smooth ride for him, but your post provides confidence that the METV is indeed a trouble-free way to stay in Thailand even with his history.

Hi Kan Win. When watching movies/TV-series on fmovies.to I do not download them but stream them to my TV. Occasionally there is some buffering when doing that, but often no problem at all. I would download the movies or episodes to avoid that occasional buffering (often no buffering problem at all) were it not that you do not have access to add sub-titles anymore when having downloaded the movie/TV-series. If anybody knows an easy way of adding sub-titles to downloaded movies/TV-series I would be interested to know how to do that. Note that I tried using GreenFish which is a transparent overlayer in which you can simultaneously run the subtitle SRT file which you need to download separately. Problem being that more often than not the movie and its subtitles are not well-synchronized, making that solution unusable.

You can only apply for an METV in your home country or country of residence (which in your case is UK). You could try applying for an eMETV from a neighbouring country of Thailand and setting your VPN to UK, as that would spare you having to fly to UK to do the application from there. Do let us know if you succeeded in doing that, as it looks like that would be a first. However, looking at your travel history I see that in the last 8 months you have been staying in Thailand for 6 months on TouristVisa/VisaExempt. With something like 3-4 months already this year. So I doubt whether an METV will guarantee you an additional stay of almost 9 months. You would probably be let in on the fresh METV providing you with a 60 days permission to stay, but I think you will encounter trouble when trying to use that METV for additional entries. If that is the case - as I suspect - you might be better off with applying for a 60-day Tourist Visa at an Embasssy/Consulate in a neighbouring country (e.g. at Savannakhet). @Brittim might provide you with more concrete advice on your options.

Yes, but if applying for an eVisa (e.g. METV or Non Imm O-A] can be done when you are not in your home-country or country of permanent residence, that would be very convenient. Anyone on this Forum that has succeeded with doing that?

I use https://fmovies.to/ which has a huge selection of movies and TV-series, and as good as all of them with sub-title options in many different languages.

The fine for not doing your 90-day report on due date is only 2.000,- THB, and it doesn't matter how many days you are late. And besides paying that fine there are NO other consequences of not doing it. In fact there are people that live far away from their Imm Office that deliberately opt to NEVER file their 90-day reports. And when they apply for their 1-year extension of stay they pay that 2.000,- THB fine with a smile. But obviously if you can do it on-line (takes 5 minutes), you might as well do it.

Thanks for clarification. As I do not have credit on my Thai SIM I am not able to use it for calls or Internet-access outside Thailand. But if switching on global roaming will let me receive incoming SMS with the verification code, that would make it possible to do also do transactions on my KK-account abroad.

Yes, if the on-line 90-day reporting system is not down, you can do your 90-day reports from anywhere in Thailand during the 14 days before reporting due date. Be aware that it only works if your 'official address for Immigration purposes' has not been overwritten by a TM-30 issued by a Hotel/Guesthouse where you have stayed (that can happen when they incorrectly mention your Visa as a TouristVisa instead of a Non Imm O). Of course if you have registered your official address on the IO TM-30 website, you would be able to correct such a mistake by issuing a new TM-30 on-line from your official address (and you can do that also from anywhere in Thailand)

#1 - Kasikorn Bank only asks for your Passport to ensure that it is you, when wanting to do a transactin on your account inside one of their branches. It doesn't matter on which Visa you are, and they will surely not close down you account when you switch from a Non Imm O Visa to a Tourist Visa or a VisaExempt entry. #2 - I have a Kasikorn Bank-account, and I do not need my mobile phone to access my account on-line on their Website (I simply need to type in my user-name and Password, and I have access to my account on K-Biz). However, when I am abroad I am not able to do any transactions as the verification code for doing so is send to my mobile-phone with Thai SIM-number (and that SIM does not work outside Thailand). I am not sure whether it is possible to opt for a different 'verification' method instead of your Thai phone-number, but it is worth checking out if you need to do transactions with that bank-account when abroad.