richn4

For the OP, I did exactly this. I got a new 12-month approved health insurance policy (from Axa via a broker) valid from the last day of my O-A and did a day trip to Penang with Air Asia on that day to get stamped out of Thailand, in and out of Malaysia, and back in to Thailand with a new 12-month stamp based on the expiry date of the new Axa insurance policy. The next time I left Thailand, I got a Multi Re-Entry Permit at the airport immigration on the way out which is also valid until the last day of the new insurance policy so I can come and go as I please now until August next year. Perfectly easy.

This. I did a day trip to Penang on Air Asia for my border bounce in August. Nice lunch at China House in Georgetown. But then, I'm based in Bangkok and so cheap flights from DMK are the obvious choice. Next time, maybe Saigon but I'd be far too tempted to stay overnight...

Perfect. Thank you so much for the confirmation. I will not bother our landlady until we renew the lease next August which will coincide with my new O-A.

Each to their own. I consider an online application for an O-A that's turned around in a few days by the UK embassy to be significantly more convenient than the alternative and view the hoops and the time it takes for a local application with horror: tying up good money in a local bank account, paying forex fees both into and out of the country on a lump sum, getting approved statements from a bank, getting proofs of TM.30s and 90-day reports, time taken at the immigration office on multiple occasions. I, too, understand that some people enjoy that process. Personally, I enjoy uploading a clearly defined set of docs to a web site and sitting back. But this is off topic to the thread's TM.30 discussion that also fills me with dread. Most of these local Thai processes fill me with dread.

This 100%. (a) I do not want to have such money uselessly tied up in a Thai bank account or pay the forex fees both bringing in and taking out such a lump sum. (b) I travel back to the UK twice a year so applying for an O-A in the UK online is a lot easier for me than going through the hoops at an immigration office in Thailand. (c) The annual insurance requirement is not onerous and can be had for a trivial premium from Axa in Thailand with a large excess which I am able to pay if necessary - I mean, on another visa you'd still have to pay for healthcare somehow if necessary.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'm in the clear then until I get a new OA in August 2024. Just to confirm, my TM.30 was submitted towards the end of the first year of my OA visa when the entry stamp's expiry date was Sep 3. I subsequently got new health insurance, did a border bounce to give me an entry stamp until August 2024, and last week got a multiple re-entry stamp valid until August 2024. Therefore you're all saying I do not need to submit a new TM.30 until I get a new OA visa in August 2024 even though I was only stamped in as resident until Sep 3 when my residential TM.30 was submitted. Thanks.

We moved from Samui to Bangkok, Ekkamai, in July. We were directors of the company that owns our villa in Samui and I set up the TM.30 account and was able to submit TM.30 reports myself online. Now we're in a rented apartment with a lease. We made sure the landlady knew she had to submit TM.30 and offered to help her set up the account online (and even submit the reports ourselves) however she is old school and spent some time at the immigration office submitting it manually based on my OA entry stamp and health insurance expiring Sept 3. I border bounced before my OA expired with new health insurance and got a subsequent multiple re-entry permit valid until August 2024. I'm currently in the UK and will return home to Bangkok next week. So, we get to my question... Is there any way I can submit a new TM.30 myself without involving the old school landlady? I would dearly love to set up the online account for the house and do it all myself and I've suggested this to her but she doesn't seem to understand what this means. I don't want to be a PITA for her if she has to submit the TM.30s herself in person manually each time I leave Thailand and return if that's what's required. What's the advice in this situation? Thanks.

I had an interesting experience yesterday, 27 August, at the BKK Zone 2 Re-Entry Permit desk when they nearly refused me the re-entry stamp. I kept smiling and eventually worked out what the misconception was for them. I had an O-A e-visa from the UK issued in August 2022 that expired on 18 August 2023 so on 16 August I did a day trip to Penang with a new annual health insurance policy and was stamped back in as normal until the end of the new policy on 14 August 2024. At BKK yesterday, I used the Fast Track immigration lane and requested a re-entry stamp. I was stamped out as normal and told to walk airside, go up the ramp at Zone 2 against the flow, follow the sign, and get the Re-entry Permit there. So far, so consistent with the experiences reported in this thread. I was not questioned about already having my exit stamp so I imagine anyone can walk back to this desk at Zone 2 after being stamped out and finding themselves airside. I had nothing prepared and the first IO took my passport, e-visa, and residential address in Thailand, and then took a photo of me with a webcam along with THB4000. At this point, she disappeared and a concerned colleague came out and told me I couldn't get a multi-entry Re-Entry Permit because my health insurance - the original policy - expired. I showed him my new policy expiring August 2024. He stuck to his position that I would only get a Re-Entry Permit until the end of the original policy. I then showed him the 14 August 2024 expiry date of the stamp from my Penang border bounce. Both the original IO and this one had missed these critical in/out stamps despite them being the last stamps in my passport and were basing their position on other in/out stamps. The fog lifted at this point and they processed my multi re-entry permit as normal. Lots of smiles, a brief apology to which I assured them it was okay, and I was on my way. My takeaway from this is that getting the Re-Entry Permit at BKK is a very easy process with no preparation and it doesn't matter if you get it done before or after you pass through immigration because anyone could have approached the Re-Entry Permit desk in Zone 2 up the ramp after being stamped out as I did.