Rob Browder

You could still open a bank-account in Pattaya with an agent - perhaps after flying in, before going to KK. Alternatively, you could TRY this (no guarantee): Go to your wife's bank, show the bank-transfer you just made, your marriage certificate, and explain that you need to apply for a Non-O Visa with the 400K in your name for Immigration, and that you will be living here / need the account permanently. If they say "no," ask/offer to buy their "insurance" if that will help (is what the agents do - the bank-rep gets a commission on it). It's worth a try.

At worst, one might have to pay for agent-assisted entry, if coming into the known-bad entry points, including Bangkok airports. The known-good entry points tend to follow the law, and therefore respect Visas and visa-exempt rules issued by the MFA.

When doing your 90-day reports in-person, they may not have updated the system to reflect your current TM-30 location. The "online" system seems to be correlating data from these two separate systems / databases. When you go in-person to do your 90-day report, they may just process it, again, without touching the TM-30 data. You could ask them about the error-message, and maybe they will oblige to correct the problem (or not - mixed reports on this).

I would say, they didn't foresee the political re-alignment of the Thaksin faction with other parties, in response to FF - and that this would result in a compromises / policy-changes on visas (and other things). Thaksin was in-power when the "elite" visa was created, and "crackdowns" on visa-exempt entries soon followed, which helped drive sales.

As usual, pretending the obvious answer is "a conspiracy theory" - implying immigration don't take payoffs via agents (why do such services exist?) - and that payoff money would not motivate their actions. I agree that, as an over-50, he could live easier by just paying 12.5K Baht to an agent (25K if on a tourist-entry) and be done with it, but if he wants to pay "by the entry" for some reason, that is do-able, also.

No where in Immigration law is there a reason to deny-entry for staying in Thailand "too much." I would also recommend he get a Non-O, but he can use the service I linked above to stay in Thailand indefinitely on Visa-Exempts, to Immigration's delight. That service availability and "how immigration really works" vs actual laws is 100% on-topic.

Sort of - but it works in reverse. You pay a small fortune for "permission" to be a repeat-customer - spending your hard-earned money in their mall.

My under-consideration period was through 30-days after my existing permitted-stay - not 30-days after my date of application. I applied 30-days before my existing permitted-stay ended, so waited 60-days after successful document-submission, before they would give me my "final stamp" from immigration. Others have reported delays in receiving their final stamp beyond the expected time-frame, though this is uncommon. Be sure to inquire at immigration on this point, so you don't go through all of this, only to have to leave before getting your 1-year extension.

When reporting on immigration corruption and motives, there is a cadre here who try to make-believe Immigration is only carrying out their duties with pure intentions. They often label user's 1st hand reports of problems as "fake / made-up," "he must have been dressed poorly," etc. They also reject the OBVIOUS and logical explanation for WHY immigration does what they do - payoffs, usually via-agent - labeling these "conspiracies." Those who believe their gaslighting, ***-kissing appeals to "authority," often suffer needlessly when dealing with immigration later.

Another "conspiracy theory" about Immigration's motives and actions confirmed.

Travelers checks are acceptable. When I was under 50, I also didn't like carrying a pile of cash around, so bought 20K Baht worth of travelers' checks for this purpose. Bangkok Bank sells them, last time I checked.

Where "tolerant" means happy to be paid-off via agents to "skip" the actual documented rules for many different extensions - edu, retirement, etc. In the case of serial visa-exempt entries, there is no "bending" of the law to come repeatedly. But, laws don't matter given no system for accountability, so they use false-reason rejection-stamps to force repeat-customers to pay them through services like this: https://aseannow.com/topic/1336926-setv-metv-still-around-now-that-visa-exempts-are-now-60-days/?do=findComment&comment=19217493

It's to get another agent-fee out of those who used agent-money for their extensions - must pay the agent, again, for this "free" service.

Edit: (nevermind - he was talking about getting a CoR)

I had to wait in that TM-30 queue last year, but they only required the printout of my online-submission and passport face-page copy, then gave me the "receipt" for my passport. Asking for the lease seems to be new (or an error by the clerk).

This, or pay an agent to do it for you - is what I would do. Much cheaper and less-hassle than a border-bounce trip.

I think this is more of a "rules are rules" = "must be in Thai or English so I can check the box" thing - rather than them understanding it. I would check with local translation folks and see what they quote. Make sure THEY handle getting the translation certified - so if any issue with that part, they deal with the Thai govt office (MFA) who certifies it.

You can inquire with agencies to help with a Non-B application, but I would first go to your local immigration and ask what they want you to show to get an extension. You will need a stack of company documents and your Thai taxes-paid proof + minimum-income (varies by your passport-country). You can also use 40K/mo income + company-documents for a Non-O "based on marriage to a Thai" extension - though it totals more paperwork than the Non-B type. Non-O w/ 400K in the bank for a Thai child is not possible while still married - and if separated, cannot do the marriage-based. A Non-O Visa from Laos is an option, but need an appointment, and those are limited.

Yes, he won't need that much if not supporting a family here. 30K/mo is plenty, unless one likes to "party" a lot, or has other expensive tastes.

Yes - you can cancel w/ immigration with the termination-letter - and should do so. Canceling the WP is the employer's problem.

The extension ends the day of divorce, so must leave that day, or go to immigration with divorce-papers that day and pay 1900 Baht to get 7 more days.

This is a "real" new/undocumented rule at some offices. Basically, if you used an agent to take care of the financials for your extension, you then need to pay another agent-fee for the "free" service of transferring stamps - is why they are doing it.

Ban Pakard is agent-driven, I think. I used to use Ban Laem in the past - but haven't seen a recent report.

We have seen immigration "invalidate" METV Visas - telling folks they cannot use their visa any more. If going with the DTV, I would budget for an "agent fee" per entry - similar to those using serial visa-exempt entries pay. If Immigration Do NOT start throwing up "agent-payoff or hassle" roadblocks, be pleasantly surprised and carry-on - spending that money into the Thai economy, where all "agent fees" would otherwise be spent.

Unless you have a longer-staying past history in Thailand, it is highly unlikely they would make a fuss about your next entry.