Rob Browder

Better to fly/go to Vientiane, apply/get a Non-O Visa there (takes a couple days), then come back on that. This avoids dealing with the "Non-O Conversion" lady at Jomtien who wants 15K Baht payoff to follow the written rules, plus 2 trips there to deal with it. It's bad enough having to deal with the historically-abusive 1-year marriage-extension desk staff, there - no sense doubling your pain.

Which is a big lie. There are a limited number of stated reasons under Thai law for denying-entry, in a futile attempt to stop corrupt-practices. None of those legal reasons include "come too often as a tourist." They tell folks they are denying for that, but then put a stamp saying they didn't have the money - as if someone paying for long-haul flights (from UK, after 6-mo out, in your case) is "too poor" to be here. A sane "discretion" would be noting if the person's passport-country minimum-wage is 10x higher than what one can earn working illegally in Thailand - but, this somehow doesn't come into it, as millions of illegal workers are here from neighboring countries, and L-Visas are issued to millions more. Note, the now-gone "2x / year max by land-borders" rule never applied to them - only to us. There are no handouts to foreigners here, so nothing to lose allowing folks in who have no sane reason to work illegally here - only come to spend money. It only makes sense when one understands that "immigration" is just the "front operation" for the real action. If purchasing "safe entry" services via their agent-partners, or using an agent-van service, one can visa-exempt-enter in-perpetuity with same-day in/outs. If the policy was stated clearly, many folks would just follow the rules, and not need agent-service. As well, IOs could get into trouble for violating such for agent-partner payoffs. Again, regarding the now-gone "2x by land" rule, this could not be bypassed by agent-van service - but with that rule gone, agent-van-runs are now unlimited. Written clear policies inhibited the racket, while an absence of such, combined with their reported enforcement actions, make perfect sense in this context.

Years ago, getting the stamp-xfers done at the airport on-departure was standard policy. Sad they stopped doing this - and what (expletive) they won't xfer the stamps at any office - as if Immigration is not one agency under the national govt - rather, a collection of (expletives) fighting over who gets the first-cut of agent-fees.

The owner of where you stay are legally-required to file a TM-30 within 24 hours of your arrival. But, if you do not interact with a local immigration office, this is not enforced at entry/exit points. So, you can definitely get a TM-30 w/o issue. After that, you can apply a residence certificate - though that policy may vary by immigration-office and/or require an agent. To get an annual extension based on marriage to a Thai in the shortest time "in-country," enter with a Non-O 90-day Visa based on marriage, get a re-entry permit for your next monthly in/out, returning before that visa / re-entry expires, then apply for the 1-year extension. Depending on the immigration office, the "under consideration" may run starting 30 days after the last extension's permitted-stay (was at my office), OR, may start on the day of application. To work-around that, you could leave/return on re-entry permits twice in the 90-days (separate re-entry permit for each departure/return), returning with a short-time left on the Non-O Visa's permitted-stay, so that your application can be submitted just before the Non-O Visa's 90-days is over. But beware, some offices hate marriage-based extensions, and may ask for "extra documents" to screw you out of it - delighting in the fact you won't have time to comply before your permitted-stay runs out. Alternatively, you could apply for a Non-O Visa before entering Thailand every visit - avoiding the risk of being denied-entry for "coming too much/often as a tourist" at the airport.

If you use an agent, they don't require any of this. It is the folks NOT using an agent who are targeted, as always. They have required the owner's blue-book + chanote + ID (if renting) for a long time with "too hard / much work" extensions they do not want to process, like marriage/family based ones - but now more offices are hitting retirement-extension folks with it too.

In the past - and possibly ongoing at some offices, one can get the 30-day extension from a tourist entry (TR-Visa or Visa-Exempt), then the 60-day extension after this. Policy varies by office, however - some refusing to follow their own long-existent policies, now.

Another option, if have already used the 60-day "visit family" extension, or it is not enough time to obtain and season 400K in the bank - can go to Vientiane Laos, and get a Non-O 90-day Visa based on marriage. Reports indicate they are issued quickly - within a couple days of filing online (eVisa) and then going to the consulate to pay the fee (2000 Baht). With this, he can also apply for another 60-day extension at immigration.

There is no legal reason to deny-entry for, "Didn't learn Thai well enough in a course, before." The rats (more like termites or ticks, as regards their effect on the health of the country) are those stuffing their pockets with "agent" brown-envelope money, driven by denying-entry on a lie (not enough money), when the OP had the required money.

Or any other language one can study here but Thai - or cooking, etc.

They saw you had an ED in the past, and that put you out of the "occasional tourist" category, whom they are forbidden to hassle. You are now in the "can hassle" category, so need to pay them "tribute" money via their agent-partners to enter by air. They seem to have a "quota" of denials to reach, to increase the fear of denial-of-entry, which increases their extortion-racket revenue. Airport-Immigration don't get a cut of the student-visa agent-money. Different entry-points and offices are in a competition of sorts for cuts of the corruption-money. This is also evident when folks on long-term extensions move offices, and report being required to "re-prove" qualification for their last extension at the prior office. If unwilling to use "safe entry," you can probably enter through any land-border other than Poipet/Aranyaprathet w/o issue, so could fly to Malaysia, or Cambodia, and enter by land. Worst-case in that situation, is you just walk back and cancel your exit-stamp - no detention and forced-flights.

If they cared about the well-being of Thailand - yes - and would scrap "verifying your money" entirely (like Cambodia and Laos), as there are no "benefits" here for foreigners, so any here are either self-funded or homeless. But, they only care about maximizing brown-envelope income from their agent-partners.

Then xfer-back all the rest of un-needed funds, since living well in Thailand is inexpensive - is the primary reason people retire here - unless one has "expensive habits" of some sort.

No - having 65K total income is not the same as xferring it all to Thailand, which was never required until the income-letters stopped. Some folks have expenses at home - so now have to transfer-back funds to cover those.

First application is 25K, because it includes the initial Non-O 90-Day visa. A "renewal" application is only 12.5K baht. In another thread, a poster noted the savings of having your own 800K with them was minimal.

Yes - saw a report here of Non-Imm visas being issued the next day via email. So, he entered Laos, filed online for the eVisa, went to embassy to pay, then got it the next day (a Saturday). An agent on-site offered him "same day" for 5K Baht. That said, I would not count on such speedy service - but good to hear, and hope it lasts. Note that DTV applicants report being denied in Laos, to spite having all the requested documentation, so best to go elsewhere for that one.

Really? You must have a very friendly office. Most would just reject the application - maybe telling you to pay overstay of a few days when returning, if you waited until the last minute.

Was this increased with the 60-day change for visa-exempt? It has always been this amount for a Tourist-Visa entry - is what I used to carry in travelers checks to show, if asked.

Yes - same with retirement - can just leave before the "permitted until" date - no "cancellation" is needed.

Sometimes this is accepted, but other times they want a bank-stamped statement. The OP is getting the bank-stamped one, which will definitely work.

Yet, that is exactly what they told me. My income was multiple the minimum, and I could prove it with foreign-transfers into my Thai bank. Thank goodness for the Non-O-ME Visa, available at that time (not anymore). Ubon Joe also got hit with the "show the source" question, at a friendly office, where he had been extending for years, prior.

Unfortunately not. Failure to cancel your ED or Work (B) Extension before leaving can result in future problems trying to get a new extension at immigration. One can be fined up to 20K Baht, as if they had overstayed, even though they were not in the country during that time. Some folks have reported "getting away with" a new extension after failing to adhere to this policy, but others have reported problems. Easier to just do it and be on the safe-side.

No, it doesn't make sense - what if you have investments? But, at some offices, they demand a pension-letter to prove the money is "from a pension" - especially for marriage-based extensions, knowing younger folks won't be able to supply it. They hate doing that type, and look for any way to get out of it - less likely to be forced for a retirement-based extension. I recall there is some wording about "pensions" as an example in the regulations, which they extrapolate (at some offices, sometimes) to mean "only a pension."

I used TR visas when this was en-force before. You have to show it "in the bank" for the TR-Visa at the Thai Consulate. THEN, you have to make sure to have it in cash or traveler's checks when you get to the entry-point. Immigration will refuse a bank-statement. Consulates won't allow you to show it in cash (back when it was in-person applications).

Simple. Impose such rules only on visitors from countries where the minimum wage is not 2x+ what an illegal-worker can make in Thailand.

Yes, it's impossible to know if a school's "police fees" are paid-up. If not, as with most any business here, there will be problems - no advance-warning of a raid, etc. A foreign teacher w/o work-permit will be arrested, jailed, and deported "as an example" to others, to pay the police-fees - just like those "denied entry" at airports are used to "encourage" paying via agents for "safe entry." https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2957366/thailand-tightens-grip-on-undocumented-foreign-teachers On Thursday, IB police raided two branches of a language school on Ratchadaphisek Road and arrested eight South Korean nationals for working as language teachers without permits. Foreign teachers found working without a valid work permit will face a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht and deportation. Any school found to have employed undocumented foreign teachers will be fined 10,000 to 100,000 baht per person. Notice that with the schools "examined" after this raid, there were "no problems found," meaning they got the message, and paid the protection money.