JimmyTobacco

Things are safe until they are not.

The thing is that Thailand usually has two sets of traffic lights, both before and after the intersection. So even though you might not have run the first set of lights when they were red, you definitely ran the second ones in front of you (the ones in the red circle). Even though it might not have been your fault that you had to stop suddenly because traffic before you had come to a halt, it is still your duty to anticipate if you can quickly cross the intersection when entering it, and otherwise not enter it, especially on the orange light. The orange light only means that you can drive on in case it is impossible for you to stop safely before the light.

Don't look at her peers too much, would be my advice!

Although this does happen occassionally in Thailand, this is more a question of not knowing where to find the good deals and cheaper places to stay than people actually cheating or overcharging you. Also in my experience, overcharging happens a lot less in Thailand than in nearby countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and especially Laos, where it seems there is some guy selling tickets for every waterfall, hike and hotspring, and they like to throw you off the bus before the final station to force you to take an expensive tuktuk. Also, learning some basic Thai and saying sawadee krap, kop khun krap etc. does help a LOT. I make sure to always be polite and friendly and learned some basic Thai even before my first trip here. People will treat you fairly most of the time. I would say Thailand offers amazing value for money, especially if you bring in western money. Back home, if it is even possible to find a place to live, it will cost you anywhere upwards of 40,000 THB a month, including utilities. That is IF you find a place. In Thailand it is no problem to find a place for less than 10,000 THB a month. If you are willing to spend 40k, you can live in a small palace with a huge garden and pool. Even the garbage and water tax back home cost me over 20k THB yearly. To own a small car, I pay 4000 THB in monthly taxes and insurances. And this is one of the cheaper models. That doesn't include maintenance, which on average cost me 30,000 THB a year. Add fuel, 80 THB per liter of petrol. Going out for some food back home also sets you back at least 600 THB, if you are able to find such a deal. If we are talking about value, I don't think anyone would argue that Thailand offers amazing and cheap food and also some fantastic housing (but also very <deleted>ty housing of course).

If it gets checked or not, I don't know, but obviously they could potentially find out if you are currently in the country or not. Otherwise they might notice at the airport when you re-enter on the DTV visa, that it was issued at a time when you were supposed to be in Thailand. Better to go to Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam and apply there. The money does not have to be in a Thai bank account. I sent them a 6 month statement of my brokerage account (with associated IBAN number) with plenty of funds throughout the entire period, but I don't think there is a golden rule for it. It might depend on the overall strength/quality of your applicaiton, the amount of money, etc. My application was probably overall quite strong, in the sense that I've been a proven self-employed freelancer for 15 years, I have more than enough funds in the account, etc.

At the IO in CM they told me that there was no option to pay extra to get the COR immediately. I read everywhere I could get it the next day for 500THB, but they told me it's not possible. I'm lucky to have my Thai gf here, so if I need to purchase a motorbike, we can first put it in her name and then look at putting it in my name later. I am also looking into the Tabien Baan and (pink?) ID card. Is this possible on a DTV without being a tax resident? (so staying less than 180 days per year)

It is funny that my IO did not request a letter from the bank, but when I mentioned wanting to buy a motorbike, they asked for the purchase deed of the motorbike. Since I didn't have one, they told me I could only get the COR for the bank. I also asked the IO in CM if an expedited procedure for the COR is possible, but they told me no. The only possibility was to have the COR sent to me, at the earliest 10 business days after the request. It seems a bit weird that one might need to apply a couple of times for essentially the same document and has to wait 10 business days every time, especially if it involves something that might require some urgency. Say I want to buy a motorbike off Marketplace and need to close the deal.

Getting a Thai DL was next on the list, but perhaps I should have done that before attempting the bank account, since the DL seems quite easy to get. However, I was foolish enough to apply for a residence certificate with the sole purpose of making a bank account, and I am still awaiting that one, so I am not sure if that residence certificate will be valid for the DL as well, or if I need to apply for a new one that states the purpose of the DL. At the immigration office they told me that a RC needs to be made again for every different purpose, but that might not be entirely correct. I hadn't looked into getting a yellow book yet, but that might be a good idea as well. I also heard that some people got bank accounts on the ED visa through their language school. Some schools seem to have a link with specific banks. However, I am not sure if the bank account can also be created for people at the school who are not on the ED visa.

Thanks for your reply. I wonder if it will be possible if I bring my girlfriend who has an account with their bank as well (she has just about any bank, so that gives us a few options). Or if I state certain reasons for wanting the account, like the intention to buy a condo or something like that. It's a mystery to me though why a bank would refuse a paying customer who is going to keep money in their bank. As long as it doesn't involve creditcards or overdraft, I am not sure what risk the bank would run in this case.

Has anyone managed to get a bank account on the DTV? I saw on Reddit that for many people it was a little problematic. I just applied for the certificate of residence here in Chiang Mai and hope to get it within a few days, so maybe that will make it easier to get an account.

Question: I got the DTV and will be staying with my gf in Chiang Mai for about 75 days. We will then travel abroad and come back and I will stay with her for another 75 days on the DTV. But during the time in Thailand we might also make short trips to other provinces. I won't require a visit to immigration for any extension of my visa. How does that work with the TM30? Is it even worth it to bother with getting one? In all honesty I stayed with her last year and this year for a total of about 50 days and never got any TM30, since we weren't aware of its existence. Nobody's ever said anything, but I suppose that's cause I didn't visit the immigration office. Is the only thing that could happen a 1600 THB fine, and is this likely to be applied even for periods in the past? To be honest the fine is so low that it beats figuring out the bureaucracy around getting a TM30 and possibly getting a new one if I leave the country or province for a few days.

Wonderful video!!! Thank you and thanks to Chris Parker!

It seems that way, but I am still confused why they would say that extending your 180 day stay for another 180 days is 10,000 THB, but apparently you can do a visa run and just come back and get another 180 days for free. Anyway, it definitely seems to be like you say: a visa on which you can basically stay in Thailand for 5 years.

I had my DTV issued a few days ago by a Thai embassy in Europe for workcation. I'm self-employed and was a little confused about the documentation I needed to supply them with, so I made a small portfolio with a copy of my registration as a self-employed individual (in English) and a resume and some samples of my work (also in English). For the financial proof I added a statement from the last 6 months from a mixed savings and brokerage account (the account has an IBAN though). The statement was not translated into English but it clearly showed plenty of balance above the 500,000 THB threshold at all times in the last 6 months. The DTV was approved within 3 working days. My plan is to stay in Thailand for something close to the 180 days, but I am also planning to leave for some other travels around SE Asia somewhere in the middle of that period. I am curious how easily I will receive another 180 day stamp when coming back to Thailand after my travels, or if they will question the length of my stay since my total stay could then amount to much more than 180 days if they give me another 180 days after going out and going back in after 3 months. I did book a return flight about 178 days after my original flight to Thailand, for tax reasons and also because it was cheaper to book a return flight.