BrandonJT

It's not a fake ticket. The company you buy the ticket from is the one that does the purchase and refund. Paying for the convenience of not having to tie up your own money and do it yourself.

The fact that some airlines check and some don't makes it seem like they have their own rules.

This seems like a completely useless handout to the rich. I can agree that the income limit should be raised, as 100,000 baht per year household income is just 8,300 baht per month which is ludicrously low. But well-off Thais have no need for an extra 600 baht per month and it certainly won't encourage them to have additional children. This government seems hell-bent on handouts to the rich, first with saying they want to decrease income taxes but increase VAT, which means a tax increase on the poor who don't pay income taxes but certainly pay VAT, and now this handout to anyone with a child rather than either increasing the subsidy to the poor, raising the income ceiling, or both, making better use within the same budget.

I'd wager the odds of convincing a low-level ticketing agent to go against company policy based on this would be quite low. If the airline policy says within the amount of days on arrival or says 60 days, then that's what they'll be looking for to check the box on their list.

It's not the rule only for non immigration visas/extensions. It's the rule for all extensions in Bangkok. Both at Chaeng Watthana and Laksi. Tourism extension is no exception. Both tourist visa and visa exempt can be extended when you have 45 days or less left.

Not sure why you are calling it a passport service. It's for "VIP" entry, basically guaranteeing you are allowed into Thailand without the normal scrutiny at the entry counter.

In Bangkok you can apply for an extension when you have 45 days or less left on your current stamp.

You would have to leave Thailand and return before the visa expires in order to activate it. You can't activate a visa from an embassy while inside of Thailand already.

Normally, no. They want to see onward travel within the number of days you'll receive upon arrival. Yes, they know you can get an extension. No, they don't usually care. You can try to plead your case, but that's no guarantee. The official policy is that the onward travel is within the number of days you receive on arrival.

Normally, no. They generally want to see onward travel that shows you are leaving within the number of days you will receive upon arrival. But each airline may interpret the rules differently.

Name one country that requires payment in baht. I don't know how they can have such a requirement to pay in person, but it's quite clear that's the intention since the entire document is very clearly about e-visa. It doesn't make any sense at all, and completely defeats the purpose of e-visa. But Thailand is good at defeating the purpose of well-intentioned systems.

Just so people fully understand: Yes, both Vientiene and Savannakhet will be switching to e-visa, but it will not be exactly the same as everywhere else with e-visa. Payment must be made in-person, in cash only, as part of your e-visa application. The instructions posted by both the embassy and consulate make that very clear. I'm not sure how they're allowed to change the process like that compared to every other e-visa embassy/consulate, but that's what they have posted.

Don't most people pay for their hotel stays? Doesn't seem like news.

So an increase in taxes on the poor and a reduction in taxes on the rich and businesses. I'm sure that will increase the money flowing through the economy, as it has in everywhere that has tried trickle down economics 🙄

He went to the police, and the police wouldn't do anything. So instead he contacted an advocacy group that tries to help people with issues and brings media attention to them. Saimai Survive is the group he turned to after the police, and that's most likely why you are seeing this article at all.

They already ran this through the courts and got a pass. Now they're going to milk it for as long as possible.

Depends on your history in Thailand, the longer and more sketchy, the higher the price. I think it starts around 1500-2000? After that the sky is the limit until the agent tells you they can't help you.

1) When all of this started a few months ago, it was 1 night in Laos at Chiang Saen, or 2 nights in Laos at Chiang Khong. Chiang Khong switched to 1 night for a while but appears to have switched back to 2 nights. Up until now I've never heard anything different about Chiang Saen, so that one appears to still be at 1 night in Laos. 2) Reports are that the "overnight" rule is only applying to those without a visa, and entering visa exempt. While one report says that the Thai said told them they could not return the same day without spending the night, but they returned immediately with their multiple entry non-O and were let in normally.

No, the preferred method would be if the rules were uniform across the country, at every border and point of entry. At least then you would know what to expect. A few months notice of a rule change doesn't mean much when each individual border can set their own rules regardless of the official rule. Maybe the ETA will change this and maybe it won't. Guess we will have to wait and see.

@DrJack54 You didn't really clear up his question about the period to apply. He believes he can apply within 45 days of the expiration written on his visa from the embassy. I told him that is incorrect. It's 45 days from the expiration of his entry stamp. That's the clarification he was asking for. Though I already know the answer.

The embassies in SE Asia allow non-residents to apply. Many others do, but some don't. And even more confusingly some that specifically say they don't, like Tapei, allow non-residents to apply for the DTV there. How you receive your DTV depends on where you are applying. If you are applying at a Thai embassy that has not adopted e-visa, you will be giving them your passport with your application and your visa will be inside the passport. If you apply at a Thai embassy that has adopted e-visa, it will all be done online and you will receive your visa as a PDF document e-mailed to you.

You go to the BOI office before they take you to the immigration office. They'll make sure everything is in order and print anything out that you are missing for you. Don't worry too much.

They may have done it after Covid for a short term, but for a long time it was not required. I was there in July and there was no such requirement.

Tod said "Chiang Mai Visa Run" can do in and out same day at Chiang Khong. He didn't know of any agents in Chiang Rai that can do the same thing, just the ones there act as a taxi to bring you to the border so you're still subject to the rules. He also stated that how long you have to stay out is whatever they tell you when you arrive, regardless of what others have experienced before.

Your understanding is off. When your visa expires has no bearing on any of this. The expiration date on your visa just means you must enter Thailand by that date in order to receive the 90 day entry stamp. You can only apply for the extension when the entry stamp has 45 days or less left. The moment you enter Thailand the visa is done, gone, irrelevant. Only the entry stamp matters after that point (though you'll still need the visa for your extension).