mokwit

I thought at the end of the day they grandfathered in existing visa holders? - if not that is disgusting.

The idea that they could make the airlines their unpaid tax collectors.

Did they ask for TM30 for extension? You might need a TM30 done for 90 day with a passport change - I did, but I don't know if that was because the old one was from a while back or because of change of passport number.

You are right, I was referencing the long term visas, but I don't feel I am scaremongering, I just feel that it is not impossible as they are ostensibly aiming for "quality" and Bt3m seems to be their new reference - albeit for 5 years.

Just from observing that recent long stay [2x5yr] visas/mooted visas have 3m as the amount required. My point is that this seems to be their new number, so if there was a change to 800k it is possible but maybe improbable that this would be the new amount.

Maybe people confuse being seen quickly with quality of treatment.

I was relaying my direct experience at the one and only Govt hospital I have used. I don't think I understand the need for your second comment about Governments and small amounts of falangs. What point were you trying to make?

In fairness, this has not been my experience at the Govt Hospital I go to. I have no suspicion of any unnecessary treatments. Drug prices are cheaper than I can get outside. Things seem to be charged at cost. Private hospitals are another matter.

Foreigners undergo a transformation and become dangerous after 30 days.

All valid comments, but it makes everything more difficult for those of us who aren't playing games. I recognise that my extension is probably one of the easiest in the world, but the requirements are becoming more pedantic and exacting to line everything up as they require. The 400k year 'round was ostensibly to stop agents. That requires the cooperation of an IO, but I never heard about them going after the facilitators - they just punished the rest of us with the 400k requirement.

Keeping money in the bank year 'round or proving 65k every month from overseas. TM30. You are now dependent on a third party for documentation required for an extension. They should not be refusing your extension if a TM30 has not been filed, they should be going after the non filing Landlord.

Was 200k->400k->800k. Existing extensions were grandfathered. The recent requirement to keep Bt400k year 'round was not. This is a disturbing precedent, especially when Bt3m sees to be their new figure for LT stayer visas. A jump from 800k to 3m without grandfathering does seem too much of a jump, but who knows, they seem to be little concerned with the consequences of their actions.

Once they set the precedent of changing the financial requirements of the retirement extension without grandfathering, Thailand became a very poor choice for a carefree long term retirement.

Also if you have a retirement or marriage extension bring updated passbook and maybe bank letter also if you wish to do something at CW L section. Note: I find this new, unpublicised new rule that an updated passbook is required to do anything, really very inconsiderate. I was asked by an older gentleman in his 70's if bank book was required for passport transfer and told him it was. He said there was nothing on their website about this. He didn't have it so he went home. Wasted journey to near the ends of the earth for an old guy in his 70's who had checked their web site. Still, if they catch out the odd person who forgot his bank would withdraw 200 baht for a debit card it must be worth causing that kind of inconvenience to many others.

I needed both to do a retirement extension very recently at CW. TM30 was not asked for in previous years. It seems TM30 is now the foundational requirement without which they won't proceed.

If you can download it - Android 'phones are set as Thailand but it never shows up in Playstore searching under various combos of section38. There is this link but I am leery of it. https://apkcombo.com/section38/th.go.immigration.section38/download/apk I get a warning when I click download on an android 'phone.

Exactly this. Sukhumvit long ago ceased to be the nutty, flavoursome place it was in the '90's.

Didn't mean FL - my experience there has always been positive. I meant the other one.

.......rather than putting it in a new bag with a new date.

FL. Get the freshest ones from the bottom of the pile - old on top, new underneath.

Villa. FL veg was/is always fresh. Once it reaches sell by date they remove it.

I formed the impression that when veggies reached their sell by date they put them in new bags with a new date. Kale used to come in a branded bag and you would see it in a plain bag a few days after - plain bag kale went yellow very quickly.

It has virtually become a police state for foreigners - it never was before.

FL/TLD have long been in decline. I wonder if the founder died or retired? what had been very stable with staff who had been there for literally decades, suddenly saw all kinds of changes. Staff were rotated between branches, long serving staff vanished to be replaced with rotating door student trainees. Nobody stays on that till unless they have 3 kids to support. I think what happened is that once it became primarily Middle Eastern, non ME people stopped going there and ME tourist numbers have not recovered. I didn't like the way everything on display was handled, including unwrapped bread. It seems the gentlemen who hang around outside the hotel opposite have made Tuuk Lae Dee their hangout. This seems to coincide with the recent increased fall off. It is not a good vibe that you have to walk past. The pharmacy has closed.

Coming back to this: You mean a receipt for the deposit payment in your name for opening an account with a utility? e.g. deposit for electricity? I take it a bill in a landlords name with a receipt for payment is not what you mean?