edwardandtubs

8 hours ago, Phillip9 said:

I've booked and refunded fully refundable tickets on at least 5 different airlines, and I have never lost a single Baht to a credit card charge or fee.  

 

Do you have any example of an Airline that charges and won't refund some credit card fee for a ticket they say is fully refundable? 

 

Never lost a single baht? Are you paying in baht and if so how do you avoid the usual foreign currency loading fee of 2.75%? Or is your bank account USD?

 

I appreciate you sharing this and it looks like a good option but for me I would lose with both the initial charge and the refund so would end up paying about 5% on a $120 ticket. That's good at less than 200 baht and less than the cost of these dodgy onward flight websites.

13 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

There is actually another level of service.

You can use agent to guarantee visa exempt entry.

It's not cheap . Approx 8k

 

Or half that if you have a tourist visa. However, I've learned that being stopped at the airport is no big deal as long as you have a ticket back to your home country, hotel bookings, the required cash and an explanation of how you're going to spend your time as a tourist in Thailand. I was in the waiting area for about an hour and saw lots of people had been pulled aside but they were all allowed in once they had spoken to the officer and produced the required documents.

OP is worrying about nothing. There's no way this landlord can sue you for rent beyond the date you move out. That's just not the way it's done in Thailand. You forfeit your deposit and that's it. If anything, the courts would say there was no second contract and that the arrangement you currently have is just a rolling monthly contract that legally follows the end of your original 12 month tenancy. In that situation, if you give one month's written notice you should get your deposit back. But as neither party is likely to pursue this in court, the sensible thing to do is just move out at the end of the rental month and let the landlord keep the deposit.

1 hour ago, JoseThailand said:

Has anyone been denied entry at a fast track for "staying in Thailand too much"?

The fast track wouldn't be the ones to deny entry. What happens at the airport is the IO sends a message to his senior who comes and collects you and takes you away to a corner where you fill in a form and speak to the IO in charge. This is just as likely to happen in the fast track and yes this has been reported on this forum. The chances of actually being denied entry are miniscule either way.

5 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

Oh I see there are tickets from Bangkok that give you 24 hours free cancellation if you click through even if cancellation fees apply to the ticket.

However the small print states: "We understand that sometimes plans change. We do not charge a cancel or change fee. When the airline charges such fees in accordance with its own policies, the cost will be passed on to you." So it the ticket itself has cancellation fees you'll still end up paying.

13 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

I don't see any direct flights from Bangkok to KL that have no cancellation fees on expedia.com. I see one from Phuket to KL with Malaysia Airlines which is "

Refundable

Less any non-refundable fees"

so that's a bit of a risk.

Oh I see there are tickets from Bangkok that give you 24 hours free cancellation if you click through even if cancellation fees apply to the ticket.

7 hours ago, Harry Om said:

I have used the following method multiple times. This is for a 24 hour travel window to show at the airport/on arrival , not if you are applying in advance for a visa.

 

The U.S. have a law that certain tickets must offer full refund if canceled within 24 hours, so you must use a website from the US.

 

I use https://www.expedia.com/ which is the US website.

(make sure it's not expedia.com.au, or expedia.co.uk etc)

 

Look for a ticket from Bangkok to KL with either Thai or Malaysian airlines, generally around $100. These two always seem to have the 24 hour cancellation option. Once you have selected the ticket MAKE SURE it says you can cancel it for free refund (it tells you this as you go through the buying process). Cheaper airlines eg Airasia this option is not available.

 

Buy the ticket before you go to the airport. Then you have a legit fully paid ticket. Arrive in Thailand, cancel the ticket, the full refund of the exact price I paid is always in my bank account within 48 hours. Canceling is very easy, expedia has that option listed on your ticket itinerary.

 

Just make sure you can do it all within a 24 hour period (from initial buying to cancel) and this works fine, with zero cost.

I don't see any direct flights from Bangkok to KL that have no cancellation fees on expedia.com. I see one from Phuket to KL with Malaysia Airlines which is "

Refundable

Less any non-refundable fees"

so that's a bit of a risk.

I'm certainly going to go and try his beef wellington. I've seen how he cooks it on YouTube and it looks absolutely delicious.

At Heathrow flying Thai Airways to Bangkok without a visa it was self-check-in at a machine but then you have to drop off your bags with a staffed conveyor belt. She did ask me about the one-way ticket but wasn't that interested and didn't ask to see onward travel.

To be fair to the evisa team, the email did arrive just before I landed so they got it processed in time. Unfortunately, I didn't check my email until after I'd made the visa exempt attempt.

Well I got through but they pulled me aside and it's not just a 10 minute interview. You have to wait for an hour for your turn and produce all the requirements like cash and a ticket back to your home country. Onward ticket to Penang wouldn't have sufficed for me but luckily as I was waiting I got an email with my evisa! Yes, on a Sunday! So it all worked out ok by luck but I definitely wouldn't recommend the visa exempt via airport route for anyone with a history.

Will an Air Asia flight to Penang suffice for onward flight confirmation?

10 hours ago, BritTim said:

If entering at Suvarnabhumi, you are likely to be questioned. Denied entry is unlikely but possible.

 

Onward flight requirements depend on your airline. Often, they are happy if you have a flight booked with them, even if not within 30 days, but they are less likely to accept a flight more than 30 days out on another airline. They may allow you to sign an indemnity form in lieu of an onward flight. Be ready to make a quick flight reservation at the airport if they will not check you in without.

It seems nowaday they're questioning people rather than asking to see documents and cash so the indemnity form sounds like a good idea if offered.

4 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I am not optimistic about your chances. Years ago, UK citizens were able to get Thai tourist visas in Istanbul, but I am not sure the honorary consulate there processes visas at all now (I suspect you may need to apply in Ankara) and I think there is an assumption that UK citizens will use the e-visa system, meaning they will probably not help you even if they are still allowed to issue visas. I suggest you email them to ask. I think the email address is still [email protected]

 

Thank you! How about my chances of getting in visa exempt without hassle at BKK airport? I've been out of Thailand for just over three months after a 9 month stay. Before that I was out of Thailand for 9 months after staying September 2019 to January 2022 on an METV + covid extensions. Lots of history before that too.

 

Would it be ok to book a flight from BKK to Penang 60 days from my entry to Thailand or would it have to be 30 to satisfy the onward flight requirement?

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Visa processing at the London embassy is currently an absolute shambles. All you can do is grit your teeth and see what happens. There have been several recent cases of visa approvals once it is too late to take your flight. Usually people have chosen to travel and enter visa exempt, which, of course, leads to issues with an onward flight requirement within 30 days.

Have you heard any reports on how easy the Istanbul consulate is for non-Turkish citizens (UK) to get an SETV? I've decided to stopover there on my way back to Thailand and I suspect it may be quicker to get the visa from there. If I did and came in on that visa, would I then be able to use the evisa at a later date (before expiry of course)?

14 minutes ago, Chivas said:

If you look my OP from this thread from last weekend and the 2nd llne "My application was thrown out" that had initially been submitted and was pending for 6 days

I rectified the issues and it was granted from the Sunday the thread was started to Wednesday just gone

In reality probably the Monday to Wednesday

Thank you, that's very helpful. As the document check is complete, hopefully I'll get mine early next week.

Just now, Dan O said:

Most embassy websites give a general time for approvals. No guarantees are made and times vary. To apply with short lead time is foolish but lots do it and then come to complain. 

Not complaining at all, just asking for recent experiences.

Last year I got my evisa via London in three days. This year I applied on Sunday and it went from document check to pending approval yesterday. I was supposed to fly out tonight so have a couple of questions:

 

1) How much longer am I likely to have to wait?

2) Will they approve the visa even though I've missed the flight time in the document I sent? Luckily it was a flexible ticket but they don't know that.

One odd new requirement for an SETV is on the official website:

 

8. A confirmation letter from employer, School, Self-assessment, Pension statement.

 

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/tourist-single-entry-visa

 

I'm sure certain unscrupulous individuals would just write the letter themselves but is it really necessary just for an SETV?

13 hours ago, BritTim said:

Normally, unless things have changed again, you would get the passport back with visa on Thursday. Was it your choice to wait until Friday, or was this based on instructions by the embassy?

That's what I was thinking. It would be good if we did get that choice because submitting the application and then taking the bus to Vang Vieng for a few days relaxation would be a good option.

4 hours ago, simon43 said:

I was staying on KP during last high season.  My detached studio near Chaloklam had a separate kitchen and bathroom, parking, huge land (coconut plantation), free wifi and electricity and it cost me 9,000 THB/month with no security deposit needed.

 

How did I get such a bargain?  I ignored the overinflated prices on FB and drove around and chatted directly with the Thai owners ????

 

That's exactly what I did so maybe things haven't changed that much. Back then I stayed in Haad Yao which was pretty deserted in the low season with many resorts closed. Many owners were happy to offer good monthly prices to walk-ins.

About ten years I ago I stayed in Koh Phnagan for a few months around May-July. I rented a bungalow with a separate kitchen up a hill with stunning sea views for about 10,000 baht a month. What kind of price would I be looking at these days for something similar for around this time of year?

2 hours ago, BJEinTH said:

What I have seen online is that one CAN convert from a tourist visa to the Non-B but must go to the main office in Chang Wattana to do so.

 

Is this true? Both: it is possible to do AND one must go to Chang Wattana? Cannot do it at, say, Saraburi?

You can do it if you have the necessary documents. You must go to your local immigration office. Ignore "consultants" and just focus on what the immigration office itself says:

 

https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=15375

The whole evisa system is a disaster waiting to happen. Thai websites are constantly being hacked yet they expect you to upload all the documents any scammer or identity fraudster would need. I'm sure all the documents of anyone who has used it are for sale on the dark web. I'm glad I redacted the account numbers in the documents I sent.

The big question is, what to do if you currently live in the UK and need to apply for a tourist visa? Visa exempt is not a good option due to my history.