Bababooey

If you try this last day thing, please let us know how it turned out!

Drama and suspense on the visa forum, who knew?

Yes, I'll be sure to let everyone know how it turned out.

Two years ago, I was 2 days late - date stamp was for Saturday & office was closed. On Monday, I was chargfed for 2 day's overstay and extended for a year from Saturday.

I guess the Immigration can use their descretion on some close calls.

Guess I won't wear a wifebeater/singlet!

Wondering if this was at Jomtien Immigration?

Taking with you a copy of the letter from last year, and asking them to replicate it with the correct new information could speed up the process.

This year, I'll make a copy of the letter. In prior years, I gave them the original but did not make a copy.

If you do not do this you will almost certainly be given a 30 day stamp and this makes it much more work to change to retirement.

What is the difference in procedure between entering on a 30 day stamp and entering on a 60 day tourist visa as far as converting to a "retirement visa"?

The money in the bank is not a problem as there is more than 800K now and there will be more than 800K contunuously for more than 3 months afterward.

Thanks for the input guys!

I do have a re-entry permit.

My branch of Ayudhya is on Pattaya Tai near Friendship supermarket.

I have gotten a letter at that branch before. I forget the exact details but I belive there was some communication with Bangkok, perhaps the letter was composed in Bangkok and printed out in Pattaya. Any recent reports of getting the letter at that branch appreciated.

I am on a 1 Year Extension of Stay (Retirement Visa) which expires on Friday, November 1st. I assume this means that if not extended I am legal on November 1st but not on November 2nd?

I am out of Thailand and because of work commitments cannot return until Thursday, October 31st. I have more than 800K in my bank account but I need to get the bank letter before going to Immigration.

If I arrive in Thailand after the banks close on Thursaday Oct 31, is it likely that I can go to Ayudthya Bank when it opens on November 1st, get the letter, and then when I get to Immigration, about 30 minutes away, not be told, "come back on Monday, it's too late today?" It's possible the bank might say I can't pick up the letter until Monday.

Now it is possible (although difficult because it involves the submission of final exam results and I won't be able to get my final pay) that I could get to the bank around 11AM on Thurday, Ocober 31st and perhaps get the letter that day and then get to Immigration on October 31st in the afternoon. But then if I'm told "too late today, come back tomorrow" then the bank letter is not dated the same day, not sure if this matters or not.

I hate cutting things this close but I can't just take off and leave a couple days early.

So the two sticking points are:

1) The exact timeframe of getting my bank letter from Ayudtha Bank in Pattaya

2) What happens if I arrive at Immigration before it closes but that guy at the desk says come back on Monday and when I explain my visa expires today, he says agian, "come back on Monday"

Thanks in advance to all who can be helpful.

I have a few Thai bank accounts.

Can I deposit a foreign check denominated in GBP or USD into my Thai account denominated in baht? No problem if it takes a very long time to clear.

I cannot open a foreign currency account because I don't meet those requirements.

If the check cannot be deposited, is there a place I can cash it?

Is IBAN and Swift same same or different?

Anyone know if Kasikorn has an IBAN number?

I know many people use Kasikorn but with Kasikorn One Time Passwords come by SMS and I'm in Cambodia now.

You should still be able to receive SMSs on your Thai phone while in Cambodia. Just enable it for international roaming. Easy to do even for pre-paid; it was for my DTAC using friends.

If I put my 1-2-Call Sim in my phone while in Cambodia I can't connect. Must I enable roaming while in Thailand or is there a way to do so outside Thailand?

A slightly different question for you PayPal guys as I don't have a Paypal account yet.

My sole objective is that someone in the States owes me money and wants to pay me via PayPal.

I don't need the money urgently; it will just be sitting in my account.

I am in Cambodia.

I have two USA bank accounts but no mailing address or phone in the States and don't plan to return.

It seems if I have money transfered to my Krungsri account that the foreign exchange fees are exhorbitant.

Can almost any USA bank be linked to Paypal as the two banks that I have accounts with are not big banks like Citi, Chase etc? Is there a an online list of banks that can be linked to Paypal.

Also due to the Patriot Act opening accounts in the past have been a pain as I have no utillty bills or other similar stuff.

Is an email address and online banking with a small USA bank sufficient to open a PayPal account?

I only want to receive money from my friend and have access to it next year.

These may seem like elementary questions to you guys who have PayPal but they're driving me nuts!

Thanks for all the helpful responses guys.

I have a question about currency conversion.

Are you saying that if moving money from a PayPal account to Krungsri Bank it cannot be done in dollars with Krungsri handling the currency conversion?

Or if the transfer is done in USD then the Thai bank will add a fee?

And if the transaction is done in baht there will be an extremely unfavorable exchange rate such as more than 2% lower than the interbank rate?

Anyone have Pay Pal with their Krungsri account?

And would you please clue me in how to set this up?

My primary objective is to receive money, not to use it for purchases.

I know many people use Kasikorn but with Kasikorn One Time Passwords come by SMS and I'm in Cambodia now.

While with Krungsri, my one time passwords comes by email.

Although it is easy to find a product labeled "anti perspirant" it's a bit harder to find "deodorant"

I don't think it's healthy to stop perspiration.

Nivea offers both so I figure the deoderant is just deoderant.

But if a brand only sells deoderant, i wonder if it is really anti perspirant.

Thanks Lopburi for your help.

I wonder if there is any other downside to starting over again.

I've had a one year extension of stay for five consecutive years now. If I return before expiration it'll be my sixth year. I remember hearing somewhere that at some point, maybe 5 or 10 years, then you don't have to renew every year. So I suppose I would be resetting the clock?

Actually you do not even need the non immigrant visa from a Consulate anymore as immigration can change a visa exempt or tourist vist for 2,000 baht and show of financials - so it is not a big thing to start over again and if you plan to live in Cambodia for a period of time I would just plan to do after you return to Thailand and plan to stay again. You get 15 days visa exempt and a tourist visa is easy to get (but often does take a few days in PP as it is not the normal next day service).

So it would seem I have three choices.

1) Get a 15 day tourist stamp (30 by air) and then go to Jomtien, pay 2000 baht, show financials, get the non immigrant visa which gives me 90 days and then at the end of 90 days get an extension of stay for one year.

2) Get a 60 day Tourist Visa and follow the same procedure as above.

3) Get the 90 day non immigrant in Phnom Penh.

It seems that instead of going to the thai Consulate in Phnom Penh most guys just let a travel agent do it for them for a few extra bucks.

But if it's easy I'd prefer to get the 90 days in Phnom Penh. Can that be done through the travel agent or must I visit the consulate.

It is permissible for me to get the 60 or 90 day visa while my extension of stay is still in effect, right?

Thanks for the input guys!

The 30 day window is only before expiration? Or 30 days before and after? If I can extend my stay another year 30 days after expiration that would solve my problem.

I live near Jomtien. With the bank letter, it seems the best I can hope for is two days, and then have to book a flight.

Is starting the process over again with a 90 day visa in Phnim Penh problematic. Anyone have experience with the Thai Embassy in PP?

I currently have a Retirement Visa. However, I will probably not be able to be back in Thailand to renew it before it expires since I'll be teaching in Cambodia.

So I may have to start the process over again.

Will I able to do this in Phnom Penh? I have Thai bankbooks with me showing more than 800K in the bank.

Transfers for me from Fidelity to Bangkok Bank New York to my Thailand Bangkok Bank account costs 15 USD plus 500 baht. I get the TT rate.

It's pretty easy, one click on the Fidelity website.

Was a bit of a pain getting the initial setup between Fidelity and Bangkok Bank New York working though.

TT rate is the rate you'll get from the banks' counters and at their currency exchange booths. That's a rate that changes daily and varies from bank to bank. In my experience, among the major Thai banks, none has a steady, ongoing tendency toward better rates. They seem to bounce up and down compared to each other.

I thought the TT rate was the Telex Transfer rate when wiring money in. TT rate is better than the Cash rate but there are are fixed charges with the TT rate so it depends on how much money your changing whether or not a telex transfer is better than a cash exchange.

Have to print out a boarding pass.

Anyone know an internet cafe with a printer on Ko Phangan (not in Had Rin)?

Thanks.

I believe the marathon is the day before the Full Moon Party.

The Full Moon Party starts the night of Sept 30 and finishes the morning of Oct 1.

Thanks Carsten for all the good info from our PM exchange.

Your reco of the Trat Center Hotel was excellent. They gave me a promo rate of 580 baht and it's a great place. There is a sign at the desk that says 800 baht. The staff is quite friendly and the rooms

are great.

The bus ride from Trat to Pattaya was cheap and comfortable with no one next to me the entire trip, Final few miles took 90 minutes though partially due to heavy rain.

We paid 1300 for a private van from Had Lek to our hotel in Trat. They requested we pay upfront and told us we would go a short ways and switch vans. After about a 10 or 15 minute ride we switched vans and I saw one driver give the other 1000 baht.

Can anyone recommend a travel agent in Trat or Had Lek?

I'm trying to arrange a private taxi from Had Lek to Trat. I don't want to be at the mercy of a recklass van driver and would prefer to sort out transport in advance. Then I'll take the bus from Trat onward.

So if anyone has the phone number or email of an agency they had a good experince with please pass it on.

Same same for taxi drivers or companies.

Thanks!

A friend from the UK will be entering Thailand from Cambodia at the Had Lek border crossing.

Looking http://www.thaivisa.com/479.0.html

it says he can stay in Thailand for 30 days but I seem to recall that at some point they changed things so if entering by land it's only 15 days.

So is it 15 days or 30 days?

Thanks!

Last year i took a shared minivan from Had Lek to Pattaya. Never again. On the stretch from Had Lek to Trat the driver was passing on blind curves, driving like a madman.

i'd like to take a private taxi from Had Lek to Trat and then I'll take a bus from Trat to Pattaya.

Anyone have any info or phone numbers for Had Lek private taxis or private car services? Or Trat taxis that would come down to Had Lek to pick me up? I want to make sure that my driver will drive safely.

Thanks!