OJAS

And a rather more rapid decrease in the number of seats in banks and immigration offices within existing totals with X plonked on them, hopefully.

Assuming you're still waiting, have you tried sending an e-enquiry to HMPO? https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/Passport_Enquiries.ofml?_ga=2.171280867.2124134922.1626837669-1983836778.1623461427

In which case we are, I think, talking about another example of blatant roguery on the part of CW - coming as it does on top of a recent report on here stating that they are not prepared to transfer stamps from old to new passports in the absence of an updated bank passbook! CW's pristine reputation among some on here has taken a bit of a knock, I think!!

IMHO you should only use 3 as a stop-gap measure until you have got 2 sorted - and most definitely not with the sole view of remarrying! Embassies and consulates in adjoining countries might get rather sniffy about issuing you with tourist visas on a back-to-back basis over the long term. In which case I would strongly advise you to take a read of this thread:-

Another point has just occurred to me: do you and your wife have children from your marriage? If so then all you should need to do is to switch from marriage to parent of a Thai child as the reason for future annual extensions of stay, but still on the basis of your original non-O visa - at least until said child(ren) reach(es) the age of 20 which, according to a Google search I've just conducted, is the age of majority in Thailand.

..which in your case will likely have to be one of the non-B variety:- https://www.mfa.go.th/en/page/non-immigrant-visa-b?menu=5e1ff6f857b01e00a84023d4 But maybe no need to travel to a nearby embassy or consulate for this visa but instead do a border run (but without a re-entry permit to preserve your existing permission to stay, though) and apply for a non-B conversion at your local immigration office upon your return with a 30-day visa exemption:- https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=2537 (in particular item 1)

Maybe at that time it was still required (in theory) to submit a fresh TM30 after each and every time you had spent at least 1 night away from the address at which the previous TM30 was registered. But, as alluded to by @ubonjoe and @DrJack54, this requirement was eased in June 2020, as announced at that time by a Police Regulation which you can download from the pinned "Laws, regulations, Police Orders, etc. related to visas, immigration matters, and work permits" thread (items 30 (English) and 31 (Thai) under the Visa heading).

But at least it was presumably possible for your pal to get to Newport from Paddington by train in just under 2 hours if the current GWR timetable is to be believed (assuming that rail was, of course, his mode of transport)! The distance between London and Newport is, I think, roughly the same as that between Rayong (where I live) and Bangkok, a journey which I'll be forced to make much against my will on 18 October in order to set the ball rolling on my passport renewal. And definitely no luxury of a high-speed rail link between Rayong and Bangkok, unfortunately.☹️ Instead an uncomfortable road trip taking at least 5 hours each way will be the strict order of the day. ???? That all said, though, I quite take your point about the omnipresence of HMPO's bungling incompetence and ineptitude!

I actually did this when I applied for my latest retirement extension at Rayong last July. Having arrived early enough to plonk my rearside on an "authorised" seat until my ticket number was called, needless to say it had been taken by the time I had subsequently completed my dealings with the immigration officer at their window. So I just plonked my rearside on a seat marked X in order to await the return of my passport duly stamped with the new extension, and dared to be challenged for doing so. However, apart from a few disapproving tut-tuts being muttered by my wife who was with me, nothing in the event happened. The irony of the whole situation was that, by the time I left the office, there were many others waiting their turn who were stood on their feet and obediently avoiding all the seats marked X. They were all in close proximity to each other thanks to the limited floor space at Rayong - and, hence, weren't socially distanced from each other by any stretch of the imagination!

And you will doubtless also be forced to stand for ages waiting for some ticket number to be called at some stage as the amount of available seating is, I assume, extremely limited at CW these days if the practice followed at my local office (Rayong) is also being followed there. If I were in your shoes I would be far more irritated by being forced to comply with this bloody social distancing nonsense much against my will than any requirement to wear masks. Why is it that those who complain bitterly on Asean Now threads about having to wear masks always choose to remain completely silent on the issue of continued mandatory compliance with totally ridiculous and increasingly irrelevant social distancing requirements these days? Slavish adherence to these particular requirements can result in considerable discomfort to - and, indeed, suffering by - those who, like myself, are unable to stand on their feet for any length of time in overcrowded immigration offices (and, for that matter, banks as well) as a result of some physical disability - in ways which the wearing of masks IMHO does not.

IMHO the final kick would be more appropriately directed at those who are responsible for, in effect, offering those using banks and immigration offices up as sacrificial lambs on the high altar of Social Distancing by making them stand for ages for their ticket numbers to be called through drastic reductions in the amount of seating available.

So when are preventive measures going to be lifted in immigration offices and banks then?

The National Communicable Disease Committee has ruled that “DMHT” – distancing, mask-wearing, handwashing, and testing – rules are enough to control the spread of COVID-19. Whilst much has been said about mask-wearing on this thread, not a dickey-bird has been said about distancing, which IMHO can be a much greater PITA in certain situations. For example, what on earth is the bloody point of being forced to stand on your feet for ages in an overcrowded immigration office or bank waiting for your ticket number to be called because half the seats are marked as not being for use and the remaining half are already occupied, merely in order to satisfy some sham pretence of "social distancing"? And will the lifting of the COVID-19 state of emergency finally consign this particular piece of nonsense to the rubbish bin where IMHO it now rightly belongs? Somehow I doubt it.

Clearly relates specifically to the dramatic overnight plunge in the GBP's value, I think. Earlier today Wise were only giving this message in respect of GBP transfers to other currencies exceeding £5,000.

Seems to have stabilised in early London trade - against the USD at least:- https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/sterling-plunges-all-time-low-fiscal-plan-spurs-investor-exodus-2022-09-26/ I had also been expecting a further dramatic plunge when the London markets opened. Still plenty of time today for that to happen, though, of course.

Correction: this refusal only appears to apply to transfers of £5,000 and above, and not to those of £4,999 and below.

Which would take the GBP to well below parity against both the USD and EUR as things stand at present. Wise are now refusing to guarantee their GBP conversion rates because of all the volatility.

Anyone aware of any other office which might still be striving to enforce this rogue requirement? Mine (Rayong) did for a brief period following the seasoning changes in early 2019 - but, thankfully, then quietly dropped it!

I would like to thank @pgrahmm and you for your contributions to this thread - in which I think that you have both clearly illustrated for the benefit of what few of my fellow countrymen might still be skipping up and down their sois in a state of unbridled excitement fulsomely singing the praises to the very highest heavens of current British passport renewal procedures from Thailand as being the very best thing since sliced bread, just how really <deleted> they are when compared to the vastly superior and far more efficient American system. I gather that the main reason why you Americans receive your new passports over a much shorter timeframe than do we Brits is that the State Department prioritises renewal applications submitted by expats over domestic applicants. Unfortunately quite the reverse is the case for us Brits, thanks to their counterparts in the form of those masters of bungling incompetence and ineptitude now known as His Majesty's Passport Office, who clearly regard us Brits living in LOS as inferior second-class citizens when compared to our countrymen living back in Blighty.

In which case, if your existing passport is due to expire within a couple of years of your permanent move to Thailand, I would strongly advise you to get it renewed while you are still in the UK. The British passport renewal process from Thailand is IMHO a right PITA, except for those who live in (or within a stone's throw of) Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

What is your nationality? Unless you are American, Australian or British you should be able to obtain a letter confirming your monthly pension income for Immigration purposes from your home country's embassy in Bangkok - and avoid having to make monthly 65k transfers as a result.

So blind loyalty to Putin is far from worrying in your eyes but rather to be fulsomely praised to the very highest heavens as being the best thing since sliced bread, then, is it?

What could prove a right PITA, though, is that, thanks to the Deposit Protection Agency's maximum 1,000,000 THB guarantee limit, it will probably be advisable to spread the 3,000,000 over 3 new accounts with separate banks (which should also be separate from the banks you hold existing accounts with).

And of course we believe everything that Google tells us without question, don't we? Well, whoever turned you away at the airport is a clueless idiot. You should have demanded to speak to their supervisor.

Yes, they might come to regret this attitude after the upcoming tourist high season during which the beaches usually frequented by Europeans will in all probability be completely deserted because their home country currencies will have plummeted in value against the THB as a direct consequence of any manipulation of the THB:USD xrate instigated by Thailand.