ubonjoe

You have to apply for a the multiple entry tourist visa (METV) in your home country or country of legal residence. Some embassies and consulates make it difficult to get. I you were going to be here for more than 2 weeks I would suggest you apply for a non-o visa at immigration and then a extension based upon retirement. Whether you can get drivers license with 60 day entry from the METV depends upon the DLT drivers licence office you apply at.

All I can do is post the official requirements to enter laos. This from the IATA.

He was being sarcastic in reply to another post that said the were not needed.

It has already been changed.

That would depend upon the office where you apply. Some offices could insist on using marriage as the reason for your extension. The intent of number 5 in clause 2.18 is to allow a unmarried or divorced parent to apply for the one year extension.

You can only do it at the office that issued your extension of stay.

Unless planning a trip out of the country the extra time to get the extension result is not really problem. I do my extension about 2 weeks early or less so it is only 45 days or less. I have done 15 extensions and all of the 30 days have started from the end of my current extension.

Some people will say it is easier to do a extension based upon retirement. In my opinion the deciding factor is whether you want to have 400k baht on the bank or 800k baht baht in the bank on the day you apply and then for 3 months after and 400k baht after for the rest of the year. I chose the the extension based upon marriage since I could qualify for the 40k baht income option with proof from my embassy. Another reason then was I could work and get a work permit with that extension instead of retirement if I wanted to I have applied for 15 extensions based upon marriage and have not experienced the problems people state they have. For the current and previous 3 extensions I have used the income option by showing over 40k baht foreign transfers into my account after my embassy stopped doing proof of income. Paying 40k baht for the visa/extension is way over the top. I don't approve of people using agents to get around having the money in the bank. There is no licensing for agents. The agents only use offices that they have a arrangement they have with to get around the financial proof.

It could be approved by the division headquarters before the 60 days ends. You can check with immigration to find out if it has been approved. My experience of it being approved prior on the date on the under consideration stamp is not good. My wife has called immigration a day or 2 before the report date and they had not received the approval yet. This year she called on Friday since the report date was on a weekend and they did not have the approval back. On Monday morning the officer called her to tell her they had received it. She then went to immigration that afternoon and got my stamp done.

You will not be changing from a non-b visa to a non-o visa. You will be changing the reason for your extension of stay based upon working to one based upon retirement. You will need a termination letter from your employer to have your current extension of stay so you can change to a extension based upon retirement on or before the date on the termination letter. You will need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months on the day you do the change. No reason to use a agent if you have the 800k baht in the bank. It appears the agent is quoting the cost for applying for a non-o visa at immigration and then the one year extension that can only be done if you are on a tourist visa or visa exempt entry.

There is notification sent of the TM30 report being done online. You can do a screenshot of the online report for proof it was done.

This from the Lao e visa website. The ATK covid 19 test has to be done by doctor, clinic or hospital.

Never seen that before. Just an error. They did a N instead of a E.

Yes They started the 30 days from the end of your current extension.

Were you applying 30 days early? Many offices start the 30 days from the day your current extension expires.

You cannot make an appointment for a new passport unless you have lost one. Source: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/acsappointment/

You can get non-o visa that allows you stay 90 days and then a 60 day extension to visit your Thai wife. Or you could enter visa exempt and get a 45 days, then a 30 day extension and then a the 60 day extension

That is the normal 30 days under consideration period. It seems they gave you a 2 day window to return to get your extension stamp. You first 90 day report is due 90 days from the day you applied for your extension. You will need to do your first 90 day report in person or by mail. After that you can do them online.

That is not needed to apply for the non-o visa at the emassy.

I assume you applied for a non-o visa to visit you wife. That is an error on the e visa website. It should only be 20k baht or the equivalent of it in pounds in a bank account.

Both of you should apply for tourist visas at the embassy in Vientiane or the consulate in Savannakhet. Then both of you could apply for 30 day extension of the 60 days from the visa.

For visas issued by the embassy they are not all the expensive. Extension of stay are all 1900 baht. If you qualify for certain extension you have to have money in a Thai bank. What nationality is your son? What is your age? If he is school age he could enroll in a school and to got a extension for attending a school and you could apply for a extension to extension for being his father. That would require 500k baht in a Thai bank for 90 days.

I don't think you will have a problem. It will be over a year since you left the country and a new passport.

Many people have done the application without a problem. I am not seen any reports of anybody having a problem doing it by email. You can use a copy of your passport if asked for it. I doubt they will drop doing them by mail. They started doing them by mail to reduce the numbers of people doing them in person.

Yes