deptrai

I've stayed at an Airbnb several times in Thailand.  All less than 30 days.  Never asked for my passport or passport number and Airbnb doesn't have it either.

Does one need a prescription to purchase a CPAP in Thailand?  I was wondering what I'd do if mine quit.

3 hours ago, Liquorice said:

Unfortunately no.
Immigration only accepts passive incomes, such as from Pensions, Investments or Dividends.

 

If your spouse is non-Thai, obtain the Non O visa for both parties.
You would have to deposit 800K THB in a Thai bank account, but only for yourself for 1 year extension of stay.

Your foreign spouse can 'piggyback' your 1-year extensions based on your 800K THB deposited funds.

 

Yes, this is how I understood the case to be today.  My wife and I (both USA citizens) would both be required to have separate 800K THB minimum bank accounts the first year.  Not really a problem other than the loss of interest we can receive at "home".

On 12/10/2023 at 6:04 AM, sqwakvfr said:

I got one two years ago.   Digital Fingerprints submitted at a Print/Notary type place at 200 PM and the results were emailed to me in two hours.  I got the FBI fingerprint background check and it was $47 dollars.  It should be the same for a California DOJ check.  There are two main companies that provide this service. 

For the non-Immigrant O-A visa, are both local (California) and federal (FBI) criminal background checks required?

11 hours ago, Liquorice said:

Why not use the 65K THB monthly overseas transfer method to obtain 1-year extensions of stay.
You'll need a passive income to live in Thailand anyway, and you can keep your funds in a US bank.

 

 

Please clarify this for me.  Like the OP, I do not have 65K THB passive income.  I do have enough savings to transfer 130K THB/month (me & the wife) for 10+ years before our pensions and social security starts.  Can we transfer in 65K THB each per month from our savings to avoid the 800K THB each in a Thai bank?  I didn't think this was possible.

I purchased generic Tramadol (Damol brand name) from Siam Pharmacy at the base of the Phloen Chit BTS station in Bangkok last week.  50mg tablets.  20 tablets for 80 Baht.  I haven't used any yet so can't judge the effectiveness.

On 10/12/2023 at 7:43 PM, novacova said:

….& tourists driving rentals 

I was a tourist driving a Bangkok rental last week.  Went through a checkpoint on the canal road at the border of Hua Hin & Cha-Am.  I was waved through.  

After taking Ultracet 3x daily for a week, I experienced a side effect...urinary retention.  I went back to Vicodin.  Fortunately, I later had surgery to correct my problem and have been mostly pain/drug free since.

I rid myself of a toe fungus by applying petroleum jelly to the area twice a day.  It was gone in less than two months.  Doctor wanted to put me on some drug that had the potential to damage my liver.

On 10/21/2023 at 7:40 AM, lordgrinz said:

You missed a few steps in the US process, first you need a certified (Notary Signature) copy of the Marriage Certificate from the town/city you got married in, then you have to send that to the Secretary of State for the State you got married in to certify (Secretary of State Letter - Signature) verifying the Local Notaries Signature, then you need to send those return documents to the Secretary of State for the USA to have that certified (Secretary of State for the USA's Signature) verifying the Secretary of State Signature for your State. Then you send that bonded together document to the Thai Embassy in the USA and have them Certify (Thai Counselor's Signature/Stamp) the whole document. It is now an Apostle of the marriage you can use here, however there is one more step, you need to bring that to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office at IO Chaengwattana location and have them certify (apply a Stamp Signature) to verify the Signature of the Thai Counselor back in the Thai Embassy in the USA. Its a long drawn out process, but technically its the correct process for verifying a marriage from the USA that can be used in Thailand. You may get away with less, and probably will, but that's up to whatever the IO or local Amphur allows.

 

Did mine through the Chicago office:

https://cgchicago.thaiembassy.org/en/page/consular-services-legalization?menu=621348a4b177f672f635e633

 

US State Department Apostille Requirements:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/apostille-requirements.html

Thank you for more thoroughly outlining the USA process.  I was married in Nevada, currently live in Texas and will be immigrating to Thailand in two years or so with my wife.

Further in the application process, it asks for "intended date of departure".  At first I was unclear if this was date of departure from my current location, but it will not let you select a date prior to your "intended date of arrival".  It will however, let you select a date more than 90 days after your "intended date of arrival".

Further more and it asks for "proof of permanent residence in the country where the application is submitted".  What would suffice here?  

Also asks for a bank statement for 3 moths balance of at least 10,000 GBP.  I found that currency odd.  I already had to input "United States" about 6 times before getting to this page.

Foreign Insurance Certificate?  Non-Immigrant O doesn't require insurance so why is it asking?

Health Insurance with outpatient 40K THB & inpatient not less than 400K THB.  Again, Non-Immigrant O doesn't require insurance so why is it asking?

Can I just upload a document that states "Not applicable for Non-Immigrant O"?

"Document indicating current residency".  How does this differ than the previous requirement "proof of permanent residence in the country where the application is submitted"?

On 9/3/2023 at 9:04 AM, BritTim said:

This is out of date. It gives the requirements that were in effect during Covid restrictions. Health insurance is no longer required for Non O visas (though it is for Non O-A).

 

The Non O visa (the O stands for "other") is available for a number of different purposes. Including those over age 50 not intending to work in Thailand.

Thanks.  I created a practice account and went through the initial steps.  Found how to select the O visa.

The US Washington D.C. Thai embassy website states that health insurance is required when applying for Non Immigrant O visa.  I thought the main benefit of this Non-Immigrant O visa was that health insurance was not required.

The Thai eVisa website states that the Non-Immigrant O is for "visiting friends and family".

What am I missing?

I'm finding this thread very interesting and informative.

My wife and I are intending to "retire" in Thailand using the non-immigrant O-A visa.  We're US citizens, 50+ years of age and will not have any health insurance so the requirement for health insurance hasn't been a reason to go for the O rather than O-A.  The perceived difficulties in opening the required bank account in Thailand in a short period has really discouraged me from even considering the O.  I would be too stressed.

Upon expiration of either the O or O-A, how does the extension process differ?  After the initial two-year (one year + leaving the country and returning just before the initial year expires) I would probably then go for the O as I would have plenty of time by then to figure out how to open a Thai bank account.  Even then, I would still have to (or want to) purchase health insurance.

I put "retire" in quotes, because we plan to eventually (5+ years later) return to the USA some time after becoming eligible for Medicare coverage.

Mentioned upthread is that obtaining a health certificate can be difficult in the USA.  I'm interested in first-hand experiences.  

According to this video, the health insurance requirements for a Non Immigrant O-A visa are $100,000 US dollars (not 3 million Baht or 3.5 million Baht or anything Baht) in-patient care and 45,000 Baht out-patient care.

Is General Hydroponics pH Up & pH Down not available?

Let the games begin.

Came in at 00:30 this morning (Tuesday).  Korean Air parked at a stand 700m from the Immigration counters.  Moving walkways helped make it a quick trip.  There were exactly zero people queued in front of me.  The fastest I've ever made it through in 20+ BKK arrivals.  I withdrew cash from the ATM and still beat my bags.

First time back in Thailand in a couple years and noticed this.  My wife hit the "accept" button at the airport while I was dealing with lost luggage.  She withdrew 5,000 THB and my bank shows a deduction of US$166.46 or US$30.04/THB.  

I withdrew 10,000 THB last night and did not accept and see a deduction of $306.45 or $32.63/THB.

My (Charles Schwab) bank refunds all ATM fees at the end of each month and I think the 220 THB fee is buried in the deductions.

On 12/2/2021 at 8:09 AM, PabloSanDiego said:

$37 for an RT-PCR test is a bargain. I would have done this my last trip if I knew about it.  I ended up spending $200 for a 20 minute test at the airport on my departure day because I wasn't home within 72 hours of departure.

 

This trip though I'm home and my HMO gives me the RT-PCR for free so I'm just doing that. So I guess Salem Health doesn't do them for free for you. Or maybe you're not at home and in a situation like I was in.

 

Anyway, thanks for the tip on that Amazon test.  At $37 that should be helpful to some people.

Amazon test results were back in less than 48 hours from when I dropped off the sample at the UPS Store is Salem, OR.  After I had purchased the Amazon kit, I found a place in Corvallis that does the test for free...WVT Laboratory.  You meed to sign up for a LabDash account.  That result came back (negative) in less than 12 hours.  

Now I'm just hoping two negatives doesn't equal a positive.

On 12/2/2021 at 8:09 AM, PabloSanDiego said:

$37 for an RT-PCR test is a bargain. I would have done this my last trip if I knew about it.  I ended up spending $200 for a 20 minute test at the airport on my departure day because I wasn't home within 72 hours of departure.

 

This trip though I'm home and my HMO gives me the RT-PCR for free so I'm just doing that. So I guess Salem Health doesn't do them for free for you. Or maybe you're not at home and in a situation like I was in.

 

Anyway, thanks for the tip on that Amazon test.  At $37 that should be helpful to some people.

Salem Heath does not do them for free as far as I know.  I'm also going to have another test done at a Curative Labs location (a local church).  They are free and promise 1-2 day results.  I'm just not yet certain if the test and certification will be RT-PCR or RT-qPCR.  I've emailed them to ask, but haven't had a response yet.

On 12/2/2021 at 5:31 AM, Kopitiam said:

Your insurance is for 20-days.  I reckon you are staying less than a month.  Do you need to submit return flight tickets?

Yes.  17 days.  I submitted my round trip ticket details from the airline.

I applied for Thailand Pass two days ago for myself and my wife.  They were both approved immediately.  USA.  Our first two vaccinations had a document with QR codes from Salem Health (in Oregon).  My wife's third vaccination shot was at CVS pharmacy in California and she had a QR code for it.  My third shot was at Walmart in Oregon and I was finally able to get a QR code for it.  AXA 20-day insurance for 1,540 THB each.  The Athenee Bangkok Test & Go package.  Yahoo email addresses.  Just need to get the RT-PCR prior to departure now.  Planning on doing the $37 Amazon COVID-19 Test Collection Kit DTC with a local backup.  

If I were to apply for Thailand Pass, which of the following pictures would I upload?

The document containing the QR code was generated by Salem (Oregon) Health.  It accounts for my 1st two shots.  My 3rd shot was done at Walmart (similar to Asda in UK).  I have no QR code that reflects the 3rd Walmart shot.  Walmart kept my original paper CDC card that had the first two shots recorded and replaced it with a new CDC card where they copied the first two entries and added their own third.

I'll be staying at the Sheraton hotel.  The one just north of Hua Hin.  Anywhere around there to rent a motorbike?