@Mouhsine *******

20,000 baht or an equivalent amount in a widely traded currency. It comes out to $800 CAD. Maybe a bit more with the current bad exchange rate to the baht.

Thanks as always Tod. I did a bounce at Mai Sai last weekend. Beforehand I did a search to try to decide if I might be asked for the proofs. I was not able to convince myself that they would never ask so I brought everything. Not a big deal for me although I prefer not to carry that much cash. Do we know for sure that Mae Sai never asks? If so I will not bother the next time.

I have done that boarder run. My plan was a simple cross, take a look around and take a few pics in like a half hour. When you cross they keep your passport and give you a paper forum to keep with you. I think I recall reading that you could stay up to 4 days but my guess is you might have to ask for that at the boarder. I recall reading that there was one specific city or town that you could travel to but only with a local guide. Please understand that none of this was part of my personal plan so I did not verify how up to date it might be.

@Tod ********

Tod despite you talking about it earlier in the thread I do not think the OP gets the difference between a visa validity date and a permission to stay date. I tried to get it across to the OP again as it is one of the relatively few things I do understand. :-)

I believe Tod has suggested a SETV for your parents because it is a valid visa for your parent's visit and the requirements are simpler and quicker to meet than a Non O. With a SETV there are several countdowns to consider. The Visa is valid for 90 days - i.e. gives the holder the chance to enter Thailand in any of those 90 days. I don't think this will be any problem if I understand your situation correctly. When the Visa is used by entering Thailand the holder will be given a 60 permit of stay calculated from the entry date. Sometime before the end of the permit to stay your family members could visit a local immigration office for a 30 day extension for 1900 baht each. You do not have to wait until the last day of the initial permit to stay in order to apply for the extension but \I understand there is some variability among offices about how early you can do it. You could call them to find out the rules or if you post your location here, Tod might be able to tell you. In any case the 30 days will be added to the end date of the initial permit to stay.

Good morning Tod and thank you for validating the advice I gave to the OP while Thailand was sleeping. :-)

@Billy *******

Billy I am not an expert but the admins on this site are in Thailand where it is sleep time. I am fairly sure on this and would not have responded to you if not. A SETV gives you a 90 day window from date of issue to enter Thailand. You could enter on day 1 of that window or day 59 for instance and will get a single permission of stay of 60 days which can be extended one time by 30 days at immigration for 1900 baht. A METV is same same except your window is 6 months from date of issue and you can do multiple entries. All I can say for sure is that I have a couple of SETV visas and one METV and all of the dates support what I am suggesting to you. I hope this helps.

@Billy *******

Billy think of a METV as a six month window to enter Thailand as many times as you like. Note that the window starts the day the visa is issued not the day of your first entry. Each time you enter you will get a 60 day permission to stay. Any entry can be extended once by 30 days at immigration at a cost of 1900 baht.

@Paul ******

Yes thnx. Tod is one of the admins and has set me straight. Happy travels with your wife.

@Tod ********

OK Tnx