@Maria *****

with a 45 day visa that implies your re from a visa exempt country. So you can do a 45 day visa exempt, extend for anything 30. Then leave and come back and repeat the same process... You probably can do this 3 times before they start to question you ... There's no guarantee that they will allow the 3 trips (but there's a good chance they will) and Especially no guarantee that they will allow more than 3 (although they might, that's not or miss.)

Also, the 45 day visa exempt may not be in effect much longer and revert back to the 30 day visa (with another 30 day extension.)

@Maria *****

I have. When I read 'stuck here' during the lockdown and got an education visa instead of just relying on the hope of a cubic extension.

But that was then. Not sure if education visas are even available now (I heard a few months ago they were suspending and reviewing the original,) but the chances are even if they are still available they might expect you to apply from your home country.

But it won't hurt to go check out a reusable school and see what they say. They would know next.

I also wouldn't count on a school allowing you to 'not attend classes'. That's probably a thing of the past, I know when I was attending they had an 80% attendance requirement and took attendence every day (4 days per week, 3 hours/day) and had to provide the ministry with weekly class photos.

just a comment on bringing dogs. if they the small enough to fit in a crate that fits under the seat then you just need to make sure the flight and connections allow it (don't take the word of the main carrier if you are making a connection to another carrier, check with the 2nd carrier as well.)

if they are too big to fit under the seat they will need to go by cargo, make sure you arrive in Thailand very early in the morning on a week day so you have time to go through the process of getting them inspected and out of cargo, if you arrive mid day it may not allow you time to get them out the 'official' way, and paying all the 'overtime' to have people stay late can add several hundred pounds into your expenses.

Alo make sure all your vet papers for shots and such are in order.

if you have specific questions just DM me. I just went through the process with my dog (Canada, but most of the process should be the same or nearly so.)

To my understanding the education visa policy in Thailand was recently being reevaluated and it is uncertain if new education visas are being issued at this time.

I'd recommend checking with a reputable school to see if they can help you obtain an education visa but be aware that you may need to apply for the visa from outside of Thailand since the 'emergency decree' no longer applies and even if the education visa is still a thing, it may be harder to obtain

Also keep in mind that an education visa requires meeting certain educational standards, including regular attendance and participation in class. It is not advisable to enroll in an educational program with the intention of skipping class or disregarding the requirements, as this could result in a revoked visa and potential blacklisting.

On the 'bright side' if you can get an Thai language visa It is in my opinion worth enrolling since it can provide one of the best routes to a real Thai cultural experience and lessons in Thai history in addition to just language instructions.

you have 90 days to get to Thailand to use it. depending on the visa type you get different lengths of stay. most are 60 days and you can extend another 30 days.

if you're not sure what length of stay your visa entities you to, then check the stamp, it will tell you the date it expires ... if you want to stay longer go to immigration and get it extended BEFORE the expiry date.

if you want to know all the details before you leave, then talk to the embassy/consulate that posted you the visa.

When I (Canadian) got married to a Thai, in Thailand, I had to get the 'free to marry' letter from the Canadian Consulate (Chiang Mai.)

I had to provide the consulate with evidence I was single (Canadian tax return, and late wife's death certificate) after which they wrote a letter verifying my status and stamped it with the Canadian Consulate Stamp, which I then brought to the the Amphur to get the marriage certificate (I don't think I had to get it translated, I don't recall exactly, as I was working toward the marriage visa and had a lot of other documents to deal with, some that needed to be translated & notarized and some that didn't.)

You are Australian, so I would think that the certificate you received from (I assume) the Australian government will serve to act as what my tax returns and death certificate did ... you should contact the Australian embassy/consulate in Thailand to see if they provide the service the Canadian consulate provided me (but I suspect if your certificate is an original, stamped, official document, it may be suitable for getting your marriage certificate, but I'm sure the people at the Amphur will have the final say and tell you what they are looking for.

@Brett ********

went to a Jays/Red Sox game in Boston, 2019. After the Hotel breakfast I paid with my CC ... they pulled out the old 'cha-ching' credit card machine, carbon paper and all ... for a minute I thought maybe the waiter was also an antique salesman and was going to pitch me on how nice the old CC machine would look on the living room mantle!

thanks for all the awesome advice everyone ... looks like there are dozens of ways I could be paying bills ... I'll start looking at these suggestions and see which ones work best for me!

thank again!

thanks Nick & Todd. yeah, the set up seems to always be a bit confusing. in Canada I just downloaded the app, entered my Debit Card number and pin, and it was all set up ... in Thailand it was a somewhat unexpected process of registering my phone number with the bank, then using the ATM to complete the process, but once it was done I was impressed with the QR code for transfers (the only thing that comes close in Canada is email money transfers but they are far more complicated to do and can take several hours to move the money ... if you want anything near as fast your need to register for a business account, purchase a card reader and use a service like Monaris that takes a cut and charges you a monthly fee.)

I'm beginning to believe most of my issues with True came from adding my wife's phone to the account and them switching the account under her name and information.

@Wayne ********

I had assumed that would be the case since other than for paying bills (which I assumed was something on my part I was missing) the banking system here is way ahead of what we have in Canada, which I formally thought was 'futuristic', but that was only because I was comparing it to the USA system which I believe it's still using salt and animal skins as money. ;-)