There is also a FB group dedicated to Wise and Thailand, something like New transferwise in Thailand.

@John ********

I believe Wise only shows up marked as an interbation transfer if you use one of three Wise partner banks in Thailand. One of which is Bangkok bank and if you select "long term stay in Thailand" as the purpose of the transfer it should show up in your account as an FTT, a foreign telegraphic transfer, which immigration understands is an international transfer All that said I do see that people have recently had some trouble with Wise, not so much being marked domestic but taking longer to complete the transfer than used to be the case.

If you arrive in Thailand visa-exempt you have 30 days to open a bank account and fund it with 800k baht. Opening a bank account isn't easy, especially for an American, but can be done with persistence. If you cannot open a bank account on your own there are agents who will help you for a fee. I suggest trying Bangkok Bank or Krungsri Bank. I also suggest getting a Certificate of Residence from your immigration office (if possible) to document your address in Thailand. The process of funding the account (transferring money from the US to Thailand) is not too difficult. You can use a service like Wise or do an international transfer from your US to Thai bank using SWIFT.

The 2-month seasoning requirement is for when you go to extend your permission to stay *after* you have received your Non-O visa, not for when you apply to get the Non-O visa at immigration.

If you don't want to feel rushed you can arrive in Thailand on a Tourist Visa (60 days) and you always have the option of extending your 30 days or 60 days stay by an additional 30 days by purchasing an extension of stay for tourist purposes from immigration for 1,900 baht.

@Steve *******

The two-month seasoning period for the 800k baht in a Thai bank is the requirement for getting the retirement extension. However, it is only required that you have 800k baht in a Thai bank on the day that you apply for your initial Non-O visa at the immigration office. Then before the initial 90-day permission of stay expires one applies for the retirement extension. Suggest one applies with 30 days remaining in one's permission to stay because at that point the 800k baht will have been seasoned for 2 months already.

@Steve *******

He could always get another 30 days with an extension from immigration (1,900 baht) if he needs more time to open an account and fund it.

@Stuart ********

In my opinion, the best way for a Thai-UK dual national to leave the UK and enter Thailand is the following:

1) Show only the Thai passport when checking in (unless the ticket to Thailand was purchased using the UK passport information, then use the UK passport so it matches the booking). If they ask to see an onward flight from Thailand within 30 days (possible entering Thailand on a UK passport) then, and only then, should she show her Thai passport.

2) Exit Thailand on the passport of the country she is leaving, namely the UK one.

3) Enter Thailand on the passport of the country she is entering, namely the Thai one. There should be no problem doing this. If there is a problem, and only if there is a problem, she can show her UK passport and explain she is a dual Thai-UK national.

In my opinion, one shows only one passport on each occasion. That is the way you get treated as an unexceptional traveler. Unexceptional travelers move through lines quickly. Only if someone raises a question do you ever need to show the other passport and then only if asked. The dual national traveler knows their situation, there is no need to educate the immigration official or check-in official unless they raise a question.

Don't toss both passports at people and expect them to figure it out for themselves. Know which passport to use and when to use it. Your life will be easier, their life will be easier, and the lives of the people behind you in line will be easier. ;-)

@Gareth ******

There are legitimate reasons a Thai person would not have Thai entry/exit stamps in her passport. For example, the Thai passport could have been applied for through the Thai embassy in London. The Thai passport obtained outside Thailand would indicate that. There would be no stamps in that passport (of a dual Thai-UK citizen) because she would get stamped out of the UK on her UK passport. Always use the passport of the country you are entering or leaving if you have one is the golden rule.

Another legitimate reason is that she holds a UK passport and therefore an entry and exit from the UK would only have stamps put in her UK passport, not her Thai passport. This could be confirmed by showing the Thai immigration officer her UK passport in addition to her Thai passport.

There should not have been a problem. And if there was a problem it should have been easily solved by showing her valid UK or Thai passport. It would be interesting to know what the specific problem she experienced was and why showing her valid UK and/or Thai passport did not resolve it.

@Oliver *********

That is the official policy but in practice you will get a Thai Pass with just one month of coverage and once you have the Thai Pass that is all anyone wants to see regarding the health insurance, that you have a Thai Pass. One month is sufficient in practice.

3 tips for the future to help avoid this problem:

1) Put your visa number on your TM-6 Arrival Card (the one you get on the plane or after you land at the airport) in the Visa No. field AND write what you have, for example, TOURIST VISA (or RE-ENTRY PERMIT) in that field.

2) Fold over the page in your passport that contains the visa or stamp. They will go to that page and unfold it. This calls the Immigration Officer's (IO) attention to the fact that you have a visa (and are not arriving visa-exempt). Also, put the TM-6 Arrival card in your passport at this page. Again, calls attention to your visa/stamp.

3) Take a moment to look very carefully at your entry stamp, in particular, the permission to stay until date, BEFORE you walk away from the IO. If you are expecting 60 days make sure you got 60 days. If you only got 30 days. Bring this to the IO's attention BEFORE you leave his presence. Extremely easy to fix at this point.

@Naja **********

Yes, technically. However, I doubt you would face a problem from immigration on this point. You might have a problem with the labor department for not having a work permit, though. But as Immigration seems to like this program (and why wouldn't they as it makes their jobs easier and costs them nothing) I think you could probably sleep well at night knowing you are very unlikely to get into any trouble with either immigration or the labor department as a Phuket Immigration Volunteer.

Back in the States, I noticed that police officers, and even former prosecutors never seemed to actually get speeding tickets. 😉 There's a lot of discretion shown in these sorts of circumstances. To be fair it's kind of a big deal for police officers to get traffic tickets as it can be considered a black mark against them by their department as it can be considered disregard for obeying the law.