@Wayne *******

Wrong. The Thai Elite visa gives you one-year permission to stay when you enter Thailand. If you do not either leave Thailand or extend that stay at Thai Immigration when that permission to stay expires you will go on overstay. Read what the OP is asking.

@Michael *******

Wrong. The Thai Elite visa gives you one-year permission to stay when you enter Thailand. If you do not either leave Thailand or extend that stay at Thai Immigration when that permission to stay expires you will go on overstay. Read what the OP is asking.

@Bobby *******

Wrong. The Thai Elite visa gives you one-year permission to stay when you enter Thailand. If you do not either leave Thailand or extend that stay at Thai Immigration when that permission to stay expires you will go on overstay. Read what the OP is asking.

There is NO visa type I know of that will allow you to stay in Thailand without having to check-in with and pay annual fees to Thai Immigration.

IMPORTANT UPDATE to the above paragraph: while it true that there was no visa type I knew of, Darren Grist has replied elsewhere to this post that if you have a business visa depending on the specific employer it may be possible to stay in Thailand for over a year without needing to do 90-Day Reports and having to pay for an annual extension of stay. If this is true, I'm happy to learn of it. Thanks, Darren Grist for bringing this visa to my attention. I learned something new. However, it doesn't change the fact that the Thai Elite Visa does not allow you to do the same which was the main point of my post. -- end of update --

In particular, the Thai Elite visa will NOT ALLOW you to do that.

The Thai Elite visa is valid for five years. Each entry into Thailand on that visa gets you permission to stay for one year (NOT 5 years!). If you do not leave the country before that permission to stay expires you MUST go to Thai Immigration and pay 1,900 to apply for an extension of stay which will get you a new permission to stay of one year. If you do not either leave the country or extend your stay you will go on overstay. If you overstay long enough you will be fined 20,000 baht, deported, and banned from entering Thailand. Having a Thai Elite visa will not protect you from this! A Thai Elite visa holder has been banned from Thailand because he didn't pay attention to his permission to stay stamp. Thai Elite visa could do nothing for him.

Staying in Thailand legally is all about your permission to stay stamp.

Also, all people who stay in Thailand long-term, more than 90 days, INCLUDING those with Thai Elite Visas must file 90-Day Reports every single time they have been in the country for 90 consecutive days.

The Thai Elite Visa DOES NOT allow you to stay in Thailand for 5 years. It allows you to get one year permission to stay whenever you enter Thailand while your visa is valid (which it is for five years). If you are in Thailand for a year you MUST either leave Thailand or extend your stay. The companies who advertise the Thai Elite visa don't seem to emphasize this aspect.

Yes, it staples into your passport very nicely, along with your 90-Day Report Next Appointment receipt and your TM-30 receipt.

@Terary *********

Yes, interestingly renewing your passport is quicker outside the US than inside (at least it is in Thailand). I think this is because when renewing your passport in Thailand you basically get expedited service without having to pay extra on the assumption that passport holders in Thailand are using or potentially needing to use their passports all the time. It's taking about 10 days for applicants in Thailand, which is really quick when you realize that passports are only created in the US and must be mailed or couriered to US Embassy Bangkok.

However, I wouldn't be running around with a passport with less than six-months validity, especially if I lived outside the US and especially during a pandemic during which no one has a clear idea of what's going to happen from one month to the next. Not to mention the overriding concern that Thai Immigration won't give you a permission to stay that exceeds your passport validity. I think getting it now in the US is the sensible thing to do.

This is apparently the arrival protocol proposed by the Safety and Health Administration, so it shows what some people involved in the planning are thinking. But these sorts of details have not been approved officially as far as I can see. Nonetheless, I guess this is useful to those trying to understand how it may work. Just understand that it's not a done deal yet.

Up to last weekend, 22% of the Phuket population has been vaccinated (at least one jab of either Sinovac or AstraZeneca). The plan going forward is 14,000 jabs per day:

-jabs-a-day

Not currently. Planned for July 1, but many details left unanswered. Must stay in Phuket for 7 days then can visit the rest of Thailand. No guarantees that this will actually happen or if it does happen that it will start on July 1. For example, it's based on the assumption that 70% Phuket's population will be vaccinated. We are well below that 70% figure at the moment.

There is no special rule about "fresh" passports. Your passport can do anything from the moment it is born. I can't imagine what you've heard to the contrary.

You definitely need a new passport and that's easier to get in the US now. If you think there's something in your current passport that's still useful to you then take it with you when you travel, but you definitely need a new passport.