Good to have you here Christov.

Robert can go suck an egg.

If they do review your bank statements, they are looking for baht/dollar/euro equivalent of 20,000฿ or more.

He didn't ask for an amount or a minimum or even specify a length of time to go back. In the end, it was all for nothing. He (and his boss) never saw them.

My entry history was never mentioned. Not even in passing. If it played a role, I wouldn't know.

I had some Exempt entries and SETVs, did a one year ED visa which I got in Vientiane September 2018. Went to visa exempt while waiting for enough students to sign up for or finish the beginner level. (Rolling starts to the program.)

Now I applied for my second ED visa to learn Thai at Vientiane.

I'll add this to the main post: I never talked to an immigration officer. I was expecting a man in his 50s, gold-rimmed glasses, in a uniform with badges and a name tag.

I never got to state my case. I was prepared to be interviewed.

Why do you want to stay in Thailand?

Why do you want to study Thai language?

What do you do for work?

How do you support yourself?

And expected to be quizzed in Thai. Maybe asked to write my name or something. I don't know.

ED#1 Thai 1st year beginner

Issued Sept 2018 Vientiane

ED#2 Thai 2nd year intermediate

Submitted October 2019.

The paper taker didn’t like that. He said “1 year is a long time to study [as beginner]”

Visa Insider says it doesn’t matter what language. To get a 2nd ED from Vientiane it must be more than 1 year (365 days) since last ED visa.

Implying denials here are getting back to back visas. (A 1yr visa is only good for 360 days)

Thanks.

I think this is all bullshit. A tourist is a tourist. Here for a week or here for a year.

If you rent property in another country, own a business elsewhere but check email to put out fires, are a trust fund baby, whatever the case may be...if you're bouncing around the world and think you want to check out Thailand for a while, or been everywhere but like here best, or are in a relationship with a local and not ready for or don't want marriage.... you CAN BE a tourist.

Month after month putting 40, 60, or 100K baht into the local economy. These people matter.

This is a problem unique to Thailand. It creates uncertainty and offers challenges that most people don't face elsewhere. And in spite of all of this, those who love this place for:

The warm hospitality of the people, the food, the weather, the nature, the low cost of living, etc

They will persist.

Short-sighted, self-serving, talking heads in government continue to make proclamations of utmost absurdity, backpedal, and then the news fades without much really happening. They think they know what's best for everyone.

End of rant.

That is correct.

So get there early or come late and not deal with lines. Before there was an appointment system, I would arrive between 11-11:30. Only a few people in the whole place. No lines.

Next day, I'd have a high number for pickup, say 124, so I also knew that I didn't need to show up before 2 to collect my passport.

I'd rather not do anything in a rush than wait in a line to be the first.