@Pete ******

Nothing in life is that straightforward 😂

@Michael *******

that's fine I imagine I'll try and get my appointment in maybe 2 months, do you think that will be an issue?

I always book the cheapest flight out of Thailand. If you go on Skyscanner you can set your destination as "Everywhere" and it will show you the cheapest flights to neighbouring countries. It's usually Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam etc.

I was told at immigration that the 40k a month had to be income made in Thailand and I couldn't just use my transfers from my UK bank to my Thai bank over the last year.

@Sh ***

You would need to leave the country and come back, and whether you get a visa on arrival or visa exemption depends on your passport. Different countries get different things. UK gets a visa exemption, for example.

Some people just cross the border and come straight back. But you can only do that two times per year, and if you look like you're abusing tourist visas / visa exemptions / visas on arrival, immigration officers might question you. But if you've not been here long I don't think it matters so much

You can't apply for a tourist visa in country. If you want a 60 day tourist visa (which can be extended for another 30 days, making 90 in total) you can go to the Thai Embassy in a Neighbouring country and apply. For example, go to the Thai Embassy in Vientiane (Laos). You need to book an appointment online and then the visa takes 3 days. So for example if you have your appointment on Wednesday, you can pick up your passport and visa on Friday. Weekends don't count so if you have an appointment on Friday, you'll pick the visa up on Tuesday next week.

I always advise that people use Skyscanner for their tickets out. Because you can choose "everywhere" as your destination and you can see the cheapest outward tickets from Thailand. They're usually to Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam in my experience and cost around 1500 - 2000thb.

What visa are you currently on? If you're on a 30 day visa exemption / visa on arrival, you can extend that once for a further 30 days.

if you're already on a 60 day tourist visa, you can also extend that once for an extra 30 days.

If you've already got your extention, your only option would be to leave Thailand (Best to go to a neighbouring country like Laos or Cambodia) and either return on a visa exempt / Visa on arrival, or apply for a 60 day tourist visa at the Thai Embassy.

@Colin *********

My girlfriend got the visitor visa last year with none of that.

No job 'on paper'. She provided screenshots of the Instagram through which she sells hand made doll accesories though. So no employer letters, nothing official.

Doesn't own a house. Our rental contract is in my name.

Very little money in the bank.

She does have a car, but the lease is in her brothers name so we didnt use that.

We just had proof of relationship, all the paperwork adequatly filled out, sponsor bank statements couples with a sponsor invitation letter than outlines how much money she will be sponsored with every day, and a letter from her saying why she wants to come and what she intends to do here.

And a few months later a friend in a similar situation also managed to get a visa.

I think people overstate how unlikely it is. It's not easy, and you need to be dilligent with the paperwork. But it's not as hard as people like to pretend it is.

It's not as difficult as people say, and don't waste your money on an agent.

There's a lot of paperwork to fill out, that can be arduous. But last year we got my girlfriend a visa and she had no official job on paper. She handmakes doll accessories and sells them on Instagram and provided screenshots of that, but that's all. No official job. No land, no house to pay a mortgage on.

What I think was most important was the sponsor bank statements as well as an invitation letter detailing how much she would be sponsored with each day. Proof of relationship (Photos, etc), as well as a letter from her stating why she wants to go and what she will do there.

I was lead to believe it was not at all likely she would get the visa because she has no job 'on paper', she has no land deeds or financial obligations that mean she needs to return to Thailand. We was over the moon when she got the visa through. Not too long after a friend of mine (Who's girlfriend is in a similar situation) also a visitor visa to the UK.

People talk like it's impossible without certain things but I think they might be talking out of their arse.