@Brandon ***********

that’s precisely the info I needed. Thanks.

You can leave and return to get a new stamp then an extension. At that point, you can attempt to get a bank account to get a non-O visa. Depending upon where you are, this can be challenging. In Bangkok, it’s really rough. In Hua Hin and Pattaya, apparently not so much. Agents can also help. You can also try to do so now, but having a longer stay on your stamp helps. With an agent, you should have no problem if you go now.

Student visa will work if you’re going to stay put and honestly study. Everyone knows about studying Thai or Muay Thai, but there are many things one can study.

@Martin ****

why take time out of his holiday sitting in immigration when he can get a tourist visa for 60 days if he plans ahead? Visa exempt with an extension is fine if one doesn’t have the 60-day visa for whatever reason.

Spend a night at a hotel…easy peasy. You need to go to immigration anyway, so choose one nearby. That way, you can be at immigration first thing in the morning too.

Very simply, no, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do as you propose. You certainly wouldn’t be the first (I had considered it). You just need to go home to get the visa.

@Willy ******

thank you

Can one get multiple-entry on the extension if the original non-O was a single entry?

@Stuart **********

yup. It’s out of control.

I just went through the aggravation of going bank to bank to bank…over a dozen to try to open a bank account on a tourist visa in Bangkok. I even spoke to immigration and got advice on what to try next. I had planned to try it upon my return to Bangkok if need be. I then spoke to four agents. They charged from fifteen to over twenty baht to assist. I know that in Pattaya and Hua Hin those rates are SUBSTANTIALLY lower. I don’t know about other areas.

I already had plans to return to my home country, so I waited. Yesterday, I received my non-O 90-day visa based upon retirement. I can now return and open that bank account (or at least I should be able) to obtain the visa extension.

What’s my point? Save your folks the headache. Get the visa before they arrive.

@Stuart **********

that depends where one is located. In Pattaya and Hua Hin, for example, that seems to be the going rate. In Bangkok, it’s five or more times that. The agents seem to be aware that it’s become more difficult to open accounts.