Not Thailand, but similar situation with authentication of marriage certificate: I'm an American married to a Taiwan citizen, which does require authentication. Having our marriage certificate authenticated required sending the original certificate to the TECO office (sort of like a Taiwan embassy) where we were married in the U.S. They have it authenticated with local authorities where you were married, & then send it back to you. Basically, it needs to be authenticated in the U.S. Can't the U.S. embassy here advise them how to get this done? (But you do not have to go there, can send documents.)

Ah, we moved to Bangkok about 18 months ago, mid-pandemic. From these comments, it's clear that the relatively quick turnaround we've experienced at immigration was simply a lull. Seems that lull is over!

@Mark *******

Agree! We kept wondering how they would fit everyone in. Grateful that we didn’t have to go back again.

@Mark *******

Had no idea - first time I've experienced this.

@Wilhelmina *******

First time I’ve seen it. I assume at some point during the day they must have cut off the tickets

Yes, that's the way it works here. Friends referred us to their real estate brokers - but they were only able to offer listings they held. So when we decided on a certain neighborhood, we searched out buildings, & contacted whoever was handling that listing. Weird to westerners, but that's the system here. Your cannot just ask your agent to find you an apartment in X building, you need to contact whoever handles leasing in that building.

Thanks everyone!

@Jorge ***

I believe they stopped adding pages a while ago. I emailed local US embassy in a panic, we were moving to Thailand in less than a week, & they told me to come in the next day for a replacement passport, issued the same day. It was fully accepted everywhere. I’ve since replaced that with a regular 10-year passport at US embassy in Thailand.

I got an emergency replacement US passport at US consulate in Hong Kong before moving to Thailand a bit over a year ago - my old passport had no pages left for Thai visa. The 12-month replacement passport was accepted everywhere, airports, hotels, immigration in Thailand, etc. I had never heard of it but apparently it’s common to those in travel industry. it’s a fully valid passport but expires in 12 months. (Also, if you apply for a new, regular passport before it expires, it’s free of charge. The fees for the emergency passport cover it.)

Agree with above - at Bangkok Bank ATMs there is a selection that simply says “withdrawal”, with no dollar amount. Click that & then key in $400 & you’ll get 100 baht notes. (Or 900, 400 will be $100 notes.) We do that for this reason, to get some smaller bills.