@Jam ******

It's due to laziness...they should use the appropriate 180 day DTV stamp but some officers just write it in pen instead.

@Bob *********

Speaking Thai in Thailand is and should be the default, regardless of whether you were once a student on an EDU visa.

Anonymous participant 267 Australia doesn't stamp passports anymore...not for many years. Doesn't the Thai embassy know this? It's like they're living in the year 1995.

Anonymous participant 383 As long as you don't enter Thailand until the visa has been granted all is good.

Anonymous participant 966 Of course its possible. You however are definitely not a candidate for Thai citizenship.

@John *********

That's because your local DLT don't know what they're doing OR they act like banks anywhere outside of major tourist and expat areas of Thailand do: they'll only give privileges to farang if they hold a work permit. You don't, hence you're treated like a tourist.

Same thing at some government hospitals: retirement visa holders are treated like tourists and pay the same as tourists for treatment in the 3 or 4 tier fee structure that government hospitals are now using.

Work permit holders pay about half...while migrant workers pay even less and of course Thais pay the least.

Dean Annon Drivers license isn't an issue on a DTV.

Anonymous participant 718 Not sure that's the reason...basically the MOFA who created the visa and immigration/other relevant stakeholders such as banks aren't on the same page about this visa. That is what it comes down to.

Anonymous participant 102 Agreed. Even better, if you have your own car, cross the border (no questions asked then, because you have a car) and come back through a different border. Don't spend the full or near full 180 day entitlement (doing so once or on occasion is OK) but it's better if you're coming and going at least once every 90 days.

Again, this is just general advice; in theory, 1-2 night stays outside of Thailand between DTV stays in Thailand should be fine, even if you do spend the full 180 days here.

@Daniel **********

Don't forget the cost of lodging in Singapore, which is very high...also, most of the time, you're paying 10,000 Baht plus for a round-trip flight from anywhere in Thailand to Singapore.