You'll qualify if you have 500,000 Baht in your bank account. I don't think $400 is enough to live in Thailand every month but if your parents send you some extra money for support and/or you also have some passive income, such as rental income from back home coming in, it should work. That would mean probably a bare minimum of US$1000 / month plus some savings in case of an accident / illness plus you'll want to take out a travel insurance policy.

Alternatively, since you're only 19, you would be better off studying, learning a trade, working and saving up to perhaps eventually come over to Thailand but not now, maybe in 5+ years once you have saved enough, have a qualification etc.

In the meantime, nothing stopping you from coming over and visiting Thailand for a month or two, but at 19, you're not ready to settle down here yet.

@Christopher **********

And no, checks are NOT random. It's an absolute mandatory requirement for arrivals from the 45 yellow fever countries to be vaccinated for yellow fever to enter Thailand. Nowadays, they're doing the checks through the website/app, rather than checking again on arrival. The on arrival check may still be conducted if you're a national of a yellow fever country not arriving from a yellow fever area.

In such cases, technically, the requirement shouldn't apply, but citizens of these 45 countries may still be hassled regardless.

@Christopher **********

No, the T8 (OK just checked not TM8) is mandatory for all flights departing from yellow fever regions heading for Thailand. The rules came into effect last August. You have to fill it out or you won't be issued a boarding pass.

BKK is better.

@Johan *************

BKK is better.

Had your wife traveled directly from Latin America, she would have needed to fill out the TM8 form.

However, how did they pick her out from the queue, having arrived from New Delhi? Normally, flights that don't originate in Latin America or Africa (there aren't any direct flights from the former anyway) shouldn't have anyone waiting for you to direct you to the quarantine counter unless you're already in line, or based on your appearance, immigration officers call out "black guy" or "Latino" (in Thai) and tell you (in English): "you go see doctor".

I've seen that happen. Several African men were pulled out of line and asked to go to the quarantine counter.

@Oswald ******

I agree that respect needs to be earned. What I do is, I always talk to them. I hate awkward silence. Also, immigration officers are supposed to ask questions, it's part of their job. I find airport immigration officers are the surliest bunch, but you do sometimes get a nice officer mixed in with the quiet ones. At land borders, officers are usually very nice but it does depend on the border. The more remote the border is, the friendlier the officials are. At border crossings which are neither very quiet nor very busy and regularly used by foreigners, you'll generally be treated well, with minimal questions asked.

@David *****

You are supposed to get it corrected before leaving. They are supposed to look at your visa too.

@Marwan **********

If you have a DTV, you can spend 6 months. Thus no need to bargain it down.

@Tatiana *********

Totally agree. Having said that, I've not used DMK since BKK opened. Why? DMK is a low cost hub. I don't fly low cost and there aren't any intercontinental flights from DMK so in all likelihood, I'll never use it again. I have visited the airport to pickup or drop off friends and business associates and do miss the old vibes, but I'm not likely to use the airport anymore. Also, it's much further away and thus inconvenient for me to get there.