Benjamin Hart from Integrity Legal believes that in country extensions aren't possible with this visa.
We've all heard that we can supposedly receive one 6-month extension on each entry.
My hunch is that what they'll actually do is - allow only a 30 day extension with minimal paperwork OR they may honor the 6-month extension but require a work contract + proof of 500K for the last 30-60 days.
Land border bounces are far easier than air based ones. If you're living in Isarn for example, it's probably much quicker and easier to drive to Laos or Cambodia (if in southern Isarn) than getting to Bangkok in order to fly out of the country (seeing that Thailand has effectively only one city where the bulk of international flights arrive into and depart from, that being Bangkok), with only a very limited number of international flights departing Chiang Mai and Phuket and very, very few from anywhere else.
Work contracts certainly need to be signed and preferably stamped as well. Some consulates require certain documents to be notarized too, which is not a difficult process. I got my translated documents notarized.
I don't think it will be withdrawn. The world is changing and Thailand is adapting to the times. What might happen is, it could become streamlined or restricted to digital nomads in the future, something like that. Or it might be revised to possibly permit working in Thailand if you get a work permit, under certain conditions.
Possibly. In practice, I don't think customs cares. You can show your work permit and still have to pay taxes and duties. Best to use a Thai person's name for importing, but even then, some types of goods will still attract duties.
Importing by land (crossing from a neighboring country by car) is the easiest - unless the goods are very large and bulky, they won't even be noticed. Even if they are, it's a cheap and quick process to get them across compared to anything coming in via air/sea or the postal system.
I doubt any customs agent will look at your visa and say "this one is tax exempt" and "this one is not". This is Thailand. In practice, your ability to charm your way through the process, speaking Thai etc will help more than what visa you're on. It's also easier importing by land than by air or using the postal system.
If importing by air, always use a Thai person's name (such as your Thai wife or Thai husband).
I've carried household items and all sorts of things into Thailand by car. Make sure you drive across the border by car, which is not something many farang do.
That's very easy to do in a Malaysian registered car, which can freely enter Thailand with just a temporary customs document obtained at the border plus 3rd party insurance.
Even if you sell your Malaysian car (which is what you'll need to do if you take up residence in Thailand) what I recommend you do is undertake MULTIPLE trips, such that you're not carrying a huge amount on any given trip.
Last year, I observed a Thai pickup truck at the Wang Kelian border in Satun stopped by Malaysian customs as the driver was heading back into Thailand with tons of used goods on the back. 10 minutes later, he was on the Thai side.
It's best to enter via a busy crossing such as Padang Besar or Sadao, carrying a smallish quantity of goods across, which you store somewhere on the Thai side, perhaps at a hotel in Sadao.
Then go back to Malaysia, pick up more and do this until you've carried everything across.
It's easier and probably cheaper this way than trying to bring everything in one go and possibly hit up for lots of import fees.
However, in my experience, land borders are the most lax and easygoing. Importing via sea/air or the postal system is where they're going to be the most strict and hold your goods hostage.
You coming in by land with your goods in the car and you'll probably just be waived through or assessed a smallish "tax" as you come through the border.
Again, you must come by private car (regardless of whether it's Thai or Malaysian registered) and not attempt to bring these goods with you by bus. Bus operators will have restrictions on how much you can bring and customs will be stricter than with individuals driving across the border.
By land, you can probably bring in just about anything provided it's not too big. They don't check on the Thai side, unless it's really large and bulky.
The appointment system was being abused, hence why they reduced it down to 14 days from the previous 30 days.
The appointment thingy has never been an issue in Vietnam, but both in Laos (both consulates) and Yangon it's something that applicants and agents have been tinkering with, in some cases multiple slots were hoarded and then sold to folks. This has now largely been fixed, to the point that it's relatively straightforward to get an appointment now, at least in Laos.
You're right about Yangon also being swamped by local applicants, but I understand the primary reason for reducing the appointment forward bookings down to 14 days was due to the way the system was being abused. This is mentioned on the booking page of the Yangon embassy.
