@Sue *********

I often hear that "waiting in line" stuff? Where does this take place? I've never experienced it

@Gerg *********

You could have just border bounced and got a second year stamp free of charge

@David ******

Agent can't do anything with this

@Mike *****

Why would a tourist want a residency certificate?

Use an Aussie card which doesn't have the 3% international transaction fee. That way you get the MasterCard or Visa exchange rate which isn't too bad. Commonwealth Bank has one or two fee-free cards

@Jimmy ******

You don't actually have a visa, you have a free entry stamp. The other guys are correct. The Visa On Arrival is for 15 days

Could cause issues if your airline wants to see proof of onward journey when checking in. You could be denied boarding. It's been known to happen

@Adam ********

40

@Mike *****

Good enough. I went via OA and started the 65k transfers immediately. After the second free year of the OA I did an out/in, came back in on exempt and then got the O meeting the 65k transfers, so I never had to stump up the 800k

If you're on an extension it's easy. I was on non-O retirement extension of stay, so I simply left without obtaining a re-entry permit which effectively cancels the extension of stay. I flew to Sydney, applied for the DTV through the Sydney Consulate, approved within a week, flew back to Bangkok, got that beautiful 180-day stamp. Since then I've left and re-entered twice, each time getting a fresh 180 day stamp