Really no need to use an agent. Come here on a tourist visa, a single entry tourist visa is probably best, as that gives you 60 days stay with the option of extending at an Immigration office for a further 30 days without leaving the country. This should give you plenty of time to set up a Thai bank account, get an address sorted and visit immigration to get a hand out of the requirements for your particular immigration branch. Get a Thai Bank account set up quickly, deposit your money so that it can season and so that you have sufficient time left on your tourist visa to apply for a non immigrant O visa. Some areas require at least 21 days remaining on your tourist visa at the time you apply. Or you could do this through an agent for about 28-30K baht each. The agency staff will do the photocopying for you and in some instances drive you to immigration on the day you apply. However you will have to do all the rest of the running around yourself like getting the letter from your bank, the statement from your bank showing all of your transactions and the copies of your landlords ID, house book etc. Really, unless you are visually impaired, mobility impaired or can't read English there is no need to spend that sort of money. Doing it yourself will cost around 5,000 baht each. It is not rocket science, just follow the list on the hand out and visit one of the many places you can do photocopies

I got a new Australian passport in January. Immigration in Chiang Mai moved the information over to my new passport showing how I had previously entered the country prior to getting my non O and the date that I entered (small stamp), the date that I applied for my Non O and it's past validity period (small stamp), the date I applied for my most recent 12 month extension and it's valid to date (small stamp) and another small stamp showing the date that my extension would finish. And two half page stamps ie the first one showing details of my old passport ie passport number and date of issue and date it was cancelled. The second half page stamp was a copy of my current 12 month extension including the date it was approved last year and the date it would finish this year. So effectively these stamps in total took up two pages of my new passport, but the process was quick and easy and did not require that I pay a fee or bring my old passport with me when I travelled in and out of the country in February

@Garrett **********

I think, an this is just speculation, that they will allow Chinese tourists back first to Thailand, as so much tourist revenue has been lost since China stopped it's citizens taking group tours. I think it will be presented as "China has combatted this disease, therefore we welcome tourists from China again" followed by Americans who will open their country earlier than most it seems. So in effect tourists from the two worst hit countries with the largest numbers of deaths! We will see how this works out

Australians have been told not to expect to travel internationally until at least December. Government is advising people to plan domestic holidays only this year

@Robert ******

I had that. But he was insisting that the one that was not coded FTT (as transferwise had used an intermediary bank that month) would exclude me from getting another visa extension. I had a copy of my Australian bank statement and Transferwise receipts and the certificate from Kasikorn showing that the transfer had originated in Australia. He was just rigidly applying the rule that every transfer has to be coded FTT with no exceptions-fortunately he wasn't the decision maker

World Nomads will allow you to take insurance out as you travel as will One Cover, but I doubt either will allow coverage for pandemic related illness-check the fine print if that is what you are looking for. I saw today that some/possibly all British travel insurance companies are allowing one month extensions on travel insurance policies for Brits stranded due to Covid-19

And are you wanting a policy that covers you in Thailand? Or one that will cover you to cone in to Thailand?

I guess it depends what you are wanting it for ie if you are wanting it to cover covid-19 related illness or just regular insurance to cover hospital visits after a motorbike accident, gastro or other medical incident

I had never noticed it until someone pointed it out recently-evidence of how we skim-read across words and can read them if sufficient letters, particularly the first and last letters of a word are correct. But now I can't unsee it-please change it

Thank you

@Garr****

I asked in this group as it is usually supportive and helpful