@Kool ******

yes agree. Just back from a short 3 day trip to Surin and bugger all foreigners which is great! Have also spent around 4 months down in Hua Hin and that was great too although still plenty of foreigners there. The bars are empty and those owners are pretty desperate but don’t frequent them myself so didn’t affect me at all and loved the quietness mid week but often quite busy on weekends just like this monster Songkran long weekend now. Traffic was very heavy heading out of Bangkok this afternoon as we drove home. Glad we are back to a quiet life here in Bangkok suburbs!

@Tod ********

married but not registered in Thailand (yet) but that’s not a bad idea too! Do you have info about the non O from in Oz? I assume that would be for 90 days and I’d then need to apply for an extension based on marriage. I’d still need to get insurance too but only for the length of the Non O visa huh?

@Tod ********

yes that’s definitely one option! I’m glad I have them and some time left if things change. An eventual path to an extension based on marriage is a biggy for me through doing the O-A extension in Thailand though.

Thanks for the discussion 😄👍😄 Hope it helps others in weighing up all the present options.

@Tod ********

well the whole Covid era dictates uncertainty doesn’t it. I normally get O-A visas in Australia and effectively get 2 years out of it plus don’t have to bring money into Thailand especially with the varying but usually crap exchange rate. The big thing now is being able to get back into Thailand so that’s a big change! Presently, I can’t change to an extension based on being married straight from an O-A so that’s a pro for getting an extension here in Thailand as the following year I would then be able to do it...a big plus! In the future being married to a Thai seems to be another way of getting back in too, another plus!

Hopefully a vaccine will eventually make all this a mute situation but that’s a way off too.

@Tod ********

haha just planning ahead without a crystal ball! Not worried about getting the extension here in Thailand. I am just weighing up the pros & cons compared to getting a brand new O-A when back in Oz!

@Tod ********

yes I’m aware of the health insurance requirements thank you. I need to have health insurance for the extension anyway so I will already have it when I try to return.

I’m also hoping by when I want to return to Thailand maybe around August 2021, the quarantine in Thailand might be easier if no major outbreaks in either country. I’d need the fit to fly medical, permission to leave Oz and recent Covid test too but not the medical test as I will have a current O-A, is that correct too?

having lived in Thailand lots, I no longer have a local GP in Australia and had a terrible time trying to get a Dr to sign it. As a last resort, I asked my specialist Dr and he agreed. All of them wanted to do tests etc and the cost would have been thousands plus weeks of waiting!

It’s interesting to note that the Thai Embassy in Canberra, who issue the A-O visa’s, said they would accept a Thai signed medical certificate made within 3 months. I had planned to get it here in Thailand just before a visit back to Australia for a new application.

@Bobby *******

same in Australia! Couldn’t get a Dr to sign it without doing the very expensive tests and then having to wait weeks to get results! Luckily, my specialist Dr signed it as I’ve seen him for years.

In thailand it costs about 100baht at any clinic, I just had one done for driver license renewal, just took blood pressure haha.

Interestingly, the Thai embassy in Canberra accepts a Thai signed one within 3 months...not that it helps for those wanting to get in at the moment!

@Tod ********

yep small blue rectangle stamp. Thanks 😄

@Tod ********

thanks. I’m on the 2nd year of my A-O having left Thailand briefly and back in March 2019 just before the lockdown. That’s not an extension though so basically still on my original visa. I’ll make another trip in to see if I can get a definitive answer from Immigration. Yep lucky about the insurance!