@Native ***************

and you shouldn't have a problem to show 3 months of seasoning the 800,000.- THB, since you wrote that this is already your second application for the 1-year Extension. Of course saying that you didn't touch the money in the meantime

@Native ***************

well, if you take the same care you took about the TM30, I have little hope. Your landlord has to register you at the immigration per TM30. Maybe Immigration accepts the rental contract and signed copies of the blue house book and the Thai ID card of your landlord for your self-filing the TM30. You will definitely find out only when you ask your immigration, and not the readers of this Facebook group

@John ******

what's "a lot" ? So you never picked up a number?

@Paul ******

you would be surprised if you knew the number of tourist extensions Thai Immigration sells every year

@Native ***************

there are 88 immigration offices in Thailand, you got a choice. What's more extensive: loosing the stay permit because of immigration harassment, or moving and solve the issue?

CHANGE OF VISA TYPE inside Thailand

You need about 3 months total to go from a visa-exempt entry OR a single entry tourist visa, to first a 90 day Non-Imm-O retirement visa, and then to a one year Extension Of Stay Permit (based on retirement) because that's how long the process takes at most immigration offices.

This process is called “change of visa type”. For retirement purposes, click on number 9 on the website I linked for you. It will open a pdf. document in which the requirements are listed

You need to have a minimum of 15 workdays (!) left on your “admitted until” stamp in order to apply for the “change”.

If you have ever been on overstay and got listed in the Immigration computer, you CANNOT apply for the “change” any more

SO if you're not going to be here at least 3 months, you don't have the time to pull off getting a "retirement visa" by the “change of visa type” method – and from this one to the one year stay permit based on retirement. After you have been issued the “1-year Extension Of Stay Permit”, you are free to travel again

The inside country "retirement visa" (really the 90 day Non-O visa and a year extension) are sold as NO entry because you're already IN Thailand when you apply for them.

The process works like this:

Get here on a 60-days tourist visa or on a “visa-exempt entry”

*** open a bank account, transfer from abroad 840,000.- THB (800K minimum are required) In most offices, you will have to proof the money came from abroad.

At this stage, NO seasoning of the money is required (!)

*** go to the immigration office and apply for a 90 days Non-Imm-O retirement visa for 2000.- Baht

*** wait for the under consideration period to end, visit Immigration and pick up your passport with the visa (2-4 weeks depending on office)

*** Then wait until your 800.000.- THB funds are seasoned in the Thai bank account for 2 months. Visit your bank, get the “bank letter of guarantee” which certifies the 2 months period

*** - go to the immigration office, apply for a year extension based on retirement for 1900.- Baht (it will be issued the same day in most offices)

*** Once you get the year extension inked, you can buy a re-entry permit (single 1000.- Baht or multiple 3800.- Baht) and you will be ready to exit and re-enter Thailand and your stay permit will keep alive

And Bingo!

However you also might want to use the “convenient” method

You can apply by the online E-visa system in Spain, before you travel, for either

1. . . . . . a Single Entry Non Immigrant O visa (called retirement visa)

2. . . . . . or a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O visa (called retirement visa)

3. . . . . . . or a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O-A visa (called retirement visa)

4 . . . . . . . or a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O-X visa (called 5-year retirement visa)

5 . . . . . . . or the LTR Visa (called retirement visa)

With one of these these, fly to Thailand, get 90 days or a one year admitted stay stamped, and later apply for the 1 year Extension of Stay Permit (also called retirement visa, but it is not a visa!) by fulfilling the required financial proofs

About your cat, sorry, I don’t know. Experts on animal travel should be asked

How many visa exempt entries can I get flying in?

How many tourist visas can I get in a row..

There is no answer to those questions

The honest answer is: you can do it until you can't.

Despite what people say, what people read, what immigration officers at passport control tell you, what they show you on a website, there is NO official rule about how many times you can enter thailand on a visa exempt entry by air.

In fact no one has ever been denied entry under the reason "entered too many times" because that isn't a reason to deny people entry. The denial of entry reason is always "no means to support themselves" (ไม่มีปัจจัยยังชีพตามสมควร)

It's the same for tourist visas, there is no official policy on how many you can get back-2-back.

Some consulates are "one-&-done", meaning you can get one tourist visa from them and if you go back they'll deny you. Others will give you yet another one. Some look at your previous entry/stay history (especially for those crappy agent-bought volunteer & ed visa) and some don't care.

It's a total crap shoot, and it's even worse for the countries who use the online E-visa system because each consulate can decide what their criteria is as far as how many you can get in a row from them.

Pre-covid there were people who got 3 back-2-back METV's from the consulate in their country. That means they spent close to 21 MONTHS here on those three 6 month METV's and there was no problem with immigrations when they were flying in-&-out, and no problem with the consulate giving the visa.

BUT that is not the case anymore, and we're seeing embassies and consulates deny people's applications after looking at the entry/stay history AND we're seeing people get denied entry coming IN to the country based on previous entry/stay history..

It also is irrelevant if you say "I've been here xxx months, had yyy and zzz visas and don't want to go home, will I get back in?" There is just NO way to tell if you'll get in or not and someone else who did get in safely doesn't mean YOU will skate thru..

All we can say is, if you have an extensive entry stay history, you should have the 3 famous proofs;

*onward travel within the days you'll be stamped in for

*proof of 20K baht or the equivalent in another currency in CASH

*proof of lodging

IF they're going to hassle you about entry the first thing they're going to ask for is onward travel.

Anyway, sorry this was long. It's not that I don't want to answer those questions, it's that there is no definitive answer to them

when checking in to the flight from Singapore to Bangkok, you might be asked by the Airline for an onward travel proof out of Thailand within the 30 days you will get stamped in

@John ******

agencies will accept anything starting from 30,000.- THB to help you to a longstay permit without having to proof own money. And yes, this illegal method is all over the place

@Frank *********

correct, as an American citizen, his embassy does not issue an income affidavit. So he needs to accumulate 12 months of recurring transfers from abroad of minimum 65.000.- THB coming into his account month for month, and the letter summary of the bank confirming this. So for the first year he needs to do the financial proof with the 800.000.- THB deposit method