Con: you will be living in a Russian community. I guess that could be a pro depending on how you feel.

On question 2, my partner (a teacher employed by the government) has mentioned this to me as an incentive to get married. Not sure of the details or how true it is, but she seems convinced.

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

are you sure about Ubon requiring a test? The table above implies either a test or be vaccinated.

@Scot ******

For the non o application, the money needs to be seasoned for 60 days. I guess it depends on the individual bank policies for how long they keep records. I have not tested that.

Come back on a visa exempt stamp. Then apply for a new non o at your local immigration office. That’s what I did in July. I was stuck in the UK and my retirement extension run out in February. No hassle at all.

I’m pretty sure the 60 days seasoning requirement before your initial application still applies.

@Justin ********

The first time (in Korat 10 years ago) I needed a document from the bank showing evidence of a foreign transfer. I think that is still a requirement. I guess they didn’t ask for that in July because they had done my annual extension based on my deposit account a few times before, so although I was making a fresh application, they knew I had shown evidence in the past.

@Justin ********

Yes, I’ve had the money in a deposit account in Bangkok Bank for 10 years. While I was stuck in the UK my non O retirement extension ran out in February. That’s why I needed to reapply when I got back in July.

@Justin ********

Fair enough. You couldn’t get much quieter than Sisaket though. I’m always the only one in there. I came back through the Sandbox in July on a 45 day visa exempt stamp. It only took Sisaket Immigration an hour to process the application. Went back two weeks later to get the non O visa stamp. I guess I was just lucky.

I've done it twice. Once in Korat and once in Sisaket. You need to apply a couple of weeks before your visa extension (60 +30) is due to timeout. Maybe that's the reason they are not interested?