@Eddie ***

if you get the 90 day non O before you enter, then the agent will charge about 15,000 baht to do the paperwork, 90 day reports, arrange finances (800K) and get your 1 year extension. So now you spent 15,000 and no need to keep 800K stuck in a non interest account no need to remember to file the dumb TM30 and you're good to go for 15 months total stay, pay a little extra and you can get multiple entries, without the hassle of getting a reentry permit at the airport whenever you want to take a trip. After that is all done, relax, next year try to do the renewal by yourself. After you have a full year of bank statements and monthly income.

You can send it by Fedex or UPS or Express Mail or drop it in the box at the US Embassy/Consulate and they'll forward it along to the US. It's not the end of the world.

@Nongnuch *******

you just proved yourself wrong, cuz you can't open a bank account with a tourist visa. And it's a lot cheaper and less hassle to leave and apply from home.

You can't apply for that while you're in Thailand unless you entered on a 90 day Non Immigrant O visa.

@Nongnuch *******

right I really don't quite understand why they have both O and O-A. There must be a reason but it's beyond me to figure out.

@Martyn **********

yes, extension of a 90 day O issued by the Thai embassy in your home country, which for me only costs $80 (B2600), so total for 15 months is B, plus 4000 for multiple entry....20,600.

@Brandon ***********

yes, sorry it's a 1 year extension of a 90 day Non Immigrant O visa....it can be renewed annually...grants 1 time duty free import of your possessions and avoids all those other requirements, even the 800,000 in the bank for 3 or 4 months. To me it's not much different than the O-A from the home country embassy, with a lot less hassle.

Visa Agents charge more, because they avoid the money in the bank, criminal background check, Thai health insurance and all those other things. You pay 14,000 baht and 3 days later you have a 1 year non immigrant OA visa. Pay and extra couple thousand and you can add multiple entries. And they also do the stupid 90 day TM30 reporting for you. It's worth it.

@Wayne ******

Agents charge more, because they avoid the money in the bank, criminal background check, Thai health insurance and all those other things. You pay 14,000 baht and 3 days later you have a 1 year non immigrant OA visa. Pay and extra couple thousand and you can add multiple entries. And they also do the stupid 90 day TM30 reporting for you. It's worth it.

Visa exempt is 60 days, you can easily extend that for another 30 days....90 days is the maximum stay. If you want to stay longer, fly out to Singapore in the AM, come back in the afternoon and get another 60 day, repeat, repeat, etc. If you really want to stay long term without all those trips and expenses then you'll need a different type of long term visa.