For anyone who's interested this is what has caused the meltdown. The head honcho of the disease arena wants all arrivals to be double-vaxxed, with some supersizing deals for those coming from China. He's taking his proposals to the relevant government offices at the Big Chief meeting on the morrow. This is actually a statement he made, so it's not a "rumour" as such, but it still may not get off the ground.

@Paul ******

@Paul ******

Medical Tyranny?? It's freedom of choice. And you'll be surprised how many invincible cheap Charlies out there don't want to buy insurance. Anyway, it doesn't bother me, I'm always insured and I've got the vax pass, so I'm right!

@Paul ******

The vax certificate won't destroy the economy. Most people are vaxxed. What will slow down tourism is things like insurance and quarantine, not just flashing the covid pass

Closest immigration office to Suvarnabhumi is Samut Prakan, about a 25 minute drive.

@Todd ********

Ok, at least you acknowledge that a bribe is being paid. That's what a lot of people won't accept. So yes the stamp is legitimate, but the process to obtain it was not. The matter that I'm aware of concerned an Aussie who's the neighbour of a drinking buddy in Bangkok who had been arrested for "visa violation" and was in IDP and was getting no assistance in getting a flight out. Someone on one of the Aussie expat groups mentioned Steve Smythe, knowing he is a retired solicitor from Sydney and is well-connected at the Embassy in Bangkok. Steve was able to get some strings pulled and the guy was released from IDP and was put on a plane with a 5 year ban. You are correct in that there was no violation with the actual visa, but this poor guy got caught up in an investigation that didn't even involve him, but some IO at an office I won't mention, but he got a visit from the police who just wanted to see his bank book to ensure he had the money as required, which of course he didn't. So what they got him on was failure to meet the requirements of the visa/extension, and they went back to the start date of that extension and deemed him to be on overstay for something like eight months. That's what they nailed him on was overstay. There was no mention of dodgy agents or dodgy stamps, simply no money in the bank. So yes, chances of being caught are almost non-existent, but they do exist. If the police receive a complaint they are compelled to investigate, otherwise they are looking the other way. I think people should simply be aware of this before going blindly down the agent path. As has been pointed out, some people don't have the choice and it's worth the risk for them. I've never met Steve, but understand he's got stacks of money so he has no cause to use an agent, and urges others who can afford the per month to get on that plan.

@To**

I see a lot of your posts here and I actually think you're quite an intelligent guy. Your posts are articulate, with good spelling and very good grammar (which sadly is lacking on social media), so do you really, really, really believe that no money changes hands "under the table" at immigration when going through an agent? Really? I refuse to believe you could be that misinformed!

@Winston *******

But he's actually right. I know some people are sensitive to his no-nonsense straightforward approach, what he says he totally correct. And the "each to their own" bit sums it up.

Get the married to a Thai visa from Savannakhet, bounce every 90 days, and you don't need money in the bank, although it's a fair hike from where you are

@Beverley ******

A letter from the Australian government will not suffice. Thai immigration will only accept an actual transfer of funds of baht per month into a Thai bank account in lieu of an affidavit from the embassy

This is from the Australian Embassy website. They stopped doing the affidavits about four years ago