My understanding is that you can drive in Thailand for up to 3-months on your overseas driving license.. but should obtain a Thai license if you are in country longer than that.. but if you are leaving and re-entering Thailand to extend your stay then technically you may not be in country longer than 90 continuous days.. however if you already hold a long term visa such as a non-o married visa, or a non-oa retirement visa then you should consider applying for a Thai license.. my personal experience suggests it's easier to get a Thai driving license for car / motorcycle the more permanent your visa appears to be.. I've read elsewhere that tourists can apply but I'm of the opinion that the process is easier if you have a Thai spouse and / or are retiring here.. and if you have a yellow book to confirm your residence in the marital home in Thailand then your life will be a lot simpler when dealing with any govt agencies.. including the Land Transport Authority which issues driving licenses.. you should also consider getting an international driving permit (or equivalent) from your home country before travelling.. which will again make your life easier.. not an exhaustive reply by any means and I'm sure others will add to this.. or quote from their personal experience as an expat driving in Thailand.. hope that's helpful

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

I think you are correct Brandon.. I'm in CM and recently applied for a non-o visa based on marriage.. my funds were in my Thai bank account but had not seasoned a full 60-days.. they allowed me to apply for it and granted the initial 90-day visa.. but want to see that i have met the 60-day rule and maintained it at (or above) the threshold before they will grant the 1-year extension.. but it's possible that different IO's apply the criteria differently.. even within the same immigration office.. so maybe it depends on what day you go and what IO you get on your case!

My understanding is that you can only have your name on one 'blue book' which is normally the property you consider to be your main residence.. if you buy additional property/s your name will be on the chanute as owner.. but your local Amphur will not give you a blue book with your name on it.. this opinion comes from recent personal experience.. where an Amphur gave us the previous owners blue book to retain.. but stated that they could not change the name in the book while the owners name was already on a blue book elsewhere.. so maybe the Landlord is not being dishonest after all 🤔

There's also the small matter of security of tenure.. meaning the lease agreement gives you rights over the property you are living in.. such as the right of occupation.. and will usually set out the obligations of both landlord and tenant.. if the lease does not pertain to the property someone is living in.. then theoretically the landlord could deny them access and re-let the property at any time.. on the grounds that they have no legal right to be there.. whilst there may be some recourse via the legal system to seek redress.. that could take time and would cost money.. though you could argue that the lease gives you the right to live in the landlords house.. since that appears to be the address stated as the rental property.. but your assuming the landlord actually owns that property and is not a tenant themself.. in which case subletting may be prohibited.. or that access would be granted if they do.. making enforcement extremely difficult.. all hypothetical and all improbable but not impossible.. so the situation is more precarious than it first looks imo.. and if its a genuine mistake that was made when they filled out the tenancy agreement.. they should have no problem re-writing the lease to correct the mistake and then filing a new tm30 to mirror that.. and remember that immigration could view someone's failure to correct this as an intention to deceive them.. so personally i would never allow such a situation to persist!

@Maxim **********

I'm not suggesting agents are illegal or not sometimes necessary.. I'm simply suggesting they are often 'unnecessary' and almost always 'expensive' for the user.. if you don't need to jump through hoops to get your visa.. meaning you meet the requirements and your documentation is in order.. then you simply need to educate yourself.. ie. learn the system and apply yourself to the task.. unless your wealth is such that 66k is a drop in the ocean of course.. but don't let fear overcome you.. Immigration are very helpful and most hurdles can be climbed by humbling yourself and seeking their advice 👍

Warning bells went off in my head when i read the costs involved.. then realised you were using an agent.. then the bells got louder.. you should be able to do most of this yourself with a little guidance.. and at minimal cost.. why not consider a border bounce and subsequent extension of your stamp by 30-days.. which would give you another 60-days to get all your documents sorted out and get married.. if you're getting married in Thailand it will negate the need to have the marriage certificate translated into Thai.. thereby expediting the married visa process.. I'm sure the knowledge base here can assist in explaining the process and pitfalls to avoid.. I've recently completed my own application for a married visa and the only fees i had to pay were to Immigration.. it sounds to me like you are being conned somewhere.. buyer beware!

Interesting conversation.. since I'm going to DLT in CM myself next week for my driving 'test' (lol) in order to get my Thai driving & motorcycle licenses.. so will know first hand what CM grants to first time license holders

The only time I've used an agent was for this very exercise.. they got my overseas marriage certificate authenticated by the Embassy of issuing country and then got a translation done and duly stamped by the MOFA in Thailand.. whole process took around 2-weeks.. and they provided a translation of my passport (in case of need) at no extra cost.. so consider the fee of around 5,000 bht money well spent.. hassle free and done right!

@Will ***********

I have recently had to register my marriage (Farang with Thai wife) at our local Amphur in Chiang Mai.. they did not insist upon translation of my passport into Thai.. but they did want our marriage certificate translated from English into Thai.. with the necessary overseas Embassy and Thai stamps on it.. we decided to use an agent to achieve this in order to expedite the process.. and to avoid having to travel to Bangkok ourselves.. and everything was completed within a couple of weeks.. the fee of around 5.5k bht they charged included a translation of my passport.. so i now have that in case of need as well.. although i'm not a fan of using agents for immigration matters as a rule.. i'd recommend others consider using an agent in this situation.. money well spent for me!

@Robert **********

Yes, i went there the first working day after flying into CM