@Ian *********

yup. I realize some offices are extemely knowledgeable and helpful. Some of them are the complete opposite. I may be wrong, but my impression is the offices that have a much lower expat population are more helpful (Issan). The ones with a huge expat population like Koh Samui seem to want to avoid all the extra work of thousands of more tax filings.

@Andy ***********

who said I pushed the issue? Nothing in my post says or even implies I "pushed" the issue. I simply went and asked about it and there were a couple of back and forth questions. Thats all, no pushing. I left and said thats good enough for me and didn't think twice about not filing. Sometimes I just can't figure out people's lack of reading comprehension skills.

@Ian *********

unfortunately going to the local tax office may result in just as many conflicting and incorrect answers as Facebook. I went to mine and they refused to even give me a TIN number because I did not have a work permit and did not make money inside of thailand. They asked why I wanted one. I told them because I live here and remit income into thailand so need to file. They still wouldn't give me one. They are either just as clueless as random Facebook users or are doing it on purpose because they don't want to drastically increase their workload because a bunch foreigners start filing tax returns that end up owing little to nothing.

Your TM30 has your passport number on it, which is why you need to file a new one. As others have said, the TM30 has nothing to do with your 90 day report deadline. Besides the fact it needs to match your passport and address you use to file it.

@Lynnette ******

there is a 60 day extension available for visiting Thai family (spouse or kid) that I assume he is referring to. It does not have the financial requirement and is a good option to buy more time to gather all the documents needed for the non-o.

@Karsten *******

for retirement its 2 months before and 3 months after I believe, not to go below 400k ever. So not really much of a change for retirement.

For marriage its 400k 2 months prior and no requirement after, and can go to zero if one wants. So, more a restriction than immigration requirement for marriage.

If you use an agent to bypass the 800k requirement then you will not be able to switch to monthly deposit method. When you go to apply for the 2nd extension using the banked money method you will first need to prove you met the requirements of the previous extension. Which is the 800k must remain in your account for 3 months after, and not go below 400k the rest of the year. Since you used an agent that used a fake account or brown envelope to bypass the initial seasoned 800k you will not have the proper account and proof to show you met that obligation.

Once you use an agent to bypass the financial requirement you will be stuck using an agent for every subsequent extension. The only way to break free from that will be to leave the country and start all over again.

The visa number is not a required field, since visa exempt entries exist. I just filled one out and it was accepted. I have a 1 year non-o extension and left the visa field empty, along with all the departure date and details.

@Cris *****

that's completely normal unfortunately, especially at the Bangkok embassy. I'm curious, were you already married when you applied for her tourist visa? My wife had applied for one prior to us getting married and was instantly denied. She was told to apply for the k1, despite us having just met. After we were married she applied again, this time in Chiang Mai. On one of the freeform answers to one of the online questions I explained that I now live in Thailand, with no intentions of moving back, so did not want or need to apply for a CR1. That she only needed the visa to visit the US once a year for less than a month at a time. Not sure if that helped, but she was granted a 10 year tourist visa.

@Sue ******

from my experience here in Samui getting a non-o extension they seem to do everything they can to force you to use the visa agency right outside the door. As Brandon says they add a bunch of requirements that aren't on their own list and are not any official requirement. Then when you show up and have them review the documents, they'll set up an appointment for another day and not mention any of those missing documents.