OMG don't come back as you will be arrested for a massive overstay. You should not have used the auto gates as they're reserved for people that don't ask stupid questions. Seriously, what did you think happened. They have these auto gates all over the world

@Patrick *********

Your entry stamp will never be stamped retirement

If you are at the main passport entrance there is a lane marked Thai passports and this takes you to the fast-track area to the right of the main passport queues. There are independent fast-track entrances but they told me are not for business class. Make sure you retain your boarding card.

Sounds like the stress was all of your doing. Naive to say the least. You say you are old school with visas stuck in passports so surely you know visas have to be transferred to the new passport. Just because they issue stickless visas now does not change anything. You will probably have to carry both passports for 5 years now as nobody has managed to get a DTV transferred. Immigration will not do it and the issuing Embassies will not do it.

Just make sure you don't open with Bangkok Bank as they are the worst for freezing accounts. Try and open one away from popular tourist areas as this is where agents work and open illegal accounts.

@Andrew *******

Then how do retirees put 800k in their bank to get the extension? A Non-O based on retirement and a certificate of residence from immigration is enough to open an account. Everybody has to put 800k in their Thai bank before they can apply for their first one year extension.

He needs to get a DTV and stop abusing the system. Turning up with you will decrease his chances of getting in IMO. New guidelines say two visa-exempt entries per calendar year unless you can convince the IO you are a genuine tourist

I can confirm UK wanted my flight e-ticket. I booked an apartment that was free to cancel. I ended travelling a month later than my application said. My ticket was flexible

In my experience the unlimited SIMs routinely have their speed throttled when you reach a certain data usage cap, which is under the fair use conditions. I don't have Internet where I live so I use my phone for everything, including TV. I load 200 baht a month on the SIM and never run out of data.

Although we all apply online to the same URL the applications are not handled centrally because if they were then all the rules would be the same, and they are not. I applied from the UK and they don't require the funds to be seasoned for 3 months, but if you apply from another country they do.