Lifer

Just returned. Had a 1:00 pm appointment and was called at exactly 1:00 pm. No need to que for a number. Was out of there by 1:25 (Renew Education Visa).

Also, my immigration officer said now, 90 day renewels can be done 2 weeks prior to date or 1 week after.

Great to hear its working. Is the appointment system becoming mandatory now or still optional. Also, is it being used for 90 day and re-entry permits (by appointment)too? I have noticed that many of the avail times are being booked way out ahead now.

Great feedback by TV Chiangmai!

Please help! I made the reservation and filled in the information. I entered it and it made the reservation, but did not see any information to print or any kind or res #. Now it has my reservation as requested, and I have no print out. What is it you are supposed to print? Can you help?

Hello Lifer,

I have just returned from Imm. to query what to do about the exact situation you describe.

I booked appointments for both my wife and myself only to find that because of a "block' on the computer I was unable to get a queue number (or anything else, for that matter)that I could print out.

Our appointments were logged in but there was no apparent way I could cancel and reset for another attempt without being able to provide a reference number.

After a number of different bits of advice I was told, this morning, to present ourselves at due times when our names would be called.

We can live in hopes. If you choose to visit Imm. Dept. and query your own situation, you might be good enough to confirm whether I've been given the right story or not. I'll take my chances.

Cheers.

Thanks a lot. I will probably go in next week and check. My concern is that if they have made this mandatory, as the US Consulate did, how will they handle those that don't know about the system that go in to get their extensions. Is there a procedure to take care of the walk-ins. There really needs to be more information and clarification from immigration. I just happened to find out the new procedure this afternoon on Thai visa post. Thanks again for your reply.

I'll be able to tell you how it worked out after Tuesday 2nd August.

Cheers.

I look forward to hearing how it went with your August 2 appointment. Thx.

Lifer, in answer to the above re: printing.

OK, filling out the form is clunky.

The calender obscures the field where data is entered. And if you dont read Thai, you have to intuit dates in future months by counting up from the default, which is the current month.

You find out what to fill in by hitting the "Submit" button, and reading the error message!

It sounds like you did not fill out all the fields, as when the form is completed, and all the data has been entered, it takes you to a page that is your final confirmation. The final page is titled "Queue online Card". It has a queue code, the date and time of the scheduled appt, your name and reason. You either print that page, or if no printer save it as a pdf, put it on a flash drive and get it printed elsewhere (as I did).

If you did not see that page, or didn't save it....well I don't know what your chances are when you show up at the appointed time.

Good luck.

Thanks for attempting to help us. I went to the month of August, picked my date, and then filled out all the blocks including date, name, security code, etc. and entered. Went it entered, it reserved the correct date and time, but did not indicate any queue code or page to copy or print. My day and time says reserved/booked. As others have tried, I can't cancel the reservation and re-input because I don't have a Q code, like the others. The discomforting part of all this is to show up expecting to be called in the back for the appointment, just to sit there in a mob waiting for something to happen. Thanks again for helping.

Please help! I made the reservation and filled in the information. I entered it and it made the reservation, but did not see any information to print or any kind or res #. Now it has my reservation as requested, and I have no print out. What is it you are supposed to print? Can you help?

Hello Lifer,

I have just returned from Imm. to query what to do about the exact situation you describe.

I booked appointments for both my wife and myself only to find that because of a "block' on the computer I was unable to get a queue number (or anything else, for that matter)that I could print out.

Our appointments were logged in but there was no apparent way I could cancel and reset for another attempt without being able to provide a reference number.

After a number of different bits of advice I was told, this morning, to present ourselves at due times when our names would be called.

We can live in hopes. If you choose to visit Imm. Dept. and query your own situation, you might be good enough to confirm whether I've been given the right story or not. I'll take my chances.

Cheers.

Thanks a lot. I will probably go in next week and check. My concern is that if they have made this mandatory, as the US Consulate did, how will they handle those that don't know about the system that go in to get their extensions. Is there a procedure to take care of the walk-ins. There really needs to be more information and clarification from immigration. I just happened to find out the new procedure this afternoon on Thai visa post. Thanks again for your reply.

In answer to your question, NancyL, yes, I have used the online queue reservation system.

I printed it out, and went by CM Imm a couple of weeks ago to make sure it was the real thing, not a beta test, etc.

The officer at the One Stop (windows 1&2) looked at it, said yes it's a real queue reservation, and said I should appear 5-10 minutes prior to the listed time.

Please help! I made the reservation and filled in the information. I entered it and it made the reservation, but did not see any information to print or any kind or res #. Now it has my reservation as requested, and I have no print out. What is it you are supposed to print? Can you help?

re ... elecrtrifieds .... 199 Thanon Moon Muang - near Sompet Market

here .... 150 yards to the left of the cafe ... right next to the car lot

dave2

But, does he have liquid nitrogen??....the stuff that is usually not available outside of a hospital that 'freezes' the unwanted thingies off our fragile falang skin.

I can't make it any more clear. He has clinics at Ram and Sripat. I think all hospitals have liquid nitrogen. Why not call him and ask him?

Isn't that what these forums are about?? sharing info and experiences and we all know how frustrating a phone call to a Thai can be, so that's why I asked that simple question......You were promoting the guy and I just asked a simple question and your answer is 'give him a call'.......easily done in the west, but not so easy here.

Thanks....

A rude reply. Call.

There is no 30 day visa on arrival so your son must have a visa exempt entry and any entry can be extended for medical reasons. He would need to go to Chiang Watanna Soi 7 Immigration (which is on the East side of the river - the same as old Immigration office).

If you had a single entry non immigrant O-A (check that - multi allows a different process) you should plan to extend a week or two before expiration of current stay and you could do both that and address reporting at the same time (it does not matter which is first). You will need 800k in account 3 months and letter of account balance (if using only bank account) with proof that day of account balance (there are branch offices of most banks on ground floor level of Bangkok Immigration). You will need copies of bank passbook, photo/data page of passport, visa and entry stamps and arrival card. Sign all copies. Photo 4x6cm taken within six months and 1,900 baht fee for TM.7 application for extension of stay. They may ask for proof of residence (lease or such).

Thank you very much for this information. I have a multiple-entry non-immigrant O-A Visa. Can you kindly explain the difference for extending this multiple-entry Visa (rather than a single entry)?

Also, you say i need to show proof on that day that i have the 800,000 baht in my account. Does this means the copy of my passbook needs to be dated from the day i go for an extension?

How recent must the letter from the bank be? I checked with my Bank (SCB) and they want 200 baht for a letter stating i have an account with them. That sounds crazy to me, but i guess i have no choice.

It's either 200 Baht or a very high ridiculous fee to the Consulate to do an affidavit. US Consulate fee now $50. I think the 200 Baht bank letter is cheaper! Make sure the money has been in the bank for the period required. Good luck.

Everyone, all over Chiangmai (Nong Hoi, Saraphi, Hangdong, etc.) need to call the TOT toll free number and let them know the problem. Seems they didn't do much over long Holiday. If everyone notifies them, maybe they will find out where the problem is and fix. If you don't, my experience is they go days without doing anything.

Fly below the radar and make sure that you are able to care for youself. The rest is great. Love Thailand

fatfather

I have been here for 14 years and never gone home. Stay above board with your visas, don't work without a work permit, Follow the laws, stay out of the bar scene, and enjoy the easy life here. The news shows sound more like they are talking about the Philippines and Angeles City. I have to laugh. The only time I got stopped was going the wrong way on my motor bike during some construction past the Chiangmai Airport. There happened to be a policeman at the other end closest to the Wing 41 gate who stopped me. He was nice about it and let me go without a ticket.

Suggest you come over for a vacation, travel around and see how you like it, then decide. It takes a good year to learn what's going on.

All you people who are cheering this are absolute scum, you know that? At least people who use ED visa's are trying to do something to stay here legitimately.

Some of you lot forget that we are essentially all here for similar reasons, it's just that not all of us are lucky enough to have a job or be over a certain age so that we can get the visa we need...

You might laugh now while you have your comfortable retirement visa or whatever it is, but one day they'll clamp down on those as well - then perhaps you'll wish you weren't quite so gleeful about the struggles of the rest of us to stay here. Morons. Shameful

"we are essentially all here for similar reasons,".

And what reasons might they be? Beautiful temples, beautiful women, beautiful weather?

An ED visa is issued for just that reason, to give the recipient an opportunity to study Thai in Thailand which usually means attending classes and having some proficiency in the language, not attending beer bars and snorkeling.

I was not cheering but am pleased that immigration has found it fit to clamp down on abuses of the visa.

I am retired here as are many members of this forum and object to your choice of the word "scum". If they choose to clamp down on retirement visa holders who are"abusing" the system I will be glad to cheer.

99% of retirees obey the rules and meet the requirements, so not likely to be too many problems that you wish on us.

Try not to be so angry. :If you are here on an Ed visa and learning Thai, you should have no problems. Chok dee.

Hi agree wholeheartedly. It's time they closed the loopholes for those that can't qualify for their many visa options. Most of us work hard to follow the rules and qualify. The requirements are plain to understand and adhere to. It's there country, they can do what they feel is right without regard to those who want to be here illegally.

A simple way to find out how much Thai a person is learning is for the immigration to ask very simple questions in Thai of the applicant before granting the extension based on the number of years the applicant has been using an educational visa.

Another thing they need to do is clamp down of the University students from China who enroll in classes full time, then skip classes to go get an illegal job in the local English schools teaching very poor English. (Includes running businesses too)

The bank requirement for extension of stay is two months in account and there is no combination allowed. 400k in account 2 months or income of 40k per month.

Your one year visa only allows 90 day stays so hope you have been exiting/returning rather than just staying. Have to be sure as some have believed they did not have to do that.

During the last 30 days of any entry you can extend for one year if you meet the conditions.

To obtain a new multi entry non immigrant O visa locally is not as easy as in homeland as most Consulates will only issue single entry and expect you to extend at Immigration. So if you can not extend a trip to KL and show of 100k in bank account is likely the safe option currently.

Lopbury3, I have always used affidavit from Consulate, but this time will use money in the bank to avoid the $50 affidavit charge. Do we need to make copies of the entire bank book or just last page, and do we need more than one letter from the bank? Thanks in advance.

Obviously paid Skytrax under the table with all the profit made during the Japanese earthquake crises.

It's my opinion that you may find that these airlines find a way to pad the palms of the rating agency to get ratings. I remember a while back that an investigative report reported that the restaurant and hotel industry (not Thailand)was supplying remuneration in cash or perks to get five star ratings. I do believe that the airline rating depend on a lot of criteria that needs to be evaluated before we can figure out why Thai got the rating they did. I know that when I flew Thai International in the late 1990's and early 2000's, Thai was excellent in all categories, always competing with Singapore and Malaysian Airlines.

If you apply based on income alone, a bank letter is not necesarry. Some immigration offices do want to see an updated bank book with some money in it, to see that you have money to spend. But that is all, no bank letter needed. Always a good idea to take the bank book with you, in case they ask for it.

If you go for the combined option of money in the bank and yearly income, a bank letter might be required.

The biggest decision is now, if US citizen, do you want to pay the rip off cost of $50 for a letter from the Consulate or have the money in the bank and pay less for the bank letter.

No need for seasoning or even for the money to be in a bank acocunt in Thailand. But it must be there when you apply for the visa. After that you can spend it.

I don't think you can get a one year visa anywhere. You must mean a 90 Day non-O. You can get one year extensions in country only. My experience with KL is that they would like to see copies, but they may have changed their procedure.

KL is a very visa friendly place, with friendly staff if you have the proper docs. Good luck, and enjoy KL.

Odd, suddenly it works again:

Somchai must have been pushing some of those buttons marked "do not push" again....

For 4 days now I have had intermittent no internet signal to dropped setting in TOT server. The setting are reset, but continue losing the speed settings, or get no internet signal at all. I even replaced all house wiring with new telephone wire. Didn't seem to make a difference. I am in Chiang Mai on edge of Saraphi.

Anyone else experiencing these problems. Tired of calling TOT!

Well, using several u.s. credit cards to purchase AirAsia tix at different time intervals,

and never have any problem with any of the u.s. originated credit or debit cards to date, knock on wood.

Hi, Since when did they start accepting Debit cards. Is this a recent change?

Thanks

I believe the idea is to convert and print or edit. You might try this one and see if it meets your purpose.

http://www.free-pdf-to-word.com/download.html

The Indian pharmaceutical companies are known for producing some top quality generic medicines.The ones you better worry about are the ones peddled in Mae Sai, which are usually fake mixtures from China.

Getting the benefits from Social Security through Manila was painless but changing from one bank to another has been a pain. ....... I can only attribute the delay due to the fact that a large number of Filipinos entitled to the benefits keep them busy and they do it one at a time, First in, First out.

I was/am confused about your posting. You do not get benefits from Manila. All Manila does is the prepossessing of applications to insure completeness. The application is approved in and payments come from the U.S. Your posts sounds as if you were receiving benefits via direct deposit at one bank and then changed banks and waiting for the direct deposit to be rerouted. That has nothing to do with the PI or the number of Filipinos processing claims.

Hi, The SSA office at the US Embassy in Manila handles all the processing for SE Asia. You send the documents to them. They handle all the processing to the US. Any questions or docs needed, they contact you by phone and/or Email. If your respectful and polite, you will find that the service is fairly quick and painless. Once your checks started going to your bank by direct deposit, you rarely have any contact with them. At the end of the year, they send out a verification of what your receiving every month by mail. In my second year now and absolutely no problem. You email them in Manila and find out who your contact there is. It's divided up by where you live in Asia.

Thanks for all the suggestions

I ended up taking dire action.

I backed up all my settings with Mozbackup.

Deleted FF completely.

Reinstalled and restored my settings, all except the General ones.

Now the downloads are working, to the folder I specified, yes it does exist, has done for months............

I keep all my .torrent files in a dedicated folder, as I upload some to my seedbox

to improve my ratios

I am now on an old version 3.6.3 which I had on disk.

It will be interesting to see if the problem reoccurs when it updates to the latest

I spoke to soon.

It downloaded to the specified folder the first time,

BUT the second it went to TMP again............ :annoyed:

Hi,

I use the new Firefox beta I downloaded (4.0 B7. No problem, but the page has been changed or enhanced a little, but almost the same as previous versions.

It is the Thai "system" that creates from BIRTH a person bred and held to "place".

You are trained from infancy to understand who your "betters" are and how you should act and live.

At school, you are trained not to think, voice opinions or question the teacher, just do what you are told.

When you get to work, you do not offer ideas or suggestions to those above you and are discouraged to voice complaints.

You understand that no matter how poor someone is at their job, if they are more "senior" to you that they get the next "up" job opening.

As an adult, "certain" subjects are never discussed. Open Political debate and comment is seen as something "Anti Thai". TV is so dull and bland, minds stay limp and untroubled.

And above all, you know that money speaks, money controls, money puts you above others and outside the law.

So the system breeds conforming, unthinking masses that know their place, and their place is to bow and scrape before these "betters".

So no matter how bad an "Eliete" is, or how corrupt or how viloent, the people cannot think for themselves, so follow like a well trained dog.

"Amazing" Thailand...........

It works for them, whose to say if it is right or wrong. Mind your own business. :jap:

Its precisely this kind of thinking that has caused Thailand to have so many problems, and to be so screwed up. The writer of the article above was right on the money. Sad, but true.

Thank you Thailand for bringing a smile to my face. Today has been a tough day in the office, i can always count on thaivisa at the expense of the thai police to cheer me. funny story! i feel so much safer now....

BTW when i get pulled over by some traffic cops doing an illegal road stop.... do i also report that to 7-11or should i report that to the post office... tesco.... 55555 ....i love this country!!!!

As usual all the negative people fall out to judge, complain, and make fun of anything that the Thailand tried to do. Probably many who are spouting off do not even live here, OR just want to be heard by anybody. Sad.

Has anyone recently obtained their residency certification from Chiang Mai Immigration for 5 year drivers license renewal. If so, please tell me what document the immigration office requires. Lived in Chiang Mai for 13 years at the same place. Thank you in advance.

What a bunch of moaning old farts you guys are.

Is it costing you anything now? No

Is it hurting you to have someone smile at you? No

Would it hurt you to smile back? No, unless you have just had an abdominal operation.

Can't you find enough trouble in the world to complain about, without inventing it?

Chill out and enjoy something ....just for a change.

I think it's a great idea.......have any of you flown Aeroflot lately? If not I think you should, join the other poe faces.

I totally agree. No matter the subject, all the whiners, complainers, and negative persons come out of the woodwork to complain and make stupid comments. That is why some refer to TV as the bitch blog. I guess they have nothing better to do with their time.

It is not so much as the Baht getting stronger - it is the US dollar getting weaker commensurate with its fiscal management or lack thereof. If you gauge the Baht with other currencies such as the AUD - this has come from 22 Baht to 29 as at today. So by these pages some journalist would suggest the Aussie economy has strengthened by 30%. If that were true Australia would be in deep yoghurt. No one would trade with it as it would cost them too much money to buy goods and services. The fact of the matter is the AUD has strengthened marginally and the Baht has not kept up to Australia's performance.

But n the other hand, the US is in fiscal crisis due to its banking and fiscal management by the Fed and others. It has been in debt for trillions of dollars (literally) for decades and right now there is no way out. Their currency will not buy what it used to and there has to be a leveling. The hiccup could throw the USD to 25 Baht (my prediction) but Thailand cannot really stop that or fend off the fall. If the US were to devalue that far, China, Russia and Europe would become the major's and the US will be left to flounder.

So far we have not heard anything about all the foreigners legally receiving Thai extensions to visas based on marriage or retirement. What is the Thai country going to do to lighten the burden to applicants at immigration trying to qualify with the exchange rate so bad.

When countries live on credit and social security there is not much you can do when continuing to tax business and PAYE salary earners to pay for the mismanagement. It is a death spiral and about time.

Good post, I recall back in 2000/01 when the Baht was at 22 to the Aussie $ and 17/18 to the NZ$, both of these currencies have gone up and not gone down again. Whilst Thailand's economy might be growing, I see no fundamental shifts in its emphasis to suggest that the Baht appreciation is based upon its own merits, or will be as sustainable was in the long term as the Australian and NZ situation.

Fully agree