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My understanding has always been that you have to update the bank book the very same day that you go to Immigration for your visa extension. I'm surprised that you could do it the day before. Also, I always go to the bank for the yearly statement about 10 days before I plan to go to Immigration. This is because it takes a few days to get the statement as it has to come from Bangkok. I don't see how you could get it the day before. And, yes, I am always very careful to have all the required documents properly prepared before I'm off to extend my visa, including any new requirements in any given year. In the many years I've had a retirement visa, I've never had a problem with any document being improperly prepared or missing. I hope that my winning streak continues.

I don't know about other banks, in that I've only had accounts at Bangkok Bank since I've lived in Thailand. My assumption, however, is that all banks would provide a service that one of their competitors provides. They wouldn't want to lose customers to Bangkok Bank if this service were important enough to customers that they would only have accounts at banks that offered it.

Thanks very much for your detailed and highly informative post. I will keep you and other interested parties updated on what is happening with CM Immigration. It will be some time as I won't be going for my extension until the first week of October.

No problem at all. I wait until after midnight, then I drive to a nearby Bangkok Bank ATM and update my bankbook. Then I drive back home. The whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes. People seem to have the mistaken notion that the update has to be done inside an actual bank branch. I've updated my bank book at the ATM for as long as the same-day updates were required, and I've never had the slightest issue with Immigration.

Well, that is certainly an extremely surprising post. The last few years I've been able to book a time slot in advance, usually in the afternoon. With an appointment I was able to get processed and be on my way from about an hour to 90 minutes. It's shocking to learn that someone could arrive as late as 07.30, without an appointment, and still be out the door within an hour. I have a lot of time to decide if I want to pay the visa agent or just take my chances and arrive early, as your post suggests. Thanks for the very helpful and informative information you provided.

Yes, I will be well-prepared, as I have been every year. I've never had any complications getting my visa extended. It's just a matter of having to take the time to do it and to do it properly. If I'm able to find a suitable visa agent, the process will be much more bearable, albeit a lot more expensive.

Okay. I won't go for my extension until early October, but I'll let you know how it went when I have returned from the CM insane asylum, also known as the Immigration Office.

Yes, I'm sure it will be expensive, but this year I feel that my best option is to use an agent. Next year I hope the system works better than it did this year, and that I'll go back to booking a time slot, as I have done for many years until now.

No need to arrive early is you've booked an appointment in advance, which I have done every year I could. This year, unfortunately, the system didn't work. That is why I must use an agent, which I would not otherwise be inclined to do, but this year I feel it is my best option.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will check them out.

Sorry, but your statement is completely inconsistent with my experience of last year. I booked a time slot for 2.30 on October 3rd to extend my permission to stay based on retirement. I made this booking at precisely 12.01 am of July 3rd, three months prior to the date I wanted, not thirty days. Last year the system worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, that is not the case this year. If you go to the Immigration website, you will see that the calendar goes all the way to the end of November, but no slots are available between now and then. You cannot access the December calendar yet. I will attach screenshots of September, October, and November, and you will see that there are no slots available on any days of those three months.

Prior to the online booking system, I would go to CM Immigration as early as 05.30 just to get a queue number low enough to be processed and homeward bound before 10.00 or 11.00. That was due to the sheer number of foreigners waiting to be processed. If anything, there are more applicants now. CM Immigration is an utter madhouse, with at least 50 people filling every seat inside the building and outside. I can't imagine what your understanding is based on. Try arriving at Immigration in the late morning, and you'll be lucky to be processed by closing time. More likely you'll be given a queue number to come back the following day.

No, I am not on overstay. My visa expires on November 4th. I should have said that I want to extend my permission to stay with retirement as the reason. It was just a matter of not using the correct language. The reason I could not book an appointment is that the Immigration website showed that all the slots on the day I tried to book were taken. I went there exactly at midnight, so that could not have been the case. There seems to be a problem with the website, in that all the slots on every day are shown to be taken. This was not the case in years past, when I was always able to book a time slot by selecting the one I wanted at exactly midnight.

Hello. I missed my chance to book an appointment online for the renewal of my retirement visa. As a result, I will have to use a visa agent. I can no longer arrive at Immigration at 05.30 in the morning and wait all day to get a new stamp in my passport. An agent I spoke to many years ago wanted my to leave my passport with her for two days, which I was unwilling to do. The prospect of not possessing my passport for any period of time terrifies me due to the huge hassle I went through last year to get a new passport. As careful as the visa agent may be, the possibility of losing my passport still exists, which would mean I would have to go through the arduous process of getting a new passport after having my current one for such a short period of time. Can anybody recommend an honest, reputable visa agent located in Chiang Mai who can assist me in getting my visa renewed without having to leave my passport in his or her possession for any length of time? Cost is not really an issue in that I would be doing this only once per year, and maybe next year I will be more successful booking an appointment online and wouldn't need the agent. Thanks in advance for any information any readers can provide.

Sorry, but wrong. I currently have four bank accounts with Bangkok Bank. Two are fixed accounts (the orange-colored books), and two are regular passbook accounts (the blue-colored books). I've had multiple accounts for the eighteen years I've lived in Thailand.

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A few people, who, seemingly, are not terribly articulate or knowledgeable about some current political issues are interviewed live without any opportunity to prepare a response. And you think that those few people represent all 346,000,000 Americans? Do you really think that their inability to answer more skillfully means that America is no longer a great country? What's shocking is that you are so ignorant that you think the greatness of a country can be determined by how a few of its citizens answer some questions, with no other factors taken into consideration. How about you? Do you represent every single citizen of your country of birth? How would you perform when asked questions on camera without any chance to prepare a response? You're so brilliant and articulate, please let us know.

I have a 30,000 baht fixed account with Bangkok Bank in Chiang Mai. Linked to this account is a Visa card. I can use this card to charge up to 30,000 baht, but no more. In this sense, it is actually more like a debit card than a credit card. In any event, it is there when I need it to charge up to 30,000 baht. I do not have to deposit twice the limit. So, my advice is to go to Bangkok Bank and get the same card. What could be simpler than that?

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You didn't mention where specifically in Thailand your friend goes. In Chiang Mai, in my experience, the best you can hope for at the massage shop is manual stimulation. If you want intercourse, you have to meet later at your place or a hotel. I've never heard of intercourse as a feature of the massage itself. Also, the price for the aforementioned manual stimulation is from 1,500 baht to 3,000 baht, including the price of the oil massage itself. Your friend is getting off incredibly inexpensively if he is paying only 1,000 baht for intercourse. Could you tell us where he goes so we might also enjoy such a great bargain price?

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