Has anyone done the retirement extension at Samui while staying in a hotel/short-stay accommodation?  If so how did you handle the requirement for the "house rental contract and copy of your household book" which are on the Samui office document list?  

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You create the change by submitting a TM30 or TM27 form to immigration.

Is there any reason why, if changing registered address, I would use one or the other of those two forms?  Or does it not matter which?

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No

Only change of your registered address that immigration has would cause a problem.

TM30 reports done by a hotel and etc does not change your address.

Thanks for the quick reply.  So what would change the registered address?  I guess if I file a TM27 (change of address) or exit and re-enter the country stating a new address on my TM6?  Anything else?

I filed my 90-day report online successfully last month.  I'm doubting this is an issue, but to be certain:  If I go out of province and stay for a while at a hotel or serviced apartment which files a TM30, will that disrupt my next 90-day online filing from my home address (by registering me at a new address)?

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

To start the registration again you would need to use a different email address.

You could try getting a new password by clicking forgot password.

Success!  Thanks.  I clicked "Forgot Password" and this time the system worked, sent me a log-in link to re-set, which I did, and from there could submit my TM47.  Status is now pending ???? 

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Anything that has to be approved by immigration will not be processed until the offices open tomorrow.

Oh I had assumed it was an automatic process that didn't require human input.  I wonder what the human element is here?  They didn't ask for any ID like passport that would enable them to identify me in their system at this stage.  

18 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Normally it is almost instantaneous but the site is down again. Keep checking your email and it should show up.

 

The site was up late yesterday for at least some time and it's up again now and yet I still haven't received my email, about 24 hours after registering.  Now I'm wondering if I should start the registration process again, or possibly click "Forgot Password", but I'm afraid that might tangle up the process if it's still in (very slow) motion.  Suggestions?

8 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is actually about both the mobile app and the new site but as the OP stated he could not find everything easily.

That is why I posted the links for the new online reporting site.

Thanks, that's right the non-mobile website is what drove me around in circles.  The page you sent above finally was back working this morning and I submitted registration, got the message that it had been submitted but have been waiting all day for an email (yes, been watching my junk folder as well) and so far, nothing.  How long do you suppose it might take to get the email with password?

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Normally you would do the registration at using this link. https://tm47.immigration.go.th/tm47/#/register/add

Or going here and clicking apply at the bottom of the page. https://tm47.immigration.go.th/tm47/#/login

But at this time both sites are down and you get this message.

This site can’t be reached

tm47.immigration.go.th took too long to respond.

Try again later and the sties my be back up again.

Thanks, I'll try that page later.  But then the instructions they give in Online Services are wrong.  Following them just takes you around in circles as I described above.  They don't link to the page you suggest.

I'm trying to register on the new system.   It keeps sending me in circles.  I get to this page: https://www.immigration.go.th/en/#serviceonline  and see the TM47 square, which I click.  I then get a page of instructions which say go to www.immigration.go.th (which I already did to get here) then go to the 90 day button (which I just did) and then click the "apply" button - which I see nowhere.  See screenshots.  Please help, where is the "apply" button??

2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

 

 

Edit: I just read the police order 35/2561 which you referenced. That appears to be applicable to a letter of verification about one's medical status (and inability to apply for a visa) rather than a letter of verification about funds on deposit, although I understand your point about immigration officials not being authorized to make up rules as they go along.

I don't know what you're referring to.  There's nothing at all about medical in my copy of the order.

Attaching it.Police order 35-2561 changeof 327-2557 clasue2.22(Eng) 800K-400K rule.pdf

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

Followup:

I wrote the below email to Lopburi Immigration on January 26th. Today, I got a very, very kind phone call from Lopburi Immigration apologizing for the interaction on January 21st. They explained that they could clearly see that the funds were on deposit for many years, and that in the future I could use a bank letter and passbook update up to a week before applying for a visa renewal. I in particular want to recount that they told me they wanted me to have "sabai jai" and to think of Lopburi Immigration  as "family." Although the below letter is in English, I used Google translate to prepare a version in Thai. The reason I am sharing this is to remind people that Google translate can be helpful when communicating with Thai immigration and if you take the time to explain what is going on, Immigration has generally proven itself to be very reasonable.

Copy of Letter to Lopburi Immigration:

To: Manager of Lopburi Immigration

 

 

 

Re: Verification of Funds Letter for Retirement Visa

 

            my name

 

            passport xxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Dear Manager of Lopburi Immigration:

 

 

 

 

On Friday January 21, 2022 I renewed my retirement visa. I presented a verification of funds letter which was dated January 19th, 2022. I was initially told that this letter was not acceptable because it had to be dated the same day as the retirement visa application. I was then told that an exception would be made this time, but for future visa applications, the letter from the bank would have to be completed the same day as the visa application.

 

 

 

I am writing to you to ask you to reconsider this policy. I believe that requiring retirement visa applicants to complete the bank letter on the same day as the application provides little to no benefit to Thailand, and that more flexibility about the date of the bank letter will not result in any problems. I also think that requiring the bank letter to be completed on the same day as the visa application is unnecessarily inconvenient for retirement visa holders. Please consider the following points:

 

 

 

Little to no benefit for Thailand

 

 

 

The current requirement is that the 800,000 baht has to be deposited in the account no less than two months prior to visa application and for 3 months after the visa is issued. In my case, the required 800,000 baht has been deposited in the same account for almost 9 years, and no funds have ever been withdrawn from the account during this period. In the past, I have used letters received from my bank up to 4 days prior to renewal without any problem.

 

 

 

So I cannot understand why Lopburi immigration now wants the bank letter to be dated the same day as the visa application. After the visa is renewed and three months have passed by, funds can be withdrawn, but 400,000 has to remain in the account, right? But immigration doesn't check to see if 400,000 has been kept in the account for the remainder of the year until the visa is renewed the next time. So for nine months, you don't verify that the requirement that 400,000 be kept on deposit has been followed, right? Immigration checks at the next renewal to see if this has been adhered to, right? So I don't understand why Immigration would be concerned if the bank verification letter is dated a couple of days before the visa renewal application.

 

 

 

Requiring bank verification letter be dated the same day as the visa application can be inconvenient for retirement visa holders.

 

 

 

Retirement visa holders are 50+ years old. Some are much older than 50 years old. Older people do not have the same energy and strength as younger people. I think this should be considered. More flexibility would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

For example, a couple of days before applying for my visa, I go to xxxxxxx (Petchabun province) to get the visa photo, the bank verification of funds letter, and to photocopy documents needed for the retirement visa application. I then go to Lopburi Immigration a couple of days later. If Lopburi Immigration requires that I go to the bank on the same day, it will be a very long day for me. Because the bank does not open until 8:30 am, by the time I get the photos, the verification of funds letter from the bank, photocopy the necessary documents, it could easily be 11 am already. I have to eat lunch, right? Then I have to drive 2 hours to Lopburi immigration. Maybe I am at immigration for half an hour to forty five minutes. Then I drive back home 2 hours, maybe arrive home at five PM. This is a long day for me. I am away from home a long time. I have pets, I have a vegetable garden that needs to be watered, I have to prepare dinner.

 

 

 

Also, when I go to Lopburi immigration, I like to leave very early in the morning because the traffic is not heavy, and it is safer for me. After going to Lopburi Immigration, I like to go to Makro to buy food I cannot find near my house. If Lopburi Immigration requires that I go to the bank and get the verification letter on the same day as I apply for my visa, I don't think I will have enough time to go shopping at Makro on the same day. So I will have to make a separate trip to go to Makro. Not good for the environment, not good for global warming, not good for congested roads.

 

 

 

For the above reasons, I am asking if Lopburi Immigration could be more flexible about the required date for bank verification of funds letters.

 

 

 

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Good for you!  If anyone else finds it necessary to write a letter like this, I would suggest mentioning that other Immigration offices allow the bank letter to be up to 7 days old and have published that rule (for example you could include a copy of the Koh Samui or other office rule).  And point out that the law itself (Police Order 35/2561) does not even require a bank letter.  It does require the B800K balance but it does not say how that has to be demonstrated and it's hard to see a reason why a bank book, updated the date of application or the day before, shouldn't suffice.

Is the Samui office requiring everybody entering the office to have a Covid test?  I hear Chaeng Wattana in BKK is requiring an ATK.

20 hours ago, LarrySR said:

Immigration Officers can be extremely petty. 

One time I withdrew 100bt and updated my bankbook so the balance didn't match the letter exactly and they sent me away for a new banker letter. "Letter and book must be the same".....

Next time I made sure the bank letter and bank book balance was exactly the same and they sent me away to withdraw 100bt and update the book so this time the balance on the book didn't match the letter. 

 

 

There is no rational basis and no basis in the law for them to reject you because of the mismatch.  As long as you have the required B800K the exact amount should not matter, and it's obvious that a transaction after the bank letter will create a mismatch - so what?  Chaeng Wattana always required me to do a transaction the day of application which inevitably created a mismatch (since my bank letter was always from a previous day) and they were happy.  I think if an officer tells you a mismatch is unacceptable you have to insist on speaking to their supervisor and escalate until, hopefully, they back down.  It is also possible, as others have hinted, that in some offices they are deliberately creating difficulties in the hope of steering you to an agent or otherwise obtaining a personal benefit, in which case you still have to try to escalate but if they're all in on it you do have a problem.

1 hour ago, lom said:

The give some leeway but I don't know how long it can be stretched , I usually do the 100baht transaction and the bank letter the day before I go to the Immigration office.

They have even once accepted a Thursday bank letter + transaction on a Monday for me. (they were closed on that Friday).

Their list says the bank letter is good for 7 days.  I can't see why a Thursday bank letter would not be a slam dunk.  The thing that makes it trickier is the transaction, if it's hard to find an ATM that will update your bank book the same day you apply.  I've had that problem, ATM's not working.

1 hour ago, phetphet said:

Did my retirement extension application again today.

 

Immigration Office was packed, with many tourists doing extensions, seemingly unprepared, as the photocopy guy outside was doing a roaring trade.

 

They seem to have changed the procedure since last time I did it. Now a girl at the desk by the ticket machine, checks all your papers are correct before calling you and issuing a ticket number.

 

Retirement extension 1900, Multi entry permit 3800 =5700.

Grumpy always seems to make it 5800. Maybe that's why she looked a little more happy today.

 

Back to collect passport next week.

Thanks for the report.  Two questions:  1. When I went last year I thought I'd have to return to pick it up the next week which is bit of a hassle (I live in Koh Phangan) but they said I could pick it up that afternoon and it was ready.  Any chance of that this year?  2. About the bank transaction:  did you need to show a recent entry in your bank book to confirm the balance or was the letter enough?

Do they need to see a transaction in your bank book dated the day you go into the office

as Bangkok does (to prove that the balance still meets the B800K requirement)?  Or is the bank letter enough?  

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

Have to renew my extension this coming week and I can't remember this one:

No.3. Passport and copy passport (since you have entered in Kingdom until the current stamp).

 

Does this mean copy all passport pages since original Non. O five years ago? That's a lot of pages with all my coming and goings from Thailand.

 

Or does it mean since my last entry? November 21. In which case it's nothing.

I don't see any significant change from their list from early 2021, and No. 3 was there in the same words.  The only difference I see in the new list is that the earlier one had at the bottom an item about the medical insurance requirement for non-OAs and I don't see that here.

1 hour ago, khunPer said:

I read as since last entry stamp, which I did in October (2021), plus the name page. The lady at the counter however walked to the copy machine, and copied all other used pages in the passport; i.e. all pages until your last stamp in the passport...

Last year (my first extending in Samui) I only brought copies of:  main page,  first visa (actually the transfer stamp with the visa info because my first visa was in an old passport), last extension, last entry stamp. I got my extension and I don't recall them copying more, but maybe they did.  It seems strange if they want the whole book since first entry on our retirement visa, because for people like me whose visa is in an old passport, the logic ought to extend to copying the old one too, which neither Samui nor BKK has ever asked me to do.   And even in the current passport, why would they want intervening pages with stamps from unrelated travel?  However, one never knows!

27 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Mid October, almost same procedure as every year...????

Don't forget that you now can book appointment time in advance for extension of stay in the Kingdom, including Samui, link HERE...

 

Thanks I wasn't aware of it.  Did you use it?  I just checked the separate thread on this topic and it seems that sometimes it just doesn't work or you get an appointment but when you arrive at the office they don't give it any acknowledgement, you just wait in line as usual (2 people in Phuket reported this) and some offices are outright saying they don't use the system.

11 hours ago, khunPer said:

I think - unfortunately "think", as it I'm on non-O so it was not important for me - that it's for new approved visas from 1st October 2021.

A quick Google-search only reveals this...

Source link HERE.

Thanks, that may be right.  How recently did you go for your extension, was it October?  Any new wrinkles or surprises that you noticed?

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

2021 list (from mid October) is here...????

 

Thanks!  As far as I can see, the only change from last year is the addition at the bottom of the Non-OA insurance certificate requirement.   Correct? 

Regarding that insurance, it says 40K/400K but I've seen news reports that it has been recently upped to 40K/3M.  Is that not the case or have they just not properly updated this list?

Hi All,

Please update the Samui requirements for extension of stay based on retirement non-OA visa.   I will be going next month.  Attached is the list I have from last year, which for some reason omits the medical insurance certificate (I believe the current coverage requirement, since this fall, is B3 million and B40K OPD, and I assume B100K Covid coverage - please confirm if you know).  I also expect they may ask for a Covid vaccination certificate.

So:  Apart from the insurance certificate, is anything missing from this list?

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I have never read a report of anybody not being able to a report as a tenant with proof they are one.

Good to hear!  If I can trouble you with another follow-up,  do you think it would work to bring the form and docs at the same time as applying for extension of stay or does the TM30 have to make its way into the database first (in which case I might need 2 visits to Immigration).  

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The immigration act states this.

"Section 38 : The house – master , the owner or the possessor of the residence,"

And this of from section 4.

“House Master ” means any persons who is the chief possessor of a house , whether in the capacity of owner , tenant , or in any other capacity whatsoever , in accordance with the law on people act."

Thanks - certainly  seems clear that a tenant is included.  I just have this gnawing feeling that the Immigration office might insist the owner (the same person whose name is in the house book and on the ID card) also sign the TM30.  Is that out of the question?  My concern is because living on another island it’s an overnight trip to get to Koh Samui Immigration and I hate to waste it.