jeffandgop

20 hours ago, LawrenceN said:

Similar story, I was there last week for a re-entry permit. I sat for over two hours. Used to take ten minutes. 

I was there last week for a re-entry permit. It took no more than 1 hour. I arrived at 1:30PM, received my question no. within 5 minutes, with 7 persons in the que in front of me.

1 hour ago, NeeNoon said:

I was waiting for you.  I knew someone here would twist this to be my fault.  You can state all you want that I "should have known" what to bring, but the reality is, I specifically did a dry run there with my documents to GET THEM CHECKED, and they failed to tell me the rental contract is not accepted, nor that I need the ORIGINAL KorRor22, or that I need the company certificate (original not required) or that I needed the owners chanote.  

 

Do you get the picture?   THEY are the officers who accept the documents, its not up to me to try to guess what is needed.  I WENT TO CHECK.  Just because I had previous 8 extensions does not mean I knew exactly what is needed, especially since some years I used an agent.  About the lease agreement, I am not saying they should have accepted it, I did not even know that it was expired, however after having my documents checked, if they KNEW that the expiry date in the rental contract is important, than why not check it at that time and advise me?

 

Why try to say I should have been better prepared?  Thats a stupid thing to say when I tried my best to be prepared and then went there for them to cross check before I brought my family.

 

What about when I first went to get the application form, I asked for a list of whats required for this extension, and the lady gave me the print out and the application form, but, she did not give me the "official" paper that the map needed to be drawn on, I knew about this and had to ask for it.  Also, the "list" does not have many many of the items that are required is using Thai income.  Is that so difficult to make one complete list of all the requirements so people don't have to make multiple trips?  It seams that THEY don't want people to be able to do this themselves, as they do not receive kickbacks from the agents then.  Its that simple.

Your statement "Just because I had previous 8 extensions does not mean I knew exactly what is needed" still indicates some level of non-preparedness on your part.  If you used an agent then you should have all of the information and documentation that the agent used to assist you in your preparations.  Blaming the IO for not catching your expired lease? That's still you. I went to IMM last month and also asked for and was given the same list you said you were given.  Item 7 of that list specifies the monthly income requirement as well as a requirement for a copy of the company business registration if you're employed in Thailand (7.2).  Anyway, in pre-checking your docs yes, the IO may have missed it the first time...but it is STILL your docs and you missed it too; that you might get away with something wrong the first time doesn't mean it is right.  Sorry sincerely for all you had to go thru...

22 hours ago, NeeNoon said:

They don't just have interns checking the paper, they have the actual officers.  But that does not matter, as they are not correcting all the paperwork at the front desk when they check them, on purpose I believe.

 

I went to renew a non-O visa based on marriage, and using my income from my Thai company as proof of funds.  Went in on a Wednesday afternoon with all documents.  Pass paperwork to the intern at the desk and as she is looking over all the documents, she actually says, "Oh my god" and then passes it to two officers next to her.  They each take a stack and begin to go through all the documents.  They asked where is my wife and 2 year old, and I said I am here to check documents only, so as to minimize the time inside with my toddler.  They find 3 items that are missing or wrong, one is a marriage certificate that we need to go to the Amphur to obtain.  The lady writes down on a piece of paper the items needed.  I take that and leave.

 

We get the documents then on Friday morning I am there at 7am.  I just got in with the first batch of 50.  Wait for the second que number then call my wife and tell her what time to be there.  They are there at 9am and we are seen shortly after.  Same two ladies at the counter checking documents.  I give them mine.  Then they ask me where my company certificate is.  I said what?  I show her the paper and the list, and she did not write that down.  My blood pressure is rising now.  She holds up an application with the certificate to show me, and I said, yeah, but you did not tell me to bring that.  She gives me my documents back and I get a number, so I think it must not be a big deal.

 

We wait.

 

Get called to counter 4 and hand my documents in.  Lady there asked where my company certificate is?  I told her I was here a few days ago to check documents and they did not inform me I needed it.  She said they only check documents but don't know whats needed??  That makes no sense at all.  This lady then rejects our rental contact, saying the date in it is expired!  I am not happy at this point.  She then also asked where the original copy of our marriage certificate is, the one we were told to get.  I showed the list and no where did they write bring original in.  Everything else is two copies of everything, but this they want the original.  I happen to have it with me, so no issue.  This lady writes down a list of and tells my wife what we need.  We leave.

 

Next week I am there at 5am, a few people in front of me.  Call my wife and tell her to show up at 8:30.  Now, the lady officers that originally checked my documents are at the counter and the other one is checking documents, so they switched places, which tells me they ALL know what documents are needed.  I go to the counter, wife and baby shows up and had the lady, who we last saw, our documents.  She checks everything then asked us where is the chanote copy of the house we are renting?  Now, my wife holding our baby is not happy, and tells here we where here multiple times and they never said anything about needing a chanote copy.  How can three offices all working on screening the documents not know what is needed?  Are they really that incompetent or are they corrupt?   I don't believe that when someone does this day in day out that they do not know what documents are required.

 

So we give the documents to the two ladies at the counter and are protesting that they are now requesting the chanote copy of the house we are renting.  They say ok, we feel sorry for you, so bring it to us later.  Thank <deleted>, as the house owner is in Europe, so its not so simple to get.  They accept our paperwork and we leave, and I vow I will leave this county as soon as I can.

 

Then, we get a call that because this is our first extension, the police will come to investigate us.  I had previous 8 years of visa extensions in my passport however forgot to get a re-entry permit one year and everything lost.  How crazy is that? 

 

Police come like a week later.  Call us and say bring a witness.  Wife gets next door neighbour.  Police show up, walks in house with a laptop and printer!  Sets up his desk.  Asked me a few basic questions, then proceeded to grill the neighbour with what are ridiculous questions.  Asking her, what my job is, what my salary is, what is my licence plate number, what is my passport number!!  Jesus, my own wife would struggle with those questions!  Am I a drug dealer, have I ever fought with anyone in the area.  It was ridiculous and we had to apologize to her for this.  He printed off a bunch of documents, had her sign then left.

 

This country has NOT been progressing, its been re-gressing and we have had our fill of it.  Plans are in place to exit.  I pay income tax here of almost 10K a month, yet get no social benefits are are subjected to this kind of treatment every year.  People say use an agent, well, we have in the past, and even using an agent we were called to go back to immigration to RE-SIGN every document as the officer said I did not sign where he stamped.  Well, I signed first, then he stamped, so logic would say HE did not stamp where I signed!  Every single year its something else.  Agents wanted 9000 to do the extension, which I thought was a bit high, so decided to do it myself.  If they would just tell us whats needed the first time, there would have been no issues, but THEY want us to be frustrated so a we use certain agents so they can get tea money.  This is what is going on and its pathetic.  I am sure there will be some posters here that will try to spin this to say it was our fault somehow.  

 

 

 

22 hours ago, stament said:

I have sympathy with you, they sound completely incompetent. I always take originals with the copies in case they ask to see them, I know it's not asked for but I always prefer to be prepared just in case.

 

While I too empathize with NeeNoon's struggle, I have to wonder that, after 8 previous extensions based on marriage and income based on company funds, why he would need to be told to bring originals of any or all documents he may have- one should always have originals in the event IMM wants to compare the copies given- I mean, did the list have to state for you to bring your "original" passport in order for you to submit your request?  For marriage extensions, a KorRor 2 or KorRor22 (depending on your marriage registration) is required every year- why didn't the OP have that as part of the routine?  An expired lease agreement? Why would one expect that to be acceptable?  Now the chanote request was way off base- I would expect copies of the owner's ID & Blue Book is all that is required.

No, I do not agree that the incompetency was solely on the part of the IO's in this case...OP's experience should have enable him to be better prepared.  IMHO.....

39 minutes ago, Pib said:

Review the link given in post #22 of this thread....extensive IDD info and your questions answered in that post link. 

 

But to give you some semi-short answers, the currency rate used for IDD is determined by the US Treasury or a contractor bank the US Treasury uses for the IDD payment...the rate is determined several business days before the actual payment date.  The IDD rate used is not published anywhere but can be easily calculated by knowing how many USD "net" (i.e., after taxes, Medicare Part B, or other deductions) you are paid along with review of a Thai bank credit advice or the Thai bank SMS notice of the payment like how Bangkok Bank provides a free SMS notice of international transfers if you are signed up for their free SMS Remittance Alert.  

 

The only IDD fee is the Thai bank "Bahtnet" receiving fee which is typically Bt100 but could be higher if your acct is at an upcountry Thai bank (i.e., outside the metro Bangkok region). 

 

As with the Thai bank "ACH" receiving fee of 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500 max) which is "not" reflected on your passbook or ibanking but is reflected in a credit advice or SMS notice, the Bahtnet receiving fee is also "not" reflected on your passbook or ibanking but is reflected in a credit advice or SMS notice. 

 

And here's some updated info to the link given in post #22 regarding IDD use, exchange rate, fees, etc.  The below chart shows info for the 3 Feb payment via IDD or ACH along with an "eight month" average of payment via IDD or ACH.   I have a family member receiving SSA pension via IDD since Jul 2019 so I've been tracking payment data like exchange rate, fees, etc.  But see the link in post #22 for more info.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pib- My bad....I read the post #22 but did not read the full linked post.....thanks for taking the time to still point the info already being on that linked post and your add info in your reply to me.....

Regards,

J

On 1/13/2020 at 5:51 PM, Pib said:

Two methods/payment systems now exist....a person can use either one.

 

1.  Your SS payment is paid via the ACH funds transfer system which uses ACH/ABA routing number such as the Bangkok Bank New York Branch routing number of 026008691 and then relayed to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank restriction direct deposit account.  By restricted I mean you must physically visit a branch to withdraw/transfer money, no debit card, acct can only be in your name.  This payment method has been around for decades.

 

2.  Your SS payment is paid via IDD which uses the SWIFT system/codes.  This payment can go to any Thai bank, a regular Thai bank sayings acct with no restrictions, can have debit card, can be a single or joint owned acct.   IDD for Thailand went operational in mid 2019.

 

In re to the IDD payment method:

1.  What is the basis for the currency conversion rate the SSA uses to determine the baht amount the SSA is depositing into a Thai bank?

2. While the SSA may not be applying a fee to send your benefit to your Thai bank, aren't Thai banks assessing a fee to receive the deposit?  My experience with Bangkok Bank in the past when transferring money from my US bank to Bangkok Bank via SWIFT, a fee was assessed by Bangkok Bank- and no, this had nothing to do with the NY branch at that time...

Anybody using the IDD method have insight?

1 hour ago, cnxgary said:

I have recently received my Affidavit to Marry and today I used a Visa Agent to translate and remit to D.F.A for certification the cost B3000. During my time in the office I asked about doing my next 1 yr. extension. My visa is OA based on retirement and I have been doing extensions the last 10 yrs based on retirement. Knowing I must show insurance if I extend based on retirement the next time. I asked the agent this- Does a person need insurance when applying for a 1 yr. extension based on marriage from a original OA visa and she said Yes! Many posts on this forum have argued the exact opposite! Many posts about being successful changing to marriage. Who is correct?

Agent is WRONG. I went to IMM a month ago and went over with the officers what are the requirements to extend a permission to stay on the basis of marriage from an original O-A visa based on retirement. I posted on this topic the document IMM provided to me #11).  No insurance is required for extension of stay based on marriage for the O-A visa. 

Also I recommend AIT..I sent op a pm

PM sent

I’ve used Charlie and his team for years. Cleaning , repair, and when he observed that the original installers hadn’t grounded the compressor units, I had him do that as well. If it doesn’t need cleaning or service, he’ll tell you too. 

15 minutes ago, tomdfc said:

We were also asked for a "statement" when applying to extend our retirement/dependent permit to stay a few weeks back, using the 800k method.  We had a letter from the bank dated that day and a complete/correct pakage of hard copy backup..  The obervation that a statement would show nothing more than the pass book itself cut no ice with the immigration officer.  He actually "explained" it was because there was no transaction entry in the calendar month of November.  And so we were sent there and then to buy such a statement from the bank for 200 baht and waste what remained of the rest of the day while being repocessed.  Wonderful ......................

Was this for a Fix Deposit account?

7 hours ago, roo860 said:

Ok cheers, but I wanted to know if anyone has recently done the 800,000 deposit, and what's now required from the bank.

I have never had to supply printed statements when using an 800,000 fix account for my extension of retirement permission nor when the account was a savings account when I did that early on (later using the fix account). Just the bank book with copies of its pages and the bank letter. 

Coincidentally, I filed mine a few hours ago...I used 30B=$1USD as it was CLOSE ENOUGH...been doing this for years and never any objection by Treasury.....

5 hours ago, cnxgary said:

In JeffandJob"s post they mention in section 7 that IO requires a bank statement, updated bank book and a bank certificate. What is a bank certificate and how is that different from a bank letter?

I don’t know the answer to that. Best to check with Immigration.

50 minutes ago, racinkc1 said:

Do you withdrawal Us dollars or Thai Baht? If you exchanging the money directly into Thai Baht is there another fee for the currency exchange?

I declare my amount to withdraw in $$ and receive funds in baht. The exchange rate used is imposed by YOUR bank, which you'll see on your statement.  In my case, there is a "preliminary" exchange rate which is what decides your baht amount you receive and then in a few days a "settlement rate", and your bank uses that rate to ultimately decide what $$ amount to deduct from your account.  As an example, when I go into Bangkok Bank, I'll give them my debit card and ID, and tell them I want $100.  They run the card and hand me, say, 3000B.  The preliminary rate being applied at that moment is $1= 30B.  Now in a few days you look up your account and you might see $99 withdrawn- meaning your 3000B was received at an exchange rate of $1= 30.30B.  You will find that the exchange rate you ultimately pay is better than the published rate to exchange dollar currency into baht.

Now I need to correct what I said about fees.  Bangkok Bank does charge a small fee but it appears on your US bank statement and is not a fee deducted from the baht you receive.  In my case , my bank refunds the Bangkok Bank fee back into my account AND does not charge me a fee either.  CHECK with your bank to find out about fees, daily and monthly withdrawal limits, etc.

The answer is Yes.  I have a Bangkok Bank account and routinely withdraw from my US Bank savings account at the Bangkok Bank counter.  The amount you may withdraw via your Debit Card is subject to your US Bank's limit; so know what that daily limit may be.  There may be a fee imposed by your bank

Frankly I'm not sure that you even need a Thai bank account to go into Bangkok Bank and use this service.  Also there is no fee imposed by Bangkok Bank (there may be a fee imposed by your bank) when you do your withdrawal inside the bank at their teller window.  Also, don't withdraw from an ATM as you will pay n ATM fee; and the amount that you wish to withdraw is limited to the ATM machine's limit as well as your bank's limit.

Note I use the term "withdrawal" and not "transfer".  You're not moving funds from one bank to another; rather your removing funds from your US bank electronically and putting it in your pocket- just as if you were in the US at another bank.  

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

not really commonly referred to as “registration renewal“. unless you come from some countries

 

how would you get your name in a green book registered in surat thani, when you live in chang rai, without changing the bike to local plates

The real point here was to address the OP’s Q. I believe he was looking to know how many days in advance of when an annual fee is due could he make the payment. You want to say registration renewal is common to some countries or not, fine. 
 

As to your second para, contact your Transport Office. I was addressing that selling a vehicle does not absolutely require the new owner to change “registration” “when the vehicle...has a new owner” (If the new owner remained in the same province); and that anyone can take their own vehicle originally registered in province A and move to province B and not have to change the license plate nor any other registration information (as I have done). 

I read the OP question as being about the annual fee required to be paid for the renewal of the license plate assigned to the vehicle- commonly referred to as “registration renewal“. This payment is recorded in the applicable section of the car ownership book.  Payment of this annual fee also results in the Transport Office giving the payee a sticker to be affixed to the car windshield as evidence of payment.  Note that this sticker includes the identification of the license plate details assigned to the vehicle per the ownership book. Selling the vehicle to another party (which sale is required to be recorded in another section of the car ownership book), does not require any change in the license plate identification nor affects the vehicle’s current registration. Further, the new owner’s name is recorded in the same car ownership book and becomes the property of the new owner to continue to be used (as this is the vehicles historical record). (BTW, nor is it a mandatory requirement to obtain a new license plate from the Transport Office in a different province you might move to.)
Only by paying this annual license plate registration renewal fee (also referred to as “car tax”)- up to 90 days before the registration renewal is due- is the vehicle legal to operate on Thailand roads. 

The answer is you may renew your car registration up to 3 months before it is due

PM sent

1 hour ago, saengd said:

"Is there anyone in chiang mai who has O-A visa from the beginning. There after several retirement extension. Changed to spouse extension after 2019 10 31 and got it approved?"

 

As said in a separate thread: I have held an extension to an O-A visa based on retirement since 2005. An established CM agent confirmed this week that Immi. will allow me to change to an O visa extension based on marriage, without leaving the country and that is now work in progress. I guess this is possible because of the agents connections, I have no idea what would happen if I'd tried to do this directly, I imagine it would be disallowed. The cost is circa 15k, split between agent and Immi. fees, for that I will get a 30 days under review followed by one year.

Directly from the retiree applicant is the question here...not agent nor what people think would happen if the retiree applied.....

16 hours ago, JimGant said:

If you haven't already, check this related thread (this involves CM Immigration):

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1136904-getting-rid-of-non-o-a-specific-case/page/4/?tab=comments#comment-14829935

 

I can't find a single report by an individual who has applied at CM Immigration based on the specific criteria of the question in this thread.

8 hours ago, cnxgary said:

So by doing so by altering ones extension based on retirement to a extension based on marriage avoid insurance?

Yes

14 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

OP asked > Is there anyone in chiang mai who has O-A visa from the beginning. There after several retirement extension. Changed to spouse extension after 2019 10 31 and got it approved?

Imo there is no reason to limit the question to applications done after Oct 31.  On that day the new health-insurance requirement for Non Imm OA - retirement Visas became effective, but that should have no effect on how the conversion was done earlier and how it will be done now.

It is also not a change of Visa, but an application for extension of your stay based on the original OA Visa but for a different reason, i.e. marriage instead of retirement.

There IS a reason- the basis for the OP's Q and my elaboration- what have been ANY ACTUAL experiences after 31Oct this year when applying for an extension of stay based on marriage for those who have previously extended based on retirement..whether it should or should not have any effect IS NOT the question here