Kitsune

I was in Chaeng Wattana last Friday.

It took 2.5 h queue for 90 days report and 3h queue for extension of visa.

Interview 10 min

Processing took another 45 minutes.

Total : 4H

And every time I come in and ask for both queue tickets (90days+visa extension) the lady asks me kindly to only take one and come once I finished for the second one.

Sooooooooo glad I don't listen to her and insist she gives me both tickets right now .....that would mean adding time of both queue

: 2.5h for 90 days report

+ 3h for visa extension

+10 min interview

+ 45 min processing of visa

= 6 hours is what you should wait if you listen to immigration officer

A breeze

90 day reporting may not be a big deal for some but for others it is a major trip at an age where such travel may not be easy or a hope and prayer that the mail gets through and is accepted and returned OK. It is not something that should logically be required and ties up immigration officers from more important duties in my view. That we have to do it fine - that this requires we like or make excuses for it is not logical. I believe it is a dinosaur of a regulation and expect a great many immigration officers agree.

It does eat up time + going to the the embassy the day beforehand for the paperwork (at cost + taxis)

What paperwork do you need for a 90 day report? A Tm form takes 30 seconds to fill out and I've never needed any embassy (or other) paperwork for a 90 day...

30 seconds to fill out and 3 hours to queue ...

As someone who has been here for years on a retirement extension (as stated - we're not eligible for PR), I too have been faithfully doing my 90 day reports myself since the regulation was re-activated. Being retired, its hardly an issue, and I've reported at numerous different Immogration offices over the years, rarely has it taken long than a few minutes. I can't see why any retiree would be upset by doing the reports; we're not allowed to work and its once every 90 days. Not exactly a hardship. If its really too much hassle, it can be done by post in many cases, or you can employ a messenger, or ask a friend to do it.

30 years, 4 times per year, that's 120 days of your life taken from you, which is 3 months, if I was old I would not like to have that time taken away from me.

Last Friday it took 2 and a half hours for anyone waiting in queue for 90 days report, add 4 hours travel to get there and back, it's a day.

Just talked to Walen (the one that extended my friend) and Sandee; two reputed language schools in Bangkok:

They both said that the first year with the school you get 13 months not 12, so that is why after your first year of ED visa with a school you get 1 MORE MONTH to extend

Apparently my school is not aware of this

Go to immigration ask for 22 days extension you might get lucky !

I wish I could just play with visa, time and money as if it was a game, unfortunately I cannot.

So if you don't mind; I am trying to find someone who has been in the same situation or who knows it is possible to get sufficient numbers of days to wait for papers to come through.

It seems that people are making it up as they go, or just lie to your face to avoid doing extra work and get rid of you. And when you face them with their own lies they get angry; Typical example, my school:

They first said I had to pay overstay and/or leave the country as I was late on renewal. I am surprised and insist; Are you sure ?, there is no other choice? yes they are sure

Then I remember my friend's case and call them back to tell them, mentioning he got more time but did not remember how much may be 10-12 days, suggesting it's possible to get some extra time. they say OK whatever come and pay the tuition then.

I come to the office and mention the extension: they say: Yes you will get 2 weeks, I asked : Where did you suddenly get the "2 weeks " information from? , they say it's what previous student had gotten. So I asked: Why did not you mentioned this instead of telling me I had to pay overstay/leave the country ?, they get angry.

I come to pick up my letter and there is no mention of date or time required on the document. I asked the secretary to put the time required, she shouts at me that I am wasting her time, that this is the standard letter they give and that everyone gets 2 weeks and that's it that's all I could get.

I remind her politely that won't be enough (according to their own figure as they mentioned 3 to 4 weeks needed for 2nd year visa extension) and mention I also sent her picture of my friend's passport who got 22 days, .... more shouting.

After getting screamed at and called names, then apologized to, she finally prints a letter I asked for with the required time...

Wow ! What a day ...And that's just getting a bloody letter !

So forgive me for not trying not to put my fate in luck's hands, I learned the hard way here that you have to fight and work prepare for everything especially when it comes to immigration.

Thank you

You will not get anything more than 7 days to leave the country by applying for an extension and paying 1900 baht.

The best choice you have is to get the documents required to get a new visa and make a trip out to get it. It should only take a few days to get the documents needed..

My friend did get 22 days (see picture) did not have to leave the country

Continued posting here will not get you an extension.

You have received good advise now is the time to go and ask immigration for an extension.

Immigration will assist you if it is within their power to do so.

I have not received any answer to my question yet :

the only answer I had was I would get

- 7 days without having the papers ready (which my friend's case clearly shows you can get more)

- or full extension of 90 days with papers application fully ready which is the usual extension when your papers are done.

You will not get anything more than 7 days to leave the country by applying for an extension and paying 1900 baht.

The best choice you have is to get the documents required to get a new visa and make a trip out to get it. It should only take a few days to get the documents needed..

My friend did get 22 days (see picture) did not have to leave the country

The length of extension will depend upon documents you have. They will have a date on them that shows to what date you are enrolled at the school.

Immigration will only do extension up to that date.

The 7 day extension is only if you don't have the documents.

It's an extension to buy time before I get my new visa extension processed, which takes 3 to 4 weeks, therefore I am NOT officially enrolled anymore. I am in between 2 extensions.

You'll be fine getting an extension if your school supports you with the paperwork. That's all.

Yeah that's the all point of my post : some get 7 days some get 22

How to get the 22

As I said: The school needs to give you the appropriate paperwork.

And as I said I have the appropriate paperwork.

The topic is on the grey area where some people get 1 week and some 1 month with the same appropriate paperwork.

Thanks

...

My school is not as good, but do you think ...

1/ I can pull it out on my own without a school helping

and 2/ should I bring/show this copy of my friend's passport to immigration just in case they offer me just 7 days (I need more time)?

...

1. Absolutely impossible without the school's help.
2. Would be of no practical help because your friend's passport does not indicate specifically that it was a "vacation" extension.

If you are in the same situation as your friend was, ie in between two study courses and you have already signed up for the new course but the school needs more time to get the necessary documents together and your school has a good reputation with immigration, it is worth a try but as I said you can only do it with the school's help.

So, if you have already been learning Thai at a school and doing extensions every 90 days you know that you need some documents from the school. The Immigration Bureau Order 305/2551, to which I linked earlier in this topic says this about documents (highlighting in blue is mine):

2.9 In the case of enrollment in a private educational institution: Each permission shall be granted for a period certified by the educational institution, which shall not exceed one year.

1. Application form

2. Copy of applicant’s passport

3. Copy of evidence of permission to establish the educational institution issued by the relevant government agency

4. Letter of confirmation and request for a temporary stay, issued by the educational institution, which shows detailed information about the applicant’s years of education, level of curriculum, and educational achievement

5. Confirmation letter issued by a government agency at the departmental level or by the Provincial Governor in charge of that particular institution (except in the case of enrollment in an international school or in the case of higher education)

I have never seen these documents as I never needed a study extension but I am quite sure that not only the document under 2.9 and 4 have to come from your school but also the other three documents have to be requested and obtained by the school for your application or are copies of documents issued by government agencies to the school at earlier times. One document, though, the letter from the MOE, has to fresh for every application for extension.

For your friend's application for extension of stay, the request to grant a "vacation" extension will obviously have been included in the school's letter listed under No. 4. Here is where the school's reputation comes into play: if the school is known to issue positive attendance records to students who never or hardly ever attend classes it will obviously have a bad reputation and I would rate the chances of a student from such school of getting a "vacation" extension as slim to non-existent.

Sorry when I said without the school's help I meant they won't come with me to hold my hand and deal with everything for me like Walen did for my friend.

Off course I have all the papers needed in preparation, it's just that I need more time

You'll be fine getting an extension if your school supports you with the paperwork. That's all.

Yeah that's the all point of my post : some get 7 days some get 22

How to get the 22

Yes, well, more fool him for doing it. After being married for so long, the fact that he was doing such things as a 90 day report is simply ridiculous!

He could easily have citizenship or at the very least PR! Thus avoiding his sojourns to CW every 90 days.

I suspect, he somewhat enjoyed the experience...

As a farang married to a Thai and one who pays taxes, I look forward to the day where my citizenship application is signed off on and I no longer need to submit this, that and the other form to immigration and labour to continue to enjoy life.

I've actually made some fantastic connections at CW - in my limited experience with them. If they can help me, I'm happy to help them. Better still, it's open and honest.

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That's what my friend said too but does this (acquiring Thai nationality) not mean giving up his own nationality as Thailand does not recognize dual citizenship ?

He was american I can totally understand people not ready to do the switch,... outside Thailand a Thai passport is not that great, compared to what you can do with an american one anyway

The reason for the extension of stay is usually indicated in the passport and in this case it is stamped in Thai as follows:

นร.รร.สอนภาบา

สิริน สุขุมวิท

As near as I can figure this out, the extension is for language study at a school.

I have never seen it mentioned before, but the concept of an extension for "school vacation" – 30 days per year of study, proportionally less for a shorter study period – makes sense. It is not written into the set of rules we know as Police Order 777/2551 and Immigration Bureau Order 305/2551, and I wonder if it is perhaps in immigration's internal guidelines or whether in this case it was granted as an exception on a discretionary basis (eg school has a good reputation with the immigration office) to tide the student over between two study contracts.

Interesting to know that this has happened. Thank you, Kitsune, for posting it.

Thank you so much for paying attention and noticing the Thai writing !

I would have never thought of that !

Bless your cotton socks !

Yes the school was Walen (good rep) they escorted him to immigration and did everything for him. Walen has their own staff within immigration offices using immigration's computer and accessing their data... So yes, very much in good rep with immigration.

My school is not as good, but do you think ...

1/ I can pull it out on my own without a school helping

and 2/ should I bring/show this copy of my friend's passport to immigration just in case they offer me just 7 days (I need more time)?

Cheers !

K

OP better the devil you know...

Like fashion trends, things will come and go, but the staple remains the same.

Always give the day following a public holiday a miss, that's just asking for trouble... And is not just limited to Immigration issues...

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I met an old american guy once.

He was married to a Thai woman.

He told me he has been coming to immigration every 90 days for 30 years!

Imagine that !

I think you should check with immigration because it would seem no one here has ever heard of this "holiday" extension.

That's it: the "holiday" word does not rime with immigration, not on ED visa.

I am afraid the officer'd think I'm taking the piss ...

Kitsune

You are making life complicated

I am also on an ED visa and report to CW every 3 months. The longest I have waited there is about one hour. Nothing could be simpler.

I believe you reside in Bangna. I'm in Bang Khae from where I take a couple of buses to CW. Waste a morning but not a day.

last time it took from 8am to 3.30pm

- going there 2h - 10am

- queuing for both queues of visa extension and 90 days report : 2h until lunch + 1h lunch + 1.5h queue (again)

- 2h back

After that you feel dead

That's a day

Don't sound right. Never taken me that long?

Yeah, if you get there around 10am, you're going to be in for a bad time.

Especially if you land on a heavy day - which I've heard is usually a Monday.

My first ever trip to CW to get a 7 day extension - to avoid the red stamp and it was cheaper than paying the potential overstay - took a fair chunk of the day. Don't believe it was a Monday though. Anyway, queue was quite long and just seemed to be a day where foreigners were being dicks with the IO's - which just adds to the time taken.

Anyway lesson learned.

Leave early (I live on the west side and a good run to CW is about an hour) I leave no later than 6.45am, arrive before 8.15am, gives you enough time to go over your stuff over a morning brew to relax and prepare.

The hardest part of that routine? Waiting in fricken line to get in!

Otherwise, wham, bam, thank you ma'am in and out and back in the CBD before the breakfast buffet at the hotel's finished!

Since that first lesson, I've not gone into double digit queue tickets.

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I used to go at opening too, but found that everyone had the same idea then I realized not so many people arrived around 10.30. also they used to speed up before lunch break, so a couples of times I was lucky to get out in less than 2 hours.

But things changed again and 10am slot got busy too, so I got stuck at lunch break a couple of times - so tedious-

The worse is to come before or after a bank holiday, the all place is packed, children, grannies, couples, families, weirdos, you name it, everyone bored out of their mind...

I am not sure what the problem is here.

If the OP has an ED visa it can be extended with the correct paperwork supplied by the school.

If the school cannot/will not supply the paper work the options are limited to a 7 day extension , a boarder crossing to secure 15 days or obtaining a tourist visa from a nearby country.

There is no "holiday" extension that I know about.

Look at the photo I attached, my friend's passport shows he got 22 days extension at the end of his ED visa

Right, but certainly not for a holiday.

Well that's how my friend explained it to me ; For one full year study you are allowed 1 month holiday. He got 22 days because he only studied 9 months.

It sounds odd to me too ... That's why I wanted to check with you before asking for "holidays" at Immigration bureau

I am not sure what the problem is here.

If the OP has an ED visa it can be extended with the correct paperwork supplied by the school.

If the school cannot/will not supply the paper work the options are limited to a 7 day extension , a boarder crossing to secure 15 days or obtaining a tourist visa from a nearby country.

There is no "holiday" extension that I know about.

Look at the photo I attached, my friend's passport shows he got 22 days extension at the end of his ED visa

At first glance at overstay stamp it appears to be a 4 but is a 1 so it was a 1000 baht fine.

You look the rules for extensions in police order 777/2551 to see if you can find a holiday extension listed. Perhaps it was something the university did on their own by supplying documents to get the additional time by extending the length of his studies.

Yes my school said they could provide me with papers explaining my application is being processed, but I just need to know what to ask, since they never heard of it ... Also they are so picky at immigration ... You use the wrong wording to an officer in a bad mood and you're in for trouble.

Thank you for the rules of extension, although I could not see anything that describes it.

I tried to call Walen (The school that did it for my friend, no one can answer before Monday)

I lost time since I have been messed around by a previous scam school and lost time renewing my EDvisa (see other post about school extortion for MOE letter ) ...I just don't want to pay overstay ...

I tried to contact other schools they don't seem to know either ...

All extensions of stay use TM.7 form. And the extension would be for study if ED related and his paperwork must have indicated 22 more days remaining of study. Education extensions are issued "up to one year" at a time - they can be for less if paperwork does not indicate a longer period being allowed.

As said previously, regarding my friend :He did not pay 4000B but 1000B overstay,

he did not have any remaining time left to study

and the extension was not to study, but granted on "holidays time" granted one month per year studied.

Thank you for your help Lopburi but as you admitted yourself (before I posted the photo), you never heard of this particular extension

Is there anyone that can help ?

Anyone ??

"You are here on a ED visa. You should speak Thai or I will have you deported"

So why don't you speak Thai?

ED visa does not mean learning Thai.

You can learn whatever you like

When I go there I also try to do the same thing and get 2 tickets, but they don't like it.

They want us to waste MORE time on that place.

Some officer was also surprised that I come there only once to do both on the same day.

So one they are giving me 89 days instead in the hope that one day the 2 due dates are too far apart that I have to come twice.

I have a friend who comes twice every 3 months (once for 90 days report, once for visa extension) ... pure madness, but they like him !

Only way is to officially move to Nonthaburi.

Gosh I used to live in Nonthaburi on the very same Changwattanna horrible road and was still going to Chaeng Wattanna Immigration office which is very close.

To think I could have avoid that !

DUH !