skatewash

Just to be clear: the Thai wife would need to be present when the husband applied for the marriage extension at the immigration office.

https://tmc.or.th/file_download/doctor161209.pdf

The Patong Office and the new one at Blue Tree up north are satellite offices set up largely for short-term visitors. If you are doing a 90-Day Report, getting a Certificate of Residence, getting a short-term extension (like the 30 day extension you can get on a Tourist Visa or Visa Exempt Entry) then you can do your business at the satellite offices. If you are getting a long term extension, including 60-day covid extensions, annual retirement extensions, and marriage extensions you need to use the Phuket Town main office. In my experience the Patong Office doesn't really like to see long term people, and have been known to ask for convenience fees (500 baht for a Certificate of Residence, even a fee for filing a 90-Day Report). The Phuket Office asks 300 baht for a CoR, and nothing for doing a 90-Day Report. In fact, the Phuket Town drive-through offers very quick and easy 90-Day Reporting (just present your next appointment receipt and your passport). I live much closer to Patong than Phuket Town but I've gotten the message and don't use Patong even for things that they can do. The parking situation in Phuket Town is better, too.

I would mention only that if you acquire a Thai Tax ID number from the Thai Revenue Department and have that number added/associated with any bank account you open you will save yourself having 15% tax withheld from the first baht of interest earned. This will potentially save you from having to file a Thai Personal Tax Return in order to get back the withheld interest. You should get a Thai Tax ID card from your local Thai Revenue Department. It's the size of a credit card but printed on business card stock. The 13 digit number can be the same as your yellow house registration book ID number or your pink ID card number, or it can be a new number created for you. You can explain that you need the Thai Tax ID card because you intend to file a Thai Personal Income Tax Return to claim back your interest withheld from a Thai bank account. That is a legitimate and sufficient reason for needing a Thai Tax ID number, you do not have to be working in Thailand.

And has some have pointed out above if you do need more time you can apply for a 30-day extension from immigration for 1,900 baht, once per entry from a visa-exempt entry. That's got to be a lot cheaper than any agent.

I took a party of 10 to Thanksgiving Day Dinner at Friendship Beach Resort and they were very happy with the food, music, and atmosphere/location (just off the beach). Based on that I'm considering going for Christmas and/or New Years. Chef Charlie does a very good job always. https://www.facebook.com/FriendshipBeachResort https://www.friendshipbeach.com

Yep, same. Have my retirement extension application filled out and printed, photo attached. Just have to put the correct date and sign it. Same for my re-entry permit application. ????

You can get the same functionality of a fillable PDF by downloading the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (google download Adobe Acrobat Reader) if not already installed on your device. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader and as ubonJoe indicated pick the "Fill & Sign" option on right hand side (you may have to scroll down). Move the "|Ab" cursor to where you want to type and click then type. Do the same to the next field you want to type at. You can save and print the edits you make. I will concede the fillable PDF is slightly easier to use but the above method works quite well.

This looks like their schedule from November 10, 2021: You might want to contact them to confirm on Monday morning.

I believe it is running again since November. Their website: https://phuketsmartbus.com/?lang=en Their facebook page (with contact information): https://www.facebook.com/PhuketSmartBus I think they are currently having a special promotional price of 100 baht per trip.

Often that's the case, but not always. It really depends on the order you receive your documents and whether you make it known that you already have a Thai ID number. For example, I acquired my Thai ID number first when I got my yellow house registration book (tabian bahn). I subsequently got my Thai Tax ID number from the Revenue Department. Despite showing my yellow book, the Revenue Department issued me a different Tax ID number that does not match my existing Thai ID number. When I subsequently got my pink ID card the Thai ID number on that card matches my yellow book one. Having a different Thai Tax ID number hasn't caused any problems for me.

Oh, also, now that you have a Thai Tax ID number go to your Thai banks and get that Thai Tax ID number added to your accounts (some banks can just add it to the account, some will close the current passbook and have to open a new passbook). The reason to do this is that if you have a regular savings account (not fixed deposit account) interest will not be withheld on this account from the first baht of interest earned IF you have a valid Thai Tax ID number associated with the account. In that case they will only start withholding the 15% on your interest earned when you exceed 20,000 baht. Your interest earned is likely to be much less than this and by doing this (adding your Thai TIN to your account) you can entirely avoid tax withholding on interest earned and not have to file a Thai Income Tax Return to get your interest withheld back, because it won't be withheld in the first place. If you have a fixed deposit account then they will withhold interest on that account and you will have to file a Thai Personal Income Tax Return to get the interest withheld back. This is, in my opinion, a good reason to not use fixed deposit accounts and put your money for immigration (800k/400k baht) into an account like Krungsri Bank's Mee Tae Dai account which is a regular savings account earning about 1.0% APR interest, earned daily, paid monthly. I've used this account to get my retirement extension for years at Phuket Immigration. The account is a savings account, the principle is not at risk, and you can withdraw money from the account at any time with the only penalty being that you will (obviously) stop receiving interest on the money you have withdrawn. You are also limited to two (2) free withdrawals per month from the account, thereafter you are charged a 50 baht fee/withdrawal in that month. Since I use the account for immigration purposes (bank balance method) there is very little activity in the account. (Which also means that it's very easy for immigration to check this account -- to see it was always above the required minimums for the required periods -- and making their job easier has benefits for your application.)

Yes, you are eligible to get a Thai Tax ID Number (TIN). In my experience the Thai Revenue Department is quite friendly and willing to help foreigners. Although not many staff speak English well you will find someone there to help. If you have a Thai bank account of any sort on which you earn interest and do not have a Thai TIN it is likely that 15% of that interest is being withheld for tax purposes. In my opinion the easiest way to get a Thai Tax ID is to wait until the new year and visit your bank with your account passbooks. Ask the cashier for tax withholding documents for each bank account that had interest withheld. If they don't understand you can try: เอกสารภาษีหัก ณ ที่จ่าย or aow aik-ga-san hak pa-see nee tee-jai. If you are still struggling to be understood, just open your passbook and point to an entry that shows tax being withheld and the penny should drop. Many people will be doing the same thing, asking for their tax withholding documents. With these tax withholding documents visit your local Thai Revenue Department (if it's the wrong one they will set you right). Ask to get a Thai Tax ID or alternatively, หมายเลขประจำตัวผู้เสียภาษี aow mai-lek pra-jam tua-pu-sia pa-see. They should get what you are trying to do when they see the tax withholding documents. They will help you with your request and most likely issue you a Thai Tax ID (TIN) on the spot. Try to get an actual Thai Tax ID card (printed on paper about the size of a credit card because this will prove valuable later when trying to get your refund), rather than just being told the number. They will often help you fill out, or more accurately fill out themselves, a Thai Personal Income Tax Return so that you can get your interest withheld back (assuming you are under the income threshold which many in the OP's situation will be). Sign and submit the return and in a few weeks time you will receive by mail a notice of how to get your tax refund. Getting your tax refund will often involve taking the letter you receive to a branch of Krung Thai bank (and only this bank). The entire process at Krung Thai Bank is explained very well here: https://www.nationthailand.com/noname/30370085 You don't have to wait for the new year to get your Thai Tax ID Number. You can go now. It might be a little harder to explain what you want without the Tax Withholding documents from your bank but you can still ask for a Thai Tax ID Number as explained above. By the way, keep everything. You use your Thai Tax ID Number card year after year. Keep your Krung Thai bank e-money card, it's reusable. Keep a copy of your Thai Personal Income Tax Return (as you'll fill one out the next year just changing the amounts withheld). You can basically do everything yourself the next year. The first year is some work. It's much easier in subsequent years.

My suggestion is to do this process in sequential steps. 1. Get a new passport. 2. Get the stamps transferred from old to new passport at immigration. 3. With old and new passport get the registration of your bank accounts changed at your Thai banks to incorporate the new passport number. 4. When the time comes for the extension get the bank letter (which does contain your new passport number) from your Thai bank. 5. Apply for extension of stay at your immigration office. I would personally not wish to do try to do steps 2 through 5 in one step. Just needlessly complicating matters, it seems to me.

I don't have specific information for Jomtien. This was exactly what was required in Phuket (see picture attached). The Phuket Immigration Volunteers website also states that you must show every extension received from your original passport. http://piv-phuket.com/others/transfer-to-new-passport/ While I did make the extra copies stated by the PIV website I forgot to provide them and there was no problem. I have heard that some immigration offices want copies of every Thai stamp in your old passport. I have even heard of some offices wanting a copy of every page in your passport including blank ones. My suggestion is to prepare the minimal copies required (as indicated in the photo attached) and be prepared to make any additional copies asked for by immigration at the office if necessary. By the way, the transfer stamp form is also attached. It is specific for Bangkok but should be very similar to what is used in other offices. transferstamp.doc

Don't see any errors. You don't need to enter the arrival flight number. The T.M. 6 number (2 letters, 5 digits) is the same on both the arrival and departure parts of the arrival/departure card. The problem may be that your previous 90-Day Reports have not been entered into the system immigration uses to keep track of 90-Day Reports. Not something that you have any control over. You may have to continue to mail in your 90 Day Report. What do you mean it was not accepted? Would not let you submit the report? Requested that you contact your local immigration office? Allowed you to submit the report but it was never moved into the approved state? What error you are getting can sometimes indicate the problem. However, not all problems are in your control to fix.

You put your right foot in (only if you're in Chiang Mai) You put your right foot out (if you're in Surin or Chiang Rai, and sometimes in Nong Khai, but not always) You put your right foot in, (but only if you're in Chiang Mai and haven't already done so) And you shake it all about (everywhere except for Phuket) You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around (twice if in Phuket) That's what it's all about!

Interestingly, Phuket Land Transfer Office has gone in the other direction: after years of not accepting yellow house registration books as proof of address they now do accept them.

Redacted Yellow Covid Vaccination Passport 1 of 6.pdf

Neither the yellow vaccination passport booklet nor the Thailand National Vaccination Certificate is compact. The first is the size of an actual passport, the second is twice that size.

The process was as you described except that in Phuket a cash payment of 50 baht was allowed. No photos taken. Pretty straightforward process. Drop off copies of passport ID page, Thailand National Vaccination Certificate (obtained from hospital that staffed your vaccination or vaccination center where you got vaccinated). Come back when they tell you to, 5 days later in my case. My personal opinion is that the Thailand National Vaccination Certificate (which is in English and Thai) and the QR code on that that takes you to the Ministry of Public Health website and your vaccination details should be sufficient for international travel. But if you want the yellow Vaccination booklet which is hand written and stamped/signed but doesn't contain a QR code then you can get the yellow vaccination booklet as described by the OP. By the way, the Provincial Public Health Office for Phuket is in Phuket Town where most of the provincial government buildings are at Narison and Surin Road intersection near the traffic circle (southeast corner). Application is made outside the building starting from 8:30 am, weekdays no holidays.

I think you might be misunderstanding that some people can do everything correctly on the immigration web site and still not get their 90 day report accepted. I would say that's actually the case with most people who say it doesn't work for them. The reason for that isn't that they didn't respond to a question correctly, but that their data in the database used by immigration is not correctly updated. You have no control over what happens to your 90 Day Report data at immigration. Whether it gets entered into the computer or doesn't. As an example, while I have successfully used the 90 day report online system a dozen times, it recently stopped working for me. I didn't suddenly become stupid or careless. Luckily, the Phuket Immigration drive-through is a great alternative for me. More recently I have changed to a new passport. There is no possible way the online 90 day report system will work with a new passport that has not been used to enter Thailand yet. Short of leaving Thailand and re-entering using my new passport there is no way to get the online 90 day report system to work for me. It's great that the online system works for you, I'm just not sure it's something to be smug about. It can stop working for you in the future due to no fault of your own. And it's not like you can just go into immigration and have them fix it for you. ????

Yes, "direct" was a very poor choice of phrasing as it is confusing and doesn't actually convey any useful information. In practical terms it means what you said. In very basic terms it means you can't transit in Bangkok and be processed in Phuket as an international arrival.

I don't believe it is possible at the moment to transit in Bangkok and be processed in Phuket. If you cannot find a flight that lands in Thailand in Phuket first, then my suggestion would be to fly into Bangkok, participate in the Test and Go scheme there, and fly on to Phuket the next day as a domestic arrival.

You might want to try this. Go to your local Bangkok Bank branch and explain that your extension of stay will expire before you can get your 12-month statement from Bangkok Bank headquarters. Ask them to issue you a 6-month statement and for the months of the 12-month period that are not covered by that ask them to make copies of your passbook and stamp each one. Hopefully, you've been diligent about updating your passbook and you don't have any consolidated entries (a single entry that represents a number of different transactions that are rolled into one transaction because the passbook was not updated often enough). This next comment won't help you this year but immigration offices let you apply for an extension of stay 30-45 days before your current permission to stay expires. Take advantage of that and apply as early as possible because it is by definition impossible to anticipate what unexpected problems may arise. Doing it early gives you time to solve problems that arise, doing it late doesn't.