Chip Allen

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

She's tough, but helped us out.  And I didn't need to leave the country.  2 simple and cheap trips to Bangkok which I combined with visiting friends, etc.  Very easy.

 

The only pain was a trip to the MFA.  Took 1/2 day, but all in all, quite easy.

I did not have that option because there was less than 21 days left on my tourist visa. It takes IO that long to use a rubber stamp. Staggering incompetence. The trip to Vientiane was educational, so it was a win.

Don't bother with a conversion. The woman at that desk is a mental case. Just go to Laos and spend the night. Apply for an "O-Visa" there and come back to Thailand ready to get your retirement extension in three months. Very easy and straightforward.

This is just stupid. My GF is 45 and wants sex regularly. She also has apparently undergone menopause already. She says she does not menstruate. I don't think this is common but this is her story.

Just more "make work" projects to keep it looking like someone is doing their job. I was a bit upset about the information forms required by IO in Jomtien until I watched the officer shred one of them. This is nothing but busy work for people who do not have much of a work ethic.

As noted, the "Conversion Desk" is a nightmare. The woman running the desk seems to be menopausal or just a bitch. When I tried to convert three years ago, I ended up being told to go to Laos to get my O-visa. Not a bad experience at all in the end and got to see another SE Asian country.

"Hate" is a bit of a strong word, but when the mask is torn off Thai people and society, you see some very ugly things that you wish you had never seen. The "Thai right, farang wrong" mentality is so pervasive and resistant to reason and compromise that you sometimes feel that the former European colonies of Asia, such as Cambodia, actually offer more in terms of pliability and adaptability to sane social norms.

On 2/9/2017 at 9:01 PM, The manic said:

  Anybody who wears crocs publicly has lost the will to live or the right to respect.

Anybody who wears expensive leather shoes in the rainy season and wants to sacrifice them to the "water gods" has CERTAINLY lost my respect. The aversion to Crocs is just the latest snobbery trend. They are popular because they are more comfortable than flip flops and are equally waterproof. At 67, I am not trying to win any clothing awards, nor am I applying for a job. I show up clean, well groomed and comfortably dressed. Thus far, no one has a problem with my dress. If they do, they can tell me and I will comply. They need to concentrate on collecting fees and shutting their mouths.

9 hours ago, Get Real said:

Always like a positive comment. As long as you are nice to them, they generally never have a problem with you.

In general, this is correct. They have at least two female mental cases that delight in abusing farangs with rudeness and raised voices.

4 hours ago, YetAnother said:

makes one wonder why it even exists (yes i know the immigration act 1979)

It exists because someone needed to add an extra requirement to make it appear that he was "tough on farangs". That's it in a nutshell. It would serve a purpose if you changed your address, but merely reporting the same address every three months accomplishes nothing. This kind of thing is a hallmark of bureaucracies everywhere. "Requirement inflation" is even mentioned by Max Weber, who wrote the definitive work on bureaucracy.

I went to an honorary consulate in Montgomery, Alabama and had none of these problems. Surely there is an honorary consulate in your state, as well. Path of least resistance and all that. 

In my experience, Thai people do not see farangs as fully human. Their attitude toward them is a bit like the view of the average white person toward slaves in the 19th century. The average Thai would think no more of defrauding a farang, than they would of buying a coffee at Starbucks.This attitude is prevalent from the very top to the very bottom of Thai society. Thailand's people are almost completely free of morality and conscience and one does business with them at one's own peril.

10 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You apparently have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement not a visa. The funds to apply for that must be in a Thai bank.

You could go home and apply for a OA long stay visa for retirement at a Thai embassy or official consulate there and use the money in a bank there to get it.

Could someone please comment on why the rules are different for the "monthly income method"??  Jomtien IO says my monthly income  from the USA can be in any bank in any country. This is very confusing, All I do is get a letter from my embassy and no one asks where the money is. Seems to make little sense if they want the money in a Thai bank. Currently, only my Social Security is deposited in Bangkok Bank, while the rest of my income from state pension and annuity are kept in a credit union back in the states. My state pension refuses to deposit my money into a foreign bank, although the annuity could be sent here.

I like their greed and willingness to kill you for the flimsiest excuse. Charming. Also their willingness to take it up the tradesman's entrance if there is ample compensation.

Vientiane was easy. I WAS asked for proof of income but the minimal "proof" I showed, seemed to satisfy them. All of my documents were statements from the USA, no bankbooks were presented. Sometimes, lack of consistency works in your favor.

I wear long pants and shirt with a collar when visiting immigration in Jomtien, but I see many expats there who are dressed for the beach. It appears to have no effect on getting business done. The only possible objectionable part of my attire might be the wearing of Crocs. I like shoes that don't chafe my feet.

8 hours ago, kannot said:

you over analyse it, its GREED by the Thais nothing more................ no need to tell me what I can and cant answer thanks

I see it in ALL areas, not just tourist areas, Greed is a Thai personality trait. Suck the life out of the farang and then deport him. Not so different from Trump mentality in the USA. Entitled nationalism is default mode here.

12 hours ago, Sparkles said:

 

I hear the alien form has been given up

It may have been given up in CM, but they are still passing them out at Jomtien, along with a similar form titled "Additional Information"

I have watched them SHRED these forms. Bureacracy.

1 hour ago, maxisrael said:

Except ( yesterday) in Chiangmai need several copy's first page passport visa's and now a copy of your TM30 as well and not to forget the  alien form there is an bar-code in my passport as well they NEVER used it........

My point is made. Typical Thai chaos. Bar code works fine in Jomtien. No problems...(thus far_

Apparently, the TM47 is only needed for the first report. After that, they scan the bar code. YMMV. They reverse course on a whim about every thirty days.

2 hours ago, thetruth revealer said:

...its a clear proof how little reliable TV F Members  are giving advices and statements.

True. I've seldom gotten usable advice here, just parroting of how it's done in Chiang Mai or Ubon Rachathani or Hua Hin. Jomtien has more reasonable officials for some reason.

Interesting that it all worked out when the general consensus of opinion on TVF was that this guy was toast. 

On 2/3/2016 at 9:58 PM, moe666 said:

I guess you were not scammed

He was scammed. If it is, in fact, illegal...he should not have been allowed to buy items at Duty Free that were in violation. This is obviously a scam involving the resale of items such as perfume and booze by the authorities. Just another example of the corruption that is endemic in Thailand.

There has been some small change on virtually every visit to immigration in the last two years. I have gotten conflicting answers from various personnel at the same office. I am still amazed that there is no database. Is this a part of the "full employment" initiative? I literally never know what may change with each subsequent visit. Jomtien seems to be the most reasonable office from what I read on various fora. I would like to move to Bangkok, but I don't want any problems with Immigration. They make it confusing enough as it is. This visit was the first time that a change has ever been in my favor. They must have been told that they were wasting paper. 

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

No it  is not since you are not in an office to show your passport.

You need copies of passport photo page, visa, last extension stamp, most recent entry stamp, TM6 departure and current report receipt. Also a completed TM47 form.

I was told by the IO officer that copies were NOT needed, and that a TM47 form was only needed for the  first 90 day report. Another example of "idiosyncratic" interpretations of rules, varying by the individual office? The officer swiped the bar code and gave me a date for my next report and I was through. All previous 90 day reports required copies. One of the officers at the Jomtien office actually owns one of the copy shops. This was the first time I was ever told that I did not need copies.