avidorn

Thank you for the warning, I'll go back and print that in advance too (assuming I don't have to print it there).

For anyone who's done in-person reporting at Chaengwattana recently (for example first time or re-entry), did you have any documentation requests besides those listed on their website? "1. Passport, 2. departure card (TM.6) (if any), 3. Previous notifications of staying over 90 days, 4. Completely filled in the notification form (TM.47)" I'll bring those four things. I wasn't sure if they want a copy of the TM.6 so I had one made anyway, and am bringing a copy of the online TM.30 submission confirmation I received. Passport they only need to look at, correct? No copies needed? I didn't print the appointment confirmation, but have that on my phone so hopefully that will be enough, they only need to see it? (It's a long trip I don't want to make twice, at least not for this requirement.)

More good info, thanks. It sounds like appointments aren't as important there. Which is helpful, if you can't really get one. 😄

Okay, thanks for your help!

Not too long, considering. Thanks, that's a good trip report!

I have, but I appreciate that anyway. I almost posted more about the bank documents (5.1-5.3) but don't want to take too much advantage of a board that answers the same questions regularly. Those bank account documentation requirements in particular seem like a real headache, requiring (I think) 3-4 documents + copies of things and visiting different places (basement in the morning, possibly an HQ depending on bank the day/week before), and so on. It's all in older threads, I know.

That would be great, thanks for the information.

Is a walk-in feasible for that, and how long does it take? Arrive early and sit all day in the bleachers? I'm looking at online appointments too, but those are several weeks out and would leave me with < 15 days on an extension. With so little time I think I might not get past the document check and that's also a long time to wait only to potentially be rejected, so I'm thinking it might be better to go sooner and sit with the crowd (which I'm sure I'll be doing anyway).

As an experiment and to compare with CW I found the online appointment site for Chiang Mai, and it has IMO clearer options for appointment selection, and also doesn't require email validation as a preliminary step. So I selected "Retirement Purpose" to find a date. March is fully booked so I checked April, but it also had no available dates. Despite being greyed out I tried clicking on a day to confirm that's correct, and it displayed "There is no availability on this date" so that's in fact how it works. So I clicked forward to May...no dates. Finally June, and it has one day the entire month available. Beyond June, you may not pass. One day, in the next three months. So with 30 days and even a 30-day extension you'd be out of luck. I think there was a recent marriage visa thread about the appointment system, so online appointments and CM may not mix. Has anybody here done the initial Non-O there recently? Are they reasonable with walk-ins, or is it an all-day or even "All full today, come back tomorrow" affair?

Would a reset work? Hop out and back in, start over. Though all roads may lead to the Bad Desk, if not in Year 1 then in Year 2 (and they may notice anyway)? Is that desk only extensions? I don't know how/if it would all work, just an idea if you haven't considered it already.

Is it safe to say that if the process for obtaining a Non-O for retirement purposes includes entering with or without a tourist visa and "Present passbook and deposit certificate from banks in Thailand" along with "Copy of all entries of the applicant’s passbook showing that the applicant has a savings or fixed deposit account (etc.)," there is no official explanation of how to legitimately obtain this account? The non-official answer would seem to be: "Your problem."

"Sir that is not a urinal."

Coincidentally I was reading a helpful post on this in the (quiet) Laos forum: So apparently on Friday you'll encounter a minimum of bubs.

I don't think "despite" is the best interpretation.

I thought that might be particular to Penang/Malaysia, but Vientiane is the same: "Single-Entry Tourist Visa: 3-month financial statements with an average balance of 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 baht per family." It's crazy that this is for a tourist visa. Asking for a bank balance is intrusive enough, what are they going to do with 3 months' worth of your financial history? You've already demonstrated you can afford the bulk of the trip by purchasing airfare and hotel reservations.