Tod Daniels

Okay I think the O/P is getting mixed up on the fact that they are on yearly extensions of stays FROM an original OA visa and NOT here on an entry stamp FROM a valid one 😮 As people were correctly saying VISAS can't be moved to a new passport (except Elite and LTR) for "normal people" only extensions can be moved The O/P said they're on a yearly extension (and the fact it's from an original OA visa doesn't matter) so they CAN MOST DEFINITELY go to Chaengwattana and get the stamps transferred to the new passport One thing to note as DrJack54 correctly pointed out is at Chaengwattana when you're transferring an extension based on retirement you have to update your bank book and bring a copy of it with you to do the process. This is the transfer stamp form Chaengwattana uses and on the back of the form are the require copies you need to make https://tinyurl.com/Transfer-Stamp-PDF Because "normal people" can't post linx on the forum (to stop spamming) cut and paste that tiny URL link I posted, it's this form

Sadly that you did not know your Embassy was going to stop issuing income affidavit notaries on April 1st is a self-inflicted problem. It was on every canada/thailand related website on the interweb. Had you known about this and had you went to get that income affidavit paper from the embassy before they stopped issuing it you could have used it for the next 6 months after it was issued because that is how long their valid for. The hoop jumping you are trying to do right now will not work, many people have tried it, and it does not work Unfortunately what this means is the only way for you to meet the financial requirements now would be by one of two ways bank money method which means you would need to have 400k baht in a Thai bank account in your name only for 2 months before you apply for the extension, monthly transfer where you transferred in a minimum of 40K baht, each month, every month, for the previous 12 months before you apply for your extension <- meaning you would have had to be doing it all this last year. What you might be able to do to buy yourself time to get your ducks in a row, would be to take the one 60 day visit Thai family extension you're allowed. That would give you 2 months to get the funds in place in a bank account so you could go forward with your extension after that.

Changing the reason for an extension of stay from one based on marriage to one based on retirement is a fairly straightforward process at all immigration offices. Obviously you need the 800k in a Thai bank account in your name only seasoned for 2 months before you apply for the chains of reason and new extension Also realize when you change the reason for an extension the new extension starts the day you apply What that means is, if you go a month early you lose that month of your previous extension. The new extension is not added on to your expiration date that you have now, instead it starts the day you apply for it.

You cannot make an appointment to cancel an extension, You go out to the main immigration office at the government complex on Chaengwattana road, get a queue for section N then wait it out and cancel your extension . You can do it up to 2 weeks before the termination date on your paperwork from the school, immigrations will cancel the extension and give you a stamp until the termination of study date on the paperwork

I concur with BrandonJT, 👍 Go to the boi / LTR website and read the page that has the list of approved agents. https://ltr.boi.go.th/

The release dates for appts one month in advance. SO this morning at 12:01 appts because available to book for June 18th Many people set their alarms for midnight to snap a booking,especially people who have to use the dreaded Section N (teachers, students etc) because it is JAMMED every day. It's not brain science or rocket surgery people You know when your extension will expire, You know in Bangkok you can apply when you have 45 days or less left on your current stamp, Set an alarm on your phone so you can make a booking for your extension. Believe me having an appt makes the process a WHOLE LOT smoother than queuing up with the zombie horde at the crack of dawn to get a queue and wait it out 😛 Just a tip, don't make a booking for 8:30AM (there are hundreds of people trying to get in the door that queued up), OR after 11:30AM (you will not get done before they close at 12 for lunch), OR at 1:00PM (same thing, hundreds of people are queuing to get back in after the lunch closure) <- those are just problematic times even though they let you in before others with an appt print out See there are openings for retirement extension on the 18th of June because it JUST opened up at 12:01 am this morning for booking

Chaengwattana has been using that form for quite a few years. They hand it out to you at the document check stage (Or at the officers desk) you just write your name on it and sign it It's in the packet of forms that have the overstay acknowledgement, the terms and conditions to your extension, and that "statement" (the STM10 This is the one from Chaengwattana

ahh point taken. Many offices (in the situations where people run themselves off the rails on extensions) will allow people to forgo showing proof of funds origins when applying for a new in country 90 day Non-O visa (especially if you have a history of extensions with that office)

they wouldn't be ON an extension if they hadn't met that requirement

well any way you slice it you have an extensive entry/stay history to thailand AND it's 100% up to the officer you're standing in front of when you stamp in to decide if you're a "real tourist" or someone whose living here on free entry stamps between visits to other S/E Asian countries 😮 There's no one on this group who can tell you with any certainty if you'll skate thru, get questioned and get in, OR get denied entry and shipped back out to where you flew in from on your dime You do have substantial time out of thailand between the free entries and that could count in your favor.. About all you can do is have proof you're flying out within the days you'll get stamped in for, and if you're questioned show them that flight. ALL the airports are getting harder, BOTH Chiang Mai and Phuket (which were previously soft touch entry spots) have tightened up and are denying people based on previous entry/stay history. Sincerely best of luck with it, be prepared, safe travels,

That would be a false assumption 😞 When you apply for a yearly extension of stay based on retirement using banked money method you have to meet the seasoning requirements for the WHOLE YEAR you have the extension granted for That is you need to keep the 800K baht in the account for 3 months AFTER the extension is granted and then the balance cannot go below 400K baht the rest of the year <- those are requirements for the extension a person is currently on, and if they're going to change the reason for the extension they also need to meet THOSE requirements as well

Just so you're clear there is NO requirement to show where the 800K baht came from when you get a year extension of stay (which is what you're doing and have been doing) The only requirements are that you kept the 800K baht in the account for 3 months AFTER you got the extension you're on issued last year, and then the balance never went below 400K baht the rest of the year and that it was back at 800K baht a minimum of 2 months before you APPLY for the next yearly extension. IF you meet the seasoning requirements and are just worried about "proof of funds origin" you don't need to be at all as I said that is not a requirement

I think you are confused The original poster is applying for an in-country 90-day Non-O visa based on marriage to a thai. They are not applying for a yearly extension. It has been common practice for several years at the main immigration office at Chaengwattana that couples have to be married a minimum of 2 months to apply for the in-country 90 day Visa.

You need to understand that as of July 15th 2024 when they went from 30-day free entry to 60 day free entry the rule concerning two free entry by land in a calendar year was rescinded. BUT with that being said, not having a limit on the number of land border bounces you can do for a free entry stamp does not mean it's unlimited entry. Many borders are requiring one or even two nights stay outside the country if you do one of those "I'm going to save money and bounce myself" trips. Some borders are requiring that you show proof of onward travel in 60 days, proof of funds, and proof of lodging for the time you're going to be here once you come back in. The safest way to do a border bounce is with a service that takes you to the border, get you out and back in the same day and bring you back to wherever you started. Those services have it set up at the border so their people can get out and back without any issue no matter what their entry stay history has been. Many people doing self-bounces have been told by passport control at the border that they are allowed to leave but they cannot come back in by land and instead need to fly back in. That's pretty much how it's working right now for "do-it-yourselfers", it is 100% up to the office of your standing in front of at passport control when you come to stamp back in as far as how it's going to go for you.

I would wager those were a few fair number of years ago 😕 Most offices require a 2 month marriage to get the in country Non-O visa issued IF you're "pushing your own paper" (as in not using an agent to grease the wheels) I think it's been since before the covid lock down that Chaengwattana started it for in country 90 day Non-O marriage visas..

Face it if you went to Chaengwattana and applied for the in country Non-O visa in Section C-1 (the section at Chaengwattana that issues visas) you aren't gonna get around an officer that doesn't want to do what you want, there's just a few officers in that section and they all march to the tune of the same drummer, you try it and they'll just turn you away AGAIN. Your best bet is to slog on over to Vientiane or Savannakhet and apply for the 90 day Non-O visa online thru a consulate there, go pay for it in person at the consulate and IF you uploaded the required documentation) the visa will be approved in less than a day after you pay (don't pay any attention to their posted 15 days processing) regular old Non-O, Non-B, Non-ED visas are approved FAST there, One guy applied online, showed up at the consulate to pay and then before he even got TO the hotel the visa was already approved and he had the email with the PDF file (that is the visa)

That is 100% not correct at all. Where did you get that information? You only need to have legal parental rights granted by either the Amphur or by family court through decree.

Totally a common occurrence. In order to get an in-country 90-day Non-O visa based on marriage to a thai you have to be married a minimum of 2 months. There is no make a new appointment get a new immigration officer option. 😞 That's the rule, that officer was not trying to break your balls, they were trying to tell how it works. Do whatever you need to do to buy yourself the time so that you're married for 2 months and then go back and apply for the Visa without any issue

Which is indeed unfortunate but the information I posted is correct. the program was "turned on" (as in you can get to the website, fool around with it, and it'll even email you a TDAC confirmation) BUT It does not start transmitting data to the immigration side until the 28th AND That TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) update clearly says they will have fixed the "country of residence" issue when the activate it on the 28th AND Why would it be too late? The system goes live the 28th of April, AND you can apply any time from 72 hours before your arrival right down until you actually DO arrive here I think you're under the false impression (as a lot of people are) that there is some imaginary rule that you have to do it 3 days before you come here 😞 There is not. You have a window of opportunity to apply from 3 days before your arrival right on down to your arrival here. They even said there will be assistance in the arrival hall for the people who didn't do the TDAC before they got here Seeing as you don't need to travel yet, how about you wait it out and see how it works, see what people report, etc before jumping on the "I don't like this" bandwagon? 😉 Safe travels

First off the entire system is not live yet as in it is not transmitting data to the thai immigration office it is only a system that people can fool with. Secondly they already came out with an update saying that you will be able to select Thailand as your country of residence once the system goes live on April 28th. I would post the link to the update but this forum has link posting disabled to stop spam here's a screen grab of the pertinent information. remember you can ONLY file a TDAC within 3 days of your arrival to thailand, AND you only need to do it if you're arriving May 1st or later so you fooling around with it now doesn't really help you much unless you want to practice 😛 here's the link to the update, you can copy and paste it in your browser to get the info https://www.tatnews.org/2025/04/thailand-digital-arrival-card-system-set-to-launch-on-1-may-2025/

The immigration office at Chaengwattana has used 21 Day under consideration stamp for marriage and raising Thai children for quite a while now. AND They did away with the old update your bank book when you go get the extension inked in policy a good while ago as well. Why would there be any drama? You don't leave your passport with them, you come back in that date to get the year inked in Most likely, she asked about travel because of you were leaving the country on the u/c stamp you'd have to have a new rentry permit good only for that stamps validity AND You'd have to be back in the country in time to go back and get the year inked in.

That is a pretty back water border up in a "Nakhon Nowhere" province and gets few foreigners bouncing out and back Even if they say you have to stay out overnight, like Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai Province does (and now Nong Khai it seems) I would bet dollars to durian there's a way to "grease the wheel" at that b/s border and get right back in 😛 I know that people who bounced at Chong Mek/Vang Tao in Ubon, and people who bounced at Mukdahan/Savannakhet in Lao got out and back with minimal 'wheel greasing' sometimes with none 😉

You have almost no leverage with an employer who doesn't provide you with the documentation to cancel your work permit/extension 😞 you will have no issue getting in to the country visa exempt (at least no issue from not having cancelled your "open" extension before you left) you will have no issue getting an extension on that visa exempt entry you will have no issue getting a new Non-B visa from a thai consulate in another country you WILL have an issue if you go to extend a non-B visa based on employment (or really any Non-Imm visa) and they will fine you 500 baht a day from the date the work permit was cancelled for every day you didn't cancel the extension (even though you exited before it ran out, that doesn't matter, what matters is you didn't cancel it "officially" at the immigration office). The fine caps out at 20k baht after 40 days.

Surprisingly, or not 😮 There is actually NO rule that says a "trailing spouse" Non-O (visa for a foreign spouse of a foreigner legally working in thailand on a Non-B visa/extension) must be gotten outside of thailand. Chaengwattana issues them no problem at all AFTER the primary visa holder has their yearly extension from the initial 90 day Non-O. They do it from both a visa exempt entry AND a tourist visa entry as long as you have the documentation and the required days left on your current stamp. The reason people go out of the country to get it is because the spouse has to figure out a way to stay until the primary visa holder has their year extension. At most consulates will issue the 90 day Non-O visa to a trailing spouse while the primary visa holder is still on the initial 90 day Non-O I think the confusion on whether they will or won't issue the Non-O trailing spouse of a foreigner legally working in thailand comes from the fact that you CANNOT get a trailing spouse Non-O issued in country based on being the spouse of a "retirement visa/extension" (Non-O visa/extension) holder. That is one category that immigrations won't issue Non-O's for the trailing spouse.. Taipei is a good, organized and fast consulate to use as long as you remember to go to the immigration office once you're there and get that "Certificate of Entry and Exit" to upload with your application

You need to go to the thai consulate website where you're applying and see what their posted holiday schedule is As Upnotover correctly stated 👍 eVisas are processed thru the embassy you apply for them thru For instance this is the embassies in the US posted holiday closure for Songkran