CMBob

Was down at Worarot an hour ago and, while the river is high and looking angry (photo attached), saw no flooding near there (or as far down both Charoen Prathet and Chang Klan as I could see from Thaphae Road.  But still significant flooding farther south.

But understand the Mae Tang river basin is jammed full and the water is heading this way....and apparently they expect the river to rise some more.  Hopefully not too much.

This past fall (after converting from visa exempt to a Non-O visa) I opened an account at Bangkok Bank here in CM without any hassle at all.  Just had to present my passport with the Non-O stamp along with my local address and local telephone number (no need for a residency certificate, work permit, agent, or anything else).  

There's a leather shop in Maya Mall that will do that.  I've also seen a "belt" place by Worarot that made belts but I'm not sure if those are real leather.  I've seen others over the years but don't recall where they are.

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/[email protected]/bookings/

Not that it matters but think the names are Aod & Dan.

Might also be a cooking school......

Couple questions:

(1) Does one need to go through the outside inspection-of-documents line if one has an appointment?

(2) It seems the appointment system only allows appointments for the next 30 days (or slightly less).  Is that correct?

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

...... However, if the money has been continuously in your account for many months, most immigration offices will waive the requirement for proof that the money is from overseas.....

I was in the same boat as the OP.....my retirement extension based on retirement expired while I was essentially trapped back in the states for 16 months due to the covid junk and, although nothing on the bank letter or current bank book reflected that the money originally came from overseas (arrived 12+ years ago), perhaps CM Immigration either didn't care about the "overseas" requirement or essentially waived it due to seeing I had been getting annual extensions for more than a decade based on those funds (the current bank book copies I used only covered a few years).  I suspect the OP won't have a problem either with the supposed "overseas" requirement. 

5 hours ago, Farangfoodie said:

OP again.  Thanks to all, and especially to CMBob, whose info is CM specific. 

 

If I go to Immigration as soon as I can after my Nov. 16 visa-exempt entry and do a conversion to Non-O, will my permitted to stay date be 90 days from the date of conversion?  (About Feb 20 would be very good for me as I plan to be in CM every year at least through January.) 

 

 

The 90-day Non-O you will get will not start at the end of your 45-day visa exempt period but rather within about 10 days of the time you actually apply.  I  applied on or about September 28th and, even though I didn't actually get the stamp until about October 19th, the Non-O had a start date of October 8th.  So I'm guessing the beginning date is the date it's approved in Bangkok (or, perhaps, when CM Immigration gets it done after Bangkok approval)?

So OP, if you apply (let's say) November 18th, you will on that date get a paper stapled into your passport that essentially says you're on a 21-day waiting period (it signals the date you come back to get the actual Non-O visa stamp).  But I would bet that the Non-O stamp you get will have a beginning date of of about November 28th, thus technically giving you until about February 28th (or so, I'm not counting the days) to do your annual extension.  And, if February 28th is the ending date, then you could go to CM Immigration 45 days before that to apply for your annual extension based on retirement on or after January 17th (or perhaps the prior Friday depending on the exact ending date).  So sounds like it'll work out fine for your mentioned schedule.

With respect to Nok Air's website, I tried just yesterday to fill in some dates and got the same non-working situation the OP mentions.  I'm guessing it's a temporary problem as I know it was working a week or two ago.  OP, try again (maybe they've fixed it).

Having converted from visa exempt to a Non-O less than a year ago here in Chiangmai:

(1)  You don't need any insurance (it's only needed for entries based on Non-OA visas) if entering visa exempt.  I'm not 100% sure whether you need insurance for a single-entry tourist visa. 

(2)  You do not need to get an extension; however, here in Chiangmai, you need a minimum of 21 days remaining on your exempt time period.   Since OP will be entering with a 45-day exemption, he will have plenty of time (but still advised to go within a few days of entry so that there is time in case any problem arises).  I know that many/most immigration offices only require 15-days remaining to convert but CM requires 21 days (perhaps because paperwork/approval for all conversions must go through Bangkok?).

(3)  Here in Chiangmai you can apply for one's annual extension based on retirement 45 days before the expiration date of your Non-O (or 45 days before expiration of an annual extension thereof).  That's been the rule here for more than 10 years.

OP....just go to the US Embassy website and it's explained there what you need, how to do it, etc.  Absent certain circumstances, you'll have to do it by mail to the Embassy in Bangkok (but, like others have said, you can expect to have your new and old passports back along with the letter you reference in 2-3 weeks at maximum).  A lot faster to get it done here if you have the time.

13 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

......In fact, I asked the cashier how paying 1338 Baht was saving me money compared with 750 Baht, but she pretended she didn't hear me.

If they were to simply tell patients that they can't buy individual tests, and only have packages on offer, it would reduce a lot of angst when patients walk up to the cashier, and give patients a chance to choose a different health care provider.

I can understand your angst at the additional tests they required of you but, once you learned that you couldn't only get the one hearing test, why not simply decline at that point in time?   

But I am happy the cashier met your inquiry with silence (totally unfair to think the cashier could have explained or changed hospital policy).

If you entered (or converted in-country) to a Non-O Immigrant Visa, the answer is "no"; however, if you entered with the Non-OA, then "yes."  You can check other threads for the insurance requirements.

46 minutes ago, Toolong said:

You may be right about having unintentionally cancelled it, CMBob.

Hopefully you didn't.....but trust you'll post here by the end of the week as to whether you got the approval (in spite of accidentally hitting the dreaded "x") or what they told you when you make the long trek to Immigration.

OP, as noted by others, what your received after you filed was simply a notice that you successfully submitted the report (not that it was approved).  As you note, you know it's approved when you get the email (with new Receipt of Notification attached) and/or when you check online for a pending report and it tells you that you're approved.

But you say you went and checked before you got the approval notice and clicked on the big "X."  My bet is you cancelled your report and, as you're still within the 7 day window after a due date to do a report in person, you might want to consider doing that to avoid a problem and fine (unless you somehow get an emailed approval in the interim).

16 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

....Strongly suggest a dedicated bank account for immigration is best option. 

That's exactly what it is (it's what I call my "visa account" and I have never used it to spend for living expenses......although I have a couple of times lowered it a bit due to interest piling up in the account).

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Which bank charges 150 per letter.

Why 2 letters? 

If two accounts with same bank they can do that with one letter

When I went to my bank (SCB) here in Chiangmai in December, 2021, for the annual extension information, I got two separate documents: (1) The standard old bank letter as in prior years that details my name, passport number, bank account number, and amount on that day in the account, and (2) A separate document that details the amount in the account for one year. Edit:  I had never seen #2 document before (in over a decade of doing annual extensions based on retirement and funds in the bank) but just presumed it had something to do with proving to Immigration that my account never dipped below the required amount during the year (which, of course, my bank book copies showed anyway).

I don't remember the cost (typically it's been 200 baht annually) but it may have been a total of 300 baht as the one poster mentioned.

11 minutes ago, night_rider said:

....The should or should not of it varies. Some simply do not want their money tied to limited returns. Some want to be unimpeachable if questioned. I do me. What you choose is in your wheelhouse. I'll still tilt a beer with you.

As you can see, I am not shooting negativity at anybody that chooses to skirt the rules.  As they say so often here, it's up to you.  I am fortunate enough to be able to park 800k in a bank here (although the interest is lousy, I really look at it as a financial safety net in case I get into medical or other trouble) and chicken enough to not want any element of risk to my living here.  

 It will be interesting to see if the mods allow this thread.

".....a visa agent for a Non-O with financial assistance."

What do you mean by "with financial assistance?"