sumrit

From your previous thread I was under the impression you originally entered Thailand on a 30 visa exempt then arranged (via an agent in Pattaya) to extend that and you received an extra 15 months, which expires in September. 

The agent didn't get a you 15 month non O visa in Pattaya, what he did was get a 90 day NON O VISA followed by a one year EXTENSION OF STAY based on retirement.

Most of us stay long term in Thailand by annually renewing our extension of stay. To qualify for an extension we must initially apply with a valid non O VISA and then continually renew the permission to stay with annual extensions. That's why the agent got your 90 day non O first then acquiring your one year extension.

Your actual 90 day VISA expired after those 90 days but you were allowed to remain in Thailand by virtue of being issued with that one year extension of stay. Normally you would just renew your extension but, because there was an anomaly with the Pattaya extension, Pathom Thani wouldn't let you renew it. They have allowed it to run its course but have said you must now exit Thailand to get a new non O visa and start the process again.

So, at the moment you don't have a valid visa and your extension will expire when you exit Thailand. You won't have any problem obtaining another nonO VISA from a neighbouring country (Laos?).

32 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Transferwise is useless now IMO if you want to guarantee your foreign transfers are acceptable to Immigration in a years time. It's too big a risk that something could go wrong by which time it's too late to change. I have concluded that the 800k bank method is the only way to go.

Each to his own.????

We have only got information on forums such as this to make a judgement, and despite your continued pessimism in various posts you have made there is not one single post on any thread here where somebody has been refused an extension because of any anomalies in transfers using Transferwise. By contrast there are several posts where people have been successful and TW transfers being accepted by Immigration, despite the odd transfer showing as a domestic transfer. Hopefully the new procedure put in place by TW will make that option even better.

Time will tell.   

7 hours ago, fusion58 said:

8 hours ago, sumrit said:

...there is now an extra option on TW when selecting the 'reason for the transfer' window. I can't remember the exact wording but basically says it's to comply with 'Thailand Immigration's International Transfer rules' so hopefully selecting this option will 'put to bed' all the recent coding problems...

Wow! That would be good news if true.

I'd saved/copied the actual wording I used from another post. That poster apparently got the info in a phone call to TW. The actual wording is not quite the same on the TW website but just done, and attached, a screen print to show Thailand is now one of the options available in the 'reason for transfer' drop down window.

On 8/3/2019 at 11:00 AM, JDGRUEN said:

Mountain out of a mole hill. Not so for an Expat who has a landlord who refuses to help or even provide copies of the house Tambian Baan and Thai National ID card....and most of the time go unpunished. 

 

Pleas to the I/O go unheard and the Expat is fined. 

 

You cannot judge a snafu such as the TM.30 by your myopic view of just your situation and experience

 

So do it yourself as the housemaster/possessor. Takes ten minutes and you don't even need copies of the house Tambian Baan and Thai National ID card from your landlord.

1 hour ago, pontious said:

On 8/2/2019 at 5:16 PM, sumrit said:

Why was he lucky? Show the proof where every IO and every Immigration Office is different from day to day please.

As an example Jomtien want a letter from your bank showing foreign transactions. That is not every IO is asking for it but you cannot show me that every IO is NOT different. Most are different. You show me where it is standard.

Jomtien's requirements are standard for Jomtien.

SO, Jomtien are asking for a bank letter showing foreign Transfers while other aren't, they're not asking for proof that isn't required. They haven't said what format the letter should take. Some BKKB branches have said they state SMT codes are international transfers while others have suggested getting a Credit Advice Receipt for the rogue 'SMT' transfers.

Just remember (moving areas aside) every single one of us will go to the same Immigration Office and see the same IO's each time for our extensions. It is irrelevant if IO's in other areas interpret things slightly differently, their interpretation will have no effect whatsoever on your application in your local office. If you want to know what the requirements are at your local office, GO ASK THEM........ ie: don't ask or worry about Chang Mai's interpretations if you go to CW, its irrelevant to your application. 

And what I can say is, since the 1st July when all people from the UK, US and AU have had to show their income coming into a Thai bank each and every month, there have been several reports on this forum where people have been successful using the monthly income method even though some have used a variety of sources to bring that money to Thailand (some of which just show SMT as the source code and TW receipts for back up) BUT not one single person so far has reported on here being refused an extension with giving lack of proof of the foreign source of their income as the reason for the refusal (eg: that/those transfer(s) were not being classified as international transfers).

1 hour ago, Ling Kae said:

My primary account is my Bangkok Bank account and may last transfer still came through as a local transfer. I will change to Kasikorn for my next one and see what happens, will update once done.

Did you contact/phone TW directly and ask them to tag your TW acount so that your transfers be sent via your preferred route, via their BKKB partner?

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

1 hour ago, sumrit said:

Not necessary, the lack of a tag will tell them that won't it.

Why would they tag it though, no logic for the IO to do that, the only people wanting the tagging is expats disgruntled at having to comply with the ridiculous rules

Already replied to that in post 73????

Quote

 

Dunno, pure SPECULATION but maybe, for some corrupt IO's, it's to highlight applicants that are open to paying a bit of tea money.

 

While at the same time, maybe for non-corrupt IO's, it's to highlight which applicant's documentation might require extra attention in the future

 

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I wrote nothing about agents.

I only wrote about them not doing it due to the non immigrant visa he was issued by immigration was based upon retirement.

I didn't suggest you did write anything about agents. You wrote:

Quote

I think they are saying that since your visa was issued on the basis of retirement you cannot extend that entry based upon marriage. I have seen reports of other offices stating that incorrect opinion before.

Without proof that is just your (valued) opinion and can be treated as speculation.

I was actually replying to a post where you were quoted as saying:

Quote

As UJ says, most likely an office that doesnt like changing retire to a marriage extension

Taken in context of the thread, I'm merely suggesting that, without proof, It's purely speculation.

Apologies if you took offence.

5 minutes ago, yodsak said:

And why would they do that ?

Dunno, pure SPECULATION but maybe, for some corrupt IO's, it's to highlight applicants that are open to paying a bit of tea money.

While at the same time, maybe for non-corrupt IO's, it's to highlight which applicant's documentation might require extra attention in the future

Just now, Peterw42 said:

As UJ says, most likely an office that doesnt like changing retire to a marriage extension. There is nothing, other than speculation, that the OP was refused because it was an agent extension. Some offices you do end up with a 15 month stamp (O visa plus extension) when you do the conversion.

Exactly the same speculation you (and possibly UJ) are using.

9 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

The process you describe can be done without an agent as the initial seasoning is 60 days when you do the conversion method, 100s do that process everyday.

You stiil appear to not get what happens with an agent extension, the extension gets approved by a high level IO who can waive the seasoning, The same as a bank manager has the authority to let you overdraw your account when the bank teller doesn't. Otherwise its an extension like any other, 

And you don't get my point do you. I wasn't talking agent specific.

A poster said Glegolo was talking BS. I wasn't highlighting anything else, simply showing, on a first extension, the DATE anomalies when a visa/extension is processed can show the problems/incorrect process used, Glegolo was telling the truth.

16 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

28 minutes ago, sumrit said:

Unless, of course, the IO's tag a persons Immigration file with a code of some sort that says an agent has been used to process the application.

Do you think they also tag if you've gone direct to Immigration and missed out the agent?

Not necessary, the lack of a tag will tell them that won't it.????

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

Thanks, so I assume you are just talking shit then.

No. he's not. 

My mate was offered a back hand extension directly from an IO in Jomtien 3-4 years ago on his first ever visit to Thailand. He refused the offer and did thing 'legally'. But the offer was to change his 30 day exempt to a 90 day non O, then give him a 12 month retirement extension and a multi re-entry permit, all for 15k and completed in about three days.

Even without other 'anomalies', He couldn't open a bank account before he arrived here so it was impossible for him to have seasoned the 800K baht for three months. The process he was offered had to be illegal for that reason alone.

4 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

If you are doing 90 days/extensions with an office then move to another office, at some point you need to officially move to the new office otherwise as far as the new office is concerned you still live at the old office. You cant use a new office for 90 days or extensions etc until you move there.

Next time your extension is due, jump on a plane and try and do the extension in another office, they wont do it or they will process tm28, tm30 etc to move you to the new office then process you.

That's true, but WASN'T the problem in the case as I remember it.

5 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

You cant say categorically the OP was refused because an agent did the previous extn, his office probably doesnt to any extension where they didnt do the previous.

Unless, of course, the IO's tag a persons Immigration file with a code of some sort that says an agent has been used to process the application.

4 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

If its the one I am thinking, the guy was still doing 90 days etc in pattaya and hadn't moved to CW (tm28,tm30 etc) on paper.

No, not the same story, and nothing to do with TM30's, TM28's.

I don't remember all of the story but I remember the first thing that made CW suspicious was the length of time he'd been living in Bangkok meant he couldn't have been living in Pattaya when he obtained his first extension. That extension must have been (illegally) 'arranged' by the agent

3 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

In theory yes, you haven't changed offices then tried to do an extension. In the OPs case it sounds like his office has a policy of not doing extensions unless the previous was done with that office.

Or unless possible anomalies in the previous extension obtained at a different office show up on their system. 

16 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

I have 5 extensions in my passport from 3 different offices and two of those were agent extensions, There is nothing in the passport or system to indicate an agent was used. I have even switched from an agent retire extension to a DIY marriage extension.

I cant recall any similar stories of people not being able to get an extension after using an agent, I recall a couple of stories where people have needed to move to the new office area to then do business with that office.

I can't comment on your agent assisted extensions. They could well be 100% perfect and legitimate with every 'i' dotted and 't' crossed, and I wouldn't suggest anything otherwise. Of course, your agent related extensions could also have been issued before  (some) Im Offices checked things more thoroughly.

The most recent story of somebody being refused was a thread here on TV a few months ago where an American who was living in Bangkok took somebody's advice and used an agent from Pattaya to arrange his first retirement extension. which was stamped in his passport. When, a year later, he tried to renew his extension in CW it was refused. From what I remember, financially he was totally ripped off by that Pattaya agent for his first extension as well.

11 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

Unless the IOP told them, Pthani immigration would have no idea the last extension was done by an agent. 

Are you sure about that? Can you be sure nothing's flagged by IO's on Immigration's system?

It's not the first time it's been reported on TV that somebody has been refused a new extension at a different Immigration Office in a different part of Thailand after using a Pattaya agent to organise their first extension in Jomtien.

44 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

He is changing extension types from one Non-Imm Non-O reason (retirement) to another reason (marriage).   There is nothing wrong with this.

That is assuming the agent in Pattaya did everything legally and above board. 

If the agent did everything correctly why would he suggest the OP go out of Thailand and get a new non O visa and start the process again. 

48 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Marriage-extensions involve some work, so they want to punish him for doing it in-person honestly, vs via a payoff-system from which the office-staff directly enriches themselves.

 Agents tend not to get involved in marriage extensions because the approval is not made at the local Immigration Office, so it's not something they can easily pay a corrupt IO.

I know you've said all your documentation is accurate and correct for your present marriage extension application in Pathum Thani, but was your original retirement extension that the agent arranged for you in Pattaya 100% above board with all documentation accurate?

It seems strange that he would advise you to start again with a new non O visa if everything he did in Pattaya was above board.

2 minutes ago, racyrick said:

You were just lucky. Every IO and every Immigration office is different from day to day.

 

Did you not have to furnish a letter from your bank showing all your international transfers in addition to your bank statement?

Why was he lucky? Show the proof where every IO and every Immigration Office is different from day to day please.

3 minutes ago, JDGRUEN said:

I use TransferWise Borderless and have for about six months. In my BB Account I have been seeing FTT except for the last which said SMART.  I don't know what SMART stands for, except I am pretty sure it is a Domestic Transfer.

 

The real point of my comment is that I use the Android TransferWise App. I was recently helping a friend transfer funds using this same App his phone as he is a bit of a technophobe.  Anyway when we got near the end of the SEND transfer sequence there is a requirement that one choose one of the 6 to 8 options... 1St. One is "For Monthly Living Expenses...

 

The last option choice is (paraphrasing) "To help document funds transfer compliance with Thailand Immigration for long term stay"...

 

I can't simulate this and get the exact wording as it requires the actual completion of the funds transfer to Thailand.

 

Has anyone else seen this option! Does anyone know if the option is chosen for the funds transfer... what happens on the other end here in Thailand at bank?

 

 

I also use the TW app for all transfers. I must admit I haven't seen that option, but then I always just click monthly living expenses and look no further.

But I transfer two of my pensions next week so I'll definitely look then and maybe phone them up for a clear explanation.