flipside555

17 minutes ago, markaoffy said:

The Ambassador twitter handle is @brijdavidson

Twitter bomb!! Somebody suggested, that we should get together and organize a protest outside of the embassy. We should get together and arrange a period of 3 hours when the ambassador receives a non-stop stream of twitter messages asking him for clarification.

12 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

You were almost there at immigration before - just need one more bank-letter (easy) and more time on your permitted-stay.

Yes. It was rather frustrating. I printed out the Thai version of the form which specifies what is needed from the bank. I highlighted sections 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3. and gave it to the teller in the Bangkok Bank branch in the immigration building. I was a bit concerned with the letter that she gave me back, but it was now nearly 3.00pm and I assumed that the people in that branch  would be very familiar with the requirements. When I finally got in to see the IO, she told me that the letter was certification of the funds, but not of where they came from.

1 minute ago, hyku1147 said:

Has the OP talked to an agent?

Not yet. I wasn't sure how it would work with an agent.  Would they be able to get around the 15 day limit? If so, would I then need to go back to immigration myself? That would be a little awkward because I'd be speaking with the same IOs who two or three days earlier had told me I needed to do a border run.

40 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Yes, the IOs at the Bangkok airport checkpoints seem to hate ED Visa users even more than Tourist Visa users, given you can stay in Thailand longer with them.  Be aware that only some airports (both in Bangkok) plus one land-border are reported to have this problem.

Yes, the one I ran up against refused entry to the guy immediately before me in the queue and then carted me off to see the senior IOs. 

12 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

This does not apply at the crossing from Kanchaburi, because Thai IOs won't let you leave at that location, unless they will let you back in - because you would be stranded in the border-zone in Myanmar. 

That's good to know. It sounds as though Kanchanaburi is my best bet. I can try that first, and then if there is any problem maybe try for a  non-O at Savannakhet or Penang.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

An easy option would be to make a land border run for a 30 day visa exempt entry then go to immigration to apply for a non immigrant visa (TM87 form) as soon as you do it. From Bangkok a good choice is the Phu Nam Ron crossing in Kanchanaburi. I can suggest this company to do the run https://www.thaivisaservice.com/ .

Have there been any reports of people being refused re-entry on that route? I'm just trying to think through the worst-case scenario. If they refused me a 30-day exempt, would they write something in my passport preventing me from trying at another port of entry?

I'm guessing that with https://www.thaivisaservice.com, it's not usual to take luggage, but I wouldn't like to be stranded on the other side of the border with nothing but the clothes I stand up in. Theoretically, there should be no problem as it was an immigration officer who told me make the run, but you never know. At my last entry, they questioned me for a good 15 minutes and it was touch and go whether they would let me in.

34 minutes ago, steve187 said:

have you done a 30 day extension on the tourist visa entry

'fraid so.

Today I went to BKK immigration to apply for Change Of Visa Status from Tourist to a 90-Day Non-Immigrant, with the intention of subsequently applying for a retirement extension. Everything was in order except I didn't have a letter from the bank confirming that the funds in my account came from abroad. Unfortunately for me, I now have less than 15 days left on my Visa, so I can't just get a letter from the bank and go back.

At first the immigration officer said I should do a same-day border run to get 30 more days, and then come back and apply again. I explained that I was worried about doing that because the last time I entered the county, airport immigration almost didn't let me in because of all the stamps in my passport (mainly education visas). She then said I should go to Vientiane and get a visa that would allow me to stay here for a year. "Just get it stamped after 90 days and then you can stay a year.", she said.  I asked what visa she was referring to and I thought she replied, "An O visa.".

So now I have to weigh up my options.

1. Do a border run.

If they don't let me back in, do they write something in my passport, or can I can just go somewhere else and try again?
Where would be best? I saw something about a Nok Air fly/ride to Udon Thani=>Vientiane. I would quite like to visit Udon Thani. The Nok Air coach goes from Udon Thani to Vientiane. Presumably, I could just get off at the border, pass back through to Thailand and look for transport back to UT. Or maybe I should go for a simpler border run.

2. Apply for the visa the immigration officer mentioned.

Looking at the Vientiane website, the closest thing to her description I can find is Non Immigrant "B" visa, which lists as requirements a criminal background check from the country of residence and a medical certificate. I'm sure it would take a while to get the former.

3. See if an agent can do anything for me, either get me the 90 day Non-Immigrant or go straight to the retirement extension (can they do that?).

How does it work with the agents? Would I have to go to immigration myself? If so, I would be talking to the immigration officers who a couple of days earlier had refused my application and told me that I must do a border run.

Hmm.

All suggestions welcome.

I have it in baht. I'm hoping that will be okay.

I was just wondering if the branch of Bangkok Bank that is located within the Bangkok Immigration office complex can be used to get the certification letter confirming that the 800k is deposited in an account with them. Has anyone used that branch to get a letter before immediately going upstairs to file the application?

29 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Yes you do not need seasoning for the first step which is the conversion to a 90 day O visa.

Sorry for the confusion guys. I misread this as "yes you do need...". Time to get some sleep. Thanks for your  help. I'll get on with the conversion without delay.

OK. So, I need to find out what the cut-off date is for applying for the conversion. It sounds as though I will not have enough time. By the time the money is seasoned, I will have only 3 days before the Tourist visa expires.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

You sound very confused. You can't apply for an O A visa in Thailand! Never ever forget about that.

 

What you can do is do a two step process. First step is apply for a conversion of your tourist visa to a 90 day O visa. You need to show your funds then but no need for seasoning. 

Thanks for that. I was aware that it is a 2-step process, but it seems I got the terminology wrong, and maybe the process too. I thought it went like this.

1. Apply for a conversion to  (what I thought was) an OA visa.

2. Apply for a retirement extension to the "OA" visa.

I thought I needed to have the funds on deposit for 2 months before I applied for the conversion.

So, if I convert the Tourist visa to a 90 day O, do I get another 90 days from the date of the conversion?

I have the required 800k in my bank account. By the time it has been in the account for two months, I will be 3 days away from the end of the 30 day extension to my Tourist visa. Will that be enough time to apply for the OA?