Red Phoenix

There is actually no reason for the OP to apply at the Thai Embassy in PnomPenh for a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement. But since he already started the process he could as well follow it through. But it is no problem at all if the OP gets turned down (or decides not to continue with his application anymore in PnomPenh). The process to follow then is that OP simply has to re-enter Thailand Visa Exempt which will provide him with a 45-day Permit to stay stamped in his passport by Thai border Immigration. And then he would have to apply at the Imm Office of the province where he plans to reside, when he still has at least 15 days left on that Permit to stay (some Imm Offices require 21 or 23 days). OP wrote 'I have well over 800K in Bangkok Bank for over a year'. Normally when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa at his provincial Imm Office, the applicant has to provide evidence that +800K are on a Thai bank-account at moment of application, AND that these funds originated from abroad. However, in this case, with the funds already seasoned for more than 1 year that proof of foreign origin should be waved by the Imm Officer handling his application.

You are correct: It's indeed also an option when his 1-year extension is due, to apply for a different reason than marriage (if his wife is not willing to accompagny him), and apply for reason of retirement using the income-method. In that case he does need to provide evidence that he received monthly income over the past 12 months, that meets the requirements. As the requirements for such application based on monthly income, slightly differ from province to province, it would be recommended that you get hold of the requirements for such switch of extension from marriage to retirement at your provincial Imm Office, to check whether he would actually be eligible for such application.

You can spare yourself the effort to go to Immigration to check this. It is indeed correct that the spouse needs to be present when applying for a 1-year extension of your Non Imm O Visa for reason of Marriage. But even if Immigration would allow it, he would not be able to switch to a Retirement extension, because in such case he would have to show that he not only meets the 2 month 400K 'seasoning' requirement for the Marriage extension, but ALSO the 12 month required Funds for the Retirement extension (i.e. 800K/400K over the last 12 months). A 'fixer' Agent might help him out on that one. And alternatively also a border-run and returning VisaExempt would allow him to start with a fresh slate, and apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement subsequently followed by the 1-year extension application. But of course that would mean that he would be able to provide evidence of 800K on his personal Thai bank-account (with foreign origins proven, i.e. being transfered from abroad). Bottom line: When you are skint, there is only one option and that is engaging a fixer Agent.

If he gets or fears death-threats from his wife (e.g. so that she can get hold of his possessions) then of course he should move asap to another part of the country, as staying in the region where he now lives would then be dangerous. If that is the case he could - as I mentioned in an earlier response - then apply for a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement and do that in another province after having done a border-run. So there is no need for an illegal entry into Thailand, with all the associated consequences.

Re address, it's correct that the landlord of the place he will be renting has to report that a foreigner is staying there. But that does not mean that your friend must do a 'change of address' at Immigration. He can always say that this is his studio, and that his official address for Immigration purposes is still with his wife, so no need to change that.

Hi Owl, sorry but you really have to be at your wit's end with all other options exhausted, to consider doing that. Having illegally entered Thailand, you would have to be constantly on the look-out as your passport would not have any permit to stay. So when you are involved in an accident or the Police asks to see your passport, it would be Game Over. And there would not even be an option to legalize your situation as you won't be able to leave Thailand without border Immigration stamping you out (and they will immediately see your status).

There will be no problems for your friend staying in Thailand on his current Non Imm O extension for reason of marriage. The issue is that he will not be able to renew that extension himself, when his wife is not willing to help him with that application. But there is of course the option that he engages a Visa Agent to do the Marriage extension application for him. The fee for that service will be higher when he does not have the required 400K seasoned on his personal Thai bank-account for at least two months prior to the date of application. If he is over 50 years of age, there is also the alternative to do a border-run when his current permission to stay is due to expire. And then return Visa exempt (can be done same day) which will provide him with a 30-day Permit to stay. If by that time he has the +800K on his personal bank-account, he could then apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, and at the end of those 90-days then apply for the 1-year extension for reason of retirement. If he does not have the required funds, he could in that case also make use of a 'fixer' Visa Agent, to get him the 'retirement' Visa and subsequent extension.

Did sent you a PM

Of course you can stop using an Agent. I never used an Agent. Neither for my initial 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement application, nor for the yearly extensions of that Visa. It goes without saying that in such case you need to fully meet the Immigration requirements for these applications. Note, that when you made use of an Agent that by-passed the financial requirements (evidence of +800K/+400K on your Thai bank-account in the past 12 months), that you would need to meet those requirements before being able to do your next extension yourself. Alternatively, you would have to make a border-run to 'kill' your current Permission to Stay, then return Visa Exempt, and apply 'with a clean sheet' for a new 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement subsequently - 3 months later - followed by your 1-year extension.

The Mea Culpa should come from you, as dr Jack was fully correct. To clear up any misunderstandings: When applying for the 1-year extension of your Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement you need to show TWO PIECES of evidence that you met the financial requirements: # That you have a personal Thai bank-account on which you keep the required funds - that's the Bank Statement issued by your thai Bank that shows that you are the owner of a Thai Bank-account and the balance on the day that Statement was issued. So you need to do a transaction on the day of application such that the Balance reflects your current status on date of application. # That you maintained the required funds for the 12 months preceding your application (the first 3 months keeping +800K, the next 7 months you are allowed to lower that amount as long as it does not slip below +400K, and then again +800K for the last two months preceding your application). To provide evidence of that some Immigration Offices simply want to see your Bank Pass-book (updated on the day of application) so that they can check that you met the requirement over the past 12 months. But many Immigration Offices want on top of the Pass-book that you also provide a Bank-transaction Statement issued by your Bank, which shows all the transactions that were made on your Bank-account in the past 12 months. The transaction made on the day of application might not be on that Bank-transaction Statement when you kept the funds on a Fixed Deposit Account and got hold of it on day of application, but document #1 your Bank-Statement will provide the Balance on day of application

And the obvious question whether the train driver was mandated to take the jabs in order to keep his job was not addressed. But the fact that he needed CPR is already an indication...

He used incorrect terminology, but everybody understands that he is referring to a Visa Exempt entry which will provide you with a 45-day Permit to stay stamped in your passport by Thai Immigration on entry. Note that it is not decided yet by Thai Immigration, whether such Visa Exempt 45-day Permit to stay on entry will be prolonged after 31 March. If not it will be back to the previous 30-day Permit to stay on entry.

To illustrate the 'unpleasantness' which they might be facing. > If Immigration is very lenient - the minimum would be that they will have to leave Thailand asap (Immigration would in that case probably provide them with a 7-day permit to enable them to organize themselves and leave). That is because their invalid Permit to stay makes it impossible for them to apply for a new Visa or extension (as they cannot meet the requirements for such new application), hence they have to leave Thailand in order to start from scratch again. In that case a border-run would provide them with a Visa Exempt entry, and that VE Permit to stay would then allow them to apply again for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa, but this time it has of course to be fully legit (with required funds in bank). The above would be the very minimum, but it is well possible that they would on top also have to pay a hefty fine for over-stay < all the time that they stayed in Thailand on that non-valid Visa/extension >. And if Immigration really wants to set an 'example' deportation and a ban to enter Thailand for x years could be their fate.

Chiang Mai Nakhon Ratchasima Khon Kaen Sakhon Nakorn Chaiyaphum Kalasin Phrae Yasothon and Roi-Et.

You probably meant PRIOR to the 45 days. The onward ticket to a destination outside Thailand should be on a date PRIOR to the expiry date of the 45-day Permit to stay stamped in your passport by Thai border-immigration on entry. An on-line onward-ticket only costs approx 12-15 US $, and is delivered instantly to your e-mail box after your credit-card payment. It is a fully legit means of meeting the requirement as it is an ACTUAL reservation, but the companies providing that service automatically cancel the reservation 48 or 72 hours after purchase. That's no issue because by that time you are already in Thailand, when you buy the onward-ticket the day before your Thailand bound flight departs.

Does that Agent provide an extension gotten at Pattaya Immigration, or does he get your extension in an up-country Imm Office where he has connections (e.g. one of the 9 ones that are currently under scrutiny)?

It is correct that Thai Immigration has condoned the practice to continue for decades. But that doesn't make it legal. And occasionally a precedent has to be set to show-case that they are not allowing corruption. Those cases are often triggered as a result of internal Immigration strife/jealousy, or when some Officers become too greedy, or are not providing the 'fair share' of their shenanigans to higher-ups. But the point is of course that applicants that got an 'invalid' Permit to stay, because the Agent they used bribed an Imm Officer to overlook that the requirements for providing the Permit were not met, can - and have been in the past - become collateral damage in such an internal Immigration clean-up exercise.

# You wrote: If there is any wrong doing it would be between the agent and immigration , not the applicant. That's only partially correct. Indeed the Imm Officer accepting and the Agent handing out the bribe, are guilty of corruption. The applicant will of course plead 'ignorance' claiming that he was not aware that the Agent which he engaged was bribing Immigration for his application, and it is correct that he will not be charged for partaking in the corruption. But that does not mean that there are no consequences for the applicant, because as a result of his Visa/extension being acquired in a non-legal way it is invalid. And so he will face the consequences of 'being caught in Thailand without a valid permission to stay'. And the penalty he will receive, will depend on how long he was already staying in Thailand without such valid permit. # You wrote: I have not heard of a prosecution of a agent or immigration officer , have you ? I know of at least one case some years ago where Immigration officers that were exposed as being on the take after an internal Immigration investigation, were fired and prosecuted for corruption (but I don't know the sentences which they received). And the Agents that bribed them have been stripped of their licenses to operate (but I don't know if they have been prosecuted).

In the SiSaKet Imm Office a Residence Certificate is provided free of charge. (as it should be).

Andrew Dwyer already responded to your post, and he is fully correct. #1 - When having entered Thailand VisaExempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa, you can then apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa at the Imm Office of the province where you plan to reside. This has to be done when you still have at least 15 days left on your permit to stay as stamped in your passport by border-immigration on entry. Note that in some provinces, they require 21 or 23 days before Permit expiry. In case you have too little time to prepare for the application, you can also apply first for a 30-day extension of your Permit to stay (costs 1.900 THB). Those 15 (or 21/23) days are required because your Non Imm O Visa application has to be approved by Divisional Headquarters of the province where you are applying, and that process can take up to 2 weeks. So that minimum of 15 days is meant to avoid that your Permit to stay expires before Div Headquarters has approved your application (which is just a bureaucratic thing as the provincial Imm Office does not want to 'lose face' by submitting an application that does not meet the requirements). Note that Immigration does not keep your Passport during the process, but you have to return on the day indicated to have the Div Headquarter approval for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa based Permit to stay, stamped in your Passport #2 - When having entered Thailand with a 90-day Non Imm O Visa, you will receive on entry a 90-day permit to stay stamped in your passport by border-immigration (if you used #1 the local Imm Office will have stamped the 90-day permit in your passport). And ultimately till the day of expiry of that Permit to stay, you can apply at the local Imm Office of the province where you plan to reside for the 1-year extension based on that original Non Imm O Visa. Such application for a 1-year extension requires seasoning of the required financial funds (+800K for 'retirement' / +400K for 'marriage') for two months before application. Note that if you apply for reason of dependent Thai children there is NO seasoning requirement, and that if you are a woman married to a Thai man that NO financial funds are required).

Yes, they would still have a record of you having stayed in Thailand previously (even if you re-enter with a new passport). But there would be no incentive at all for Immigration to lift your earlier files. So exiting Thailand and re-entering (be it with a new Non Imm O Visa, Tourist Visa or Visa Exempt) would allow you to start anew and become totally legal again.

Nope

I am not anti-Agent. They can provide a useful service if you are unsure or not knowledgeable on how to navigate the Thai visa-jungle. And I have no objections to them 'fixing' the financial requirements for your Visa/extension application, as long as they are honest about it and don't tell you that it is fully legal and with no consequences when being caught. Re my 'ill informed' content: You should try next time when you apply for your 1-year extension (without using an agent) to see how the Imm Officer would react when you cannot show evidence of having kept the funds for the required period on your personal bank-account.

Why? Because it is not easy to navigate the Thai visa-jungle. An anecdote: I personally know two farang that were so gullible as to believe the Visa Agent they turned to, that he (the Agent) could secure a 'legit' Visa and subsequent extensions for them without having to park the required funds on a personal Thai bank-account. Worse: one of those farangs was married to a Thai national and had dependant children. So instead that the Agent advised and helped him with applying for a Non Imm O for that reason (which only requires +400K on a personal Thai bank-account at the moment of application, after which you are free to use the funds as you please), the Agent got him a Non-Imm O Visa and subsequent extensions for reason of retirement (as that was easier and more profitable for the Agent, than doing it the 'legit' way and applying for reason of dependant children). My friend is 'hooked now' and has to rely on that Agent for servicing him each year for the Non Imm O retirement application, since he cannot show that he met the financial conditions for the extension that was issued to him, and thus cannot apply for a new extension without Agent help to bypass the financial conditions. He obviously wasn't pleased when I explained it to him as he was under the conviction that he had a fully valid extension. And it would have been easy for him to get the required + 400K for a couple of days to meet the 'dependant children' financial requirement. Note: In order to legalize his situation he would have to do a border-run to kill his present Non Imm O retirement Permit to stay, and on return then apply for the Non Imm O Visa for reason of dependant children. The above goes to show that the farang that made use of the Agent service to bypass the financial requirements, were/are often not fully aware of the consequences of doing so. And even if they were, the 'totally legal' claims by Agents and some posters on this Forum, might have pushed them to take the risk. And then of course there are those that simply did not have the required funds, and were desperate to stay in the Land of Smiles. If I were as good as broke and the only way of staying in Thailand with my lovely Thai lady would be to 'cheat' by using a fixer Agent to secure my Visa/extension, I would probably go that route too. So I feel for the farangs that might be sacrificed as collateral damage in this internal IO corruption clamp-down saga. And I would advise all those that are living here in Thailand on a non-valid extension stamp, to carefully consider whether it is worth the risk if they have the financial means to do it the 'legit' way.

Since you do not believe it, that will spare me the effort of looking for the specifics. Also, the 'discretion' of the Imm Officer you are mentioning, has to be bought by the Agent or the applicant for a hefty fee, and corruption is the term to be used for such practice.