TallGuyJohninBKK

Went out to BKK CW this morning to apply for my annual retirement extension based on the 800,000 baht deposit in a Thai bank account. Arrived at 8 am, got number 168 in their pre-queue lineup list, got inside by 8:30 am, got my new retirement extension and then did the separate process of applying for a re-entry permit, and was able to escape just before noon time with both in hand. The basic document requirements were pretty much unchanged from last year.... See my prior more detailed trip report from last year below, which also has PDF weblinks to the various misc statements that Immigration wants you to complete in addition to the basic TM7 extension of stay application form: https://aseannow.com/topic/1232914-2021-trip-report-for-retirement-extension-with-thai-bank-deposit-at-bkk-cw/ There were a couple overall updates: 1. Although I had copies of my latest 90-day report receipt and TM-30 residence form stapled inside my passport just in case, the IO handling my retirement extension application didn't ask me for copies of either, unlike a past visit to BKK CW two years ago. But I'd bring them anyway, just in case. 2. Because I had one bankbook get filled during the past year and then was issued a new bankbook for the remainder of the year, the IO on my case and her supervisor had some problem with the way my bank handled the changeover, and kept insisting it looked like I had a "gap" in time between the end of the old and the start of the new books. Thus they required me to get an official bank statement, costing 200 baht, covering the period where they were worried about a gap... which in the end, satisfied them that I had maintained the proper bank balance as required. That ordeal set back completing the retirement extension part of the visit by about an extra hour all in all. 3. Elsewhere, unlike last year, this year, both the retirement extension officer and the re-entry permit officer both wanted to take new digital photos of me with the webcams on their desk, even though my appearance hadn't changed much at all from last year or the year prior... So the face mask had to come off each time for them to take their photos. 4. Speaking of face masks, of course, face masks continue to be required for entry into the Government Complex building where Immigration is located. Likewise, while you don't have to show any proof of COVID vaccination in order to enter, you DO have to fill out and sign a form where you're asked if you've had COVID lately, if you've been around other people with COVID lately, if you've traveled internationally lately, etc etc.... Dunno what happens if one ends up having to answer YES to any of those questions. 5. For the past two years when I went to BKK CW, there was no queue tickets system being used at the re-entry permits desk area C2. You just walked up and handed them your paperwork. This year, of course, since nothing ever stays the same, the re-entry permits section was back to using the queue tickets system again, just like the L section for extensions of stay. In terms of travel, I took the BTS Sukhumvit line from central BKK, leaving home at 7 am, heading for the Mochit Station, and then catching a taxi there to take the paid tollway out to Chaengwattana. The meter taxi cost about 110 baht, while the tollway fare was 80 baht. And no traffic whatsoever all the way out on the tollway. Arrived at BKK CW just before 8 am. Ahh... PS to anyone having their bank deposits at yellow Krungsri Bank right now... for unknown reasons, their public passbook update machines are NOT working properly right now, and will fail to actually update your bankbook.... Meaning you can't use the update machines outside the branch downstairs at BKK CW earlier in the morning, and instead have to wait for the Krungsri branch to open at 8:30 am and then have the staff inside do the bankbook update on their machines, which delays the process a bit. The regular public update machines outside the branch were nice, when they worked, because they were available prior to the 8:30 am opening of the branch (which is also the official opening time for Immigration). No ETA given of how long Krungsri's bankbook update machines are going to be on the fritz. It's not just a problem with the machines at that one branch, but supposedly, is a Krungsri-wide issue right now... so two different branches told me in the past two days. Ahh... PPS - Since I had a new passport issued by my home country in the past month, I had been hoping on Tuesday to also do an early 90-day report while I was already at BKK CW for the day.... so that I'd be able to do online reporting with my new passport number for future reports.... But, the 90 day report staff were having none of it.... telling that because my next 90-day report isn't due until the end of October, it was too early for them to accept a 90-day report from me today... I explained to them that I just wanted them to update my record in their system with my new passport number so that I'd be able to do online reporting the next time out. One IO agreed to do that and started that, but then was countermanded by another officer, who insisted I'd have to physically travel out to BKK CW again toward the end of October, and they wouldn't/couldn't do anything today to allow me to avoid that.... Yeesh!

The one thing I always wondered about in that kind of situation was... unless you're a farang who actually reads Thai.... how are you supposed to know exactly what the will you're submitting, written by someone else in a foreign language, is really saying.... For all you know, the lawyer in the will might be leaving your entire estate to the lawyer... And before anyone says anything on that point, stranger things have happened here in Thailand, where the legal profession isn't exactly renowned for their professionalism. ????

An extension holder already has to prove they've maintained the required bank deposits amount every time each year they go to apply for a new extension, and Immigration carefully checks their account balance for the prior 12 months.... If they haven't maintained the required balance, they won't get a new extension. Adding another check of the same mid-cycle just because you want to transfer an existing, still valid stamp to a new passport just seems like overkill and make work B.S. on their part. They're not issuing me a new extension or extending the period of an existing extension. They're just moving the stamps for the same extension from one expired passport to a newly valid passport..... And if the IO IS going to make that a requirement, they ought to DANG well list it on their required documents sheet for the stamp transferring process, so people don't keep getting caught out by an invisible "requirement".

I thought the info in the Living Will section of that article was more helpful and accurate than some of the other content relating to the regular will... For example, on the section regarding bank accounts, the article fails to recognize that Thai Immigration won't let you keep the required 400K marriage extension deposit or 800K retirement extension deposit in joint accounts (unless you double the deposit amounts you keep on deposit). And likewise, nor does it mention that, on the flip side, Thai banks do typically have a different method that will allow you to make a Thai wife as a silent, invisible name listed on your account. Which Immigration would never see or be aware of... But registering that with the bank would allow the Thai wife access to the funds in the account if you were incapacitated (or just died and the bank wasn't yet informed of the death).

I think the OP likely meant extension of stay as opposed to visa... (but yes, my long ancient last visa issue did get briefly cited when they also entered the full version of my latest extension of stay stamp in my new passport.) I was one of those who posted on this recently. And indeed, last week when I went to BKK CW to have my retirement extension stamp transferred to a new passport, BKK CW said they WERE requiring extension holders using the Thai bank deposits method to produce... 1. their Thai bank book for inspection, 2. update the bank book the day of the visit to show the current balance, and 3. provide regular signed photocopies of the bank book pages for the prior period of the existing extension. I too noted that NONE of that was listed on the Immigration document showing the document requirements for the process of transferring stamps to a new passport. So I ended talking to a supervisor there at BKK CW, and she confirmed this is what they're going to be doing for all extension holders who rely on the Thai bank deposits method, when they want to transfer their stamps to a new passport. I hadn't had a new passport, prior to last month, for the preceding 10 years. So I tried, but was unable to get them to clarify for me if the whole bank book stuff was a new requirement of some kind, or just something that I hadn't encountered from them in prior memory. On the day of my visit to BKK CW last week, if I hadn't brought along my Thai bank book out of an abundance of caution because of reading on the issue here, I would have been screwed and had a wasted trip and wasted day. Because the IO wasn't budging on this requirement.

If memory serves, there are several different ways of having a valid will in Thailand, each with their own rules and procedures, including a simple handwritten will (though that particular approach may have to be in Thai language, not sure if English versions would be accepted). Another method is having a so-called amphur will, where the will is accepted by and registered with a local amphur office, usually where the will-maker lives. The process may vary from amphur/khet to amphur/khet, but my understanding is it usually involves having witnesses accompany the will-maker to the amphur office, and can be a closed will (where the witnesses don't know the contents of the will) or an open will where the witnesses read the contents of the will before signing. The will-maker or his beneficiary get a receipt from the amphur, which the beneficiary can use to retrieve an official, registered version of the will upon the passing of the will-maker..... I think, but am not entirely sure, that one of the advantages of going the amphur will route is that it either entirely avoids or has a much expedited probate process in the Thai civil courts. But that last part, I'm doing from memory from conversations on the topic some years back. I wanted to do an amphur will some years back in BKK, but ended up being unable to do so because the local amphur staff changed, and thus their requirements changed and became more onerous, from when I first started the inquiry to the later point where I was ready to proceed. In my particular case, I don't have my own tabien ban being a renter, and the last version I heard from the then amphur staff handling wills where I live was that I was going to have to get my landlord to schlep down to the amphur office with me to be a witness and provide copies of their tabien ban, etc etc. If I had my own tabien ban, it probably would have been easier to handle.

I was going to say, the Thai govt is notoriously bad about predicting, and being vastly wrong, about the timing of completing major public works construction projects. Three months left in the calendar year, and weather forecasts says tons of rain likely in the months ahead, including possible flooding in the BKK region. All in all, I wouldn't be planning to make a dual track train booking for any BKK-HH trip before Christmas this year. PS - it would have been nice if the article had actually mentioned the specific locations of the train stations for this line in both BKK and HH.... Are we supposed to guess where to catch this train, and where you'll be let off?

If you mean the Red Line, a couple of reasons based on past experience: 1. the logistics for me aren't very good, with a long ride on the Blue line subway, then a long walk from its Bang Sue station to the Red Line's Bang Sue station, and then moreso, last time I tried, about 30 minute headways between Red Line trains, meaning I was sitting there wasting a lot of time. and 2. When I finally got off the Red Line at Laksi last time I tried, there were zero car taxis anywhere to be seen when I came down out of the Laksi station into the IT mall area heading toward BKK CW. Last week, I left home at 7 am, went the BTS to Mochit and then tollway taxi to BKK CW route, and walked in the door at Immigration at 7:55 am.

FWIW, I had to go to BKK CW last week in order to get my stamps transferred to a newly issued passport. As part of that process, much to my surprise, the IO there required me to do TWO things that normally are only required for new extensions -- provide photocopies of my bank passbook pages covering the past year, and update my bank passbook that day to show the current balance. I don't think they ever required that bank stuff last time I got a new passport 10 years ago. But last week, at BKK CW, I checked with a supervisor, and she confirmed that the bank book update and bank passbook photocopies now are going to be standard requirements anytime any of us with extensions based on Thai bank deposits are doing ANY business with the L section there.... (and that includes merely having stamps transferred to a new passport). PS - In my visit last week, I had TWO bank passbooks, a full one that ended a few months back, and a new one covering the past couple months. And the IO who handled my stuff wasn't troubled by the notion of my having two bank passbooks for the same account, each covering a part of the year. Nor did they require a bank issued 12 month statement, and were fine with my photocopies of the pages from both books.

BKK CW seems to run hot and cold on the issue of providing a copy of one's TM30 form as part of retirement extension renewals paperwork. Two years ago, to my surprise, they wanted a copy of mine, which fortunately I had. One year ago, they didn't ask and didn't care. Wonder what they'll say when I go back again there later this week for my annual visit.

For retirement extensions at BKK CW... for those applying on the basis of Thai bank deposits, USUALLY, BKK CW will be satisfied by inspecting your bank passbook AND you providing them with signed photocopies of your passbook covering the past 12 month period prior to your application -- which shows you met their 400K and 800K balance requirements. They DO NOT usually require a formal 12-month statement issed by the bank... as long as you have the bank-issued letter certifying the current balance of your account.

There's a lot about so-called Long COVID symptoms that the public health and medical experts are still trying to assess and understand... From what I've read, it's not uncommon for various Long COVID symptoms, including shortness of breath, to continue up to 2 years in some cases post-infection, and less in others. My general sense from what I've read is that people whose original COVID infections were more severe are more likely to have longer lasting or even permanent impacts, whereas those with mild or asymptomatic original infections are less likely to have permanent impairments. Sounds like something you'd want to consult with a pulmonologist (lung specialist) about....

Here's a new report that puts the world's COVID failures in better perspective, and calls out where the blame lies, and Bill Gates-related groups aren't at the top of their list -- though the WHO comes in for a major shellacking for being too timid and too slow to meaningfully respond. Anti-maskers and anti-vaccine folks in the general public also are blamed: Lancet Commission on COVID-19 response: 'Massive global failure' "Noting an estimated 17.2 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide through May 31, the commission said, "This staggering death toll is both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels. Too many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency, too many people—often influenced by misinformation—have disrespected and protested against basic public health precautions, and the world's major powers have failed to collaborate to control the pandemic." https://aseannow.com/topic/1272054-lancet-commission-on-covid-19-response-massive-global-failure/

Yes, as this report found, the nonprofit groups cited failed to meet their ambitious goals of getting sufficient COVID vaccines and tests distributed to third-world countries... And then the article goes on to explain why: "The leaders of the groups say that they were unable to meet their goals largely because wealthy, Western governments were slow to step up and make available the huge tranches of vaccine and therapeutics that were needed to protect the world." And further, the article quoted Gates Foundation CEO Mark Susman as saying: “In some areas we saw successes. On the most critical issue of equitable vaccine access, the world as a whole failed as high-income countries initially monopolized available supply.” That's not something that the non-profits can chiefly be blamed for. Rightly or wrongly, various countries with access to COVID vaccines in the early going were prioritizing access for their own citizens over access for people in other countries.

I think that info regarding mandatory proof of ATK tests was required at some prior period of time, but no longer is. As I posted above, they now have just the questionnaire that everyone entering the building is required to fill out... asking various things such as... recent travel abroad, recent COVID symptoms, recently having been around COVID cases, etc etc... I answered no to all of those, and was allowed to enter the building without being required to present any proof of an ATK test or having to do an ATK test... Now, the question I don't know the answer to is, what would have happened if I had answered YES to any of the various questions on their questionnaire. If I had, perhaps (though I don't know for certain), they might have required something else. PS - I can't remember off-hand whether they had a temperature scanning machine set up at the entrance or not....

Just a side note on this re COVID vaccinations in TH... I had a COVID booster shot the other day at a private hospital in BKK, and of course they wanted to see my passport, which now is a NEW one vs. the prior 10-year one that was linked to all my prior COVID vaccinations in TH via the MoPH. So at the hospital, I explained to them that I now had a new passport number different than my prior record with the hospital and MoPH... And so they ended up updating my vaccination record in the MoPH database, so now all of my current and prior vaccination history is now associated with my new passport number.

I think the article is confusing on that point, since it references several different types of vaccines once you go past the brief excerpt posted here in the thread and read the full remainder of the article. In the full article, the main vaccine they're talking about for 2024 seems to be the following: "The development of mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 by Chulalongkorn University would enter the third stage of its clinical trial next year. It will precede registration with the Food and Drug Administration and then the vaccine’s use for people. The registration was expected in 2024, Ms Traisuree said."

As far as I know, the answer to your question is YES... if at least 4 months have passed since your last prior vaccination, and you don't have any other disqualifying factors.

And more of the same from Johns Hopkins.... U.S. and U.K. toward the top of the world list of cumulative per capita COVID deaths among the most affected countries: Mortality in the most affected countries "For the twenty countries currently most affected by COVID-19 worldwide, the bars in the chart below show the number of deaths either per 100 confirmed cases (observed case-fatality ratio) or per 100,000 population. [cited in chart below" https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality One might argue, based on the outcomes above, that at least some segments of the U.S. and U.K. populations could have benefited from a bit more well-placed fear.

Ya, what "first world" countries came out looking bad in all of this vs. what "lesser" country did comparatively far better by comparison. Cumulative COVID deaths per 1 million population -- the U.S., U.K., and Thailand Source link

Yes, I took the paid tollway on the outbound trip...The tollway fare was, I believe, 80 baht.

However, the U.S. CDC has done exactly that kind of analysis in the U.S., where there remains larger populations of unvaccinated folks, and found the following for the age 50+ cohort as of June: Unvaccinated people age 50 and above had a 14 times greater risk of dying from COVID than the vaccinated 50+ year olds with two primary and at least two booster vaccine doses. And the actual numbers underlying the chart above -- COVID deaths in that older age group per 100,000 population: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status

There's also the following caveat in the NSW report cited above regarding the issue of whether the reported deaths (largely among 80 and 90+ year olds) were BECAUSE of COVID or WITH COVID. From the report: "Under this definition, deaths are considered COVID-19 deaths for surveillance purposes if the person died with COVID-19, not necessarily because COVID-19 was the cause of death. Deaths may be excluded if there was a clear alternative cause of death that was unrelated to COVID-19 (e.g. major trauma)." Past fact check reports have also addressed the misleading way in which the NSW data often is characterized in terms of vaccine effectiveness. "Nancy Baxter, the head of the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, told AFP that the misleading posts had misrepresented Covid death rates in Australia. "Virtually all the people at most risk of dying of Covid are vaccinated so even though they are at considerably less risk of death than those who are unvaccinated, most deaths will occur in vaccinated folk," she said. "Those that are unvaccinated tend to be younger and are at less risk of dying than those who are older." https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.328W9C3 The only way to meaningfully address the issue raised above would be to compare comparable populations of 80 ad 90 year olds (where most of the cited deaths occurred), one group vaccinated and the other group unvaccinated... And then compare the COVID death rates between the two comparable groups. But AFAIK, that's going to be pretty difficult if not impossible to do there, since the vast majority of those most at risk there from COVID have already been vaccinated.

I arrived at BKK CW on Tuesday at 8 am, having traveled by taxi from Mochit on the tollway to Laksi... And had no traffic whatsoever on the outbound trip at all.

For those who want to use MS Office products like Word and Excel but not pay, there is a simplified online version of Microsoft Office that's free. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/free-office-online-for-the-web But short of that, Windows 10 still has two free and basic text editors included in the Win 10 install called WordPad and Notepad, both listed in the "Windows Accessories" folder. WordPad is kind of like a "light" version of MS Word. Allows you to create, open, save and print files locally on your PC. And use the standard Windows commands.... Highlight the desired text and Ctrl-C to copy...then... Place the cursor where you want the text to go, and hit Ctrl-V to paste.