OJAS

Well, I am still getting over the shock of having received 2 emails yesterday, one from VFS and the other from "HMPO Bangkok" (whoever they might be), informing me that my new passport was now ready for collection, a mere 7 weeks and 1 day after I had submitted my application in person!???? However the big unknown is whether this is indicative of some overall sustainable improvement in new passport waiting times, or whether current civil servant strikes could result in the clock being turned back in that regard. To the best of my knowledge, HMPO staff have not, so far, been specifically targeted by the PCS Union, but that, of course, could all change should they decide to ramp up their action in the New Year.

Since "tomorrow" has presumably now come and gone, how did things turn out with Immigration in the event? Also, which particular office are we talking about in this instance?

@ubonjoe or @Maestro - might be worth adding this Police Order to the pinned Laws, regulations, Police Orders, etc thread??

But I bet that @Jonathan Swift is now mighty relieved that he did!

Parts of the eastern side of Koh Samed can get pretty lively at times as I recall, but I can definitely recommend this particular resort on the western side of the island, based on personal experience of staying there albeit dating back several years - which, I think, should be up your ladies' street: https://aopraoresort.net/ I believe that this resort still operates its own ferry service from Ban Phe. Just beware, though, that, since Koh Samed is a national park, you will all be charged an entrance fee of 200 THB each. Presumably you and your party plan to head straight back to BKK Airport for their return flights home immediately after your stay. Ao Prao might be able to provide transport at an extra cost - although a bus or minvan from Ban Phe would probably prove cheaper. And possibly the good news from your viewpoint is that you would not need to go anywhere near Bangkok itself (which IMHO is an even more ghastly place than Pattaya!) when travelling to the airport (as, incidentally, you would not if you were coming from Koh Chang).

And did half the seats at your immigration office have X's placed on them? Personally speaking, it is supposedly being offered up as sacrificial lambs on the high altar of Social Distancing through being forced, despite seating being available but unusable, to stand on our feet for ages in crowded immigration offices, banks, etc, regardless of whatever physical disabilities we might be suffering from, that gets my goat far more than having to wear a mask in those particular establishments!

Now if only HMPO were prepared to work just as hard as their UKVI colleagues apparently are to get back to the service standard for issuing new passports in their case (4 weeks?). But in view of their long-established track record of bungling incompetence and ineptitude I am not holding my breath for this to happen any time soon.????

So precisely what do you mean by this ambiguous expression? A conversion of a visa-exempt or tourist visa entry into a real genuine McCoy 90-day non-immigrant visa of the "O" variety for retirement at your local immigration office? Or an annual extension of stay for retirement at said office? Proof of the foreign source of pension income is required in the case of the former as well as the latter for the 65k monthly transfer method, but not in the case of the latter for the 800k bank balance method

Indeed. I just wonder how many of those on here who are complaining bitterly about home visits from Immigration are also of the firm view that immigration officers back in their home countries are not doing enough in the form of home visits in order to check the credentials of Thai nationals and other foreigners who, in their view, have the audacity to want to darken the hallowed turf of their home country.

All I can say is thank goodness I don't need to have to get my head around the Bangkok public transport system in my daily life! I only just about managed to get my head around the London public transport system after living there for a total of nearly 40 years before moving out here!????

Not even sure that their marriage extension applications have to be referred to Divisional HQ for final approval - in which case they can be stamped for the full 365 days on the spot, with no need for a subsequent trip to Immigration after 30 days for the remaining 335 days, as in the case of their male counterparts. In the case of us British State Pensioners for example, though, how do DWP back in the UK know that the life certificates which they periodically require us to provide have been witnessed by real - as opposed to completely fictitious - individuals? The Thai government is far from alone across this great planet of ours in inflicting pointless unverifiable bureaucracy on us all (which, I think, is the point which @billsmart is making)!

Since TfL's number 3 bus route passes close to Parliament, maybe this assessment had been based on the route number displayed on a passing bus!????

The contract was apparently awarded to them controversially under EU procurement rules in 2018. The $64,000 question is when is this contract due to expire - sooner rather than later, hopefully, as the UK is, of course, now in a position to tell the EU where they can stick their procurement rules in tendering for a successor contract!

Yep, you definitely need to have an appointment, I'm afraid.

And the particularly galling thing is that it is only foreign men married to Thai women who are subject to such treatment. Foreign women married to Thai men are, on the other hand, cheerfully granted marriage extensions by Immigration with few (if any) questions asked.

I suppose that we can but dream of the day when similar treatment is meted out to multi-megawatt sound systems seized from pickups.

Wonder what Basil Fawlty would have made of such an offer?

Agree 100%. My existing passport, like the OP's, is also due to expire next September, and I've already set in motion its replacement (with fingers firmly crossed that I'll receive the new one before my current permission to stay expires next August????). And, with civil servants' strikes thrown into the mix on top of inherent HMPO bungling incompetence and ineptitude, we shall probably be in for even longer waits than this for our new passports in the New Year.

Whereas in the case of Western countries which require similar proof of finances for foreigners who wish to set foot on their hallowed turf, it is, on the other hand, an ultra-progressive rule which, in your eyes, should be applied with zeal and gusto by local immigration officers in each and every case without exception, right?

Strikes me as yet another pointless so-called "security" measure which banks, government bodies, etc are increasingly taking great delight in gleefully inflicting on us with the sole and avowed aim of making life for us just as difficult as is humanly possible..????

And there was I, thinking that we were now in the dry season, supposedly! There was certainly quite a heavy downpour in our neck of woods in Rayong Province last night.

Join slow-moving queues for Baggage Drop-Off, Security, his re-entry permit and Immigration in that order - followed by a long walk to the departure gate.

You and @andycan both thank your lucky stars that you're not Brits! Those unfortunates on here who, like myself, are have been told to expect a wait of at least 11 weeks for our new passports from the UK (like I am doing at the moment)! While we are allowed to retain our old passports for ID purposes, we are unable to use them for foreign travel in the meantime.

Whereas: The husband A arrived on the scene and helped his wife and stopped another motorist so that the police and rescue services could be called. Not that the wife will in any way be grateful, of course.

Do you mean the traffic lights just before the turn-off to the left for the immigration office? There are a few sets of lights in Maptaput!