ballpoint

Oh. I thought that Caroline's fishless tuna was some sort of euphemism.

Deleted. Not going to sink to the level of the troll.

Hanging on in quiet desperation.

Yes, but most of that is just semantics. For the purpose of this thread: You do not need to exit the country to get a new visa when going from a work permit to retirement extension. You also do not need to change your visa in Thailand. You cancel your work permit and associated extension of stay, and apply for a retirement extension before the date you are given to leave the country. You will not get a new visa stamp in your passport, you will get a new extension.

Judging by the way Ukraine's going for them, Putin would be well advised to keep the bumbling fools he's already got. They couldn't organise a coup in a pigeon show.

If possible, could you post a scan of the Non-O visa they placed in your passport when they changed it? Unless they did so, you are still here on an extension of your original Non-B visa.

Further to this, the company I worked for when I retired arranged my work permit cancellation through their immigration agents, who provided me a list of what I'd need to change my visa extension - they supplied the standard documents required for a retirement extension (TM7, overstay acknowledgement form, etc) They also had to give notice of my change of extension to immigration at Chamchuri Square as well, which is why I'd advise getting your ex-employer or their agent to assist. Or hiring one yourself. : Immigration put the following stamp in my passport the day I applied for my new extension. The translation says "change the reason for extension request to...". My work permit cancellation letter was for April 14th, I had to change to a retirement extension before that date, or else I would have had to exit the country and apply for a Non-O visa before coming back. However, because I did it this way, at no point was my visa cancelled and a new Non-O issued, I continue to use my old Non-B one. In summary: My original extension, with work permit, expired November 2018 My notification of work permit cancellation (done by agent) was sent in March 2018, dated for 14th April Notification of cancellation of current extension was done at Chamchuri Square. I was given till April 14th to get a new extension or leave the country. A new extension was done in Buri Ram on April 9th, with standard one year permission to stay. I continue extending this annually. At no point did my visa type change.

According to the Immigration Department website, any Non-Immigrant visa may be extended for retirement reasons Visa Extension – สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง – Immigration Bureau

Rubbish. You initially enter the country on a certain visa. That visa has an expiry date, which may be extended, for whatever valid reason, indefinitely, as long as you meet the requirements. On this visa cycle (I have had others previously) I entered in December 2015 using a Non-B visa, issued by the Thai embassy in Singapore. It was valid to February 2016, however I extended it to December 2016, for reason of employment. I then extended it two more times, to Dec 2017 and Dec 2018 for the same reason. In April 2018, I retired, cancelled my work permit, and extended the same visa to April 2019, for reason of retirement. I did not have to cancel that visa and obtain a new one, either inside or outside the country, I went straight to immigration and did a standard TM7 extension. I now continue extending it each year since then for the same reason. You do not get a new visa every time you visit immigration each year, you extend the visa you currently hold. There's a reason they call it "making a visa extension" and not "making a visa renewal" or "getting a new visa" My visa type is not Non-O, or Non-OA, it continues to be my original Non-B. Here's the TM-7 I submit every year, with personal stuff blacked out. Note, it says "APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY STAY IN THE KINGDOM" at the top, and "NON IMMIGRANT B" as the "Type of Visa" that I am extending.

Not true. You can extend a Non B for reasons of marriage or retirement. Here's my current visa, transferred to my latest passport. I extend it every year for the retirement reason.

I think it's time that NATO makes it clear that, while they have no direct military involvement so far, any entry into Ukraine by another country will be perceived as that country declaring war on Ukraine, and result in NATO directly aiding Ukraine to repulse that attack, allowing Ukraine to continue concentrating on the Russians while NATO uses its air power, and long range missiles, to halt the other country's invasion, and attack any bases it was launched from in that country. Formally declare it now before it kicks off.

Assuming they currently have Non B visas, then they don't need to change visa types, just change the reason for extension to Retirement. If they have the money in the bank for the minimum period prior to doing this, then there's no need to exit the country. Cancel the work permit and immediately go to immigration for a retirement extension. I have done this twice over the years, once around 1995, from a Non B with work permit to non B with marriage extension, and again in 2018, from a Non B with work permit to a Non B with retirement extension. The current visa stamped in my passport, and transferred to my new one, is still the original Non B I got in Singapore in 2014. The annual extension is a retirement one. The experience was fairly painless both times.