Can I change my Extension of Stay (Retirement) Date from July to March

[Mario666]

My Extension of Stay based on Retirement is due July 1st each year.

 

However, this is inconvenient as it falls inside the time I normally wish to return to the UK, typically for 2-3 months each year.

 

I know I can probably apply up to 30 days or maybe even 45 days prior to the renewal date (Not sure of the rules at Samui Immigration now that "Mr. Angry" is in

 

Pokey).....Ideally I would like to move it to February/March time when I am always in Thailand. I looked at some older threads (2014), but as we all know the rules  

 

change all the time and also vary between immigration offices. Does anyone have up to date info on this and has anyone done it recently with success.

 

I know I could just let my current extension lapse when I am out of the country, but I really don't want to go through the hassle of starting over.

 

Many thanks in anticipation of any help!

[ubonjoe]

There is no way to change the date your extension is due other than starting all over again by getting a new non-o visa entry. 

You would have to allow your extension expire while out of the country or enter without a re-entry permit to use the non-o visa.

 

Another way is to apply for the the extension with a passport validity less the than 12 months so the extension would end on the date the passport expires.

[Mario666]

Thanks again UJ....I feared that would be the case.

 

Coincidentally, I just had to return to the UK earlier than I wanted because my passport was due to expire in February 2018. I asked at Samui immigration if I could get an extension until the expiry date of the passport  and they said NO! I must have at least 12 months validity to get the extension and they would not give me less than 12 months....thereby preventing me from achieving my goal!

 

I also asked "Herbert"  (The Austrian visa-run agent guru on Samui) and he told me the same.....maybe this is a Samui Immigration Office rule????

[OJAS]

An important consideration which you should IMHO bear in mind in engineering any change is that your local immigration office is more likely to be lain siege to by hordes of tourists seeking 30-day extensions in February/March than it is in July - thus almost certainly lengthening the time which your particular extension process will take.

[Moonlover]

1 minute ago, Mario666 said:

Thanks again UJ....I feared that would be the case.

 

Coincidentally, I just had to return to the UK earlier than I wanted because my passport was due to expire in February 2018. I asked at Samui immigration if I could get an extension until the expiry date of the passport  and they said NO! I must have at least 12 months validity to get the extension and they would not give me less than 12 months....thereby preventing me from achieving my goal!

 

I also asked "Herbert"  (The Austrian visa-run agent guru on Samui) and he told me the same.....maybe this is a Samui Immigration Office rule????

Sounds like a 'Samui rule'. I did receive a 9 month extension at Udon Thani in the same circumstances.

[Mario666]

Just now, OJAS said:

An important consideration which you should IMHO bear in mind in engineering any change is that your local immigration office is more likely to be lain siege to by hordes of tourists seeking 30-day extensions in February/March than it is in July - thus almost certainly lengthening the time which your particular extension process will take.

Thanks OJAS but it doesn't have o be Feb/ March....Oct/Nov would suit easily, but I thke your point.

 

[Mario666]

2 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Sounds like a 'Samui rule'. I did receive a 9 month extension at Udon Thani in the same circumstances.

Thanks Moonlover....Samui immigration has always been a law unto itself.

 

We hoped that after he chief officer got banged up for extortion that things might change.

 

I notice from looking at other threads on here regarding Extension of Stay Requiremnts that we also have to jump through many extra hoops than at most other offices and it changes every year...some recent ones have been supply  a Google Earth Satellite image of where you live with co-ordinates, health certificate (must be from Government Hospital in Nathon) 750 THB and wait for it......A hand drawn map of where your house is 555555.

 

I used to be able to turn up with the normal docs in the morning and pick up the Extension same day....Now it takes at least 2 or 3 visits as they come up with something new every time and even some of them are not on the list you get a day or so before you apply.

 

Glad I'm retired or I wouldn't have time for all this.

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, Mario666 said:

Thanks Moonlover....Samui immigration has always been a law unto itself.

 

We hoped that after he chief officer got banged up for extortion that things might change.

 

I notice from looking at other threads on here regarding Extension of Stay Requiremnts that we also have to jump through many extra hoops than at most other offices and it changes every year...some recent ones have been supply  a Google Earth Satellite image of where you live with co-ordinates, health certificate (must be from Government Hospital in Nathon) 750 THB and wait for it......A hand drawn map of where your house is 555555.

 

I used to be able to turn up with the normal docs in the morning and pick up the Extension same day....Now it takes at least 2 or 3 visits as they come up with something new every time and even some of them are not on the list you get a day or so before you apply.

 

Glad I'm retired or I wouldn't have time for all this.

Note to self: Do not go live on Samui!

 

Good luck with that little lot.  

[Mansell]

As I plan on moving to Korat, does anybody living there know any odd quirks like this at there Immigration? It would be good to know ahead of time. As I renew my retirement extension this week here in Phuket, I will be doing my next 90 day up there......last one here took under three minutes, I barely sat down. Almost enjoyable.

[Dene16]

8 hours ago, Mario666 said:

Ideally I would like to move it to February/March time when I am always in Thailand. I looked at some older threads (2014), but as we all know the rules  

I tried to change mine also. they stated it ws not possible even though i would be doing my extention 2 months early

i managed to do it but only because it was my first year,  doing a border run  2 months  before the end of my visa

[rwill]

They can extend the date 2 months instead of a year. If that would help you.  You still have to the pay the same fee for the 2 months and then pay again for the year.

Edited September 6, 2017 by rwill

[Phuket Man]

2 minutes ago, rwill said:

They can extend the date 2 months instead of a year. If that would help you.  You still have the pay the same fee for the 2 months and then pay again for the year, 2 months later.

Extend based on what?

[rwill]

29 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Extend based on what?

I am pretty sure they can extend it for 2 months based on whatever they deem is necessary.  I have read on these forums people saying that the 2 month extension is a one time only thing.  In my case when I extended for the first year I explained to them that my retirement funds were only distributed once a year and I didn't think I could meet the 3 month seasoning requirement for the next year.  So they gave me a 2 month extension.  But they had already given my wife her 1 year extension.  So the following year she had to extend 2 months before me and I asked them if they could make our dates match again so we only had to come in once instead of twice and they gave her a 2 month extension.

But like a lot of things here "based on what" can come down to what office you go to, what clerk you are dealing with, your appearance, your attitude, their mood at the time, etc...

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, rwill said:

I am pretty sure they can extend it for 2 months based on whatever they deem is necessary. 

There is only one type of extension that is for 60 days and that is to visit a Thai wife or child.

There is no 2 month extension that can be obtained other than perhaps for medical care.

 

[rwill]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

There is only one type of extension that is for 60 days and that is to visit a Thai wife or child.

There is no 2 month extension that can be obtained other than perhaps for medical care.

 

So I just made up my story?

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

So I just made up my story?

So what immigration office are we talking about here, then?

 

And how much did you have to pay over and above the standard 1,900 THB fee for IO palms to be adequately greased?

[billrose]

20 hours ago, Mansell said:

As I plan on moving to Korat, does anybody living there know any odd quirks like this at there Immigration? It would be good to know ahead of time. As I renew my retirement extension this week here in Phuket, I will be doing my next 90 day up there......last one here took under three minutes, I barely sat down. Almost enjoyable.

No such problems in Korat. If you're applying based on money in the bank the bank letter has to be dated the same day as the application. If you're applying based on income just the Embassy letter will do. Both options you need to show evidence of address, in my case that's a copy of the wife blue book and her ID card, plus copies of relevant pages of your passport. That's all.

 

When you arrive, you or the house holder will have to notify them within 24 hours (TM30). Don't wait for 90 days!

[Phuket Man]

4 hours ago, rwill said:

So I just made up my story?

Yep.

[OJAS]

42 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Yep.

Looking increasingly like it, I have to say. No response from him (yet) to my questions at post #16, but his silence is only a little loud at the present time rather than at the deafening stage!

 

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that he is either trolling us or proving reluctant to disclose further key facts for some reason.

[sandyf]

On 9/6/2017 at 0:21 PM, Mario666 said:

Thanks again UJ....I feared that would be the case.

 

Coincidentally, I just had to return to the UK earlier than I wanted because my passport was due to expire in February 2018. I asked at Samui immigration if I could get an extension until the expiry date of the passport  and they said NO! I must have at least 12 months validity to get the extension and they would not give me less than 12 months....thereby preventing me from achieving my goal!

 

I also asked "Herbert"  (The Austrian visa-run agent guru on Samui) and he told me the same.....maybe this is a Samui Immigration Office rule????

I have had the same problem with the renewal due mid July, that stemmed from the passport fiasco a few years back. This year I let the extension expire while I was in the UK and came back on a single entry Non O. Took 3 days to get the visa by post.

From now on renewal will be around end of October.

[rwill]

Here is mine where the renewal date was 2 Dec 2014 and was changed to 31 Jan 2015. And my wife's where the date was 2 Dec 2016 and got changed to 31 Jan 2017.

Here is a big tongue sticking out at the naysayers.

[Dene16]

23 minutes ago, rwill said:

Here is mine where the renewal date was 2 Dec 2014 and was changed to 31 Jan 2015.

I cannot comment on  your extension but the op is talking about doing his extension early not later, This was similar to my case when they categorically told me no and told me to do a border run to change it

[Mario666]

On 07/09/2017 at 7:50 AM, sandyf said:

I have had the same problem with the renewal due mid July, that stemmed from the passport fiasco a few years back. This year I let the extension expire while I was in the UK and came back on a single entry Non O. Took 3 days to get the visa by post.

From now on renewal will be around end of October.

 

Thanks Sandyf.

 

If I just let it expire I was worried it might take me over a year and many visa runs to get back to where I am already.....What was the timeframe for you from re-entry to getting your next extension of stay based on retirement? It is 5 years since I first applied for retirement status but I seem to recall the whole process took about 15 months.

 

I did a few visa runs in mini vans and never want to go through that ordeal or stress level again. I would drive to Ranong and get the ferry to Myanmar and do it all myself or fly to Malaysia.

 

I assume you had to apply for the Non O in the UK and then show earnings/pension or bank deposit of 800k for 2 months (as effectively a new application) so maybe only 3-4 months from applying for your Non O?

 

Even if that is the case my biggest worry as stated previously is that each immigration office and Samui in particular impose their own rules which has always been problematic and frustrating in the past.

 

Many thanks to you and all other respondents so far.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2017 by Mario666
Typo

[sandyf]

6 hours ago, Mario666 said:

 

Thanks Sandyf.

 

If I just let it expire I was worried it might take me over a year and many visa runs to get back to where I am already.....What was the timeframe for you from re-entry to getting your next extension of stay based on retirement? It is 5 years since I first applied for retirement status but I seem to recall the whole process took about 15 months.

 

I did a few visa runs in mini vans and never want to go through that ordeal or stress level again. I would drive to Ranong and get the ferry to Myanmar and do it all myself or fly to Malaysia.

 

I assume you had to apply for the Non O in the UK and then show earnings/pension or bank deposit of 800k for 2 months (as effectively a new application) so maybe only 3-4 months from applying for your Non O?

 

Even if that is the case my biggest worry as stated previously is that each immigration office and Samui in particular impose their own rules which has always been problematic and frustrating in the past.

 

Many thanks to you and all other respondents so far.

 

 

Only been back about a month. Towards the end of next month I will go to immigration and apply for a 12 month extension based on retirement.

 

Yes I obtained the Non Imm visa when I was back in the UK. I applied by post , just sent a copy of marriage certificate and wife's ID and they gave me a Non IMM 'B' visa.

[Mario666]

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

Only been back about a month. Towards the end of next month I will go to immigration and apply for a 12 month extension based on retirement.

 

Yes I obtained the Non Imm visa when I was back in the UK. I applied by post , just sent a copy of marriage certificate and wife's ID and they gave me a Non IMM 'B' visa.

Thanks again.

 

I will probably just let my current extesion expire and re-apply on return too....Unless they change the rules again .....or Samui office will not let me do that .....Fingers crossed 5555.