Converting to Non-O at Promenada

[st11x]

Hi,

 

I went up to the 2nd floor at Promenada to inquire about converting my 30-day tourist visa to non-O. I was told it's going to take about 2 months and there're so many different processes. Is this somewhat accurate?

 

1. Go to bottom floor, make an appointment to extend my tourist visa.
2. Come back on the appointment date (couple be weeks after) to extend the visa.
3. Go up to 2nd floor, get the required documentation to submit (they wouldn't tell you now).
4. Come back to 2nd floor to submit
5. Wait up to 1 month for approval.

 

This sounds excessive. I know it was quite easy to get it in Singapore, not much to submit, takes about 3 days. 

 

Matt

[anon467848]

Ask the visa agents (TIAN) on the 2nd floor how long the process takes. You don't have use their service, but at least you will have the answer to your question...

[thaibeachlovers]

Since when could we make an appointment at Promenada, or is that just for tourist visa extensions?

I think the OP is confusing something.

He says he has a 30 day tourist visa, which is actually a visa exempt permission to stay. 

[garryjohns]

OP, you appear to be making a big issue out of nothing.

Last week this happened with me;

 

Go to bottom floor to extend my tourist visa. visa exemption .Done within 60 mins [no appointment given or needed]

Went  up to 2nd floor, get the required documentation to submit ..all done, in and out within 20 mins..

Given an appointment to come back and submit application for Non imm O a week later.

Will take 21 days to process, hence the need for my tourist exemption extension.

Very easy to do.

 

Edited March 28, 2018 by garryjohns

[st11x]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Since when could we make an appointment at Promenada, or is that just for tourist visa extensions?

I think the OP is confusing something.

He says he has a 30 day tourist visa, which is actually a visa exempt permission to stay. 

 

Yes, I have the 30-day visa exemption. I was at Hang Dong for the driver's license and was told that I have a tourist visa, so that's what I thought I had.

 

3 hours ago, garryjohns said:

OP, you appear to be making a big issue out of nothing.

Last week this happened with me;

 

Well, I was just sharing my experience after being told by the officer on the 2nd floor.  She said they are now very busy, so go make an appointment to extend your 30 day.  It's my first time doing this @ Promenada.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Matt

[garryjohns]

1 hour ago, st11x said:

 

Yes, I have the 30-day visa exemption. I was at Hang Dong for the driver's license and was told that I have a tourist visa, so that's what I thought I had.

 

 

Well, I was just sharing my experience after being told by the officer on the 2nd floor.  She said they are now very busy, so go make an appointment to extend your 30 day.  It's my first time doing this @ Promenada.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Matt

Maybe you just got a grumpy officer.

Very,very few people at the extension area on ground floor, not even a queue when i went at about 9;30 am last Tuesday

Also,you can not make an appointment for this service

You just go and give the forms....if there is a long queue as it often is in high season, you just have to wait in the queue

[st11x]

On 3/28/2018 at 11:10 AM, garryjohns said:

OP, you appear to be making a big issue out of nothing.

Last week this happened with me;

 

Go to bottom floor to extend my tourist visa. visa exemption .Done within 60 mins [no appointment given or needed]

Went  up to 2nd floor, get the required documentation to submit ..all done, in and out within 20 mins..

Given an appointment to come back and submit application for Non imm O a week later.

Will take 21 days to process, hence the need for my tourist exemption extension.

Very easy to do.

 

 

For anyone interested, I contacted the Thai embassy in Singapore. You can now file your non-O online and attach copies of the relevant paperwork. Then when they have been reviewed (takes a day or so), all you need is to show up at the embassy in the morning, hand in your paperwork plus passport, then pick it up the next day. 

 

Flights to Singapore are costly though, and I had an issue with SilkAir's website (crashed while I was making payment), so still waiting for the airline to resolve. Wished the process here is as simple as the embassy over there though. 

 

Matt

 

[prism]

1 hour ago, st11x said:

 

For anyone interested, I contacted the Thai embassy in Singapore. You can now file your non-O online and attach copies of the relevant paperwork. Then when they have been reviewed (takes a day or so), all you need is to show up at the embassy in the morning, hand in your paperwork plus passport, then pick it up the next day. 

 

Flights to Singapore are costly though, and I had an issue with SilkAir's website (crashed while I was making payment), so still waiting for the airline to resolve. Wished the process here is as simple as the embassy over there though. 

 

Matt

 

Have you tried Scoot Airlines? Usually cheaper than SilkAir. 

[st11x]

11 minutes ago, prism said:

Have you tried Scoot Airlines? Usually cheaper than SilkAir. 

I just learnt about them yesterday. They are very close to the price of SilkAir though (if you book early), after you add in all the little things they nickel and dime you for.

 

Matt

[st11x]

On 3/28/2018 at 4:18 PM, garryjohns said:

Maybe you just got a grumpy officer.

We may have caught her on the wrong day. My wife asked on my behalf, and the officer sounded very busy and "annoyed" for wasting her time.

 

Today we went back again since I was picking up my residency certificate and she went to ask her for the documentation to submit and if we could make the appointment (to submit them) first. She again mumbled something and rushed my wife out, so we were no wiser.

 

My entry stamp expires April 20, if I extended the visa, it should be May 19/20. If I were to get the non-O here say on May 1, will I get a new expiry stamp 90 days from May 1, 90 days from the date I originally entered, or none at all (I have to leave and return). I hope it is not the last option.

 

I forgot I wanted to ask that, but seeing the attitude of the officer, it's probably best to ask the forum instead ;-) 

 

thanks

 Matt

[st11x]

In Singapore, I don't have to pay for the non-O visa owing to a bi-lateral agreement between Thailand and my country of birth.

 

Does anyone know if that applies here? We tried to ask the officer, but she mumbled something about 2K THB. Not sure if that's for the tourist visa extension or if that is the processing fee for the non-O visa, or if that's the fee for the visa.

 

thanks

  Matt

[NancyL]

OP, it would help if you used correct terminology when talking with Imm. officers and in posting on this forum.  What you have now is a 30 day visa-exempt entry stamp.  Not a tourist visa.  The cost to obtain a 30 day extension for your current permission to stay is 1900 baht.  The cost to convert your visa-exempt status to a 90-day O visa is 2000 baht and Day 1 of that 90 days will be on the day of conversion.  There is no waiving of these fees because of a bi-lateral agreement between your country and Thailand.  

 

As you're learning, the Imm. officers here don't consider it their job to educate customers about what's needed to obtain various services.  They expect customers to come prepared.  This is one reason there are so many visa agents in Chiang Mai whose job it is to guide people through the minefield that is Chiang Mai Immigration.  You may want to consider hiring one, at least for this visa conversion process.  

 

Once you have your first one-year extension and have seen what the visa agent did, you'll probably be able to handle everything on your own afterwards.

[st11x]

3 hours ago, NancyL said:

OP, it would help if you used correct terminology when talking with Imm. officers and in posting on this forum.  What you have now is a 30 day visa-exempt entry stamp.  Not a tourist visa.  The cost to obtain a 30 day extension for your current permission to stay is 1900 baht.  The cost to convert your visa-exempt status to a 90-day O visa is 2000 baht and Day 1 of that 90 days will be on the day of conversion.  There is no waiving of these fees because of a bi-lateral agreement between your country and Thailand.  

Thanks, I will remember the term now. I just learnt what the 30 day thing was called.

 

When my wife spoke to the immigration officer, she asked for my passport and it was presented to her. My situation is definitely clear to her, but she still wasn't that forth coming with her help.

 

It's good to know that day 1 of the 90 days start on the day of conversion, that's all I need for this trip.

 

thanks

  Matt

[NancyL]

12 hours ago, st11x said:

Thanks, I will remember the term now. I just learnt what the 30 day thing was called.

 

When my wife spoke to the immigration officer, she asked for my passport and it was presented to her. My situation is definitely clear to her, but she still wasn't that forth coming with her help.

 

It's good to know that day 1 of the 90 days start on the day of conversion, that's all I need for this trip.

 

thanks

  Matt

Matt,

most people don't use the conversion process just to obtain a 90-day O visa and then "walk away" from it, i.e. leave the country.  Instead, this is the first step on the road to obtaining a 12-month extension to stay either for retirement or marriage to a Thai national.  It really is a lot of work just to obtain an additional 90 days permission to stay.  If you're going to the trouble of getting a 90-day O visa, you might as well go all the way and get a 12-month permission to stay.  You can apply for it during the final 45 days of the life of the 90 day O visa.

[st11x]

6 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Matt,

most people don't use the conversion process just to obtain a 90-day O visa and then "walk away" from it, i.e. leave the country.  Instead, this is the first step on the road to obtaining a 12-month extension to stay either for retirement or marriage to a Thai national.  It really is a lot of work just to obtain an additional 90 days permission to stay.  If you're going to the trouble of getting a 90-day O visa, you might as well go all the way and get a 12-month permission to stay.  You can apply for it during the final 45 days of the life of the 90 day O visa.

I am back for 3 months so my 30 day is insufficient. I either need to travel out of Thailand to get my non-O and come back, or find a way to stay on without leaving. Getting the 90-day O would do that for me, plus it allows me to renew my 5 year driver's license before I leave. I am definitely going to be back again within 5 years.

 

I went to get my extension done today, and went up to the 2nd level. This time I talked to the officer and in a similar fashion, she speaks little and gave me an appointment 2 weeks later with a list of documents to show. I wished she would have given my wife or myself the list earlier as now I may have trouble getting one of the items.

 

Document 6 states that I need to show the marriage certificate and the Kor Ror 22. I have a certified true copy of the original marriage certificate (by the embassy in Bangkok), but don't have the original here. I also have a certified translation of the certificate. Now I need to figure out how to get that Kor Ror 22.

 

If I knew beforehand, then I think I would have just pay the premium and travel to Singapore instead.

 

Matt

[NancyL]

You may wish to consult this thread from Thai Visa.  If you don't have an original of the marriage certificate you may well have a problem.  Frankly, this is something that you should have thought to bring with you if you were planning to apply for a visa on the basis of marriage to a Thai national. 

 

[st11x]

22 hours ago, NancyL said:

You may wish to consult this thread from Thai Visa.  If you don't have an original of the marriage certificate you may well have a problem.  Frankly, this is something that you should have thought to bring with you if you were planning to apply for a visa on the basis of marriage to a Thai national. 

I went back to ask yesterday, the certified true copy is good. I managed to talk to the lady that runs the 2nd floor because the non-O staff went out for early lunch already. Must have gotten her on a good day, she showed and explained all the paperwork that I need, and verified that the true copy is good enough. It's the one time I didn't bring the marriage certificate around, haven't been asked for it in over 10 years; Murphy's law indeed.

 

There was an elderly gentleman that was very lost and she took pity on and instructed her staff to help him, even out of queue. As I was leaving, the man turned and scolded her because he got a fine or something. Fortunately, I was before that, no wonder they are not very keen to help with that kind of abuse they receive.

 

Matt

 

[st11x]

So I have been going around the city to get the paperwork required. 

 

Thought I'll share this for all who are interested. To get the Kor Ror 22, we have to go into the old city, the building is to the west of the 3 kings statue. Unfortunately, they wouldn't recognize my translated copy of the marriage certificate stamped by the embassy because it was done in 2002. They say the translation and certification only last 6 months. 

 

In order to get the Kor Ror 22, I'll have to go to Bangkok again before coming back here. No idea if the next time I needed the Kor Ror 22, do I have to get the translation again. 

 

Matt

[rumak]

Matt........you definitely need HELP !   So many situations to learn about.  I don't think i ever said this,

but "try to get Nancy to explain things (your situation and options" )   

She probably knows better than most of the Visa agents.  But......as someone once said :

 

Someone can explain it to you.......but they cannot understand it for you

 

 

[st11x]

21 minutes ago, rumak said:

Matt........you definitely need HELP !   So many situations to learn about.  I don't think i ever said this,

but "try to get Nancy to explain things (your situation and options" )   

She probably knows better than most of the Visa agents.  But......as someone once said :

 

Someone can explain it to you.......but they cannot understand it for you

 

 

No worries. I already know what is required. I was just relaying the things I learnt so others may benefit from it. Minute details like these you don't know until you have actually done it.

 

It's a learning process. At the end of the day, it is easier (for me) to just fly out and get back in. 

 

Matt

 

[NancyL]

I think Matt is undergoing an amazing exercise.  All this running around, working around holidays, trying to figure out arcane rules, both written and unwritten.  And of course, he'll soon come to the realization that the unwritten rules aren't fixed.  I'm really appreciating his updates.  And doing all this in the heat, bad air and now afternoon rain storms and power outages.  You're the man, Matt!  Go, go!  Su, Su!

 

I wonder if we should start a pool on what will happen in the end.  Maybe do one of those Thai Visa surveys?  

 

Will he hire a visa agent?

Will he go back to Singapore and get a visa there?

Will he succeed in converting to a non-O in Chiang Mai?

Will he throw in the towel and leave Thailand forever?

(variant of previous option) Will he decide to settle in another province with a friendlier Imm. office?

 

[rumak]

1 hour ago, st11x said:

No worries. I already know what is required. I was just relaying the things I learnt so others may benefit from it. Minute details like these you don't know until you have actually done it.

 

It's a learning process. At the end of the day, it is easier (for me) to just fly out and get back in. 

 

Matt

 

sounds like you have the right attitude...... most things are a "process".   Some learn, some don't.

Good luck and try to stay   jai yen      

[anon789561]

this is so confusing. i've tried to find info. i am preparing to do an extension in a couple of months. my khor ror 22 is about 2 years old as i used a ME last time. am i right in thinking i have to go through the whole process again ie new translations and everything to get a new one for this upcoming extension? so i need to send my uk marriage certificate to the uk as well??

** sorry to jump on the thread but searching everywhere for recent clarification and this thread seemed as close as i can get

Edited April 19, 2018 by Happy enough
**

[st11x]

9 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

this is so confusing. i've tried to find info. i am preparing to do an extension in a couple of months. my khor ror 22 is about 2 years old as i used a ME last time. am i right in thinking i have to go through the whole process again ie new translations and everything to get a new one for this upcoming extension? so i need to send my uk marriage certificate to the uk as well??

** sorry to jump on the thread but searching everywhere for recent clarification and this thread seemed as close as i can get

What I learnt at the office is that your translation has to be within 6 months for the first time you apply for the Kor Ror 22. Once they have your records, they don't need it anymore and you should be fine to get a new copy of it (if needed).

Not sure if it's like the certificate of residency where it will expire and you have to pull a fresh copy.

 

I have not gone as far as getting the Kor Ror 22, so I can't be 100% certain.

[anon789561]

7 minutes ago, st11x said:

What I learnt at the office is that your translation has to be within 6 months for the first time you apply for the Kor Ror 22. Once they have your records, they don't need it anymore and you should be fine to get a new copy of it (if needed).

Not sure if it's like the certificate of residency where it will expire and you have to pull a fresh copy.

 

I have not gone as far as getting the Kor Ror 22, so I can't be 100% certain.

ahh, i'll get my mrs to call and ask, cheers.