Reports of issues entering Thailand retirement extension

[johnny1966]

Im Australian, 51 yo, currently have a retirement extension, previously had 3 or 4 multiple O visas based on marriage to a Thai. Ive been living here for 5 years, plan to visit Australia next month. Just wondering if there have been or may be any problems coming back into Bangkok through the airports. Advice as to anything I ought to prepare...20k or the like? Thanks.

[lovelomsak]

Never any problems in Bangkok.

  But last time I flew  to Canada Canada could not give me boarding pass from Chins to Bangkok. In China I was called to  airline desk and told they may not let me go because I did not have a return flight to Canada.I told them I was retired and on visa extension. They still seemed unwilling to give me my boarding pass. So I had to show them all my past extensions in passport and present extension they finally said ok.

[sfokevin]

Make sure you get a reentry permit... ????

[ubonjoe]

No problems entering the country using a re-entry permit issued by immigration.

I don't recall anybody that was on a long stay extension having a problem entering the country.

[BritTim]

The most important thing is that you have a re-entry permit to protect your extended permission to stay that you acquired before leaving Thailand. If you have previously just been getting 90-day entries on a multiple entry Non O visa, you may not have understood that an extension needed a re-entry permit. This has tripped up others.

[Crossy]

Don't forget to get a re-entry permit.

 

Otherwise you should have no issues.

 

EDIT I see four of us have read this thread 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

So I had to show them all my past extensions in passport and present extension they finally said ok.

You should of pointed out your re-entry permit since it is equal to having a valid visa for entry. No need for a return or onward ticket if you have one.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The 20K baht issue normally doesn't apply to someone on a retirement extension, because they've already had to prove their financials as part of the extension application process.

 

I flew into BKK a couple weeks ago with a retirement extension/re-entry permit. Absolutely clean and easy. Not a word spoken or asked. Just stamped and go.

 

[elviajero]

You can get the aforementioned "Re-entry Permit" at your local immigration office or at the airport on the way out.

 

Single entry: 1,000 baht

Multiple entry: 3,800 baht

[TonyClifton]

15 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

Never any problems in Bangkok.

  But last time I flew  to Canada Canada could not give me boarding pass from Chins to Bangkok. In China I was called to  airline desk and told they may not let me go because I did not have a return flight to Canada.I told them I was retired and on visa extension. They still seemed unwilling to give me my boarding pass. So I had to show them all my past extensions in passport and present extension they finally said ok.

Why is it their business in the first place?

[Lacessit]

No problem on my last entry in Suvarnabhumi December 20. I even availed myself of the priority queue, which is a great idea.

[johnny1966]

42 minutes ago, elviajero said:

You can get the aforementioned "Re-entry Permit" at your local immigration office or at the airport on the way out.

 

Single entry: 1,000 baht

Multiple entry: 3,800 baht

Thank you. Is this relatively easy to obtain?

[moe666]

39 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

Why is it their business in the first place?

If you are denied entry upon arrival in Thailand the airline has to fly you back to departure country.

[NanLaew]

35 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

Why is it their business in the first place?

Possibly their belief that the pax would be denied entry by Thai Immigration and the airline would need to foot the bill for his repatriation flight? In this case a mistaken belief and an infrequent occurrence. In my case twice in over 40 years by inexperienced check-in flusterettes at Sydney and Heathrow. I did have a whole ships crew headed for Cameroun denied boarding out of Seattle on BA one time regardless of their seaman's cards, seaman's airticket and shipping agent letters of guarantee. I overnighted them at an airport hotel and switched to KLM for the following evening, no problem.

[elviajero]

21 minutes ago, johnny1966 said:

Thank you. Is this relatively easy to obtain?

Very. It's a simple application at your immigration office. At the airport you pay an extra 200 baht, and they do it all for you.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

No problem on my last entry in Suvarnabhumi December 20. I even availed myself of the priority queue, which is a great idea.

Which 'priority queue' was that? They keep renaming and relocating 'fast-track' or 'premium lane' or whatever they label them and my experience is that they are not common to either inbound immigration hall.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

Which 'priority queue' was that? They keep renaming and relocating 'fast-track' or 'premium lane' or whatever they label them and my experience is that they are not common to either inbound immigration hall.

At the time I entered, it was tucked away on the right-hand side of the "Foreign Passports" entry lane. It did help that I was able to ask one of the attendants where it was - in Thai.

[johnny1966]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

Very. It's a simple application at your immigration office. At the airport you pay an extra 200 baht, and they do it all for you.

I'll do it at the airport. Do I need to provide anything apart from my passport? Whereabouts at the airport do I get the reentry permit?

[elviajero]

7 minutes ago, johnny1966 said:

I'll do it at the airport. Do I need to provide anything apart from my passport? Whereabouts at the airport do I get the reentry permit?

If your asking about BKK, it's after security checks, and just before passport control. You just need your passport.

[johnny1966]

13 minutes ago, elviajero said:

If your asking about BKK, it's after security checks, and just before passport control. You just need your passport.

Thanks for your kind help.