Went to Jom Chien today to get marriage visa extension, had everything ready as in previous 4 years, i think the the big joke must have been at work  here, insisting now on the five pictures required two outside house one showing house number (we had one outside) and three inside house in different places, but the main difference was in past years they have been adamant that a witness was required for every extension, this time our witness who was with us, was told not required!

We were rejected on account of the two missing pictures one inside and and one more interior, I thought this might help somebody going for an extention at Jom Chien IO as a reason for posting, as rounding up a witness can be a bit of a hassle, i would imagine a witness would still be needed for first extension though! 

That is just rubbish. I do not mean your report. I mean immigration stupid requirements. Glad it wasn't me. You showed great restraint no to chuck a wobbly. Meaning smack em. Fact is marriage extensions get a tough break. Retirement extensions by comparison walk in the park. Chin up op

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

That is just rubbish. I do not mean your report. I mean immigration stupid requirements. Glad it wasn't me. You showed great restraint no to chuck a wobbly. Meaning smack em. Fact is marriage extensions get a tough break. Retirement extensions by comparison walk in the park. Chin up op

Fact is some  marriage extensions get a tough break.

I agree with your post Dr.Jack, and Max has my sympathy, but as we all know, a lot depends on the particular Immigration Office you are forced to use. Many make up their own rules and form their own hoops.  My local IO is very quiet  (for obvious reasons), but better to have a good selection of photos than not enough.

3 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

Fact is some  marriage extensions get a tough break.

I agree with your post Dr.Jack, and Max has my sympathy, but as we all know, a lot depends on the particular Immigration Office you are forced to use. Many make up their own rules and form their own hoops.  My local IO is very quiet  (for obvious reasons), but better to have a good selection of photos than not enough.

Good post. Again its so sad that it sometimes gets down to imm office. Some folk have a horrible time with marriage extension and others its a walk-in park. Personally I would just do a retirement thing even if I was married. Of course it depends on finances.

Feedback appreciated OP but your conclusion may be optimistic. Did you return with the missing pictures and have your application accepted yet?

The cynic in me feels they are deliberately looking for a reason to say no, and that the Thai witness has not been completely removed from their list of reasons. 

It really is all too much, dragging a witness all over the place and having to supply these personal pictures. 

Do you own your own condo?  If so, or if not, what "ownership" or "landlord" docs were required? 

 

Adding more and more, then "new" docs in that category, was the trick they used to deny me a marriage-based extension at that location.

1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

Do you own your own condo?  If so, or if not, what "ownership" or "landlord" docs were required? 

 

Adding more and more, then "new" docs in that category, was the trick they used to deny me a marriage-based extension at that location.

Me too - disgusting IO asked us for diff docs 3 times even tho we showed her what she wanted each time so she just made something up. Now retirement but tired of these people so we leave. Can honestly say my thaiwife hate them even more than I do and that's saying something

16 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Fact is some  marriage extensions get a tough break.

I agree with your post Dr.Jack, and Max has my sympathy, but as we all know, a lot depends on the particular Immigration Office you are forced to use. Many make up their own rules and form their own hoops.  My local IO is very quiet  (for obvious reasons), but better to have a good selection of photos than not enough.

Yes we had a good selection of photos, but what they wanted to see was two outside one with house number visible, and three inside two of which show husband and wife together in different places plus one family shot (i should have clarified this my opener), yes completely ridiculous as another poster stated, and certainly feel like throwing a "wobbler" but you got got to remember these people hold your rights to living in staying in LOS, 

Went back today with the necessary extra two pics and all OK or that is under consideration or whatever they call it, in Bangkok!

The amount of paperwork in Thailand in this day and and age involved in these simple little events never ceases to amaze me, duplicates of everything, pictures, maps, etc. seems like a hundred signatures required, OK rant over!

16 hours ago, maxcorrigan said:

you got got to remember these people hold your rights to living in staying in LOS, 

Yes - because they never forget this, and use that power in unscrupulous ways.  Two visits should be considered a minimum at that office. 

 

I am glad to hear you got it done w/o an agent, so did not reward those who created these pointless hoops to further that scam.

Last year it took me 3 visits to satisfy their requirements on the pictures at Jomptian, it seems to get more difficult year by year. Have to go again next month, not an experience I am looking forward to.

20 minutes ago, vogie said:

Last year it took me 3 visits to satisfy their requirements on the pictures at Jomptian, it seems to get more difficult year by year. Have to go again next month, not an experience I am looking forward to.

1

This is why getting a ThaiElite visa, despite being 50+, is a worthwhile alternative.

42 minutes ago, vogie said:

Last year it took me 3 visits to satisfy their requirements on the pictures at Jomptian, it seems to get more difficult year by year. Have to go again next month, not an experience I am looking forward to.

One gets a sense it is similar to making an insurance claim in that it will be automatically rejected on initial and secondary attempts, in the hope people will get fed up and go off and get an agent. 

20 minutes ago, galt67 said:

This is why getting a ThaiElite visa, despite being 50+, is a worthwhile alternative.

I think the clue is in the word "elite", some people don't have 500,000 baht to buy such a visa just for 5 years hassle free stay here.

2 hours ago, galt67 said:

This is why getting a ThaiElite visa, despite being 50+, is a worthwhile alternative.

Maybe the 'elite' doesn't work like everything else immigration-related, but would bet those inventing "extra requirements" are working to achieve that outcome - with a financial-incentive for delivering results. 

2 hours ago, vogie said:

I think the clue is in the word "elite", some people don't have 500,000 baht to buy such a visa just for 5 years hassle free stay here.

Not to mention that retirement might, in any event, be the way to go for a smoother ride at annual extension of stay time at Jomtien - provided, of course, that you are over 50 and can meet the increased funding requirements.

2 hours ago, vogie said:

I think the clue is in the word "elite", some people don't have 500,000 baht to buy such a visa just for 5 years hassle free stay here.

Well until these last few rounds of visa crackdowns......The sales of the elite visa were tiny ....I read as of about 5  years ago they had only sold about 5-6 thousand of them.....So this shows even well-off people dont like wasting money.....

But as the visa screws get tighter many people especially the under 50s will be forced to make the choice of coughing up the money or leaving...  

On 2/22/2019 at 2:49 PM, maxcorrigan said:

one family shot

Can you clarify  "family shot"   I mean I can show my wife's,mother,sister,2 daughters and 2 granddaughters  as a "family shot"  ...but what if my wife and I lived  just the 2 of us  ???

5 minutes ago, johng said:

Can you clarify  "family shot"   I mean I can show my wife's,mother,sister,2 daughters and 2 granddaughters  as a "family shot"  ...but what if my wife and I lived  just the 2 of us  ???

A family shot could be only you and your wife. Just bad wording for it in his post.

Last year my photos where not excepted as we had included a "witness"  we had also dragged him to immigration with us where they said  "no need for a witness"  ,so after filling in the "new TM7 form"  getting "new photos"

photo copies ,signatures etc etc etc  application accepted  then 2 days later  they call and say they want to interview us at home ohh and bring the witness !!!!   that was the first time they have ever done a house visit

(6 years) this year I don't know if they will require the witness or not and/or visit again..I'm dreading having to apply  again next month ????

A little update on this thread, when they told us a witness was not required for the extensions, they also said there would be a home visit or their words an "interview" in your home, yesterday they rang my wife and said they would visit today Frid 01/03 and to have a witness ready, they duly turned up took 4 more pictures one showing number of the house again and two on the porch, they only interviewed our witness, the whole visit lasted about 6 minutes, not once did they enter the house, so presumably this is lieu of no witness required at their office in Jom Thien, unless of course ours was a one off visit, i don't know!

On 2/23/2019 at 7:34 AM, galt67 said:

This is why getting a ThaiElite visa, despite being 50+, is a worthwhile alternative.

If things are getting so bad that over 50s are being encouraged to look into a elite visa that just shows how terrible the Thailand visa situation is becoming.. 

1 minute ago, fforest1 said:

If things are getting so bad that over 50s are being encouraged to look into a elite visa that just shows how terrible the Thailand visa situation is becoming.. 

Depends on who you ask.  I've left my money in a Thai bank for 20 years and it's no change for me or any of the fellows I know. 

@maxcorrigan was this your first extension ?

7 minutes ago, johng said:

@maxcorrigan was this your first extension ?

No it was my fifth, and never had a home visit before today, as stated i believe it's in place of no witness required at their office in soi 8, could be wrong though!

On 2/27/2019 at 9:56 AM, johng said:

Last year my photos where not excepted as we had included a "witness"  we had also dragged him to immigration with us where they said  "no need for a witness"  ,so after filling in the "new TM7 form"  getting "new photos"

photo copies ,signatures etc etc etc  application accepted  then 2 days later  they call and say they want to interview us at home ohh and bring the witness !!!!   that was the first time they have ever done a house visit

(6 years) this year I don't know if they will require the witness or not and/or visit again..I'm dreading having to apply  again next month ????

What you have posted there is pretty much what happened to me a couple of weeks back, so i would say you will not need a witness, our home visit with witness was today!

3 minutes ago, jimn said:

Where may I ask is Jom Chien? Never heard of this office, maybe its not even an immigration office. Maybe you should try Jomtien office, I dont think you will have a problem there.

Soi 8 it's the way i have spelt it the spelling is done in different ways, yours looks correct though!

On 2/27/2019 at 9:53 AM, ubonjoe said:

A family shot could be only you and your wife. Just bad wording for it in his post.

What i meant by family shot was the wife her Auntie (witness) myself and a two year old family member, plus two of me and wife in slightly different locations in the house, sorry for late reply

1 hour ago, maxcorrigan said:

Soi 8 it's the way i have spelt it the spelling is done in different ways, yours looks correct though!

Lol. I think it might be Jomtien soi 5

10 hours ago, maxcorrigan said:

No it was my fifth, and never had a home visit before today, as stated i believe it's in place of no witness required at their office in soi 8, could be wrong though!

Well it makes a little more sense than applicants filling up the hot crowded office with their neighbours in their witness program, but IOs having to traipse all over the darkside, and maybe beyond is all very silly too!

You are wrong, it's soi 5!

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

Well it makes a little more sense than applicants filling up the hot crowded office with their neighbours in their witness program, but IOs having to traipse all over the darkside, and maybe beyond is all very silly too!

You are wrong, it's soi 5!

My next door neighbour had his marriage extension visit recently, on the darkside.

 

It gave the IOs a chance to get out of the office and into the fresh air. All very friendly, my wife and I went round as witnesses, drinks and cake all round. Had a pleasant chat with them, a few "selfies" and off they went with wais all round.

 

Nice people and we all enjoyed their visit. It is what you make of it.