My Marriage Visa Renewal - The Story

[rainman]

Following my the Swiss Embassy not wanting to issue an income certification and Thai Immigration requesting it (discussed in this thread), I went to the Immigration today to get my new 1 year extension.

As some of you may know, i was "grandfathered" under the 400k rule as I applied for my first extension early last year. This year however, I wanted to extend based on the new minimum 40k/month overseas income rule.

First I went to the Swiss Embassy, who certified the employment and income letter of my company, however writing on it that they only certify the signature and are not responsible for the contents. Fair enough, I paid Baht 1200 for it and proceeded to Thai Immigration.

It was about 10am when I arrived there with my wife and the first thing I noticed was that i probably picked the wrong day to go for the extension. After the weekend and Monday being holidays, everyone and their grandmother went for their visa extensions. Crowds of people were literally standing on the street outside Immigration.

So I went inside and got a ticket at the counter, then proceeded to the room in the backside where they handle non-immigrant visa extensions. At about 2:30pm, so after 4 1/2 hours of waiting from number 957 (the current) to number 988 (mine), it was my turn.

I went to the Immigration officer's desk, together with my wife and all the documents. The officer first wanted to see my passport and she almost flew through the pages. She handed it back to me and said that my visa doesn't expire until in about 3 months and that I should come back then for my extension, she hit the button and called the next person to her desk, pretty much ignoring me.

I looked through my passport and noticed that she didn't check the correct stamp, but the entry stamp that i got in March 2006 and lasted for 3 months, until June 2006. I then made her aware that this was the wrong entry stamp and that this one was for 2006. She checked the passport again and then told me i had 9 months overstay and that she couldn't give me an extension. I told her again to check the last page of my passport, not a random one in the middle, where it says that my visa expires in late March 2007. She checked again and then said "okay okay" and asked me for the documents.

A small note on this, within about 2 minutes I was told that I should come back in 3 months and also that I had overstayed for 9 months. If I didn't know better (and some people may not), I would have come back in 3 months, then with a 3 months overstay - or gotten fined for overstaying 9 months. Both because the officer didn't check the passport correctly.

Anyways, back to my application. I handed her the income and employment letter, the legalization from the Embassy, the bank statements of the last 12 months and also the wire transfer receipts from Bangkok Bank showing overseas income. She then asked me where my 400k on the bank account are. I said that I didn't have 400k on the bank right now and that I was making the application based on the new 40k/month income rule. She pushed all the documents back to me and said "sorry, no 400k, no extension". I then convinced her to talk to another officer who confirmed to them that I can indeed show overseas income to extend my visa.

From there on, everything went quite smoothly. I was given a 1 month stamp and told to come back then to get my additional 11 months stamp (together 1 year).

What amazes me though, was that the officer had 2 stripes on her uniform. And the officer informing her of the correct rules only had 1 stripe.

Sounds unbelievable? Believe it! (At the risk of sounding like Ripley's)

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Following my the Swiss Embassy not wanting to issue an income certification and Thai Immigration requesting it (discussed in this thread), I went to the Immigration today to get my new 1 year extension.

As some of you may know, i was "grandfathered" under the 400k rule as I applied for my first extension early last year. This year however, I wanted to extend based on the new minimum 40k/month overseas income rule.

First I went to the Swiss Embassy, who certified the employment and income letter of my company, however writing on it that they only certify the signature and are not responsible for the contents. Fair enough, I paid Baht 1200 for it and proceeded to Thai Immigration.

It was about 10am when I arrived there with my wife and the first thing I noticed was that i probably picked the wrong day to go for the extension. After the weekend and Monday being holidays, everyone and their grandmother went for their visa extensions. Crowds of people were literally standing on the street outside Immigration.

So I went inside and got a ticket at the counter, then proceeded to the room in the backside where they handle non-immigrant visa extensions. At about 2:30pm, so after 4 1/2 hours of waiting from number 957 (the current) to number 988 (mine), it was my turn.

I went to the Immigration officer's desk, together with my wife and all the documents. The officer first wanted to see my passport and she almost flew through the pages. She handed it back to me and said that my visa doesn't expire until in about 3 months and that I should come back then for my extension, she hit the button and called the next person to her desk, pretty much ignoring me.

I looked through my passport and noticed that she didn't check the correct stamp, but the entry stamp that i got in March 2006 and lasted for 3 months, until June 2006. I then made her aware that this was the wrong entry stamp and that this one was for 2006. She checked the passport again and then told me i had 9 months overstay and that she couldn't give me an extension. I told her again to check the last page of my passport, not a random one in the middle, where it says that my visa expires in late March 2007. She checked again and then said "okay okay" and asked me for the documents.

A small note on this, within about 2 minutes I was told that I should come back in 3 months and also that I had overstayed for 9 months. If I didn't know better (and some people may not), I would have come back in 3 months, then with a 3 months overstay - or gotten fined for overstaying 9 months. Both because the officer didn't check the passport correctly.

Anyways, back to my application. I handed her the income and employment letter, the legalization from the Embassy, the bank statements of the last 12 months and also the wire transfer receipts from Bangkok Bank showing overseas income. She then asked me where my 400k on the bank account are. I said that I didn't have 400k on the bank right now and that I was making the application based on the new 40k/month income rule. She pushed all the documents back to me and said "sorry, no 400k, no extension". I then convinced her to talk to another officer who confirmed to them that I can indeed show overseas income to extend my visa.

From there on, everything went quite smoothly. I was given a 1 month stamp and told to come back then to get my additional 11 months stamp (together 1 year).

What amazes me though, was that the officer had 2 stripes on her uniform. And the officer informing her of the correct rules only had 1 stripe.

Sounds unbelievable? Believe it! (At the risk of sounding like Ripley's)

The rules are that there are no rules

[oooooo]

Following my the Swiss Embassy not wanting to issue an income certification and Thai Immigration requesting it (discussed in this thread), I went to the Immigration today to get my new 1 year extension.

As some of you may know, i was "grandfathered" under the 400k rule as I applied for my first extension early last year. This year however, I wanted to extend based on the new minimum 40k/month overseas income rule.

First I went to the Swiss Embassy, who certified the employment and income letter of my company, however writing on it that they only certify the signature and are not responsible for the contents. Fair enough, I paid Baht 1200 for it and proceeded to Thai Immigration.

It was about 10am when I arrived there with my wife and the first thing I noticed was that i probably picked the wrong day to go for the extension. After the weekend and Monday being holidays, everyone and their grandmother went for their visa extensions. Crowds of people were literally standing on the street outside Immigration.

So I went inside and got a ticket at the counter, then proceeded to the room in the backside where they handle non-immigrant visa extensions. At about 2:30pm, so after 4 1/2 hours of waiting from number 957 (the current) to number 988 (mine), it was my turn.

I went to the Immigration officer's desk, together with my wife and all the documents. The officer first wanted to see my passport and she almost flew through the pages. She handed it back to me and said that my visa doesn't expire until in about 3 months and that I should come back then for my extension, she hit the button and called the next person to her desk, pretty much ignoring me.

I looked through my passport and noticed that she didn't check the correct stamp, but the entry stamp that i got in March 2006 and lasted for 3 months, until June 2006. I then made her aware that this was the wrong entry stamp and that this one was for 2006. She checked the passport again and then told me i had 9 months overstay and that she couldn't give me an extension. I told her again to check the last page of my passport, not a random one in the middle, where it says that my visa expires in late March 2007. She checked again and then said "okay okay" and asked me for the documents.

A small note on this, within about 2 minutes I was told that I should come back in 3 months and also that I had overstayed for 9 months. If I didn't know better (and some people may not), I would have come back in 3 months, then with a 3 months overstay - or gotten fined for overstaying 9 months. Both because the officer didn't check the passport correctly.

Anyways, back to my application. I handed her the income and employment letter, the legalization from the Embassy, the bank statements of the last 12 months and also the wire transfer receipts from Bangkok Bank showing overseas income. She then asked me where my 400k on the bank account are. I said that I didn't have 400k on the bank right now and that I was making the application based on the new 40k/month income rule. She pushed all the documents back to me and said "sorry, no 400k, no extension". I then convinced her to talk to another officer who confirmed to them that I can indeed show overseas income to extend my visa.

From there on, everything went quite smoothly. I was given a 1 month stamp and told to come back then to get my additional 11 months stamp (together 1 year).

What amazes me though, was that the officer had 2 stripes on her uniform. And the officer informing her of the correct rules only had 1 stripe.

Sounds unbelievable? Believe it! (At the risk of sounding like Ripley's)

i sure believe all that. not.

good luck with ur stories.

[Crossy]

i sure believe all that. not.

good luck with ur stories.

At least you have an original nick. Pray tell, exactly which parts of the post do you think are unbelievable?

Having visited various immigration offices (not just in Thailand) over the years I find absolutely everything Rainman has posted totally credible

[astral]

What amazes me though, was that the officer had 2 stripes on her uniform. And the officer informing her of the correct rules only had 1 stripe.

Unfortunately not unusual.......................

Probably the new girl on the block, but does not have a clue what she is doing.

We had one in Sri Racha immigration 3 years ago. 3 stars on her shoulder.

She wanted to fine me for not doing the 90 day reporting.

I pointed out that I do not stay more than 90 days and my new entry at the airport resets the clock.

I had to ask to see the Senior Officer, who set her right.

She settled down after a few months.

[Krub]

Thank you Rainman for your report.

And all this in Bangkok where it has been reported that they follow/know the rules.

No wonder they have a hard time upcountry to know how to deal with the rules

Thanks to TV we can navigate and eventually get what we apply for

Good luck Rainman

[whopper]

I believe every word. be carefull when dealing with immigration

[rainman]

i sure believe all that. not.

good luck with ur stories.

Ah right, you really think I have the time to make up a story like that. I've been on this board for around 3 years and you can read back on all my posts and you won't find anything made up. I share my experiences so others can benefit from them or even be amused by them, just as I was (though only after i got my extension stamp).

I forgot to mention, the officer handling my application was probably around 45-50 years old, so most likely not new at Immigration. I could probably say i'm 95% sure I've seen her there when i made last year's extension.

No complaints though, just if you're not aware of the correct visa regulations or are a "first timer" there, you could get into serious problems if the officer tells you those things.

[oooooo]

and ur wife sat there all the time, silently, and did not intervene at all?

[Lite Beer]

and ur wife sat there all the time, silently, and did not intervene at all?

If you read his post you will see that he intervened on a number of occasions, that is how he managed to resolve the problem.

[Simmo]

The moral of the story is be prepared. Make sure you know exactly what all relevant dates are and the current rules. Go there armed with printouts of the relevant rules from the immigration website.

[eugengeri]

Rainman

I married about the same time last year same you. Got 3x30 days considoration stamps. The officer told us, next year 2007, you bring the same papers again. So I don't have to bring a new income certification from the embassy this year. Only of course the current bank statement and bankbooks he had to see.

I told him, I've to go extra to Aranyaprathet or to the main office in Bangkok for this bankstatement which is for away from my place where I live. I have printed out before the 6 months record from my iBanking from Bangkokbank and it was accepted.

After one month I got the stamp for 2008.

Sometimes it works easier and sometimes not... TIT.

Good luck Rainman.

[rainman]

and ur wife sat there all the time, silently, and did not intervene at all?

No, actually what I forgot to mention is that the Immigration officer didn't speak a single word of English. Either she didn't want to or she couldn't, I don't know. All the conversation was done in Thai, which basically means that the officer spoke to my wife in Thai, she translated it to me and then I told her what to respond to the officer. Obviously the easy things like "come back in 3 months" or "overstay" I did understand ...but you get the idea.

[rainman]

Went to the Immigration today and picked up my 11 months stamp. I'm good to March 2008 now

[Sakeopete]

Following my the Swiss Embassy not wanting to issue an income certification and Thai Immigration requesting it (discussed in this thread), I went to the Immigration today to get my new 1 year extension.

As some of you may know, i was "grandfathered" under the 400k rule as I applied for my first extension early last year. This year however, I wanted to extend based on the new minimum 40k/month overseas income rule.

First I went to the Swiss Embassy, who certified the employment and income letter of my company, however writing on it that they only certify the signature and are not responsible for the contents. Fair enough, I paid Baht 1200 for it and proceeded to Thai Immigration.

It was about 10am when I arrived there with my wife and the first thing I noticed was that i probably picked the wrong day to go for the extension. After the weekend and Monday being holidays, everyone and their grandmother went for their visa extensions. Crowds of people were literally standing on the street outside Immigration.

So I went inside and got a ticket at the counter, then proceeded to the room in the backside where they handle non-immigrant visa extensions. At about 2:30pm, so after 4 1/2 hours of waiting from number 957 (the current) to number 988 (mine), it was my turn.

I went to the Immigration officer's desk, together with my wife and all the documents. The officer first wanted to see my passport and she almost flew through the pages. She handed it back to me and said that my visa doesn't expire until in about 3 months and that I should come back then for my extension, she hit the button and called the next person to her desk, pretty much ignoring me.

I looked through my passport and noticed that she didn't check the correct stamp, but the entry stamp that i got in March 2006 and lasted for 3 months, until June 2006. I then made her aware that this was the wrong entry stamp and that this one was for 2006. She checked the passport again and then told me i had 9 months overstay and that she couldn't give me an extension. I told her again to check the last page of my passport, not a random one in the middle, where it says that my visa expires in late March 2007. She checked again and then said "okay okay" and asked me for the documents.

A small note on this, within about 2 minutes I was told that I should come back in 3 months and also that I had overstayed for 9 months. If I didn't know better (and some people may not), I would have come back in 3 months, then with a 3 months overstay - or gotten fined for overstaying 9 months. Both because the officer didn't check the passport correctly.

Anyways, back to my application. I handed her the income and employment letter, the legalization from the Embassy, the bank statements of the last 12 months and also the wire transfer receipts from Bangkok Bank showing overseas income. She then asked me where my 400k on the bank account are. I said that I didn't have 400k on the bank right now and that I was making the application based on the new 40k/month income rule. She pushed all the documents back to me and said "sorry, no 400k, no extension". I then convinced her to talk to another officer who confirmed to them that I can indeed show overseas income to extend my visa.

From there on, everything went quite smoothly. I was given a 1 month stamp and told to come back then to get my additional 11 months stamp (together 1 year).

What amazes me though, was that the officer had 2 stripes on her uniform. And the officer informing her of the correct rules only had 1 stripe.

Sounds unbelievable? Believe it! (At the risk of sounding like Ripley's)

I believe it I had the same problem with Aranyaprathet immigration 400k or 40k per month and only convinced them with the printout from their own website.

[The Professor]

i sure believe all that. not.

good luck with ur stories.

Ah right, you really think I have the time to make up a story like that. I've been on this board for around 3 years and you can read back on all my posts and you won't find anything made up. I share my experiences so others can benefit from them or even be amused by them, just as I was (though only after i got my extension stamp).

I forgot to mention, the officer handling my application was probably around 45-50 years old, so most likely not new at Immigration. I could probably say i'm 95% sure I've seen her there when i made last year's extension.

No complaints though, just if you're not aware of the correct visa regulations or are a "first timer" there, you could get into serious problems if the officer tells you those things.

outrageous story pal. I think the officer was not out to help anyone on that day. I've never had to deal with those people as I am under 50 and will never marry. Having that nice year visa is great but not that great,, hee hee

[Nibor1945]

Hi. Thought I would Tag this onto this thread as it concerns the Lady previously mentioned.

I Had to report to Immigration at Soi Suan Plu yesterday (5th April) for my 12th yearly Extension of my Non Imm O, based on marriage to a Thai national.

From the description given, I believe the lady in question is the one whom has processed my previous applications on all but one occasion. She treats all applicants with a certain amount of distain, but I suspect that is her "public face", from the very first interview she has never spoken directly to me in English but communicates via my wife in Thai.

Previously I have always used the "Money in the bank" option. Last year the reqirement being B400,000.

However as all this changed last October I was a bit aphrehensive this year!

I have 3 small pensions which total a bit over the B40,000. Now required, (3 more years before I qualify for the British "Old Age Pension")

Last Month I had the opportunity of buying a car which I have lusted after for some time! However this meant I would have to dip into my B400,000. reserve, My wife phoned Immigration and asked THE lady if I would be ok applying for my visa extension using a combination of cash and pension. Her reply was that it would be no problem! I have lived in LOS long enough to be fairly un-re-assured by that reply, but as we have 2 young children I thought I could use that clause as a last resort.

I took original and copies of the following documents as recommended by the knoweledgeable people on this forum:

Passport and copies of all stamps plus TM6.

Wifes ID card and copy, signed by wife.

House registration book and copies of all entries!

Marriage certificate (Thai) and copy.

Childrens birth certificates (Thai) and copies.

Original letter from British Embassy confirming my pension amounts, plus copies of supporting evidence.

Original cetified letter from my bank confirming my bank balance.

Bank book and copies of all pages plus front cover!

Handdrawn map to our house with telephone/fax Numbers.

Photo of house showing house number.

Yesterday we arrived at Soi Suan Plu at 11am got our number from the frontdesk and made our way into the somewhat crowded room 101. As we found a seat for the children my wife saw THE lady returning from her coffee break, my wife went to ask her how long we could expect to wait, so that we could take the kids out to get something to eat after our journey down from central Thailand. THE lady

(my kids call her Aunty ---) told her she still had 5 minutes of her break left and as she knew we would have everthing ready would process us now.!

Fortunately I did have everything listed ready, and she only requested the copies of all but the Embassy and Bank letters plus map and photo. we were in and out within 20 minutes! She apparently told my wife that if all farangs were as prepared as I was her job would be easy!!

To those people in the queue ahead of us I appologise, but the offer was to good to miss!

As for THE lady she still ignored me but perhaps the old Boy Scout motto holds true, "Be Prepared".

[Badbanker]

I am doing my extension of visa with support of child at the moment and it is very true that the majority of Farangs do not realise they should not go to Immigration unless:

1. Have read up on thaivisa.com about their particular visa catagory and

2. They have a real case to present

3. They have all the original documents necessary and photo copies of each

4. They have copies of their passports front photo ID page, visa page and entry stamp page

5. Each document is signed by the person it pertains to

6. Everyone involved goes along to present themselves

7. Go with a friendly positive attitude!

It has worked for me for 20 years.

Badbanker