Grilled requesting METV and certified ID card?

[NorthernRyland]

I've been working in the US this year and requesting a METV (for the first time) to go back to Thailand for 6 months. Just got off the phone with them after not receiving my passport back and had a stern talk with the women at the Embassy in Washington DC. The issues:

 

1) She couldn't read my bank statements properly and refused to accept my clarifications that the account has more than the requested amount. 

 

2) She really grilled me on the idea of applying for a six month visa because (as requested) I supplied a letter of employment and what company lets their employee leave for 6 months? That's a good question but the better question is why does the visa require this in the first place if it sets off warning alarms for the immigration officials?? None of this makes sense to me.

 

3) I gave her the address of my girlfriend where I'll be staying instead of a hotel reservation but now they need a signed letter from her and for her to take her ID to the district office and get it certified. What does this even mean to get an ID certified? I ask the women for clarification but she didn't give any and got increasingly more annoyed as I pressed her on the matter. Does anyone know what this may mean so I can have my girlfriend do it for me tomorrow? As it stands I'm going to have my girlfriend pen the letter and sign it with a copy of her ID.

 

 

[Matzzon]

Welcome! Life in Thailand and regarding Thailand don´t make sense. My friendly advice would be: Get used to it and learn how to love it every day. ???? 

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

Welcome! Life in Thailand and regarding Thailand don´t make sense. My friendly advice would be: Get used to it and learn how to love it every day. ???? 

"Visa requires a letter of proof of employment" and their response after supplying such letter: "Why are you coming to Thailand if you're employed?".  Honestly what do they want us to say? Is this supposed to be game or something?

[johnmell]

I presume they want a letter from the employer, saying it is ok to have 6 months off, but who knows.

[mstevens]

This is just more proof that makes me thing Thailand is just getting too difficult...and I'm only talking about visiting. Life's too short to deal with all of this sort of <deleted> and it's not like once the plane touches down in Thailand there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I've been put off heading back to Thailand for a holiday any time soon.

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, mstevens said:

This is just more proof that makes me thing Thailand is just getting too difficult...and I'm only talking about visiting. Life's too short to deal with all of this sort of <deleted> and it's not like once the plane touches down in Thailand there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I've been put off heading back to Thailand for a holiday any time soon.

Yes it really is disheartening and especially so since I spent so many years in the country before they started to clamp down. To put it into perspective it's not really that bad and the immigration coming back in the US often treats me like a criminal also because I was gone for so long in Thailand (that's apparently suspicious behavior).

 

The only really annoying part is requesting I get some certified document from my girlfriend but refusing to say how this certification works or what I need to return to her. I just had to tell my girlfriend "go to the district office tomorrow and ask to certify the ID" which makes no sense to me but maybe the staff will understand what she means. I'll be properly <deleted> if I send this back to the embassy and they tell me it's still no good and to read the website which doesn't mention this certification process either.

[tonray]

53 minutes ago, genericptr said:

just had to tell my girlfriend "go to the district office tomorrow and ask to certify the ID" which makes no sense

They don't want her ID certified ! They want her to show ID and sign the letter in their presence so they can be assured she produced it and it's not a falsified document.

[glegolo]

I think that YOU are most helped with the very first, and the very last post above me. Their advise is in my eyes fully acceptable. You need to jump off some of your high horses, and start to learn to navigate through life.

 

Reading your post, to me, you seems to be of the "questinable" type of person, more than the "solution-seeking" kind of person, that is needed over here in S.E. Asia......

 

I am not saying you are wrong in theory, but I am saying you seems to be way off in real life in this matter.

 

Learn to navigate and LISTEN, and do what you are being told

Good luck,

Glegolo

Edited December 11, 2019 by glegolo

[Matzzon]

4 hours ago, genericptr said:

"Visa requires a letter of proof of employment" and their response after supplying such letter: "Why are you coming to Thailand if you're employed?".  Honestly what do they want us to say? Is this supposed to be game or something?

Yes, it´s a game. For many people the biggest and the one that has most impact on their life.

[NorthernRyland]

23 minutes ago, tonray said:

They don't want her ID certified ! They want her to show ID and sign the letter in their presence so they can be assured she produced it and it's not a falsified document.

So you mean notarized? That would make sense but the women said "take the ID the district office and have it certified". It's possible that something was lost in translation but I really did try to have her clarify this which only mad her angry. 

[NorthernRyland]

5 minutes ago, glegolo said:

I think that YOU are most helped with the very first, and the very last post above me. Their advise is in my eyes fully acceptable. You need to jump off some of your high horses, and start to learn to navigate through life.

 

Reading your post, to me, you seems to be of the "questinable" type of person, more than the "solution-seeking" kind of person, that is needed over here in S.E. Asia......

 

Really? I submitted all the documents and tried my best to comply with the regulations. The user above says she wants a notarized letter but then why didn't she just say that in the first place? If she did I wouldn't have bothered to even post here since most of us is just venting.

 

As for the employment thing please try to explain that to me. I know it doesn't matter in the end but it bothers us they ask for information and then accuse us of trying to get away with something after they receive it.

[tonray]

1 hour ago, genericptr said:

So you mean notarized? That would make sense but the women said "take the ID the district office and have it certified". It's possible that something was lost in translation but I really did try to have her clarify this which only mad her angry. 

Yes. She was telling you to get the "letter" certified with her ID for verification. Certifying her ID makes no sense

Edited December 12, 2019 by tonray

[NorthernRyland]

5 minutes ago, tonray said:

Yes. She was telling you to get the "letter" certified with her ID for verification. Certifying her ID makes no sense

It seems impossible that the embassy staff doesn't know the word notarize but what do I know. Thanks for the idea though, you're probably right.

 

Update: I just got off the phone with my girlfriend and she has no idea what they're asking for so I've instructed her to ask the Chiang Mai immigration if they know about this. Is notarizing even done at the district office? Maybe my girlfriend is just as stupid as me because getting simple instructions shouldn't be this difficult. I thought signing the letter of invitation and taking a picture with it next to her national ID would be plenty good evidence but she insisted about the certification process at the district office. 

 

The funny part is they refused paystubs for proof of employment but accepted without complaint a letter from my boss of which I could have easily forged. Nothing said about that!

 

The lesson here is probably not to tell them you're visiting family for 6 months and give them some hotel reservation and that you don't know where you're going to stay after that.

 

[DrJack54]

This "staying at girlfriends place" has been mentioned in another current thread. That OP even posted sample letter.

Why on earth make it more difficult. What's that saying..."less is best"

Fictional Agoda booking would have been enough.

As for job. I cannot comment on USA consulates but many people obtain metv that do not work for anyone. Self employed etc

[NorthernRyland]

27 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Fictional Agoda booking would have been enough.

As for job. I cannot comment on USA consulates but many people obtain metv that do not work for anyone. Self employed etc

 I agree fully it was a mistake to say I was visiting family/girlfriend for 6 months as this caused the IO to put me under signification scrutiny. I'm sorry to be yet another ungrateful farang crying about being mistreated but it's useful when people post these stories so we can all learn.

[LivinLOS]

3 hours ago, genericptr said:

Really? I submitted all the documents and tried my best to comply with the regulations. The user above says she wants a notarized letter but then why didn't she just say that in the first place? If she did I wouldn't have bothered to even post here since most of us is just venting.

 

As for the employment thing please try to explain that to me. I know it doesn't matter in the end but it bothers us they ask for information and then accuse us of trying to get away with something after they receive it.

Thailand is not a signatory to the notary public act.. So no Thai lawyer or official can 'notarize' a document to the international standard / concept. 

You can get a certified copy or true copy standard document, from officials, lawyers, police etc.. 

Maybe thats why.. 

[NorthernRyland]

9 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

Thailand is not a signatory to the notary public act.. So no Thai lawyer or official can 'notarize' a document to the international standard / concept. 

You can get a certified copy or true copy standard document, from officials, lawyers, police etc.. 

Maybe thats why.. 

Then what are the people at the district office going to do exactly? I told my girlfriend to pen a letter of invitation and sign it (as requested) but what exactly does the certification process entail?

[Elkski]

What is the amount of money  needed  for a metv? Dont you need a clean bill from police?  Does it ask you how long you will  stay?  Does seem like going to stay with someone caused a red flag.    How long has this been going on? Keep us updated.   I was considering doing one next year?

[TeaMonkey]

You could just say you’ve changed you plans and just want a single entry visa...seeing as with a METV you still need to do a border run anyway. 

[boredinbkk]

There seems to be much confusion so made an account just to reply.

There's two options for the "certified ID", first and most commonly accepted is just a copy of your girl's ID which she has to sign with pen and in Thai "certified true copy" (yeah I know lol). The second option is she needs to visit the Amphur and ask them to issue a paper with her ID information, I don't know the name of this paper, but we had it issued once for some unrelated reason. I've always used the first option, together with a letter in Thai to stay in her apartment, in many non US embassies without an issue.

The problem was you chose 6 months for your stay, I remember one time I had an issue cause I wrote down 90 days, so just lie like I did, that you changed your plan to 30 days...

[SteveK]

Just book a hotel for your first night and give them the address, don't mention the girlfriend.

[LivinLOS]

4 hours ago, genericptr said:

Then what are the people at the district office going to do exactly? I told my girlfriend to pen a letter of invitation and sign it (as requested) but what exactly does the certification process entail?

 

I am assuming you are American, in which case you need to know the difference between notarized documents and certified / true copy documents. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_copy

 

A notarized document is a subset of certified copy which is done by a notary public of an organisation that is signed up to the international notary publics act. All notarized copies are certified copies but not all certified copies are notarized. Clear as mud ????

[LukKrueng]

6 hours ago, genericptr said:

It seems impossible that the embassy staff doesn't know the word notarize but what do I know. Thanks for the idea though, you're probably right.

 

Update: I just got off the phone with my girlfriend and she has no idea what they're asking for so I've instructed her to ask the Chiang Mai immigration if they know about this. Is notarizing even done at the district office? Maybe my girlfriend is just as stupid as me because getting simple instructions shouldn't be this difficult. I thought signing the letter of invitation and taking a picture with it next to her national ID would be plenty good evidence but she insisted about the certification process at the district office. 

 

The funny part is they refused paystubs for proof of employment but accepted without complaint a letter from my boss of which I could have easily forged. Nothing said about that!

 

The lesson here is probably not to tell them you're visiting family for 6 months and give them some hotel reservation and that you don't know where you're going to stay after that.

 

I don't know about the district office part, but when a copy of ID card is needed for any official reason (opening bank accounts, registering for school or anything else, etc') the holder of the card has to sign the copy in a way of self certifying the document. It is advised to cross the document (//) and write on it what it was given for (in your case I'd write "for Visa application at Thai embassy in DC).

As for the other part of your post - you're applying for a tourist Visa but stated the reason for visiting gf/ family. As you probably know many people have been abusing the Visa system in order to live in Thailand using the wrong type of Visa, mostly because they don't fit any long term Visa category or in order to save costs (such as the elite Visa that fits everybody but not cheap...). So for the past couple of years the authorities are clamping down on this and try to make sure people come to Thailand with the correct Visa. 

[natway09]

Do you have any idea what hoops you need to jump through to take your Thai  girlfriend to NZ, OZ, the UK, or USA. for 6 months ?

Just get on with it or don't come !!

[Peter Denis]

3) I gave her the address of my girlfriend where I'll be staying instead of a hotel reservation but now they need a signed letter from her and for her to take her ID to the district office and get it certified. ...

>> I applied for 3 METVs in my home-country, and simply booked a hotel-room for the first 2-3 days using one of the hotel-booking sites (like Agoda or Booking.com).  When my application was approved, I had the option - which I used once - to simply cancel the booking free-of-charge.  Easy.

>>  When I applied for a 1 year Non Imm OA in my home-country this year, they also required proof of accomodation.

My 3-day hotel-booking was not approved by the thai Embassy.  But the Embassy-staff gave me a form to be filled-in by my girlfriend (and added a Post-It note in thai with what was needed).  They told me to send the form to my girlfriend by e-mail, and provide it to them when I got it back, together with a signed front/back copy of her thai ID-card, as well as a copy of the house-book of her place.  My girlfriend did sent me the 3 documents and application was approved.

Edited December 12, 2019 by Peter Denis

[Tanoshi]

6 hours ago, genericptr said:

Then what are the people at the district office going to do exactly? I told my girlfriend to pen a letter of invitation and sign it (as requested) but what exactly does the certification process entail?

They take a photocopy of her ID then stamp and sign it.

They're certifying it's a genuine copy of her ID card/

[Just Weird]

16 hours ago, genericptr said:

"Visa requires a letter of proof of employment" and their response after supplying such letter: "Why are you coming to Thailand if you're employed?".  Honestly what do they want us to say? Is this supposed to be game or something?

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable question to someone coming here for six months to me, how many employers allow their employees six months holiday at once?

 

Certifying a copy of the ID card is normal, some people call it notarising, it just confirms that the photocopy that you'll present to the Embassy is a copy of a genuine ID card that has been seen by a person authorised to confirm it's legitimacy. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by Just Weird

[gamini]

My Thai wife had exactly the same problem when she applied for a visa for the European Union. She told them that she was staying with her sister in Sweden. But they insisted that her sister show her ID certification.

[KhaoYai]

Didn't I read a post a couple of days ago where the Immigration Chief was saying Thailand needs tourists and was advidsing his staff not to scare them off by being too strict?

 

OP. Check what the requirements are as stated on the website of the Embassy that you applied to.  As far as I know, all you need is a letter of invitation from the person you will be staying with and a copy of their electric or water bill to prove the property exists. That's certainly the case in the UK anyway.

 

If the website makes no mention of 'certified ID cards' etc. I would think you have a good case for calling back and trying to speak to a supervisor - note trying. Best of luck.

 

UK requirements in this link.

 

https://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/tourist-visa-multiple-tr.php

 

 

Edited December 12, 2019 by KhaoYai

[NorthernRyland]

9 hours ago, boredinbkk said:

There seems to be much confusion so made an account just to reply.

There's two options for the "certified ID", first and most commonly accepted is just a copy of your girl's ID which she has to sign with pen and in Thai "certified true copy" (yeah I know lol). The second option is she needs to visit the Amphur and ask them to issue a paper with her ID information, I don't know the name of this paper, but we had it issued once for some unrelated reason. I've always used the first option, together with a letter in Thai to stay in her apartment, in many non US embassies without an issue.

The problem was you chose 6 months for your stay, I remember one time I had an issue cause I wrote down 90 days, so just lie like I did, that you changed your plan to 30 days...

Thank you for helping! This is exactly what the women on the phone was trying to say but couldn't explain even 5% of what you said.