Immigration scrutiny on change of visa

[1]

Hopefully assuming things don't change  I'm planning on departing Thailand on a Visa Run for the day to cancel my OA Visa Extension of stay shortly, to be replaced by a Visa exemption stamp. 

 

So given that I have stayed in Thailand more than 3 years already on the OA and I will be making an application for an O Visa on my newly stamped tourist exemption, I'm just wondering if they give that any additional scrutiny. To my curious mind I would be wondering what's this guy is up to and just wondering if I need a pre-packaged response to probing questions? 

 

Cheers

 

[ubonjoe]

You probably will not be the first one that has done it already.

I don't think there will be any questions at all about what you are doing.

[domdom]

Hello

We will do the same in august.. we live in Pattaya.. Which is the best place to make the visa run ?

Had Lek is ok ? can we do it in half an hour or do we have to spend a night in Cambodia ?
Have a nice day..

[Maestro]

It is impossible to predict what the "visa run" situation will be in five months.

[soisanuk]

16 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You probably will not be the first one that has done it already.

I don't think there will be any questions at all about what you are doing.

I know of only one person who ran into a problem - he left without Re-entry Permit to cancel his retirement extension (based on OA Visa) and obtained a Non-O in neighboring country based on married to a Thai. When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement" - since he used marriage to get the Visa instead of retirement, it caused him some problems - at first they wanted him to apply based on marriage - after discussion and a few trips including bringing in documents for marriage extension, he said  they finally issued the extension based on retirement, but it was quite a hassle.

 

Also, if returning Visa Exempt or on Tourist Visa and applying for the Non-O at Pattaya Immigration on Jomtien, from all reports, they will require proof 800k in bank came from outside Thailand or, if using monthly income, you must have Embassy Certification letter - they will not consider monthly transfers of 65k baht (they will accept monthly transfers for the one year extension, but not for issuing the Non-O Visa).

[Boomer6969]

25 minutes ago, soisanuk said:

obtained a Non-O in neighboring country based on married to a Thai. When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement"

Wasn't that just looking for trouble. My guess is that somewhere there is a reason to the drought of Non-O visas for retirement. Could it be that IB wants to push retirees to use Non OA or Non OX? 

[Max69xl]

1 hour ago, soisanuk said:

I know of only one person who ran into a problem - he left without Re-entry Permit to cancel his retirement extension (based on OA Visa) and obtained a Non-O in neighboring country based on married to a Thai. When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement" - since he used marriage to get the Visa instead of retirement, it caused him some problems - at first they wanted him to apply based on marriage - after discussion and a few trips including bringing in documents for marriage extension, he said  they finally issued the extension based on retirement, but it was quite a hassle.

 

Also, if returning Visa Exempt or on Tourist Visa and applying for the Non-O at Pattaya Immigration on Jomtien, from all reports, they will require proof 800k in bank came from outside Thailand or, if using monthly income, you must have Embassy Certification letter - they will not consider monthly transfers of 65k baht (they will accept monthly transfers for the one year extension, but not for issuing the Non-O Visa).

Why go for a Non-immigrant O based on marriage and then apply for a 1 year extension based on retirement,and think immigration won't be suspicious? That's asking for trouble.

[OJAS]

2 hours ago, soisanuk said:

I know of only one person who ran into a problem - he left without Re-entry Permit to cancel his retirement extension (based on OA Visa) and obtained a Non-O in neighboring country based on married to a Thai. When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement" - since he used marriage to get the Visa instead of retirement, it caused him some problems - at first they wanted him to apply based on marriage - after discussion and a few trips including bringing in documents for marriage extension, he said  they finally issued the extension based on retirement, but it was quite a hassle.

I have always been under the impression that retirement extensions were supposed to be easier for immigration offices to deal with than marriage extensions. Clearly masochism must these days rule supreme among officers at Jomtien (based on their apparently overwhelming desire to create completely pointless and unnecessary work for themselves, as well as for your acquaintance)!

Edited March 17, 2020 by OJAS

[JimGant]

2 hours ago, soisanuk said:

When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement" - since he used marriage to get the Visa instead of retirement, it caused him some problems - at first they wanted him to apply based on marriage

How did they know the Non Imm O sticker was issued for marriage rather than retirement -- do they now stamp "retirement" or "marriage" across the Non Imm O sticker visa? Besides, it's not really a marriage visa, but a visa for visiting a Thai relative, which could be a child by a former marriage.

[1]

3 hours ago, soisanuk said:

I know of only one person who ran into a problem - he left without Re-entry Permit to cancel his retirement extension (based on OA Visa) and obtained a Non-O in neighboring country based on married to a Thai. When he went to Jomtien to apply for one year extension, he did so for "retirement" - since he used marriage to get the Visa instead of retirement, it caused him some problems - at first they wanted him to apply based on marriage - after discussion and a few trips including bringing in documents for marriage extension, he said  they finally issued the extension based on retirement, but it was quite a hassle.

 

Also, if returning Visa Exempt or on Tourist Visa and applying for the Non-O at Pattaya Immigration on Jomtien, from all reports, they will require proof 800k in bank came from outside Thailand or, if using monthly income, you must have Embassy Certification letter - they will not consider monthly transfers of 65k baht (they will accept monthly transfers for the one year extension, but not for issuing the Non-O Visa).

Thanks for that.

 

From all the information I have been able to get from Jomtien is they are wanting the 800 000 to be seeded for 2 months to apply for a non-immigrant O Visa. I went and checked twice. I even went down there for a third time with my Thai girlfriend and sent her in to try and get some clear information. So of course now I'm more confused! 555

 

Anyway assuming I can get across the border this weekend and get my Visa exemption stamp I am going to take an early run at it to see what happens without having the money seasoned.

[Peter Denis]

12 minutes ago, 1 said:

...

From all the information I have been able to get from Jomtien is they are wanting the 800 000 to be seeded for 2 months to apply for a non-immigrant O Visa. I went and checked twice. I even went down there for a third time with my Thai girlfriend and sent her in to try and get some clear information. So of course now I'm more confused! 555

 

Anyway assuming I can get across the border this weekend and get my Visa exemption stamp I am going to take an early run at it to see what happens without having the money seasoned.

Yes, Jomtien is a rogue office. 

1 - When applying for the 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa there they want the 800K seasoned for two months.  According to the IO rules/regulations this is only required when applying for the 1-year extension.  But Jomtien incorrectly insists that the 800K also need to be seasoned for 2 months when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O - Visa for reason of retirement.

2 - When wanting to use the 65K monthly-income transfer method Jomtien also requires an embassy-issued income statement when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa.

That's also not required by the IO rules/regulations, and by imposing it they make it impossible for US, UK and Australian citizens to use that method.

>> Considering the above, it would be wise to inform beforehand about any additional requirements or interpretations they use, when applying for the 1-year extension once you got your 90-day Non Imm O retirement Visa from a neighboring country.  This in order to avoid new surprises when applying at that office.

[1]

5 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

once you got your 90-day Non Imm O retirement Visa from a neighboring country.  This in order to avoid new surprises when applying at that office.

Thanks for that.

 

But for a number of reasons I decided to use Jomtien immigration to make my application for my non-immigrant O Visa. 

 

So I am actually referring to the initial application not the extension.

 

I will definitely report back with the results.

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, 1 said:

Thanks for that.

But for a number of reasons I decided to use Jomtien immigration to make my application for my non-immigrant O Visa.

So I am actually referring to the initial application not the extension.

I will definitely report back with the results.

Yes, please report your experience.

As I mentioned in my post #11 - if you are a US, UK or Australian citizen the only method you can use to meet the financial requirements when applying at Jomtien IO for the 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa is the 800K money-in-bank method with foreign origins proven.  And you also need to meet the additional Jomtien bogus-requirement that the money needs to be seasoned at least 2 months.

[EvetsKram]

4 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Wasn't that just looking for trouble. My guess is that somewhere there is a reason to the drought of Non-O visas for retirement. Could it be that IB wants to push retirees to use Non OA or Non OX? 

I was pushed in Poipet about this issue.  The boss told me my recently acquired marriage Non O visa was no good,  told me I had to return to home country and get proper OA Vida... sure thing,  I'm still working on that

[Peter Denis]

6 minutes ago, EvetsKram said:

I was pushed in Poipet about this issue.  The boss told me my recently acquired marriage Non O visa was no good,  told me I had to return to home country and get proper OA Vida... sure thing,  I'm still working on that

I read so many times on the Forum that Poipet is the most rogue of all border-crossings.  And what you write confirms that.  When you are married to a thai national the proper Visa for you is a Non Imm O - marriage Visa.  An OA long-stay Visa can only be applied for in your home-country and is only for those over 50+ years of age that meet both the financial and health-insurance requirements.  I can only advise you to forget the BS he told you, and don't worry about it.

[mosan]

9 minutes ago, EvetsKram said:

I was pushed in Poipet about this issue.  The boss told me my recently acquired marriage Non O visa was no good,  told me I had to return to home country and get proper OA Vida... sure thing,  I'm still working on that

What "boss" are you referring to that said your Non O based on marriage was no good.  Said visa is a perfectly good visa - or is your intent to actually try to extend based on retirement?

[Peter Denis]

5 minutes ago, mosan said:

What "boss" are you referring to that said your Non O based on marriage was no good.  Said visa is a perfectly good visa - or is your intent to actually try to extend based on retirement?

It doesn't matter for which reason (retirement or marriage or otherwise) you apply for the Visa or extension.  The only thing that matters is that you meet the requirements for the particular type of Visa you apply for.  So you can pick the one that is most convenient for you, provided you meet the requirements.

E.g. there are many retirees that are married to a thai national that stayed on the 'retirement' extension because they considered it too much hassle to switch.

[mosan]

15 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

It doesn't matter for which reason (retirement or marriage or otherwise) you apply for the Visa or extension.  The only thing that matters is that you meet the requirements for the particular type of Visa you apply for.  So you can pick the one that is most convenient for you, provided you meet the requirements.

E.g. there are many retirees that are married to a thai national that stayed on the 'retirement' extension because they considered it too much hassle to switch.

I appreciate you trying to answer for the him, but the question was not addressed to you.  I know the rules - been here 20 years.  I was trying to get to the bottom of who exactly was the "boss"...

[Peter Denis]

7 minutes ago, mosan said:

I appreciate you trying to answer for the him, but the question was not addressed to you.  I know the rules - been here 20 years.  I was trying to get to the bottom of who exactly was the "boss"...

Thanks, but actually doesn't matter whether it was the 'boss' of the PoiPet border-crossing or his local IO 'boss'.  What that 'boss' stated was pure BS and he should forget all about it and not be worried.