Thursday 26th March 2020 - REPORT: Extension of stay for Non-O retirement today at Bangkok. 

 

0450am - left home by car from Sanampao area
0515am - arrived Chaeng Wattana Immigration and joined queue at main entrance
0525am - picture of queue 6 lines about 20 per line facing the entrance door. Quite orderly so far with marshalls forming the line.

0550am - announcement that TM30, Tourist Visa Extensions and 90 day reports were now being done elsewhere (Muang Thong Thani). Maps handed out. This thinned the lines by about 20%
0550am - doors opened for temperature and security check
0605am - inside the building was given a ticket #71
Note: Probably not much point arriving much before 0600am
All ticket holders then lined up in the central atrium with plenty of spacing and organisation.

This was 06:20am>>>

 

06:30am - I was going to go grab a coffee in expectation of queue ticket allocations at 0800 but no. They opened the queue ticket counters then!

I got queue ticket L5 at 06:43am

 

They are taking social distancing seriously only 50% of seats in use

06:45am - Problem was that I hadn't filled out all my paperwork. I had no option but to go to the desk. Expecting a rebuff, the super helpful lady Immigration Officer said no problem and started the application.
07:00am - I was out of the cubicle by 0700am. If I had been able to get the bank letter and statement from KBbank then that would have finished it. She was everso helpful and told me to come directly back to her once I had the statement and letter.
07.15am - every person in the entry queue was inside the waiting area. No lines at all.
Note: All coffee shops and the food courts were take away only - No seating!
08:30am - I was first into Kbank for the letter and statement

08:45am - Completed at bank
08:50am - Went directly back to the lady IO at counter L32 and she saw me almost immediately after finishing another applicant.

0905am - everything was stamped and ready for sign off by the big boss
0945am - received passport back with 1 year extension stamped
0948am - Got queue ticket #55 for Re-Entry permit. Already serving #53 so just 2 in front.
0955am - called to Re-Entry permit desk. Gave PP and application payment.
0958am - waiting for stamp to be added.
10:06am - passport returned all good for another year!

10:10am - Another long queue at the entrance (approx 100 people waiting) to get in and lots of taxis arriving with more

10:40am - arrived home at Sanampao as very light traffic

To sum up, this was not the disaster I expected. It was easier and less crowded than any of the previous 6-7 times I've been to CW in the last 2 years. They managed the lines in a friendly and jovial way. Every person there was wearing a mask and there was hand sanitiser at entrances. Soap in washrooms too. Top marks for Thai Immigration on this occasion.

 

I was planning to go to CW on Monday to cancel my work permit and then go to Udon immigration the next day with bank statement and letter confirming 800,000 baht deposited over 2 months to apply for retirement visa. 

But will immigration issue new retirement visas, as opposed to extensions, now they're not letting foreigners back in to Thailand unless they have a work permit?

20 minutes ago, bannork said:

I was planning to go to CW on Monday to cancel my work permit and then go to Udon immigration the next day with bank statement and letter confirming 800,000 baht deposited over 2 months to apply for retirement visa. 

But will immigration issue new retirement visas, as opposed to extensions, now they're not letting foreigners back in to Thailand unless they have a work permit?

You will not be able to cancel your work permit Chaeng Wattana immigration. That has to be done at the Department of Employment of the Labor Ministry. You can only cancel your extension of stay at immigration.

You will still be able to apply for a extension of stay based upon retirement at Udon immigration. The restrictions on entering the country has nothing to with applying for your extension. 

17 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You will not be able to cancel your work permit Chaeng Wattana immigration. That has to be done at the Department of Employment of the Labor Ministry. You can only cancel your extension of stay at immigration.

You will still be able to apply for a extension of stay based upon retirement at Udon immigration. The restrictions on entering the country has nothing to with applying for your extension. 

Yes, apologies,  I wasn't making myself clear there. The secretary at my school told me I don't have to go the Labour Ministry, she will go herself after I cancel my extension of stay. She gave me photocopies of work permit pages to take to CW. I'll see how it goes on Monday. Thanks for all your help Joe.

Yes, contrary to popular belief the IOs at CW can at time by friendly and helpful.  To me that happens more often than not, say 5 out of 6 times in my experience. So kudos to them. And big thanks to the OP, 1st class reporting, much appreciated! Also a side note, compared to other gov institutions in stateside (USA) CW complex feel like a 5-star resort!

Thank you OP for a great report and a positive feedback.

You won't get many replies to this as it's not one people want to read and comment on.

 

Second that. What a pleasant change to read a sane and lucid post unsullied by the usual suspects. Thank you.

This is an excellent report. And I am happy to see CW get things under control. It must have been a living nightmare for the IO's, and fortunately the leaders either responded or got out of the way. I will be going in next week or the week after, and this has reduced my stress level significantly. Thank you.

19 hours ago, timendres said:

This is an excellent report. And I am happy to see CW get things under control. It must have been a living nightmare for the IO's, and fortunately the leaders either responded or got out of the way. I will be going in next week or the week after, and this has reduced my stress level significantly. Thank you.

Keep in mind that the OP spent 5 hours at CW before he got his extension. I went last Wednesday, the height of madness, and I spent 6 hours there. At the worst of times, I have never spent more than 3 hours there. It's no picnic, friends. 

3 hours ago, nightbird said:

Keep in mind that the OP spent 5 hours at CW before he got his extension. I went last Wednesday, the height of madness, and I spent 6 hours there. At the worst of times, I have never spent more than 3 hours there. It's no picnic, friends. 

It would be really cool if they had those "call box" devices they use in the states for when you are waiting for a table at a restaurant. Then you could just go outside and wait for your light to blink to know they are ready for you inside.

A great report. Thankyou.

Nice to hear a positive post,,,,,getting a headache with all this Thai Immigration bashing

I too last retirement extension & multiple reentry spent less than an hour in CW

They put up with a lot of abuse & always remember, the person in front of you did not make the laws, the bureaucrats do.

Stay safe everybody

On 3/26/2020 at 11:33 AM, soi3eddie said:

06:30am - I was going to go grab a coffee in expectation of queue ticket allocations at 0800 but no. They opened the queue ticket counters then!

I got queue ticket L5 at 06:43am

 

What time are the Immigration Officers in the L (extensions) section actually starting to handle customers these days? And what time does the BKK CW office open its internal doors to the public in the morning now?

 

In the past, the BKK Immigration Office didn't even open its doors for business until 8 or 8:30 am... even though they were handing out queue line tickets outside in the atrium area much earlier starting around 6 am or so... And those weren't the actual queue tickets to see Immigration officers, but instead, just the ticket for holding your place in the outside queue line prior to opening.

 

 

One can only rejoice at this new situation. I am not saying I am looking forward to my next trip to CW, but feel less apprehensive.

Thanks for this very detailed report.

You stated that tourist visa extensions are now made in Muang Thong Thani. Can anyone confirm this? Is it better to just go there straight?

Were you required to show letter from your embassy?

10 hours ago, Kerouacaurus said:

You stated that tourist visa extensions are now made in Muang Thong Thani. Can anyone confirm this? Is it better to just go there straight?

Yes

Don't bother going to Chaeng Wattana. If you go there they will turn you away and tell you to the temporary office.

58 minutes ago, norbra said:

Were you required to show letter from your embassy?

Not needed for a one year extension application.

Only needed for special extensions for those that do not qualify for any other one.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Not needed for a one year extension application.

Only needed for special extensions for those that do not qualify for any other one.

Thanks UJ, having read many posts I was still unsure of this requirement