Chaengwattana is a ghost town

[dgarland]

And I'm only exaggerating slightly.

 

I arrived at 6:45, way too early to get the bank letter, thanks to an empty Chaengwattana road. They have queue posts set up and numbered in the main hall but only a couple dozen people were lined up behind them. They all vanished at 8:30 when the doors opened.  After that, the main hall looked deserted, and only a handful of people were loitering around the entrance to the immigration offices.  These pics taken around 9:30. By 10:30 I had my retirement extension and was on the way home.

 

 

I was tripped-up by the TM30.  I had read here that they weren't enforcing that now, except for people who had left the country, so I thought I wouldn't need it. But they asked me for it. When I shrugged and gave them sad puppy-dog eyes, they went on processing my extension anyway. I think they did the TM 30 for me, since I have what appears to be a receipt for it. It doesn't say TM30 on it, but it says 'receipt of notification of alien's address".

 

I wish every visit could be like this.

 

[timendres]

When I went on April 3, the place was quite busy and had hundreds of people. But they were doing a pretty good job of managing it. I was actually impressed. So I think those who need to go to CW at this time need not worry too much. In fact, I was more worried about the taxi ride, than I was about CW.

[Bramley]

I had a similar experience on the 8th to renew my AO visa. Got there at 7, and got number L23. Staff were enforcing the social distancing pretty effectively. In for the bank letter at 8:30 and my number called at 9:00. I explained I was waiting for the bank letter and the lady said okay, just come back when you've got it. Got the letter at 9:10 and was processed by 9:30. The only problem was the wait to get the passport back, ppl milling around and social distancing fell by the wayside. All done by 10:00 am, and they did my 90 day report without me asking. I used the cheap LMG insurance and they barely glanced at it. Documents needed:

*TM7 plus 1900 baht

*Passport and copies

*Health insurance

*Map of residence (hand drawn at cw)

*3 page declaration (filled in at the desk)

I was pretty pleased with the process.

[KhunBENQ]

Looks like the rest of the month is a good time for those who have to do "regular business".

I even consider to drive to my office (by car) late in the month for 90 day report.

I need an excuse to get out of the de-facto quarantine.

[Cuchulainn]

1 hour ago, Bramley said:

 

*Map of residence (hand drawn at CW)

Must it be hand drawn now? I always use a print out of my condo's website directions.

[Bramley]

16 minutes ago, Cuchulainn said:

Must it be hand drawn now? I always use a print out of my condo's website directions.

No, I didn't have one so I scrawled it out on a scrap of paper, and that was fine apparently.

[steve187]

1 hour ago, Bramley said:

I had a similar experience on the 8th to renew my AO visa. Got there at 7, and got number L23. Staff were enforcing the social distancing pretty effectively. In for the bank letter at 8:30 and my number called at 9:00. I explained I was waiting for the bank letter and the lady said okay, just come back when you've got it. Got the letter at 9:10 and was processed by 9:30. The only problem was the wait to get the passport back, ppl milling around and social distancing fell by the wayside. All done by 10:00 am, and they did my 90 day report without me asking. I used the cheap LMG insurance and they barely glanced at it. Documents needed:

*TM7 plus 1900 baht

*Passport and copies

*Health insurance

*Map of residence (hand drawn at cw)

*3 page declaration (filled in at the desk)

I was pretty pleased with the process.

you did not renew an AO visa as there is no such thing, but you could have had at some time an OA visa issued in your home country, what you did on this visit was to extend your permission to stay for one year, its all in the terminology you use, visas can never be extended, only the permission to stay that the visa gave you.

[Estrada]

17 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

Must it be hand drawn now? I always use a print out of my condo's website directions.

It depends on the Immigration officer. Sometimes they accept a google map or similar photocopy of a local map, sometimes they do not ask and sometimes they reject your excellent printed map and insist you scrawl it on a piece of paper.

[KhunKenAP]

If they say my handwriting skills now that I am old and grey, they would rip it up and accept my Google Map printout. lol

[nightbird]

17 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

Must it be hand drawn now? I always use a print out of my condo's website directions.

They never asked me for either the map or the TM30. 

[USNret]

52 minutes ago, nightbird said:

They never asked me for either the map or the TM30. 

At CW?  Each IO is different.

[Peter Denis]

21 hours ago, Bramley said:

I had a similar experience on the 8th to renew my AO visa.

...

I used the cheap LMG insurance and they barely glanced at it.

...

This is interesting!

Could it be that CW is not enforcing the mandatory thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement anymore?

There were some reports two-three weeks ago that it was not required anymore for an OA-extension in Phuket.

Only way to find out is an OA Visa holder applying for a 1-year extension of stay for reason of retirement, and not including the health-insurance certificate in his application document-bundle.

When not asked for it, and application approved that would be evidence of it not being required anymore at the IO were he is applying.

 

 

[NightSky]

what day was this op?

 

i assume CW is now closed until 16th?

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, NightSky said:

i assume CW is now closed until 16th?

No holidays next week. Immigration will be open everyday.

[nightbird]

2 hours ago, USNret said:

At CW?  Each IO is different.

At CW.

[Max69xl]

23 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Looks like the rest of the month is a good time for those who have to do "regular business".

I even consider to drive to my office (by car) late in the month for 90 day report.

I need an excuse to get out of the de-facto quarantine.

Then why not drive elsewhere? Why go to immigration when you don't have to?