IO demands a 12 month statement from 1st time retirement extension from an O visa - right or wrong ?

[lamyai3]

2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

My history of retirement extensions must have spurred the IO into requesting a 12 month statement for the reasons stated previously, maybe wouldn’t have happened in a different Immigration Office but c’est la vie .

I also never got asked for a 12 month statement on my Non O-A extensions in previous years, though looking at my bank book I see it does have interest and tax entries listed for every month since opening the account, in spite of no other activity and not updating the book during the year between extensions.

 

When I had to update it recently for the Non O conversion, the full monthly history was printed with no consolidated entries shown. I have my Non O extension coming in a couple of months, so hopefully this would be accepted in the event of a 12 month statement being required? 

Edited November 16, 2022 by lamyai3

[Andrew Dwyer]

30 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

I also never got asked for a 12 month statement on my Non O-A extensions in previous years, though looking at my bank book I see it does have interest and tax entries listed for every month since opening the account, in spite of no other activity and not updating the book during the year between extensions.

 

When I had to update it recently for the Non O conversion, the full monthly history was printed with no consolidated entries shown. I have my Non O extension coming in a couple of months, so hopefully this would be accepted in the event of a 12 month statement being required? 

I think the requirement for a 12 month statement is Immigration Office dependent, my office ( Ayutthaya ) requested one for an OA extension but I understand other offices do not.

I would expect if you weren’t asked for a 12 months statement in previous extensions then they probably won’t request one now either.

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Never heard of any retirement extension using an agent to take "weeks".   Where/when did you experience that?

Well, now you have. ????
 

My friend had this experience in early 2022.  I saw him for lunch every week.  Every week he told me the passport hadn't been returned yet.  This was in Phuket.  Agent he used was "highly recommended" by people he had talked to (other than me).  

I don't use an agent.  I don't give my passport to anyone except when applying for my retirement extension at Phuket Immigration in which case I leave it overnight, it gets signed the next morning, and is available for me to pick up at 1 PM the next day.

I understand why someone would use an agent if there were no other way they could get the extension, as a last resort.  I don't understand people who use agents as a first resort.  As the article indicates it can turn into a nightmare for many people.  I don't have to make every mistake myself, I'm capable of learning from the mistakes of others.

Edited November 16, 2022 by skatewash

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, skatewash said:

8 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Never heard of any retirement extension using an agent to take "weeks".   Where/when did you experience that?

Well, now you have.

No, I have not.  And, obviously, you haven't, either, if you had you'd have detailed it; anecdotal "evidence" from "a friend" is not your experience of it happening!

Edited November 16, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[skatewash]

10 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, I have not.  And, obviously, you haven't, either, if you had you'd have detailed it; anecdotal "evidence" from "a friend" is not your experience of it happening!

I believe that over 100 days waiting for an agent to return a passport is approximately 14 weeks. 

*inflammatory remark edited out*

I leave it to you to read the articles for yourself:

https://www.thephuketnews.com/expats-caught-up-in-phuket-visa-scams-face-being-forced-to-leave-the-country-84812.php

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-immigration-responds-over-visa-extension-scam-84728.php

Edited November 16, 2022 by Scott

[ubonjoe]

19 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Never heard of any retirement extension using an agent to take "weeks".   Where/when did you experience that?

I heard of a agent holding the passport while a non-o visa application was being approved and then until the agent did the one year extension at immigration.;

[Xin Loi]

On 11/15/2022 at 12:40 PM, worgeordie said:

Up here in Chiang Mai they require 12 months statements everytime

you do your extension .

regards Worgeordie

I have to supply a 1 year statement every year in Udon Thani also.

[oldcpu]

20 hours ago, skatewash said:

I understand why someone would use an agent if there were no other way they could get the extension, as a last resort.  I don't understand people who use agents as a first resort.  As the article indicates it can turn into a nightmare for many people.  I don't have to make every mistake myself, I'm capable of learning from the mistakes of others.

I have never used an agent myself.

 

Having typed that, I have friends in Pattaya, who always use an agent.

 

They easily meet the requirements for a retirement 1-year extension on their permission to stay (on a Tupe-O visa) and they still always use an agent. 

 

They are both in their 70s, and they would rather pay 12,000 to 15,000 Thai baht to an agent, than for them to do the waiting themselves,  to suffer in a crowded immigration office all day.   I am a decade younger than them, so I am more able than them to put up with the crowded masses in the immigration office while waiting to be processed - but I can understand why they would rather spend the money, than suffer for a day at immigration.

.

[Orinoco]

11 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

They are both in their 70s, and they would rather pay 12,000 to 15,000 Thai baht to an agent, than for them to do the waiting themselves,  to suffer in a crowded immigration office all day.   I am a decade younger than them, so I am more able than them to put up with the crowded masses in the immigration office while waiting to be processed 

Jomtien immigration is very easy to do the extensions.

and it's not all day.

Lazy it the word. 

12000-15000 that a lot of beer or ladies. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Orinoco

[skatewash]

39 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I have never used an agent myself.

 

Having typed that, I have friends in Pattaya, who always use an agent.

 

They easily meet the requirements for a retirement 1-year extension on their permission to stay (on a Tupe-O visa) and they still always use an agent. 

 

They are both in their 70s, and they would rather pay 12,000 to 15,000 Thai baht to an agent, than for them to do the waiting themselves,  to suffer in a crowded immigration office all day.   I am a decade younger than them, so I am more able than them to put up with the crowded masses in the immigration office while waiting to be processed - but I can understand why they would rather spend the money, than suffer for a day at immigration.

.

Yes, individual experiences at Immigration offices in different provinces differ.  In Phuket it takes me less than an hour (usually) to get my retirement extension, then return the next day at 1 PM to pickup my approved extension stamped in the passport (along with a new 90-Day Report receipt/next appointment slip that they always staple into the passport).  I visit Phuket Immigration on average 2 times a year.  Once to submit my application for a retirement extension, and the next day to pick up my extension and get a re-entry permit.  The long-term extensions for retirement and marriage are done in a separate room, and they are efficient if your paperwork is in order (which mine is after doing 8 retirement extensions).

I can imagine not wanting to do that as I get older and for that reason it's good that agents exist.  
There's also a difference in price for people who merely want an agent to do the work for them, as contrasted with having the agent circumvent the rules to get them an extension.  It depends on your location.  In some locations, for instance, in Phuket, if you want an extension without providing financials it is not unusual for the agent to send your passport to a different province than Phuket to get your visa and extension stamp.  This can be a long process.  It's up to the person involved as to what they are more comfortable with as long as they knowledgeable about what's going on.

It does bother me when people state that there's never any problem with using an agent as I've had personal experience of watching a friend wait for his extension of stay for over 100 days, during which he technically went on overstay, and he was forced to remain in Phuket until he did get his passport back as one can't travel without a passport.  He was informed by his agent that he would receive his passport back in two weeks multiple times.  Didn't happen.  He finally (after waiting for over 100 days) did receive his passport back and when he did it contained a non-O visa and a retirement extension and also a covid extension to cover the time from when his initial permission to stay expired to when his non-O visa was approved.  So that does happen. 

In Phuket literally more than 100 people have had problems with two agent companies leading them to need to leave the country:

https://www.thephuketnews.com/expats-caught-up-in-phuket-visa-scams-face-being-forced-to-leave-the-country-84812.php

Giving your passport to an agent is a leap of faith.  It may be necessary in your situation, but it's hardly a risk-free proposition and not something do be done without a lot of thought about the downsides.

Edited November 17, 2022 by skatewash

[Orinoco]

9 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Giving your passport to an agent is a leap of faith.  It may be necessary in your situation, but it's hardly a risk-free proposition and not something do be done without a lot of thought about the downsides.

As always in the land of smiles, it's  never a problem until it is. 

[oldcpu]

5 hours ago, skatewash said:

There's also a difference in price for people who merely want an agent to do the work for them, as contrasted with having the agent circumvent the rules to get them an extension.

I suspect this is the crux of the matter.

 

The expats who I know (in Pattaya) who use an agent are not trying to circumvent any requirements. They meet the requirements.  But contrary to what was posted , they have experiences in Pattaya where they spend hours in crowded conditions in Pattaya, which was very tiring for them - one ended getting sick afterward due to the excess fatigue.   Perhaps the saying YMMV (your mileage may very) is applicable here.

 

I know for my extension in Phuket (marriage) it took hours in a hot sweaty uncomfortable environment. I was there for a good 5 hours and I was the last person to leave the immigration office long after it closed.  The extension (retirement) I did the year prior on my Type-OA, was easier, but given insurance changes, that was no longer a course of action that I wished to follow (given my superior European health insurance was rejected by Thai immigration) so I tried the marriage extension route. Even thou successful THAT was painful for me. (So I am now going for a Type-O visa).

 

As for my Pattaya friends, after their uncomfortable lengthy experiences in Pattaya immigration, they said NO MORE. They would pay an agent, and they told me they were very selective in choosing an agent (purportedly with a good reputation else they would not keep going back to the same agent).    In essence, all they do is sign limited power of attorney to the agent, pass to the agent the appropriate documents, and since they meet the requirements it perfectly legal.  It takes them minutes.

 

As for the agent horror stories on being technically on overstay (while waiting for a passport to return), I can relate to that and I DON'T USE AN AGENT. 

 

The last time I renewed my Type-OA visa (marriage extension), I was told to return over 3 weeks later to have my extension stamped in the Passport, when my "Permission to stay expired". I showed up (at Phuket immigration) and Phuket immigration was not ready. I was told to come back in a week. A week later I came back, and again, immigration still was not ready.  For two weeks I was technically on an overstay, with the only thing to show was the paper in my passport indicating I had applied/paid for an extension that was not yet approved.  So its not just going with agents that technical 'overstay' can happen.

 

Still, having typed the above, I recommend anyone who does not meet the requirements for staying in Thailand, should look for another country to live in, even thou that may be a painful approach. Finding a different country, as an expat, to live may be better than deportation from Thailand if an illegal immigration activity should fail.

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

The last time I renewed my Type-OA visa (marriage extension), I was told to return over 3 weeks later to have my extension stamped in the Passport, when my "Permission to stay expired". I showed up (at Phuket immigration) and Phuket immigration was not ready. I was told to come back in a week. A week later I came back, and again, immigration still was not ready.  For two weeks I was technically on an overstay, with the only thing to show was the paper in my passport indicating I had applied/paid for an extension that was not yet approved.  So its not just going with agents that technical 'overstay' can happen.

You had a under consideration stamp with a report back date on it in your passport. That stamp allows you to stay in the country until your extension is approved and stamped in your passport. The report back date on it is just that.

[Lemsta69]

On 11/16/2022 at 11:43 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

Never heard of any retirement extension using an agent to take "weeks".   Where/when did you experience that?

I've personally experienced it and on my first ever conversion/extension to boot. "Immigration busy because many holidays" was the reason. PP out of my hands for approx. 3 weeks. No stress for me because I used the well-known one on Soi Post in Pattaya. 

 

I'll only bore you with the exact details if you really need them. I'm not posting this to be contrary, only to provide an example.

 

I'm pro agent and will continue to use the well-known, trusted and reliable ones for many years to come. 

[Orinoco]

17 hours ago, oldcpu said:

The expats who I know (in Pattaya) who use an agent are not trying to circumvent any requirements. They meet the requirements.  But contrary to what was posted , they have experiences in Pattaya where they spend hours in crowded conditions in Pattaya, which was very tiring for them - one ended getting sick afterward due to the excess fatigue.   Perhaps the saying YMMV (your mileage may very) is applicable here.

Thank you for repeating a third party embellished story.

if your to sick on the day don't go, go another day, unless your friends are the smart type that leave things to the last possible minute.

Now I understand covid 19 has made things a bit longer there, did ride past there a few times and the line was half way down the Soi. if the line is to long go back another day or a different time of day. so what if you need to go to the bank again. big deal.

But pre covid no issue at all there, you would only wait 1-2 hours tops most of the time. and the Aircon inside works just fine.

BTW used Pattaya soi 8 and then Jomtien immigration for 20 years

They are not bad in comparison to some other offices.

( I reckon Lazy is the word for your friends)

Good day.

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Orinoco

[Photoguy21]

Banks dont usually issue 12 month statements only as far back as 3 months. Being asked for 12 months must be an error.

[Orinoco]

16 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Banks dont usually issue 12 month statements only as far back as 3 months. Being asked for 12 months must be an error.

So when I got one from the yellow bank last week with a letter as well.

this was a figment of my imagination. 2 years in a row, maybe I was just lucky 

 

Edit as its only the last 2 years 12 months statement was needed as well as letter different immigration office.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Orinoco

[Photoguy21]

8 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

So when I got one from the yellow bank last week with a letter as well.

this was a figment of my imagination. 8 years in a row, maybe I was just lucky 

Would seem like you did

[Orinoco]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

Would seem like you did

Maybe you should stop posting nonsense. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

15 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Banks dont usually issue 12 month statements only as far back as 3 months. Being asked for 12 months must be an error.

Many IO’s request a 12 month statement for extensions, some banks can supply immediately, Bangkok Bank require a week ( usually turns out to be 3 days ) to obtain from head office.

[Photoguy21]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Many IO’s request a 12 month statement for extensions, some banks can supply immediately, Bangkok Bank require a week ( usually turns out to be 3 days ) to obtain from head office.

From Head office probably can but the sub-offices cant

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

From Head office probably can but the sub-offices cant

Only Bangkok Bank i believe.

[Orinoco]

5 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

From Head office probably can but the sub-offices cant

Bs again, Bangkok bank are the bad boys,

Most banks same day,  and it's from sub branches. 

Even branches in a different province. 

like I have just done. 

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Orinoco

[oldcpu]

19 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You had a under consideration stamp with a report back date on it in your passport. That stamp allows you to stay in the country until your extension is approved and stamped in your passport. The report back date on it is just that.

True, there was a report back date stamp in my passport, but when I reported on the noted date, they advised me to come back again in a week, and there was no update to the reporting date. And a week later, they told me to again come back in a week. So for two weeks, for anyone looking at the paper, it appeared I had exceeded my report back date.  Of course a chat with immigration should nominally sort any misunderstanding, but this could if stopped (by police and had one's permission to stay checked) lead to some uncomfortable minutes/misunderstandings until all was sorted.

 

I have a similar situation now for my 90-day Type-O Visa application, except in this case NO stamp in my passport, ONLY a blue piece of paper.  I applied just over 3 weeks ago and I am to report to immigration on Monday next week (my "permission to stay expires on "Sunday", one day prior to my being told to report to immigration). There is no under consideration stamp in my passport, BUT there is a blue receipt for the 1900 THB which I assume doubles as an 'under consideration' proof for the Visa.   I will see on Monday if I get the 90-day Type-O Visa stamp into my passport, or if I am told to return again. 

 

Fortunately this is not the '100-days' in "passport-less limbo" that has been reported that some encountered with agents.  

Edited November 18, 2022 by oldcpu

[oldcpu]

2 hours ago, Orinoco said:

if your to sick on the day don't go, go another day,

They were NOT sick on the day. Rather sitting at the immigration office for hours weakened them and they became sick.

 

As I stated  YMMV.  Not everyone has the same easy experience as yourself.

Edited November 18, 2022 by oldcpu

[Andrew Dwyer]

12 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

 

I have a similar situation now for my 90-day Type-O Visa application, except in this case NO stamp in my passport, ONLY a blue piece of paper.  I applied just over 3 weeks ago and I am to report to immigration on Monday next week (my "permission to stay expires on "Sunday", one day prior to my being told to report to immigration). There is no under consideration stamp in my passport, BUT there is a blue receipt for the 1900 THB which I assume doubles as an 'under consideration' proof for the Visa.   I will see on Monday if I get the 90-day Type-O Visa stamp into my passport, or if I am told to return again. 

 

I had a 17 day notice to return when I applied for my O visa ( from a visa exempt ), the actual issue stamp was dated 10 days after my application.

I would recommend anyone applying for an O visa from visa exempt to do it soon after arrival ( although the 45 days exempt is a better safety net ). Although they quote at least 15 days of exempt stay remaining that can cut it fine , always the 30 days extension on exempt available but 1,900 baht unnecessarily spent imo.

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

True, there was a report back date stamp in my passport, but when I reported on the noted date, they advised me to come back again in a week, and there was no update to the reporting date. And a week later, they told me to again come back in a week. So for two weeks, for anyone looking at the paper, it appeared I had exceeded my report back date. 

Thirty days is the longest they can do the report back date. At one time they could do another stamp but that was changed when  they set the 30 day limit. That was discussed a lot on this forum when it was changed but immigration confirmed that the stamp allows you stay until you get the approval.

28 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

I have a similar situation now for my 90-day Type-O Visa application, except in this case NO stamp in my passport, ONLY a blue piece of paper. 

A under consideration stamp cannot be done for a visa application. That is why they have the at least 15 days remaining on your stay rule todo the application. The waiting period is for the approval to be done by the division headquarters the office you applied at is under.

[lamyai3]

3 hours ago, Orinoco said:

So when I got one from the yellow bank last week with a letter as well.

Can Krungsri bank provide a 12 month statement on the spot, as with the bank letter?

[Richard 2020]

On 11/15/2022 at 5:27 PM, hakancnx said:

I have never, during my 8 years, been told to show a 12 months statement here in Chiang Mai.

I have the 800.000 in a separate fixed deposit account. 

After all, this is something completely different!!!

 

Why should the immigration check your income if they have the required 800.000.-THB in the bank ???

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, lamyai3 said:

Can Krungsri bank provide a 12 month statement on the spot, as with the bank letter?

Typically yes, they can. 

However, in some small branches you request it one day and pick it up at the branch the next morning at open of business.  Unlike Bangkok Bank Krungsri Bank has the customer data for a full 12 months in the local branch (not just the headquarters) but sometimes there may not be someone there authorized to sign/stamp the statement, so it may take an overnight.