Did anyone succeed recently to apply to a 90 days Non O "retirement" visa at Mae Sai Immigration by first having to bounce out at "Mae Sai/Tachilek" border in order to kill off a OA extension of stay ?

 

Yesterday, I have been to Mae Sai Immigration Office and they refused to allow me to apply for a Non O visa "retirement" because I currently have a Non OA extension of stay, even if I kill off it by doing a border bounce and come back with a 30 days visa exempt. 

 

They told me that I have to apply for a O visa "retirement" at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Laos

If you live in the area services by Mae Sai, and you are currently in Thailand on a visa exempt entry, then it appears you are encountering officials who do not want to do their work. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do about it. Although aggravating, a Non O from an embassy/consulate outside Thailand might be a practical solution.

Another possibility if you have the time and means to do it - albeit equally aggravating, though - would be to book yourself into an extended stay at a Bangkok hotel who are prepared to issue a TM30 form in your case. This will then enable you, after you have undertaken a border run to cancel your original non-OA visa, to apply for a non-O conversion at Chaengwattana Immigration who have been reported on here as playing strictly by the rule book when it comes to non-O conversion applications.

 

IMHO any stay at a Bangkok hotel should also cover the period when you need to apply for your first annual extension of stay within the lifetime of your new non-O visa - which it would probably also be prudent to apply for at Chaengwattana. Thereafter you can return to Mae Sai and submit a fresh TM30 at the local office, to enable you to resume conducting immigration business (90-day reports, subsequent annual extensions of stay, etc) there.

 

Absolutely outrageous that the Chiang Rai Immigration office tells you to apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa (retirement) at the Embassy in Vientiane, Laos (700-800 km from where you are staying). 

I looked at the Chiang Rai Immigration website < https://chiangrai.immigration.go.th/en/frontpage-english/ > and the Homepage is about their High Standards and dedication to Customer Satisfaction!  ????

And there is even a link for the 'Change of Visa' process that you want to do. 

So I think that you had the misfortune of talking with the village idiot Officer there, and that going back and requesting to talk with the Officer in charge at that office would quickly solve the matter. 

Anyway, you would indeed need to 'kill' the Permit to Stay based on your current Non Imm O-A Visa first, in order to be able to apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa (retirement), and a quick border-run (without a Re-Entry Permit) would provide you with a 30-day Visa Exempt entry from which you could then apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa < that's the change of Visa process >. 

In case Chiang Rai Immigration are adamant that they will not allow you to apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa (retirement) when applying from that Visa Exempt entry (you would need to have at least 15 days left on your Permit to stay), there is another alternative. 

> Do you have any friends in other near-by provinces, that would be willing to issue a TM-30 that you are staying with them?  It's almost no effort to do this (and you can even do it on their behalf).  And having done so, you could then apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa (retirement) in the Imm Office of that nearby province.  And once you got the Visa stamp in your Passport (after the under consideration period, which can take up to 2 weeks), it would then be a simple matter of relocating to your actual address, where you could then at the end of the 90 days apply for the 1-year extension. 

I hope this will not be necessary for you, and that it will be explained as a 'misunderstanding' after you talked with the Officer in charge of the ChiangRai Imm Office.  

A post advocating illegal activities has been removed. 

12 hours ago, PETERHOF said:

They told me that I have to apply for a O visa "retirement" at the Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Laos

Your immigration office is out of line.

 

Putting that aside I suggest you obtain the non O marriage at Vientiane.

That requires an appointment.

Alternatively you can do likewise at Savannakhet. 

You can then obtain your 12 month extension seamlessly at your immigration office.

 

Your office is being crackpot but not much you can do.

Did you ask to speak with senior io?

Just to make sure some jr gave incorrect advice.