Passport stuck at embassy as checkin nears

[connda]

If you are doing online 90 day reports you don't need your passport.  If online doesn't work?  The worst case scenario would be that you'll need to pay a 2000 THB late fee.  Not the end of the world.

 

For your extension?  I don't have a clue.  But there is a lesson here.  Get your passport renewals done wayyyyy before you need it for processing your extension.

Edited July 22, 2023 by connda

[Maestro]

8 hours ago, connda said:

If you are doing online 90 day report...

 

For your extension? ...

Unfortunately, the OP does not seem to know nor describe precisely what he has in his passport but he has made some valiant efforts designed to help us guess what i might be (see below) and I hope that your advice and that of other posters help him to decide how to proceed.

• ...I have a 90 day checkin, then 1 year university...
• ...it appears to be some kind of 90 days + 1 year visa...
• ...update...It is not a "90 day check in" so apologies for that bad wording...It is some sort of 90 day period before I must go to Chiang Mai immigration to get a 12 month university ED visa...it seems no one knows what this 90 day period is about. Some ED visas seem to have them though. Maybe it is a "preliminary test period" or something like that.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, Maestro said:

Unfortunately, the OP does not seem to know nor describe precisely what he has in his passport but he has made some valiant efforts designed to help us guess what i might be (see below) and I hope that your advice and that of other posters help him to decide how to proceed.

• ...I have a 90 day checkin, then 1 year university...
• ...it appears to be some kind of 90 days + 1 year visa...
• ...update...It is not a "90 day check in" so apologies for that bad wording...It is some sort of 90 day period before I must go to Chiang Mai immigration to get a 12 month university ED visa...it seems no one knows what this 90 day period is about. Some ED visas seem to have them though. Maybe it is a "preliminary test period" or something like that.

While it is possible that my interpretation is wrong, my assumption following his most recent posts was that he is still on the initial 90-day permission to stay from the Non Ed visa, and needs to attend immigration before its expiry to get a one-year extension of stay. That is based on believing his early claim that this is for a course of study at a formal university, not something like a Thai language course at an informal school.

[DrJack54]

The OP posted ongoing ridiculous information from the start and his subsequent posts.

Surprised this thread got any traction.

 

[Hal65]

On 7/22/2023 at 11:03 AM, BritTim said:

While it is possible that my interpretation is wrong, my assumption following his most recent posts was that he is still on the initial 90-day permission to stay from the Non Ed visa, and needs to attend immigration before its expiry to get a one-year extension of stay. That is based on believing his early claim that this is for a course of study at a formal university, not something like a Thai language course at an informal school.

I even called out the university by name. Payap University in Chiang Mai.

 

Quote

You have a problem. If the passport will not be available to you before the end of the 90-day permission to stay from the visa, you will need to leave the country, re-enter, and start the process of applying for the Non Ed visa again. (The tuition fee will not need to be paid again, but there will be extra expenses. Talk to the university contact to find out the costs and timescales involved.)  Obviously, you cannot leave the country without a valid passport. You will probably need to liaise with your embassy to get an emergency travel document.

 

 

To be clear you are saying I should:

 

1. Get the emergency travel document

2. Leave Thailand for a neighboring country

3. Return in maybe 2-4 weeks using the same emergency document

4. Get my passport

5. Attempt to proceed with the 12 month uni ED extension of stay

 

Is this an option:

 

1. Overstay 10 days

2. Pay the fine and get the 12 month extension at CM immigration?

 

If yes then I have another 10 days to work with. I think my 90 days ends August 6 but don't remember. The US embassy is slow to respond by email, maybe 7 days delay. They are not allowing phone inquiries on this type of matter.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Hal65

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, Hal65 said:

1. Overstay 10 days

2. Pay the fine and get the 12 month extension at CM immigration?

There are never any guarantees when it comes to clearing overstays at immigration. If you were talking about an overstay of two or three days, the chances are good that immigration would work with you. If even thinking about 10 days (which is pretty long) agree in advance with Immigration that they will allow it. My guess is that they will not.

 

Given the seriousness of your situation, do not try to solve the problem through email. Phone the US embassy and explain the situation. Keep trying when they do not pick up immediately. Also, consider talking to the US Consulate General in Chiang Mai. Maybe, they can help.

[Maestro]

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

...Also, consider talking to the US Consulate General in Chiang Mai. Maybe, they can help.

I support this suggestion. The pen pushers at the consular section of the US embassy in Bangkok may refuse to talk to you on the phone but they can't hang up on the honorary consul in Chiang Mai.

[Hal65]

Thanks guys. I tried to barrage my way through the “emergency only phone number.” It turns out the person who responded didn't try to end the call at all. She then told me a few important things:

 

1. I can get the passport mailed back immediately

2. This won't even affect the passport card application

3. I can pay for a 2nd return envelope (for the PP card) at this link: https://www.thailandpostmart.com/product/1013460000929/ Afterwards I should reply to her email with the confirmation details.

 

So it is solved. The passport will return to me in 2 days and I will be able to go to Chiang Mai for the 12 month extension of stay stamp.

 

I've been here 9 years and I learn something new every year. The big lesson this year, was that the so called "emergency only number" will actually take calls, and it's far more efficient than email, which they delay responding for days or weeks at a time.

 

The other revelation was that they don't actually need to hold your passport, but they choose to by default. I guess to save on shipping costs. In the future I intend to call them with some excuse to send back the passport while the new one is being created. 45 days without it is often an issue with 90 day reports and extensions in the mix.

 

Thanks to all for the help!

Edited July 24, 2023 by Hal65

[Maestro]

1 hour ago, Hal65 said:

...So it is solved. The passport will return to me in 2 days and I will be able to go to Chiang Mai for the 12 month extension of stay stamp...

I am happy for you that all will be solved now.

 

Enjoy your sojourn and studying the Thai language in Chiang Mai.

[mrwebb8825]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:53 PM, Hal65 said:

As for why the Passport card? Only one valid ID is a problem as is on display here. Hard to even get my tax refund, which the IRS is holding until I show 2 IDs on ID.me

still curious about this part. If you've been in Thailand for nine years, why are you filing for US tax refunds? Since when do you need to show an ID to receive a refund? Those are through direct deposit or a mailed check.

[Hal65]

On 8/17/2023 at 7:06 AM, mrwebb8825 said:

still curious about this part. If you've been in Thailand for nine years, why are you filing for US tax refunds? Since when do you need to show an ID to receive a refund? Those are through direct deposit or a mailed check.

I got a big refund and as a fraud prevention measure they required me to verify with 2 IDs before processing it.

 

You always pay US taxes, you are taxed on global earnings minus taxes paid to nations with mutual tax treaties.

[mrwebb8825]

22 hours ago, Hal65 said:

I got a big refund and as a fraud prevention measure they required me to verify with 2 IDs before processing it.

 

You always pay US taxes, you are taxed on global earnings minus taxes paid to nations with mutual tax treaties.

If it's that big of a refund, maybe fly back to the states and renew your driver's license. Living full time abroad, you don't owe US fed taxes until you earn more than $125k (you don't claim Thai earnings since you'd be paying Thai taxes) - exception would be income derived from US assets (rental, stocks, dividends, etc.)

[Hal65]

On 8/27/2023 at 7:04 AM, mrwebb8825 said:

If it's that big of a refund, maybe fly back to the states and renew your driver's license. Living full time abroad, you don't owe US fed taxes until you earn more than $125k (you don't claim Thai earnings since you'd be paying Thai taxes) - exception would be income derived from US assets (rental, stocks, dividends, etc.)

I'm not clear on why you suggest this over getting the passport card? I got the PP card and verified on ID.me

[bbko]

On 7/18/2023 at 8:06 AM, Hal65 said:

I sent the passport to the US embassy by mail about 3 weeks ago

Sent for what?

[bbko]

On 8/17/2023 at 6:06 PM, mrwebb8825 said:

which the IRS is holding until I show 2 IDs on ID.me

When had a problem getting a copy of my last years filed tax returns online with id.me, it was a 10 day headache trying to jump through their ID hoops.  In the end I had to do a smart phone video call with them where I had to show two forms of ID, I literally had to hold up my passport and driver's license to the camera, took all of 5 minutes.

[retiree]

I also fretted about ID.me until I went down the long list of acceptable secondary ID forms (with passport as primary).  I think I just used a 1099.  In the end it was awfully easy (we used something like gmail video on computer for the face to face).  

-- Retiree