Driving Licence Renewal - Certificate of Residency - Problems

[peter267]

Just renewing my Thai Driving Licence ( 4th time, been here 15 years) - and near the end of the process, to be tripped up.    Applying where I live and work Pathum Thani.   The Road Ministry is asking for a certificate of residency despite having copy and sight of my original blue and current work permit & valid visa in my passport.    These used to be additionally authenticated by a letter from Immigration to Road licence.   Patum Thani Immigration has recently decided not to do these letters and advises they must be issued by the Home Embassy,  in my case UK.   

 

UK embassy used to do an "Affirmation of Residency".  visit to the embassy  50 pounds signed and stamped.   UK embassy no longer doing this or offering an explanation or, more essentially, a public written notice (Thai & English)  that could be passed to Thai authorities to establish a " Certificate of Residency  - Not available from  Embassy".   (UK only, or are other ambassies able to do this still?) 

 

Checking with Chang Wattana Immigration, they apparently still issue letters of confirmation.   Pathum Thani do not, just last few months?

 

Need to break this impasse.  UK Embassy has gone very corporate (not in a good way) - Call the .local number and click to consular call service takes you to a UK 24 hour call centre.  Their primary advice is everthing is solved on thier web site from UK.GOV.    hmm we wish - and from there on in not overly helpful with advice - than filling in a web form to complain.   UK Gov websites are a complete mess.  Google UK.Gov surely leads you to a Thai list of consular services which no longer include service of "Affirmation of Residency despite this being an income generation exercise.    Google Search  Thai Affirmation of Residency certificate leads you to UK Gov site where you can actively book an appointment at the embassy down load the self fill Affirmation of residency & a booking form - to be then let down with no accsses to payment.   Yes, I had a booked and confirmed  appointment on the UK system before falling at this last hurdle.

 

OK it is in an ongoing  impasse and a long story.  Hope to get  a breakthrough.  

 

Am I alone in this wilderness? 

 

 

 

 

[freeworld]

Apply for Resident Certificate at Chaeng Wattana.

[peter267]

Just now, freeworld said:

Apply for Resident Certificate at Chaeng Wattana.

That was the reason to contact them,  my immigration office is Patum Thani and was told to go back to them - CW could not issue.

[DrJoy]

31 minutes ago, peter267 said:

despite having copy and sight of my original blue and current work permit

Does your Work Permit contain address?

[peter267]

Yes, my Work permit has my address in Pathum Thani - but no blue or pink card issued by my landlord or local authority - which I have never had or been asked for.  (yet).  My blue work permit & visa in my passport align - with my address - and  current and valid

 

 

[paahlman]

Well.. In the worst case.. check into a hotel for one night and obtain certificate from that. Tell hotel to print out the registration of address. Of course its nonsense but its within the law. 

[Soondae]

Wow, don't know how to help, just renewed mine last month in Cha-Am DLT. I got residence letter from my condo, took it to Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin) immigration, they did residence letter for me (500 baht) went to DLT Cha Am and out the door with renewed license in 20 minutes.

[mark5335]

5 minutes ago, Soondae said:

Wow, don't know how to help, just renewed mine last month in Cha-Am DLT. I got residence letter from my condo, took it to Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin) immigration, they did residence letter for me (500 baht) went to DLT Cha Am and out the door with renewed license in 20 minutes.

I did my last DL renewal at DLT Cha-am also, although my registered address is in Bangkok. Similarly to your experience it was hassle-free, as well as being quick and friendly - in stark contrast to DLT Bangchak in Bangkok.

[billzant]

Peter,

 

I had a year of bureaucracy caused by this issue, and I now have a DL but no solution for you.

I went to my immigration office to get a CoR, they refused - sympathetic but new boss was not for turning. I went to Konsoong for driving license, they said go to immigration for CoR. Going round and round in circles.

Konsoong suggested the Amphur.  Amphur told me get a yellow Tabian baan and a pink identity card. This required  a trip up to Bangkok, official signed copy of passport, then to a translation agency for a translation of copy of passport, then back to Amphur.

I then needed much cooperation from landlord who went 4/5 times to the Amphur to get yellow Tabian Baan and pink ID card. I went to Konsoong with new documents and he refused saying he wanted a CoR from immigration. I went back to Registrar at Amphur who knew me by then, she got on the phone. I sat there for half an hour, and eventually she told me that the Konsoong had agreed to allow me to renew the DL - with reflex and colour test - and medical certificate from hospital. My immigration office has now said that they issue CoRs, so fortunately no problem in 4 years - unless there is a change.

The DL can be renewed at any Konsoong. My last resort was going to be using agents to renew at Pattaya - I had contacted the agents and they said they could make it possible.

Please feel free to DM me if it helps.

[1DegreeN]

It may not help the OP but I can share my experience to add to the mix. Five years ago when I renewed my 2 yr licence to a 5 yr, Prachinburi immigration did not issue any certificate of residence so I went through the process of getting a yellow tabien baan and DLT accepted that. Last week I went to renew again and this time DLT refused to accept the yellow book and told me to go to immigration to get the letter. At immigration they said sure, no problem, and I got it in 20 minutes for no fee. 

[KhunLA]

Renew license at a different amphur, that doesn't require the silliness of redundant paperwork.

[blackshadow]

21 hours ago, peter267 said:

Just renewing my Thai Driving Licence ( 4th time, been here 15 years) - and near the end of the process, to be tripped up.    Applying where I live and work Pathum Thani.   The Road Ministry is asking for a certificate of residency despite having copy and sight of my original blue and current work permit & valid visa in my passport.    These used to be additionally authenticated by a letter from Immigration to Road licence.   Patum Thani Immigration has recently decided not to do these letters and advises they must be issued by the Home Embassy,  in my case UK.   

 

UK embassy used to do an "Affirmation of Residency".  visit to the embassy  50 pounds signed and stamped.   UK embassy no longer doing this or offering an explanation or, more essentially, a public written notice (Thai & English)  that could be passed to Thai authorities to establish a " Certificate of Residency  - Not available from  Embassy".   (UK only, or are other ambassies able to do this still?) 

 

Checking with Chang Wattana Immigration, they apparently still issue letters of confirmation.   Pathum Thani do not, just last few months?

 

Need to break this impasse.  UK Embassy has gone very corporate (not in a good way) - Call the .local number and click to consular call service takes you to a UK 24 hour call centre.  Their primary advice is everthing is solved on thier web site from UK.GOV.    hmm we wish - and from there on in not overly helpful with advice - than filling in a web form to complain.   UK Gov websites are a complete mess.  Google UK.Gov surely leads you to a Thai list of consular services which no longer include service of "Affirmation of Residency despite this being an income generation exercise.    Google Search  Thai Affirmation of Residency certificate leads you to UK Gov site where you can actively book an appointment at the embassy down load the self fill Affirmation of residency & a booking form - to be then let down with no accsses to payment.   Yes, I had a booked and confirmed  appointment on the UK system before falling at this last hurdle.

 

OK it is in an ongoing  impasse and a long story.  Hope to get  a breakthrough.  

 

Am I alone in this wilderness? 

 

 

 

 

why is nothing simple in this country.....ones address is on back of licence..or it used to be.....

just another money scamming exersise!!!!

[TigerandDog]

I just renewed my 5 year license earlier this month and encountered the same witch that always goes out of her way to find an excuse to make it difficult for farangs to renew their license. So in anticipation of this I emailed the main DLTY in my Province to ascertain exactly what documents were accepted as proof of address, and requested the reply to be in both english & Thai. Accepted documents were either a CoR from Immigration OR yellow tabian baan & pink ID card.

 

Anyway, the witch refused to accept the yellow book and said needed a CoR from Immigration. Showed her the email and made her read the reply in Thai. She wasn't happy about that, so then she wanted proof that the yellow book was actually me and that I had to go to the District Office to obtain that. Stood my ground again and said look at the photo on my passport, my driver's license and pink ID card and then look at my face, that should be more than enough proof that the yellow book was mine, especially as the ID # in the yellow book and pink ID card were the same. More grunts and growls to my wife in Thai.

 

Then she tried to say because my license had my passport # on it and the ID card had a different # she couldn't renew my license. I again referred her to the email and said the ID card was for proof of address only. More grunts and grisels to my wife. She then wrote a note on the copies and handed me over to another staff member.

 

That member then tried to tell me that I could not have my passport # on my license and that it had to be the ID card number which meant that, according to her I could not drive outside the province. Stood my ground again and asked to speak with a senior manager that spoke english.

 

Was taken downstairs to the manager's office, who in usual Thai manner did not speak to me at all but only to my wife. She also insisted that I needed a CoR. I then pulled the ace I was keeping ready and advised the manager, through my wife, that this particular employee, who was also in the manager's office, had a long history of going out of her way to make it difficult for farangs to renew their licenses, and that a friend of mine had encountered this exact same scenario when he came in to renew his license, and that he used exactly the same paperwork to renew his license at the Province DLT. His wife had submitted a written complaint at the provincial DLT and our district DLT received a phone call and was directed to ensure the staff were trained properly as to the procedure. All the time this was happening the witch was sitting there and her face was getting redder out of anger for being challenged.

 

Anyway the manager telephoned the Province DLT and was directed by them to ensure that going forward the employees were retrained and that my license was to be renewed as I had ALL the correct paperwork and that the pink ID card was for proof of address only and my passport # was to be on my license.

 

Went back upstairs to do the testing, but the witch was really p'd off now and had another staff member make a series of phone calls in the hope of being able to refuse to renew the license, despite already being directed to do so. Anyway when all that failed, she threw the paperwork down in a huff, and called the girl over that did the testing. The girl that did the testing actually apologised and said that she had been trained by the witch but now she knows the correct procedure. License renewed and got 6 years as it was 2 days after the expiry date.

 

So sometimes it pays to stand up for yourself, even if it is a p i t a.

 

 

[AAArdvark]

And sometimes it pays to use an agent. 

[topt]

1 hour ago, TigerandDog said:

Anyway, the witch

Is this Pattaya DLT or another?

[Toby1947]

There are no Brits at the British Embassy like most things British it is run by our colonial friends ( id like to say what i really call them ) Get down the Koasan Rd. they'll print you one off there for about 50 baht. And whilst you're there get me a Bachelor of science degree issued from Oxford University ????????????

[Guderian]

6 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

And sometimes it pays to use an agent. 

+1

I renewed at the Pattaya DLT a few months ago using Mot's agency on Soi Khao Talo. Not cheap, but she does everything for you. I can't be bothered with the inanity of TM30's as I haven't changed my address in 12 years, but apparently Jomtien Immo insists on a valid TM30 to issue a residence certificate for the driving licence. Mot sorted that out for me at no extra cost. You must have similar agencies in the Bangkok area, just cough up a few Baht and stop worrying about it, life is too short.

[Soondae]

23 hours ago, mark5335 said:

I did my last DL renewal at DLT Cha-am also, although my registered address is in Bangkok. Similarly to your experience it was hassle-free, as well as being quick and friendly - in stark contrast to DLT Bangchak in Bangkok.

My first DL was done at the Pranburi DLT, what a busy place and so much hassles. On a whim I decided to try the Cha Am office and have happily been using them for many years now, car registration in a minute, DL in 20 minutes (I didn't even need to take the color or reaction tests this time). Just walked in with all the proper documents and copies and eLearning result.

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm,,, get an international driving permit. .... less idiots you have to deal with?

[transam]

4 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

hmmm,,, get an international driving permit. .... less idiots you have to deal with?

Any licence has a limit of 90 days in LOS....

[JackGats]

On 7/29/2023 at 2:18 AM, Soondae said:

Wow, don't know how to help, just renewed mine last month in Cha-Am DLT. I got residence letter from my condo, took it to Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin) immigration, they did residence letter for me (500 baht) went to DLT Cha Am and out the door with renewed license in 20 minutes.

Write to driving licence agencies  and ask them if they can help. My agency in Pattaya offered to secure a certificate of residence for a fee with a view to renewing the licence. You may have to  do the hotel thing first so that you are "residing" within the constituency of the agency.

[TigerandDog]

On 7/29/2023 at 11:20 AM, topt said:

Is this Pattaya DLT or another?

another

[peter267]

To all,  thanks for the responses and the options offered.    

 

I did, and am following up with the Embassy - filed an online case and waited the indicated 1-3 days to get no response!.  However on a call back to what I assume is the UK call centre with the established "case number".   They then transfered call  to the embassy in Bkk where  I spoke to a Thai working for embassy.  They are going to call Pathum Thani Immigration to say "UK does not do proof of residency any more".   "Watch this space".    I have appointment later this week to do the some of the DLT process,  colour blindness and reaction test etc I assume - hope that proceeds and fingers cross can establish identity by getting agreement between immigration and DLT over the line.   3 days intervening public  holidays,  more patience required.     

[transam]

Thank gawd for my yellow book.....................

[walailak]

On 7/29/2023 at 9:45 AM, TigerandDog said:

had to go to the District Office to obtain that

December 2020, renewed my third 5 years Thai licence and I wanted to change the licence ID no to my pink id number all I had to do is to get that information (kor something) from the District Office confirming that this pink ID holder is the same person as the passport states.

I knew from a a previous visit that this is required so I had it and I was able to change it. 

No more changing driving licence ID every time the passport number chances...... And no restrictions applied for driving outside yr province as you mentioned 

Hope this helps 

[TigerandDog]

4 hours ago, walailak said:

December 2020, renewed my third 5 years Thai licence and I wanted to change the licence ID no to my pink id number all I had to do is to get that information (kor something) from the District Office confirming that this pink ID holder is the same person as the passport states.

I knew from a a previous visit that this is required so I had it and I was able to change it. 

No more changing driving licence ID every time the passport number chances...... And no restrictions applied for driving outside yr province as you mentioned 

Hope this helps 

Unfortunately you will find that the downside of the pink ID card is that on the back of the card, written in Thai, it states that it CANNOT be used as ID for travel outside the province of issue, and I have experienced that at the airport when flying domestically. That same restriction also technically applies to a driver's license if the pink ID card # is used on the license instead of your passport # and that has been confirmed by the Province's main DLT Office. Now that doesn't mean it will be strictly enforced, but like most things Thai, if asked by police outside the province of issue to show your license, depending on the officer's shall we say mood, you could find yourself being fined for not having a correct license, AND it could also mean that your driver's license may not be accepted as ID when outside the province of issue.

[walailak]

12 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

Unfortunately you will find that the downside of the pink ID card is that on the back of the card, written in Thai, it states that it CANNOT be used as ID for travel outside the province of issue, and I have experienced that at the airport when flying domestically. That same restriction also technically applies to a driver's license if the pink ID card # is used on the license instead of your passport # and that has been confirmed by the Province's main DLT Office. Now that doesn't mean it will be strictly enforced, but like most things Thai, if asked by police outside the province of issue to show your license, depending on the officer's shall we say mood, you could find yourself being fined for not having a correct license, AND it could also mean that your driver's license may not be accepted as ID when outside the province of issue.

Understood your point but so far I have been able to use my pink ID outside my province several times without any problems, since I first issued with it in 2016.

 

As far as concerning the driving licence I heard people having restrictions on the back of it, but mine doesn't hsve it even on the physical card or the one showing on dlt qr licence app installed. 

 

Let's see when next renewal of it in March 2026 if they r going to restrict me or not with a condition on the back of the license card. 

 

At the moment all good ????????

[peter267]

End of the Driving Licence Story - For Me!

 

Still at an impasse between Immigration and expectation of Affirmation from Embassy.

 

Went 7.00am to DLC for allotted apointment for final reaction, colour and other stuff - 1st day after 3 day holiday not very busy with staff or punters.   2 desks went through my paperwork paying attention to my current visa stamp validity and my blue work permit book that has my residential address inside. photocopies and signed.  All OK passed through to testing, photo and issue of new 5 year licence. 

 

I did meet a fellow Falang in DLC on a retirement visa same immigration office as me.  I asked about residency letter - he said no problem at all,  taken to an immigration back office and 800 baht letter done - however no receipt given.    I think conclusion is Immigration Dept do letters of confirmation but welcome cash donations to thier "benevolent fund".   Also different staff at DLS doing the checking today.     TIT.   If at first you dont suceeed ............................

[lvsyeo]

Hello, I'll be taking a driving licence in bkk or cm on a tourist visa 30 days. May I know how and where to get a TM30 for residence certificate on a tourist visa without any rental contract ?
Can anyone tell me which hotel or guesthouses can help issue TM30 if i just book a day or 2?

Any advice is deeply appreciated.

Thanks

[howerde]

1 hour ago, lvsyeo said:

Hello, I'll be taking a driving licence in bkk or cm on a tourist visa 30 days. May I know how and where to get a TM30 for residence certificate on a tourist visa without any rental contract ?
Can anyone tell me which hotel or guesthouses can help issue TM30 if i just book a day or 2?

Any advice is deeply appreciated.

Thanks

You will not get a certificate of residence at Bangkok immigration without a 90 day report (tm47), a TM30 should be done by your landlord or hotel. by its self it is not enough for a residents certificate