2023 Trip Report for Retirement Extension via Thai Bank Deposit at BKK CW

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Was successfully able to obtain my new annual retirement extension and an accompanying reentry permit today out at BKK CW.

 

OVERVIEW:

 

And although I had everything correct and in order on both counts, the day was one of the worst I've experienced at BKK CW in my many years of living in Thailand. It was a tale of very good and very bad.

 

The retirement extension part went surprisingly quickly and easily in about an hour from the time I sat down to wait at about 9 a.m. with an L section queue number of 24 (and they already were serving #10 at that point) until I got my stamped passport back about 10 a.m.

 

But the reentry permit process was an entirely different story, where I started out at 10:10 a.m. with literally 100 people in queue ahead of my number (I was #171 and they were at about #70 when I sat down to wait), and didn't get my stamped passport back until 3 p.m. (almost FIVE hours after starting that process), at which point there were still 130 more people waiting to get their passports back from the reentry permit area.

 

I had thought about trying to schedule an appointment on the Immigration website for one or the other of the two services.... But both were fully booked up for about a week ahead of time, and I was in a hurry to do my renewals, as I wanted to complete them before any potential increase in the bank deposit financial requirements for retirement extensions (something Police Gen. Big Joke has recently publicly talked about proposing to the new incoming Thai government).  So I went ahead without any appointment today on my own, and ended up paying the price for that decision, at least as regards the grueling experience in the reentry permit section.  Lesson to be learned, if planning to schedule an Immigration service appointment at BKK CW, try to book it well in advance.

 

Just by way of comparison, for the prior 4 or 5 annual cycles at BKK CW, I typically have been able to start when the Immigration Office opens at 8:30 a.m. and be done with both extension and reentry permit by or before the noon lunch break. But got nowhere close to that today, and I have no idea why the reentry permit section was so rammed as it was.

 

RETIREMENT EXTENSION:

 

Everything pretty much as usual there and not seemingly as busy as it's been in the past. One important highlight to note: I intentionally did NOT include a copy of my 5-year-old TM30 residence report in my retirement extension paperwork packet as a test case, and the officer handling my case specifically noticed I hadn't submitted a copy and asked me for one (even though the one I had was already stapled into my passport along with an old TM6 airport departure card (which the Immigration staff told me I didn't need to keep anymore and could discard). The officer also told me I needed to include the copy of the TM30 along with my latest 90-day reporting receipt (which I had included already) in my future extension applications. Last year, the same folks didn't ask me for a TM30.....

 

One thing that I found kind of interesting... Because I had free time to wait in the retirement extension area before my queue number was called, I decided to go down to the so-called Document Check cubicle just behind the front customer service counter and have the officer there look thru my paperwork -- something I'd never done before. And as I said above, all of my paperwork was fine (the checking officer didn't call out the absence of a TM30 copy), but she did order/organize my documents in a specific way, which I'll list below just for interest's sake:

 

In order:

--my original passport and my original Thai bank book.

--the completed TM7 form, with my photo pasted on the reverse side and my phone number written at the top of the reverse side of the sheet.

--the 4 single-page signed misc. statements and Immigration rules sheets.

--photocopies of my passport facepage, original visa page, and most recent entry stamp page

--photocopy of my most recent 90-day reporting receipt

--printout of a map showing the directions to and location of my home.

and finally,

--my original Thai bank letter (no more than 7 days old) confirming my 800,000+ Thai bank deposit, followed by photocopies of my bank book pages covering all activity for the past year. And the bank book itself needing to be updated with some transaction on the day of my Immigration visit, and that last update reflected in the last photocopy.

--all of the above signed with my signature toward the bottom of each page.

 

I mention the ordering in particular because when I saw down with the retirement extension officer a few minutes later, she made a great point of telling my wife in Thai that my paperwork was in "perfect" condition (other than the missing TM30 that she had already received from me) and how she wished all her other customers organized everything so completely and correctly... So, she was happy, and I was happy, and I quickly went on my way.

 

Other odds and ends:

--wasn't asked for a copy of my last TM6 airport departure card, which used to be a staple item of retirement extension paperwork, until the government stopped issuing them to incoming air travelers. And the Immigration Officer I asked told me I could throw away my old TM6 and wouldn't need it any more.

 

--was able to file my new retirement extension application more than 30 days in advance of the expiration date for my current extension, so BKK CW is still sticking to their policy of allowing you to apply up to 45 days prior.

 

--Immigration fees remained unchanged for my two purposes -- 1,900 baht cash for the retirement extension, and 1,000 baht cash for the single entry reentry permit.

 

TRAVEL:

 

For the second time, the wife and I took the BTS Light Green Line from Central Bangkok out to the relatively new Wat Phra Sri Mahathat BTS Station, which is at the intersection of Chaengwattana and Phahonyothin Roads. From there, it was about a 20 minute and 70 baht taxi fare both in the morning and in the afternoon to/from the Government Complex. The best exit to take at that BTS station is Exit #1, where you emerge on a roundabout that leads to Chaengwattana Road heading in the direction of the Government Complex.

 

We left home in central BKK about 7 a.m. and arrived at the Government Complex at about 8:20 a.m. after the long BTS ride and then the ensuing shorter taxi trip. The one thing that made me a bit nervous about going via that BTS station is when we were walking toward Exit #1, there was only ONE taxi parked waiting along the curb, and I was afraid someone else was going to grab it first leaving us waiting... But everyone else coming out of the BTS Exit 1 this morning had other travel plans, and we were able to catch the lone waiting taxi.

 

The trip via BTS and the Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Station (along with the ensuing taxi) is probably somewhat cheaper that our normal default means of travel to BKK CW, which is taking the BTS Light Green/Sukhumvit Line to the Mochit Station, and then a taxi from there to BKK CW. Unlike Wat Phra Sri Mahathat, there are always dozens of waiting taxis at Mochit..,. But the ensuing longer taxi fare there, and potential expressway tolls, make it a somewhat more expensive trip. But also usually a quicker one overall than the 1 hour 20 minute duration of our trip today.

 

TRAVEL PS:

 

I noticed the new Pink Line elevated rail line that's almost complete (but not open yet) running along Chaengwattana Road and also intersecting with the BTS Sukhumvit Line's Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Station. So some months into the future, if government promises are kept, you'll be able to transfer from the BTS Green Line there to the Pink LIne and use it to travel along Chaengwattana Road to a station just a bit beyond the current Soi 7 entrance to the Government Complex destination, meaning a taxi trip there is no longer required, if that suits you.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Des1]

30 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Was successfully able to obtain my new annual retirement extension and an accompanying reentry permit today out at BKK CW.

 

OVERVIEW:

 

And although I had everything correct and in order on both counts, the day was one of the worst I've experienced at BKK CW in my many years of living in Thailand. It was a tale of very good and very bad.

 

The retirement extension part went surprisingly quickly and easily in about an hour from the time I sat down to wait at about 9 a.m. with an L section queue number of 24 (and they already were serving #10 at that point) until I got my stamped passport back about 10 a.m.

 

But the reentry permit process was an entirely different story, where I started out at 10:10 a.m. with literally 100 people in queue ahead of my number (I was #171 and they were at about #70 when I sat down to wait), and didn't get my stamped passport back until 3 p.m. (almost FIVE hours after starting that process), at which point there were still 130 more people waiting to get their passports back from the reentry permit area.

 

I had thought about trying to schedule an appointment on the Immigration website for one or the other of the two services.... But both were fully booked up for about a week ahead of time, and I was in a hurry to do my renewals, as I wanted to complete them before any potential increase in the bank deposit financial requirements for retirement extensions (something Police Gen. Big Joke has recently publicly talked about proposing to the new incoming Thai government).  So I went ahead without any appointment today on my own, and ended up paying the price for that decision, at least as regards the grueling experience in the reentry permit section.  Lesson to be learned, if planning to schedule an Immigration service appointment at BKK CW, try to book it well in advance.

 

Just by way of comparison, for the prior 4 or 5 annual cycles at BKK CW, I typically have been able to start when the Immigration Office opens at 8:30 a.m. and be done with both extension and reentry permit by or before the noon lunch break. But got nowhere close to that today, and I have no idea why the reentry permit section was so rammed as it was.

 

RETIREMENT EXTENSION:

 

Everything pretty much as usual there and not seemingly as busy as it's been in the past. One important highlight to note: I intentionally did NOT include a copy of my 5-year-old TM30 residence report in my retirement extension paperwork packet as a test case, and the officer handling my case specifically noticed I hadn't submitted a copy and asked me for one (even though the one I had was already stapled into my passport along with an old TM6 airport departure card (which the Immigration staff told me I didn't need to keep anymore and could discard). The officer also told me I needed to include the copy of the TM30 along with my latest 90-day reporting receipt (which I had included already) in my future extension applications. Last year, the same folks didn't ask me for a TM30.....

 

One thing that I found kind of interesting... Because I had free time to wait in the retirement extension area before my queue number was called, I decided to go down to the so-called Document Check cubicle just behind the front customer service counter and have the officer there look thru my paperwork -- something I'd never done before. And as I said above, all of my paperwork was fine (the checking officer didn't call out the absence of a TM30 copy), but she did order/organize my documents in a specific way, which I'll list below just for interest's sake:

 

In order:

--my original passport and my original Thai bank book.

--the completed TM7 form, with my photo pasted on the reverse side and my phone number written at the top of the reverse side of the sheet.

--the 4 single-page signed misc. statements and Immigration rules sheets.

--photocopies of my passport facepage, original visa page, and most recent entry stamp page

--photocopy of my most recent 90-day reporting receipt

--printout of a map showing the directions to and location of my home.

and finally,

--my original Thai bank letter (no more than 7 days old) confirming my 800,000+ Thai bank deposit, followed by photocopies of my bank book pages covering all activity for the past year. And the bank book itself needing to be updated with some transaction on the day of my Immigration visit, and that last update reflected in the last photocopy.

--all of the above signed with my signature toward the bottom of each page.

 

I mention the ordering in particular because when I saw down with the retirement extension officer a few minutes later, she made a great point of telling my wife in Thai that my paperwork was in "perfect" condition (other than the missing TM30 that she had already received from me) and how she wished all her other customers organized everything so completely and correctly... So, she was happy, and I was happy, and I quickly went on my way.

 

Other odds and ends:

--wasn't asked for a copy of my last TM6 airport departure card, which used to be a staple item of retirement extension paperwork, until the government stopped issuing them to incoming air travelers. And the Immigration Officer I asked told me I could throw away my old TM6 and wouldn't need it any more.

 

--was able to file my new retirement extension application more than 30 days in advance of the expiration date for my current extension, so BKK CW is still sticking to their policy of allowing you to apply up to 45 days prior.

 

--Immigration fees remained unchanged for my two purposes -- 1,900 baht cash for the retirement extension, and 1,000 baht cash for the single entry reentry permit.

 

TRAVEL:

 

For the second time, the wife and I took the BTS Light Green Line from Central Bangkok out to the relatively new Wat Phra Sri Mahathat BTS Station, which is at the intersection of Chaengwattana and Phahonyothin Roads. From there, it was about a 20 minute and 70 baht taxi fare both in the morning and in the afternoon to/from the Government Complex. The best exit to take at that BTS station is Exit #1, where you emerge on a roundabout that leads to Chaengwattana Road heading in the direction of the Government Complex.

 

We left home in central BKK about 7 a.m. and arrived at the Government Complex at about 8:20 a.m. after the long BTS ride and then the ensuing shorter taxi trip. The one thing that made me a bit nervous about going via that BTS station is when we were walking toward Exit #1, there was only ONE taxi parked waiting along the curb, and I was afraid someone else was going to grab it first leaving us waiting... But everyone else coming out of the BTS Exit 1 this morning had other travel plans, and we were able to catch the lone waiting taxi.

 

The trip via BTS and the Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Station (along with the ensuing taxi) is probably somewhat cheaper that our normal default means of travel to BKK CW, which is taking the BTS Light Green/Sukhumvit Line to the Mochit Station, and then a taxi from there to BKK CW. Unlike Wat Phra Sri Mahathat, there are always dozens of waiting taxis at Mochit..,. But the ensuing longer taxi fare there, and potential expressway tolls, make it a somewhat more expensive trip. But also usually a quicker one overall than the 1 hour 20 minute duration of our trip today.

 

TRAVEL PS:

 

I noticed the new Pink Line elevated rail line that's almost complete (but not open yet) running along Chaengwattana Road and also intersecting with the BTS Sukhumvit Line's Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Station. So some months into the future, if government promises are kept, you'll be able to transfer from the BTS Green Line there to the Pink LIne and use it to travel along Chaengwattana Road to a station just a bit beyond the current Soi 7 entrance to the Government Complex destination, meaning a taxi trip there is no longer required, if that suits you.

 

 

Great report. Thanks a lot!

[DrJack54]

Your annual extended report.

I am doing same in October.

Can't wait to report back that TM30 was not required and my TM47 and lease was sufficient.

If wrong I will post accordingly.

 

Why you didn't book appointment is surprising. 

It works like clockwork.

Unrelated but I did 90 report last Wednesday with appointment.

Took 5 minutes..

Straight to desk and out. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

lease was sufficient

When the officer first asked, I thought she was asking to see my rental lease, which I had with me as a standard precaution... So I pulled it out and showed it to her... And that was NOT what she wanted...

 

When I then asked, "Do you mean TM30", she replied yes, and I pointed her to the TM30 sheet stapled in my passport, which she unstapled and copied for my extension packet.

 

YMMV.

 

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

When the officer first asked, I thought she was asking to see my rental lease, which I had with me as a standard precaution... So I pulled it out and showed it to her... And that was NOT what she wanted...

 

When I then asked, "Do you mean TM30", she replied yes, and I pointed her to the TM30 sheet stapled in my passport, which she unstapled and copied for my extension packet.

 

YMMV.

 

Stop.

Done 10 at CW.

I have never even done a TM30 since I entered Thailand over 10 years ago.

Happy to report back in October my failure due to not having  TM30.

 

Don't listen to Doc Check chicks.

Ask to see supervisor. 

 

Are you referring to immigration officer asking for TM30 or the Doc check chicks.

Ignore those robots.

Edited August 24, 2023 by DrJack54

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Stop.

Done 10 at CW.

I have never even done a TM30 since I entered Thailand over 10 years ago.

Happy to report back in October my failure due to not having  TM30.

Don't listen to Doc Check chicks.

Ask to see supervisor. 

Not paying attention again... As stated above, it was the retirement extensions officer handling my application who raised and required the TM30 photocopy... not the documents check officer.

 

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Not paying attention again... As stated above, it was the retirement extensions officer handling my application who raised and required the TM30 photocopy... not the documents check officer.

 

So your special.

No one EVER asked for my TM30. (10 years)

My most recent Nov last year.

 

Things do change as that extension the doc check chick asked for a TM47.

That was a first. 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by DrJack54

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

No one EVERY asked for my TM30.

My most recent Nov last year.

My recap above also noted that LAST YEAR I too wasn't asked for the TM30 at BKK CW... This year, I was....  YMMV.

 

 

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

My recap above also noted that LAST YEAR I too wasn't asked for the TM30 at BKK CW... This year, I was....  YMMV.

 

 

Next time you are asked for a TM30 ask for supervisor.

Your reports over years state TM30 is required.

No

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by DrJack54

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Your reports over years state TM30 is required.

No

No, my reports on that issue over the year have varied...if you'd actually been paying attention.

 

The first time (2019 or 2020) I was asked for it, after not providing it.

 

The next year I provided it on my own without being asked.

 

Last year I did NOT provide it as a test, and wasn't asked.

 

This year I did NOT provide it as a test, and was asked....

 

Is it any wonder that there's confusion and conflicting reports on just what BKK CW is doing with this.

 

From my report last year (2022):

 

"1. Although I had copies of my latest 90-day report receipt and TM-30 residence form stapled inside my passport just in case, the IO handling my retirement extension application didn't ask me for copies of either, unlike a past visit to BKK CW two years ago. But I'd bring them anyway, just in case."

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1272406-2022-trip-report-for-retirement-extension-via-thai-bank-deposit-at-bkk-cw/

 

Which, turned out to be good advice in my case for this year's return visit.

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

No, my reports on that issue over the year have varied...if you'd actually been paying attention.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1294544-report-extension-non-o-retirement-bank-method-at-cw/ 

 

Tired of your long winded reports.

Apparently this guy didn't require TM30 Same as my experience.

Yet you still posted rubbish.

Now permanent ignore. 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by DrJack54

[proton]

Insisting a years old TM30 when you have been at the same address, and they have many 90 day reports with the address on seems pointless to say the least.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 minutes ago, proton said:

Insisting a years old TM30 when you have been at the same address, and they have many 90 day reports with the address on seems pointless to say the least.

I agree... I have no idea why they're doing it... at least for me today, and certainly for others at various points in the past.

 

Some people here seem only to be able to think in absolutes... Either they must always require it or they must never require it...

 

Unfortunately, in my experience, Immigration has never been so consistent in that way, office to office, and officer to officer. YMMV.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A last thing for the day... Here's the PDF files of the four misc. Immigration rules/statements one-page sheets that BKK CW wants signed along with the various other retirement extension paperwork.

 

They're also typically available upon request in paper form from the Immigration Information counter just inside the main entrance of the BKK CW Immigration office area.

 

1 Ret Exten Overstay Penalties Form (blank).pdf

 

3 Ret Exten Statement 3 (blank).pdf

 

 

2 Ret Exten Statement 2 (blank).pdf

 

Updated Statement #4 link posted later in this thread....

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1304561-2023-trip-report-for-retirement-extension-via-thai-bank-deposit-at-bkk-cw/?do=findComment&comment=18311094

 

[Pib]

 

TallGuy,

 

Good report...thanks.   I can associate with the pain enduring a whole day at CW immigration in a l.....o.....n......g queue for something related to the main reason you went to CW which was your retirement extension renewal. 

 

Yea...and in mid 2019 when doing my 11th retirement extension of stay I spent approximately 4 hours in the CW TM30 counter queue because the immigration officer processing my retirement extension in the Long Term L section wouldn't approve it until I could show a TM30 which I had never done since retiring to Thailand 11 years earlier.  All previous extensions done at CW using the same home address and I had never been asked for a TM30.   So, at around 10:00am the L Section retirement extension IO sent me over to the TM30 section to resolve the issue....once resolving the issue (i.e., providing a copy of a TM30) I was to come back to the L section to finish processing of my annual extension.

 

That day at CW "many" people applying for annual renewal of their retirement/marriage/long stay extensions were being required to show a TM30 which most had never accomplished (or possibly heard of)  just like me.   I was in the TM30 queue for approx 4 hours (not counting the intervening lunch break)  before being called...and then another 30 to 60 minutes of the section processing a TM30....the end result was completing paperwork for a TM30, paying a Bt800 fine, and being issued a TM30.   Back to the L section I go at around 2:30-3:00pm

 

I then went back to the L section with TM30 in-hand....in about another 30 minutes L section finished approval of my extension.....I'm done.   Where typically my annual extensions only took a few hours and I was done well before lunch time in the case of my 2019 extension the "copy of my TM30" monkey wrench turned my CW annual visit into pretty much an all day affair.  Around 2019 is when the Thai govt got anal about TM30s being accomplished due to a lot of high profile, media grabbing attention on overstays, expat criminal activity, tourists going MIA for a few weeks, etc., which the govt framed as national security related. 

 

Yea, out of 14 annual visits to CW thru mid 2022 to renew my retirement/marriage extension of stays, 12 of 14 were done well before lunch with zero issues, 1 of 14 finish shortly after lunch (that was a super crowded day) with zero issues, but 1 of 14 in 2019 requiring durn near all day when the TM30 snake bit me (bit many during that time frame and still frequently & expectantly bites people to this day when doing needing to do certain things at immigration).

 

 

[John Drake]

15 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Other odds and ends:

--wasn't asked for a copy of my last TM6 airport departure card, which used to be a staple item of retirement extension paperwork, until the government stopped issuing them to incoming air travelers. And the Immigration Officer I asked told me I could throw away my old TM6 and wouldn't need it any more.

I went to Chaengwattana last week for my retirement extension. I included the TM6 and both the document check desk and the Counter L-35 officer took it. They said nothing about not needing it. BTW, the L-35 officer was all business. She didn't say a word the entire time I was there, just nodded at a couple of places for me to sign I had missed. Frankly, I think I like this attitude. I had an appointment, was let in 40 minutes ahead of time, and had my stamped passport in hand walking out the door 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment. Very efficient. The entire process took just 25 minutes.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

55 minutes ago, John Drake said:

I went to Chaengwattana last week for my retirement extension. I included the TM6 and both the document check desk and the Counter L-35 officer took it. They said nothing about not needing it. BTW, the L-35 officer was all business. She didn't say a word the entire time I was there, just nodded at a couple of places for me to sign I had missed. Frankly, I think I like this attitude. I had an appointment, was let in 40 minutes ahead of time, and had my stamped passport in hand walking out the door 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment. Very efficient. The entire process took just 25 minutes.

Ya... who knows.... I  can only report what happened in my case on yesterday with one particular IO at BKK CW....

 

I will add though, I asked the question about the status of the TM6 forms for extension purposes here in several threads on the forum in advance of my visit to BKK CW, because I didn't get a new one on my last international air arrival earlier this year, and because I wasn't sure what to do with the old one...

 

And I was advised by several posters here that, for Immigration extension purposes, including a copy of the TM6 is no longer required. I also asked the Imm officer specifically about whether I needed to keep my old TM6, and she said NO...

 

And of course, they approved my extension yesterday without me including the TM6 in my packet and without them asking me for a copy of one.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, John Drake said:

I went to Chaengwattana last week for my retirement extension

Apart from the TM6, what did you do or not do about including copies of your most recent 90-day reporting receipt and / or a copy of your TM30 (if you have one)?

 

Included or didn't include in your packet? Asked for or not asked for by the officer?

 

[JimGant]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Tired of your long winded reports.

Apparently this guy didn't require TM30 Same as my experience.

Yet you still posted rubbish.

Now permanent ignore. 

Wow, what a juvenile response. It's obvious, from other responders, like Pib, that there is a chance you'll be hit up for your TM30. Small chance, maybe. But be prepared anyway -- unless, like Pib, you want to end up in a four hour queue for a TM30.

 

With some luck, DrJack's next extension will require a TM30, and he'll have to spend most of the day at CW getting one. Then, we can all giggle at his trip report, and his historical chutzpah. .

 

By the way, don't throw out your TM6, as CW has suggested. Last month, getting my LTR visa at BoI OSS, the Imm at that location not only wanted a copy of my TM6, but the original. Fortunately, that dog eared original was stapled to my passport. Imm, as we all know, is a box of chocolates -- depending on location, individual personnel, and moon phase. Thus, to argue against one person's experience, is ludicrous.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, JimGant said:

By the way, don't throw out your TM6, as CW has suggested. Last month, getting my LTR visa at BoI OSS, the Imm at that location not only wanted a copy of my TM6, but the original. Fortunately, that dog eared original was stapled to my passport.

Thanks for that caution re the TM6s, Jim. Very useful to know...  And I hadn't known before that the TM6 would be asked for as part of the LTR visa application process!

 

I think the IOs at BKK CW were telling me that THEY wouldn't need or require the TM6s for extension purposes anymore and thus I could discard mine.

 

But of course, THEM not needing them anymore is NOT the same as NO one needing or wanting them anymore, as your experience shows....

 

I heard BKK CW's advice re TM6s, as I recounted above. But when I got home last night, I left the now 4 year old, outdated TM6 (no longer my most recent air arrival) stapled in my passport... figuring, better safe than sorry.... And with these things and Thailand, you just never know -- as your post above highlights!

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[mokwit]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Now permanent ignore. 

Lucky guy, is there any chance you could put me on ignore too?

 

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Tired of your long winded reports.

I find them far more useful than anything you have ever posted.

 

15 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Yet you still posted rubbish.

He posted a very helpful trip report. All you do is assert that a TM30 is not needed based on your exceptional experience to date and a link from another poster. Last year was the FIRST time I have been asked for one. Chances are anyone who turns up without a TM30 to do an extension now is going to return empty handed.

[mokwit]

7 minutes ago, JimGant said:

By the way, don't throw out your TM6, as CW has suggested.

100% this.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Chances are anyone who turns up without a TM30 to do an extension now is going to return empty handed.

Simply put, it's obviously better to bring one and find it might not be needed... (or will be needed, as was my case yesterday)

 

vs....

 

Not having or bringing one, and then finding that Immigration won't approve your extension without it.

 

It's the old Boy Scouts motto -- "Be Prepared"!

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 minutes ago, mokwit said:

100% this.

Did you have some personal experience on that point regarding keeping one's old TM6?

Edited August 25, 2023 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[mokwit]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Did you have some personal experience on that point regarding keeping one's old TM6?

No, it was in response to your point that while one IO at CW may say not needed, you may have a situation with another IO not sharing this view.

[mokwit]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Simply put, it's obviously better to bring one and find it might not be needed... (or will be needed, as was my case yesterday)

 

vs....

 

Not having or bringing one, and then finding that Immigration won't approve your extension without it.

 

It's the old Boy Scouts motto -- "Be Prepared"!

 

 

Better safe than sorry.

[JimGant]

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Not having or bringing one, and then finding that Immigration won't approve your extension without it.

Gawd, if that would only happen to Dr Jack....

[mokwit]

14 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Gawd, if that would only happen to Dr Jack....

We'll probably be reading that a retiree was deported after getting in a heated argument with a supervisor over the necessity of a TM30.

[BritTim]

47 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

But of course, THEM not needing them anymore is NOT the same as NO one needing or wanting them anymore, as your experience shows....

Also, an immigration official's verbal assurance does not preclude them changing their mind later. When it comes to Thai Immigration, I keep everything, whether I think I will need it or not.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Also, an immigration official's verbal assurance does not preclude them changing their mind later. When it comes to Thai Immigration, I keep everything, whether I think I will need it or not.

I agree, that's prudent advice... notwithstanding whatever BKK CW is saying on the subject.