14 hours ago, Negita43 said:

You are in Thailand please understand the difference between "needed" based on logic and "required" based on "the rules"

And logic often not being closely related to common sense

11 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

The above says it all. The good lady hopes that next time around you will help her fill her monthly quota.

Well she'll be forever hoping then.

What a nightmare....not sure I could hold it together under those circumstances.

 

I download the latest forms from the website on the day I go......but by the time I get to the IO they say....'no good have new forms now'.

 

One thing that Chaiyaphum will do is make copies of anything missing there and then (for a small fee) ....otherwise we would face a three hour round trip for every mistake.

18 hours ago, Cardano said:

So after spending the prior 4 weeks prepping all my documents exactly in accordance with what I had supplied over the last several years the time for my annual extension based on marriage finally arrived last week, here's the sequence of events of the application day and subsequent events thereafter;
1. My bank now does real-time account updates and statements so first thing in the morning logged on to my bank app and transfered 20 baht in to my savings account then requested 3 month statement sent as email attachment, 5 minutes later received statement (showing 20 baht deposit and balance updated), printed out 2 copies.
2. Took bank book and passport to my bank and update the book, (again showing 20baht deposit and balance updated) then asked for the confirmation of funds letter. Bank takes copy of passport bio page, last entry stamp and last permission to stay stamp (3 A4 pages) I was then given 4 different forms (all in Thai) to sign, paid 100 baht and got my letter, all good except for the fact that it took a total of 7 A4 pages to result in 1 A4 letter.
3. Got home, made a coffee and proceeded to scan and print a copy of the letter and copies of bank book bio page and the pages showing the last 4 months of transactions, happy that everything was in order we set off for immigration.
4. Got my queue ticket and within 5 minutes my number was called, great I thought, be back home inside an hour, boy was I wrong!
5. So did the grovelling smiling wai routine and hand over my passport and paperwork, immigration lady starts going through the documents saying ok, ok, then she stops at the copies of the wifes house book and says "need another copy" to which I reply there's 2 copies included, to which she replies "need 3 copies now, new rule". I informed her that I will go home and get another copy.
6. As I am about to get up and rush home she says "just a moment" and pulls my bank statement document, confers with another person and says "no good cannot accept, no stamp". I explain that it has been good enough for every other year and also as you can see it aligns perfectly with the bank book and the balance aligns with the bank letter. To which she responds " you must go bank and get statement with stamp also I want copy of every page of bank book. I said bank book goes back to 2021 why do you need a copy of every page, to which she replies "new rule". At this point I lost the plot but managed to politely tell her how bureaucratically inane and archaic their system is, to which she resonds "it's no different to anywhere else and if you not happy can leave", I then realised these people live in their own little bubble and that it's completely pointless trying to reason with them.
7. So I collect all my documents, drive like a lunatic to get to the bank before it closes, send the wife home to get the house book and bring it back to the bank. After another 7 pages of A4 paper and 100 baht I get a stamped single A4 statement (which is identical to the one sent by email). When they ask for another 100 baht to photocopy the statement and the house book I have to threaten to close all our accounts before they agree to do it gratis.
8. So back at immigration with my new queue ticket and its packed, however the immigration lady sees me and asks for my ticket number and tells me she'll see me next. So after waiting 45 minutes I'm sat infront of her again and she ok's the bank stuff and house book 3rd copy, at which point I breathe a heavy sigh of relief only to be completely slapped down again when she pulls the STM2 and STM9 forms and says "no good, old form, you do new form" so she gives me the new versions and at the same time gives me forms STM10 and STM11 and proceeded to inform me these are new requirement. I responded by asking her how are people supposed to know about updated forms and new forms and new requirements to which she responds "website" I informed her that the official immigration website does not mention any of this as a document requirement, she responded "you go local immigration website". (when I got home I did and guess what! there's absolutely nothing there in respect to extensions based on marriage or retirement).
9. So any way the STM11 form is a consent form to where you allow immigration to carry out any investigation it deems necessary in to your personal affairs and the STM10 form is a legal afidavit to be completed by your Thai spouse stating the reasons why you should be granted an extension of stay.
10. After completing all these additional requirements she finally said ok all good now and took my 1900 baht. So what I thought was going to be a quick visit ended up taking over 3.5 hrs.
11. As expected a few days later the wife gets a call to arrange the immigration police visit and instuction to have a witness in attendance. I thought here we go again repeating the exact same thing we've done year after year after year. So he arrives as arranged and we do the rinse and repeat, he talks to the witness and takes his usual 4 photo's (which are the same as the photo's I submit with my application except the witness is included). He then says to me "now I want photo's just you and me" I though ok this is another new one as he proceeded to take an extra 6 photo's. I thought ok well at least it's over and done now. Wrong again!
12. The following day I get a phone call from the lady at immigration who handled my application and when she explained what she wanted I had to really count to 10 otherwise I would have had a dicky fit and said something I shouldn't. She explained that it is now a new requirement that applicants provide copies of all previous passport pages starting with the page where the original Non-O visa is placed and every consecutive passport page thereafter. I explained that my last Non-O visa was issued in 2013 and that that passport had expired and replaced with a new passport in 2020 with all stamps transferred. I also told her that I wasn't sure if I had already destroyed the passport as instructed by the UK passport office. Her response was " if you have destroyed it you must file a lost or stolen report with the police or if you still have it then you must provide copies of each page from and including the visa page". I responded by saying if I destroyed an expired passport how can I claim it lost or stolen that would be making a fraudulent claim, her response was "you must follow immigration procedure". I ended the call saying I will either find it and copy the pages you want or I will go to the police and explain the situation and tell them what you have asked me to do, I then hung up before she could respond.
13. I was able to locate said passport, duly copied and signed all 41 relevant pages and delivered them to immigration the next day. However I was totally astonished with the manner of the immigration lady, she was apologetic and thankful for all I had done and quietly said "you are right the paperwork required really is too much, maybe next time use an agent". I was so gobsmacked I just walked out.

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions!

All self created problems,

The bank requirements have always been for stamped letter and statement from the bank (at least the past 5 years). All your messing around at home was completely pointless, 15-30 minutes at the bank and they're happy to provide 2 copies ant no extra charge.

As for the forms, collect and fill at immigration while your waiting, done in 5 minutes and no arguments about old, new or different forms.

Photos is always a good one, I take about 10 (x2) each year, and the ones I didn't use from the years before, I just hand them the lot and they can pick the ones they like.

 

Like many foreigners in Thailand, advance planning/thinking is not only pointless but frustrating!

@Cardano

 

I posted a new topic re changes to extensions based on Thai spouse, including the new forms and a link to download them.

 

You should read AN topics more often.

29 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

As for the forms, collect and fill at immigration while your waiting, done in 5 minutes

You're now issued 4 forms to complete, maybe 5 mins per form, but not 5 mins for all.

STM2 and STM9 are standard forms I downloaded and completed as part of the application.

The STM10 and STM11 forms were new and took 10 mins to complete, but we were advised the STM10 form had to be signed by a witness and 2 signed copies of their ID provided, which meant another trip to the IO the following day.

 

I didn't mention in my previous topic on the subject, that I butted heads with the new 'big boss' on the photo's.

Originally, he requested new photos, stating the house number must be white on a red background, even showed me an example.

I requested a copy of their checklist, which clearly stated a photo with the house number clearly displayed, which it was.

He backed down but stated 'next year'.   

On 7/4/2025 at 10:27 PM, Caldera said:

 

At least at face value, that's true for the PDF file that you receive from the bank. But you don't submit that file to immigration, merely a printout that has no security features whatsoever. Most immigration offices don't accept self-printed statements, so yours was an exception before they fell in line.

 

The reason why they ask for a statement although you ALSO need to show your passbook has been discussed here many times. It's because transactions listed in a passbook can get combined if it isn't updated often enough. That can make it impossible to spot if the account balance dipped below the required amount.

So in reality if your statement shows the full list of transactions for the last 3 months and shows your actual balance at the same date you submit your TM7 (as mine do) and has the banks stamp why do we even need to have a letter from the bank and a copy of the bank book? Yeh, yeh I know, it's because immigration say so!

28 minutes ago, Cardano said:

So in reality if your statement shows the full list of transactions for the last 3 months and shows your actual balance at the same date you submit your TM7 (as mine do) and has the banks stamp why do we even need to have a letter from the bank and a copy of the bank book? Yeh, yeh I know, it's because immigration say so!

 

You're not wrong, in many cases it's over the top, they seem to want to catch all scenarios with a single extensive list of requirements.

 

Still, that paper-shuffling exercise is nonsensical but manageable, not really a big deal. What I would really have a problem with are home visits (I've never had one myself), especially if they insist on repeating the same brain-dead exercise year after year (more likely to happen for marriage extensions than for retirement extensions).

On 7/5/2025 at 12:17 PM, Liquorice said:

You're now issued 4 forms to complete, maybe 5 mins per form, but not 5 mins for all.

STM2 and STM9 are standard forms I downloaded and completed as part of the application.

The STM10 and STM11 forms were new and took 10 mins to complete, but we were advised the STM10 form had to be signed by a witness and 2 signed copies of their ID provided, which meant another trip to the IO the following day.

 

I didn't mention in my previous topic on the subject, that I butted heads with the new 'big boss' on the photo's.

Originally, he requested new photos, stating the house number must be white on a red background, even showed me an example.

I requested a copy of their checklist, which clearly stated a photo with the house number clearly displayed, which it was.

He backed down but stated 'next year'.   

 

Not to hijack the thread, but for pension visa extension, it is then correct to think that only STM2 and STM9 are applicable?

Thanks 

Felt

 

44 minutes ago, Felt 35 said:

 

Not to hijack the thread, but for pension visa extension, it is then correct to think that only STM2 and STM9 are applicable?

Whatever forms they want signed then just do it. 

Not sure what you mean by "pension visa extension" 

Many folks do not receive a pension however can still use "income method" for extensions based on marriage or retirement. 

 

On 7/4/2025 at 4:49 PM, Cardano said:

So after spending the prior 4 weeks prepping all my documents exactly in accordance with what I had supplied over the last several years the time for my annual extension based on marriage finally arrived last week, here's the sequence of events of the application day and subsequent events thereafter;
1. My bank now does real-time account updates and statements so first thing in the morning logged on to my bank app and transfered 20 baht in to my savings account then requested 3 month statement sent as email attachment, 5 minutes later received statement (showing 20 baht deposit and balance updated), printed out 2 copies.
2. Took bank book and passport to my bank and update the book, (again showing 20baht deposit and balance updated) then asked for the confirmation of funds letter. Bank takes copy of passport bio page, last entry stamp and last permission to stay stamp (3 A4 pages) I was then given 4 different forms (all in Thai) to sign, paid 100 baht and got my letter, all good except for the fact that it took a total of 7 A4 pages to result in 1 A4 letter.
3. Got home, made a coffee and proceeded to scan and print a copy of the letter and copies of bank book bio page and the pages showing the last 4 months of transactions, happy that everything was in order we set off for immigration.
4. Got my queue ticket and within 5 minutes my number was called, great I thought, be back home inside an hour, boy was I wrong!
5. So did the grovelling smiling wai routine and hand over my passport and paperwork, immigration lady starts going through the documents saying ok, ok, then she stops at the copies of the wifes house book and says "need another copy" to which I reply there's 2 copies included, to which she replies "need 3 copies now, new rule". I informed her that I will go home and get another copy.
6. As I am about to get up and rush home she says "just a moment" and pulls my bank statement document, confers with another person and says "no good cannot accept, no stamp". I explain that it has been good enough for every other year and also as you can see it aligns perfectly with the bank book and the balance aligns with the bank letter. To which she responds " you must go bank and get statement with stamp also I want copy of every page of bank book. I said bank book goes back to 2021 why do you need a copy of every page, to which she replies "new rule". At this point I lost the plot but managed to politely tell her how bureaucratically inane and archaic their system is, to which she resonds "it's no different to anywhere else and if you not happy can leave", I then realised these people live in their own little bubble and that it's completely pointless trying to reason with them.
7. So I collect all my documents, drive like a lunatic to get to the bank before it closes, send the wife home to get the house book and bring it back to the bank. After another 7 pages of A4 paper and 100 baht I get a stamped single A4 statement (which is identical to the one sent by email). When they ask for another 100 baht to photocopy the statement and the house book I have to threaten to close all our accounts before they agree to do it gratis.
8. So back at immigration with my new queue ticket and its packed, however the immigration lady sees me and asks for my ticket number and tells me she'll see me next. So after waiting 45 minutes I'm sat infront of her again and she ok's the bank stuff and house book 3rd copy, at which point I breathe a heavy sigh of relief only to be completely slapped down again when she pulls the STM2 and STM9 forms and says "no good, old form, you do new form" so she gives me the new versions and at the same time gives me forms STM10 and STM11 and proceeded to inform me these are new requirement. I responded by asking her how are people supposed to know about updated forms and new forms and new requirements to which she responds "website" I informed her that the official immigration website does not mention any of this as a document requirement, she responded "you go local immigration website". (when I got home I did and guess what! there's absolutely nothing there in respect to extensions based on marriage or retirement).
9. So any way the STM11 form is a consent form to where you allow immigration to carry out any investigation it deems necessary in to your personal affairs and the STM10 form is a legal afidavit to be completed by your Thai spouse stating the reasons why you should be granted an extension of stay.
10. After completing all these additional requirements she finally said ok all good now and took my 1900 baht. So what I thought was going to be a quick visit ended up taking over 3.5 hrs.
11. As expected a few days later the wife gets a call to arrange the immigration police visit and instuction to have a witness in attendance. I thought here we go again repeating the exact same thing we've done year after year after year. So he arrives as arranged and we do the rinse and repeat, he talks to the witness and takes his usual 4 photo's (which are the same as the photo's I submit with my application except the witness is included). He then says to me "now I want photo's just you and me" I though ok this is another new one as he proceeded to take an extra 6 photo's. I thought ok well at least it's over and done now. Wrong again!
12. The following day I get a phone call from the lady at immigration who handled my application and when she explained what she wanted I had to really count to 10 otherwise I would have had a dicky fit and said something I shouldn't. She explained that it is now a new requirement that applicants provide copies of all previous passport pages starting with the page where the original Non-O visa is placed and every consecutive passport page thereafter. I explained that my last Non-O visa was issued in 2013 and that that passport had expired and replaced with a new passport in 2020 with all stamps transferred. I also told her that I wasn't sure if I had already destroyed the passport as instructed by the UK passport office. Her response was " if you have destroyed it you must file a lost or stolen report with the police or if you still have it then you must provide copies of each page from and including the visa page". I responded by saying if I destroyed an expired passport how can I claim it lost or stolen that would be making a fraudulent claim, her response was "you must follow immigration procedure". I ended the call saying I will either find it and copy the pages you want or I will go to the police and explain the situation and tell them what you have asked me to do, I then hung up before she could respond.
13. I was able to locate said passport, duly copied and signed all 41 relevant pages and delivered them to immigration the next day. However I was totally astonished with the manner of the immigration lady, she was apologetic and thankful for all I had done and quietly said "you are right the paperwork required really is too much, maybe next time use an agent". I was so gobsmacked I just walked out.

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions!

This is why I have an agent to do it all for me. Myself and my wife just go to Immigration when required and that is it.

On 7/4/2025 at 11:49 AM, Cardano said:

So after spending the prior 4 weeks prepping all my documents exactly in accordance with what I had supplied over the last several years the time for my annual extension based on marriage finally arrived last week, here's the sequence of events of the application day and subsequent events thereafter;
1. My bank now does real-time account updates and statements so first thing in the morning logged on to my bank app and transfered 20 baht in to my savings account then requested 3 month statement sent as email attachment, 5 minutes later received statement (showing 20 baht deposit and balance updated), printed out 2 copies.
2. Took bank book and passport to my bank and update the book, (again showing 20baht deposit and balance updated) then asked for the confirmation of funds letter. Bank takes copy of passport bio page, last entry stamp and last permission to stay stamp (3 A4 pages) I was then given 4 different forms (all in Thai) to sign, paid 100 baht and got my letter, all good except for the fact that it took a total of 7 A4 pages to result in 1 A4 letter.
3. Got home, made a coffee and proceeded to scan and print a copy of the letter and copies of bank book bio page and the pages showing the last 4 months of transactions, happy that everything was in order we set off for immigration.
4. Got my queue ticket and within 5 minutes my number was called, great I thought, be back home inside an hour, boy was I wrong!
5. So did the grovelling smiling wai routine and hand over my passport and paperwork, immigration lady starts going through the documents saying ok, ok, then she stops at the copies of the wifes house book and says "need another copy" to which I reply there's 2 copies included, to which she replies "need 3 copies now, new rule". I informed her that I will go home and get another copy.
6. As I am about to get up and rush home she says "just a moment" and pulls my bank statement document, confers with another person and says "no good cannot accept, no stamp". I explain that it has been good enough for every other year and also as you can see it aligns perfectly with the bank book and the balance aligns with the bank letter. To which she responds " you must go bank and get statement with stamp also I want copy of every page of bank book. I said bank book goes back to 2021 why do you need a copy of every page, to which she replies "new rule". At this point I lost the plot but managed to politely tell her how bureaucratically inane and archaic their system is, to which she resonds "it's no different to anywhere else and if you not happy can leave", I then realised these people live in their own little bubble and that it's completely pointless trying to reason with them.
7. So I collect all my documents, drive like a lunatic to get to the bank before it closes, send the wife home to get the house book and bring it back to the bank. After another 7 pages of A4 paper and 100 baht I get a stamped single A4 statement (which is identical to the one sent by email). When they ask for another 100 baht to photocopy the statement and the house book I have to threaten to close all our accounts before they agree to do it gratis.
8. So back at immigration with my new queue ticket and its packed, however the immigration lady sees me and asks for my ticket number and tells me she'll see me next. So after waiting 45 minutes I'm sat infront of her again and she ok's the bank stuff and house book 3rd copy, at which point I breathe a heavy sigh of relief only to be completely slapped down again when she pulls the STM2 and STM9 forms and says "no good, old form, you do new form" so she gives me the new versions and at the same time gives me forms STM10 and STM11 and proceeded to inform me these are new requirement. I responded by asking her how are people supposed to know about updated forms and new forms and new requirements to which she responds "website" I informed her that the official immigration website does not mention any of this as a document requirement, she responded "you go local immigration website". (when I got home I did and guess what! there's absolutely nothing there in respect to extensions based on marriage or retirement).
9. So any way the STM11 form is a consent form to where you allow immigration to carry out any investigation it deems necessary in to your personal affairs and the STM10 form is a legal afidavit to be completed by your Thai spouse stating the reasons why you should be granted an extension of stay.
10. After completing all these additional requirements she finally said ok all good now and took my 1900 baht. So what I thought was going to be a quick visit ended up taking over 3.5 hrs.
11. As expected a few days later the wife gets a call to arrange the immigration police visit and instuction to have a witness in attendance. I thought here we go again repeating the exact same thing we've done year after year after year. So he arrives as arranged and we do the rinse and repeat, he talks to the witness and takes his usual 4 photo's (which are the same as the photo's I submit with my application except the witness is included). He then says to me "now I want photo's just you and me" I though ok this is another new one as he proceeded to take an extra 6 photo's. I thought ok well at least it's over and done now. Wrong again!
12. The following day I get a phone call from the lady at immigration who handled my application and when she explained what she wanted I had to really count to 10 otherwise I would have had a dicky fit and said something I shouldn't. She explained that it is now a new requirement that applicants provide copies of all previous passport pages starting with the page where the original Non-O visa is placed and every consecutive passport page thereafter. I explained that my last Non-O visa was issued in 2013 and that that passport had expired and replaced with a new passport in 2020 with all stamps transferred. I also told her that I wasn't sure if I had already destroyed the passport as instructed by the UK passport office. Her response was " if you have destroyed it you must file a lost or stolen report with the police or if you still have it then you must provide copies of each page from and including the visa page". I responded by saying if I destroyed an expired passport how can I claim it lost or stolen that would be making a fraudulent claim, her response was "you must follow immigration procedure". I ended the call saying I will either find it and copy the pages you want or I will go to the police and explain the situation and tell them what you have asked me to do, I then hung up before she could respond.
13. I was able to locate said passport, duly copied and signed all 41 relevant pages and delivered them to immigration the next day. However I was totally astonished with the manner of the immigration lady, she was apologetic and thankful for all I had done and quietly said "you are right the paperwork required really is too much, maybe next time use an agent". I was so gobsmacked I just walked out.

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions!

 

I think I will deposit 800k and not 400k for my retirement extension. Christe sake, just saw the same as one of our «Neigbours» (20 minutes drive away from us) who experienced using 3 full days before completed his marriage visa, and we have a 186km roundtrip, and he is further out 20 min. I did it in 20 min for delivery, and waited two hours (lunch time break) to pick up my extension same day

10 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I think I will deposit 800k and not 400k for my retirement extension

You simplify the requirements almost implying that the financials are remotely similar. 

 

For extension marriage using money in bank method the 400k only needs to be seasoned for two months and can then be used. 

Very sweet deal. 

For extension retirement the 800k needs to be in the bank for 2 months prior + 3 months after extension and not below 400k in other months. 

Referred to as Apples and Oranges

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

You simplify the requirements almost implying that the financials are remotely similar. 

 

For extension marriage using money in bank method the 400k only needs to be seasoned for two months and can then be used. 

Very sweet deal. 

For extension retirement the 800k needs to be in the bank for 2 months prior + 3 months after extension and not below 400k in other months. 

Referred to as Apples and Oranges

 

I had Embassy letter for income, and will for next as well before they stop giving us income letters, but I will stay with retirement visa because based on my experience less complicated and less trouble with immigration. 800k will be a nice buffer to have just in case anyway, thinking of future incidents, and also expecting thai bath to become stronger. Speculation of course, but still 

14 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I had Embassy letter for income, and will for next as well before they stop giving us income letters, but I will stay with retirement visa because based on my experience less complicated and less trouble with immigration.

Oh 100% best option. 

Funny how some items for extension marriage is a non issue for many yet by way of example I would not accept home visit. 

I would opt for retirement even if I was married. 

 

I removed some abusive posts made by the OP an the replies to them.

 

This topic is now closed.