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I can't take it anymore..............

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My local immigration has got so bad I just do a 90 day none O visa run, more money over the year but no hastle!

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  • BilllyGOAT
    BilllyGOAT

    I have two Thai wives, so if one does not get me approved for the marriage visa, I have a backup. So far, everything is going well. Maybe it is her nice smile in the house photos. She is missing a few

  • IMHO They are sending you a message....get an agent so they get theirs & your life will be like a unicorn crapping rainbows 😉

  • And yet hundreds of folk do extensions every day based on marriage with zero issues. Let alone resort to rants

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It is posts like this that make me glad I do the retirement extension instead of a marriage extension even though I’m married to a Thai. Seven years of extensions without a problem. Over that time period I’ve always provided the same documentation. No changes made by Chiang Rai immigration.

58 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What I do read on AN is many many reports of extension marriage with zero issues.

No doubt there are some recalcitrant immigration officers and that's an issue. However with 75+ offices suggest most have simple set rules to meet.

And strange to say, this is Thailand, and how often are rules followed??!!

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Sorry to hear of your challenges. And all should note that requirements vary among the immigration offices and officers. This is the reason I have used an agency for going on 15 years. They know if there is a new requirement, a new boss wanting to change something, who got up on the “wrong side of the bed”. As they work daily with immigration a trusted agency makes our once a year Extension not so difficult.

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Thai immigration and the government in general has made things so much of a hassle that I am looking for somewhere else to retire.

9 minutes ago, Surasak said:

And strange to say, this is Thailand, and how often are rules followed??!!

I used the same 3 Imm offices for multiple years, and all at the time, progressively, required the same, I provided the same, and no real issues.

Imm have adjusted, tightened the rules, not changed, just enforced, with every new wave of scams exposed. Most related to marriage visas, and why the local offices aren't even allowed now to approve them.

Rules are set by BKK, and why you need dupes, one stays local, one off to BKK, I believe. So blame the agents, expats & corrupt officials for the extra paperwork, and scrutiny.

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Has anyone discovered the storage location for all the paper documents? It must be very big and climate controlled to preserve 50 + years of a myriad of documents.

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5 minutes ago, Zimar said:

Has anyone discovered the storage location for all the paper documents? It must be very big and climate controlled to preserve 50 + years of a myriad of documents.

In days past they would recycle our photocopies by using them for receipts for 90 days. I have had several receipts with some random foreigners passport details on the back.

Thankfully that doesn’t appear to happen anymore.

I suspect they are now using the mountain of paperwork for landfill on the southern bound highway in Bangkok at the rate the flyovers are dropping ??

21 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

And yet hundreds of folk do extensions every day based on marriage with zero issues.

Let alone resort to rants

Bangkok bank frozen 400k in my account, been 5 months and still frozen. Immigration in CM very easy though.

Just now, BritManToo said:

Bangkok bank frozen 400k in my account, been 5 months and still frozen. Immigration in CM very easy though.

Yes thats a sad fact about BBL.

Fortunately it's possible to change banks in the future.

The married guys that prefer to just keep the 400k in bank for two months have been shafted.

Retirement guys not so much as many just lock away the 800k ongoing so BBL shenanigans didn't really affect them.

Also they need to maintain the 800k for 3 months anyway

On 2/24/2026 at 7:32 AM, MIke B Bad said:

Application rejected: You haven’t completed the new Community Attestation form.

Is this a new requirement for all applicants at all IOs or just part of the harrassment for the OP?

On 2/24/2026 at 7:32 AM, MIke B Bad said:

Chaiyaphum Immigration…..three hour round trip each time.

Application rejected: Photo in front of house doesn’t show the whole front of the house. It is the backdrop, but roof and end walls clipped off.

Back home take a new photo.

Application rejected: You are wearing a different T shirt.

Back home take new photos.

Application rejected: Bank letter is now a day old….off to the bank.

Application rejected: Address on wife’s ID don’t tally with her Tabien Baan

Back home, Amphur, new ID.

Application rejected: You haven’t completed the new Community Attestation form. Back home. Need two villagers, same village to witness documents and consent to copies of IDs.

I am now on my last few days and looking at flights to Manila to avoid an overstay and reapply from there for a new Non-O……or just stay there?

You must be joking, it took me 20 minutes from entering the IO to paying the 1900 baht and then picking my passport with the new visa the next day, 30 mins drive to the IO from my house here in Phuket.

They did not want my partners ID card or the house document and so handed them back to me.

The picture of me outside the house was the same one I had used three years ago, I was not wearing the same shirt.

I had to fill in one new form as it had changed from the one I used for last year, which took five minutes in the office in front of the IO officer.

Maybe you should move from the backward looking Isan where the IO is probably a part time rice farmer and move to a more modern, progressive, international place like Phuket where things are done quickly and is not so petty minded.

  • Author
2 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

You must be joking, it took me 20 minutes from entering the IO to paying the 1900 baht and then picking my passport with the new visa the next day, 30 mins drive to the IO from my house here in Phuket.

They did not want my partners ID card or the house document and so handed them back to me.

The picture of me outside the house was the same one I had used three years ago, I was not wearing the same shirt.

I had to fill in one new form as it had changed from the one I used for last year, which took five minutes in the office in front of the IO officer.

Maybe you should move from the backward looking Isan where the IO is probably a part time rice farmer and move to a more modern, progressive, international place like Phuket where things are done quickly and is not so petty minded.

We have no queuing system either. There's two 12 year olds on a tiny cramped desk pre-screening, paperwork strewn everywhere, people pushing in......absolutely chaotic.

  • Author
26 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Is this a new requirement for all applicants at all IOs or just part of the harrassment for the OP?

AI says these SMT forms are local office inventions. They can review, amend, institute, withdraw as they see fit.....????

  • Author
2 hours ago, Asquith Production said:

I did my marriage renewal 2 days ago. Rejected house photo due to not getting whole house in. Luckily Im only 15 minutes away from immigration

We have used the almost identical photos (place, positioning, rooms) for the last four years....never a problem.

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2 hours ago, statman78 said:

It is posts like this that make me glad I do the retirement extension instead of a marriage extension even though I’m married to a Thai. Seven years of extensions without a problem. Over that time period I’ve always provided the same documentation. No changes made by Chiang Rai immigration.

Yes........think I'll switch now.....married for 20 years and they still grill us every time.....pathetic.

  • Author
1 hour ago, technoronin said:

Thai immigration and the government in general has made things so much of a hassle that I am looking for somewhere else to retire.

I'm looking at Turkey for 6 months a year then split the remainder between UK, Thailand.....maybe Philippines?

  • Author
1 hour ago, Zimar said:

Has anyone discovered the storage location for all the paper documents? It must be very big and climate controlled to preserve 50 + years of a myriad of documents.

We religiously take two copies of everything......and then have to watch as the pre-checkers pull out one copy and put it in the bin in front of us.

On 2/24/2026 at 7:32 AM, MIke B Bad said:

Chaiyaphum Immigration…..three hour round trip each time.

Application rejected: Photo in front of house doesn’t show the whole front of the house. It is the backdrop, but roof and end walls clipped off.

Back home take a new photo.

Application rejected: You are wearing a different T shirt.

Back home take new photos.

Application rejected: Bank letter is now a day old….off to the bank.

Application rejected: Address on wife’s ID don’t tally with her Tabien Baan

Back home, Amphur, new ID.

Application rejected: You haven’t completed the new Community Attestation form. Back home. Need two villagers, same village to witness documents and consent to copies of IDs.

I am now on my last few days and looking at flights to Manila to avoid an overstay and reapply from there for a new Non-O……or just stay there?

have you used a 60 day wife extension since your last non re-entry permit entry, ie visa exempt, non immigrant visa or tourist visa entry, if not would save starting over.

  • Author

My mate Al says I can request a seven day extension of my current visa extension to get my application over the line.......anyone heard of this, done this?.....1,900 baht.

  • Author
1 minute ago, steve187 said:

have you used a 60 day wife extension since your last non re-entry permit entry, ie visa exempt, non immigrant visa or tourist visa entry, if not would save starting over.

OH!!!! What the hell is that??? Sounds interesting.

8 minutes ago, MIke B Bad said:

AI says these SMT forms are local office inventions. They can review, amend, institute, withdraw as they see fit.....????

Sounds like the form the investigator completed during the home visit after my first extention for marriage.

I had a very similar experience to yours a couple of years ago when I lost patience with the idiots processing my application. We had to head back to the bank for no reason and also get more pics done at a copy shop. I had a thumb drive full of them.. Fortunately, as I live 2 hours from the IO (one way), we could fix it on the day. I wrote about the experience on this forum.

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23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Some people are more patient than others, and after many years of abuse my patience ran short when it comes to immigration. Zero tolerance for nonsense these days.

Exactly this, the fact they make it impossible even after all these years while then whining over visa issues from problem makers, yet changing back to it being possible to just visa run, to then treat married people let alone those with just a Thai child, like criminals. It's like being permanently for life on probation in the west for real.

Sure you always get it done sooner or later, but after 15 years there is a limit to ones patience and understanding on this level too. I had the same as the OP, still have, with Bangkok Bank, visiting over 6 times with dozens of documents, they ask less to open a new account.

To then also know straight up that the real mafia types just get agent yearly visa's, while they ignore that and use that as excuse to continue and make life near impossible for legit people.

To then add to a stuck poor FX rate, rent that increased as much as in anywhere for no reason (no real inflation), same groceries being just virtually 1:1 with Europe today. Drinks at bars same thing, food not far away too (while service and quality isn't even comparable to begin with).

I'm just one drop away to spill the glass from leaving. Also there is simply no future in Thailand, they wasted the past 10 years that was the last window to still fix education in time. To change today only helps in 20 years from now while they are not even close to recognizing their mistakes and problems, in fact they make them even worse.

I mean, even Thai rice costs less in Europe than in Tesco lol.

To add for the retirees of today, imagine the healthcare system here in just 5-10 years from now. It won't be what it was or still is today. The only difference with developing countries is that they still have money before hitting the same problems. This effectively means you can expect another 50-100% increase on insurance.

3 minutes ago, MIke B Bad said:

OH!!!! What the hell is that??? Sounds interesting.

every entry into Thailand except re-entry permit entry. allows for a 60 day extension to visit Thai wife or family. same 1.900thb, wide or family would need to be with you

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1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

In days past they would recycle our photocopies by using them for receipts for 90 days. I have had several receipts with some random foreigners passport details on the back.

Thankfully that doesn’t appear to happen anymore.

I suspect they are now using the mountain of paperwork for landfill on the southern bound highway in Bangkok at the rate the flyovers are dropping ??

They also used to do this in Phuket. I omce had someones passport details page on a receipt. Another time i got a detailed list of names and salaries of staff at a well known restaurant.

On 2/24/2026 at 7:32 AM, MIke B Bad said:

Chaiyaphum Immigration…..three hour round trip each time.

Application rejected: Photo in front of house doesn’t show the whole front of the house. It is the backdrop, but roof and end walls clipped off.

Back home take a new photo.

Application rejected: You are wearing a different T shirt.

Back home take new photos.

Application rejected: Bank letter is now a day old….off to the bank.

Application rejected: Address on wife’s ID don’t tally with her Tabien Baan

Back home, Amphur, new ID.

Application rejected: You haven’t completed the new Community Attestation form. Back home. Need two villagers, same village to witness documents and consent to copies of IDs.

I am now on my last few days and looking at flights to Manila to avoid an overstay and reapply from there for a new Non-O……or just stay there?

Just wondering when you do the annual trip who does th talking with immigration you or your wife?

  • Author
7 minutes ago, steve187 said:

every entry into Thailand except re-entry. allows for a 60 day extension to visit Thai wife or family. same 1.900thb, wide or family would need to be with you

Just been told by Al there's an even better option.....30 day extension, only need a TM.7 and passport with valid visa.....mine is valid until march 3!!!!!

It seems the 60 day requires all the same documents minus to 400,000B

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Just now, kingstonkid said:

Just wondering when you do the annual trip who does th talking with immigration you or your wife?

Joint effort.....she does the talking, I do the complaining ......not really, I generally sit quietly......do you think she's trying to get rid of me??....555

10 minutes ago, MIke B Bad said:

Just been told by Al there's an even better option.....30 day extension, only need a TM.7 and passport with valid visa.....mine is valid until march 3!!!!!

It seems the 60 day requires all the same documents minus to 400,000B

You're wrong, 60 day very easy

No photos, no witness, no finances, no photocopies .........

Just wife, marriage cert, her ID and House book along with a filled in application form and 1,900bht.

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