I went to Phuket Immigration this week to apply for my one-year Non-O Retirement Extension. I had all of the required documents prepared, and the entire process was quick. As we know, the process can vary by office and officers, but here’s my experience. In Phuket, you can still apply up to 45 days before your current extension expires. 

Here's what was required of me:

1. Completed TM7 form with picture.  

2. Passport copies:

   1. Detail page

   2. Important: They wanted copies of every passport page containing any stamp or visa, copied vertically. In previous years, they only wanted the current extension history and latest entry stamp. I brought copies with me.

3. Three acknowledgement statements supplied by Immigration and signed. The versions available online are outdated, so there's no need to print or sign them in advance. They provided them.

4. A photo of me standing in front of my residence with the number clearly visible. I put two pictures on a single sheet of paper - one of me in front of the condo name and one in front of my door with the room number. 

5. A Google Maps printout showing my residence with the latitude and longitude coordinates visible.

6. TM.30 receipt. Note: I own my condo, submit a TM.30 online, and filed a new TM.30 after my most recent entry into Thailand. They kept the receipt. I'm not sure whether they would have accepted my application without it, even though I've lived at the same address for years.

7. Proof of financial status (I have a fixed deposit at SCB with 800,000+ Baht)

   1. I went to SCB the same morning for a bank letter and bank statement (both signed and stamped), showing the required balance and transactions for the past 12 months. SCB charged 200 baht for the bank letter and 200 baht for the bank statement (400 baht total).

   2. Copy of the SCB passbook, including the account information page and the last 12 months of transactions. With a fixed deposit account, I’ve had no transactions since the last interest update and rollover in March. I did not update the passbook on the day of application, and Immigration accepted it without issue.

   3. All financial documents showed the required same account balance.

8. Fee of THB 1,900

Re-Entry Permit at Same Time

You can apply for a re-entry permit at the same time as your retirement extension. If you do, submit a completed TM.8 form with photo with your extension application. Immigration will process both together, and when you collect your passport (between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM the following day), it will contain both your new extension and your re-entry permit. Applying for the re-entry permit with your retirement extension costs an additional 700 baht "processing fee," but saves you a potential second visit.

To save the 700 baht, you can  return the following day and hopefully collect your passport a bit before 4 PM, and quickly make copies of your new extension, detail page, and last entry stamp. Then go to the separate room where they process re-entries and apply. The issue is that they stop accepting re-entry applications at 4:00 PM.

I’ve always found the extension process in Phuket very efficient. The young guy who reviewed my documents was friendly and spoke perfect English. It took less than 10 minutes from the time I walked in to have the documents reviewed and submitted. Collecting my passport with the new extension and re-entry permit the following afternoon took about one minute. 

Thanks for excellent detailed reply.

Don't see the point of immigration requiring copys of all pages with stamps, visas etc.

Also the 700b surcharge for reentry permit is, plain ripoff.

Thanks for excellent detailed reply.

Don't see the point of immigration requiring copys of all pages with stamps, visas etc.

Also the 700b surcharge for reentry permit is, plain ripoff.