Confusion About 90 Day Slip/visa Renewal

[Wentworth]

A friend got a nasty little shock and I hope someone can clarify things for him. Bear with me as it may be quite long. He started his first OA in Jan 2007; He is of retirement age and has been married to a Thai national for many years. He used the 'Monthly Income' option but as far as I can see his passport just says OA and doesn't stipulate whether for marriage or retirement. He actually went to the immigration office and got his 90 day slip in November 07 and was stamped as valid until a date in Feb. The immigration officer waved him away when he tried to show his passport. Even though the visa in his passport said the end of Jan 08 the 90 day slip said a date in Feb 08. When he tried to renew his visa he was alright with all the required paperwork but the immigration office said he was classed as an overstayer and has been stung for a few baht. On top of that my friend has only been given one month instead of the one year. They say they will renew it then. Is this usual or indeed is there any need for this?

What we would like to know is - should the 90 day slip have been stamped beyond the expiry of his visa? Some of us are confused by the rules and my friend believed that the 90 day slip was linked with the visa. The IO said that the 90 day slip and his visa were 2 completely different things and that it is the visa holders responsibility to know and sort everything out.

[lopburi3]

90 day address reports have nothing to do with visas or extensions of stay. He should have been reporting since 90 days after his arrival but perhaps November was the first time he had not traveled (counts starts new on each arrival). So if he did not leave Thailand he was due to report again in February. But it appears his "permitted to stay" (not his OA visa) passed in January and he was thus late visiting Immigration to extend his stay and on overstay and was fined 500 baht per day late.

As for the one month before full year can not know for sure. Being on overstay there was no visa entry to extend so expect a visa may have had to be issued (2,000 baht?) and then will be extended 30 days later for one year. Or he was extending on the basis of marriage to a Thai using 40k income and in that case a 30 day extension is always issued first.

[jstumbo]

If he had made a border run just before his visa expired, he would have been stamped in for another year before he would need to qualify for an extension.

[Wentworth]

Sorry, should've mentioned that he has been going in person to the IO every 90 days since he got the visa last year. He's confused now as to what should happen to get a renewal(by that I mean be able to stay in Thailand using the same criteria - some people call it renewal, some call it an extension). Last year the IO told him to report to that office with the usual documentation on or close to the expiry date. Some have mentioned doing a border run. As per usual there doesn't seem to be any solid advice, even on this site. This site does have sections on what you need to do to get a certain type of visa, but I can't seem to find anything about renewals. Is it worth asking the site owners to try and produce a sort of top-down easy option

eg (Want to stay in Thailand long term? Are you married to a Thai National - Yes or No - If 'Yes' these are your options) that sort of thing.

90 day address reports have nothing to do with visas or extensions of stay. He should have been reporting since 90 days after his arrival but perhaps November was the first time he had not traveled (counts starts new on each arrival). So if he did not leave Thailand he was due to report again in February. But it appears his "permitted to stay" (not his OA visa) passed in January and he was thus late visiting Immigration to extend his stay and on overstay and was fined 500 baht per day late.

As for the one month before full year can not know for sure. Being on overstay there was no visa entry to extend so expect a visa may have had to be issued (2,000 baht?) and then will be extended 30 days later for one year. Or he was extending on the basis of marriage to a Thai using 40k income and in that case a 30 day extension is always issued first.

[lopburi3]

Extensions of stay are done at Immigration Office during the last 30 days of your permitted to stay. You can not do with a border run (and indeed any exit of the country without a re-entry permit would end the current extension of stay).

In this case you say he had an OA visa. If that is true (obtained from home country consulate and marked multi entry) he would have obtained a one year permitted to stay stamp on any entry during the validity of the visa. But we are not sure you used the right term - and this last post proves you did not; as you do not obtain and OA visa from Immigration and you say he talked with "Immigration" last year. So forget the advise about getting a new year with a border run as it does not apply in this case.

There is a pinned item at top of page with useful information.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...st&p=730451