Suan Phlu Retirement Renew Report

[trigz]

Went to Suan Phlu today for my 9th Retirement renewal today 19 June. Arrived at the immigration office at 7.55am and there were I guess around 30 people in the line along the verandah. After the national anthem at 8.00am the doors opened and the front counter operating for the queue tickets. I had downloaded and filled out the tm7 visa extension form at home so was able to go straight to the counter (seems like most there had done the same). My ticket said there were seven people before me.

Room 101 doors remained shut until around 8.15am and then everyone sat in the room until 8.30am when the first lot of numbers were called – it must have been around 8.50am by the time my number was called.

The room looks a bit nicier than last year and everyone had computer screens and printers and what looks like credit card swipe things on their desks and clients are now called to the officers inside their work area rather than having to sit along the main waiting area thoroughfare.

The lady officer I went to was very nice. I provided her with the tm7 form, passport, photocopies of passport plus bank passbook, letter from the bank and photocopies of passbook. In past years I have always pre-initialed the photocopies as they always asked me to do that, but this year the officer stamped each copy and I had to sign on each stamp. The other thing I always do is put my home & mobile numbers on the tm7 as that also has been a constant request.

I was also given two (2) forms to fill out and sign, the first which has been in vogue for sometime seems something like a request form to extend the visa and the other is a statement (both in thai & english) about agreeing to be a good person and behaving yourself while resident in Thailand (something to that effect anyway!)

Ok while I’m filling out the forms the officer goes off to find my previous 8 years worth of paperwork but returns saying it can’t be found; so I guess the law of averages comes into play at last – it was always impressive when they seemingly so easily found all my previous records. Anyway no previous paperwork seemed not to cause any problems…but I had to assure the officer that my tm7 photo was not the same one as I used last year as she couldn’t check to see from the past papers. So maybe there is some sort of “crackdown” on reusing old photos at the moment!

Ok, then had to pay 1,900 baht upon which I was handed all the paperwork and money and asked to take it over to another officer at the back (who is obviously the cashier) and then go and sit down in the waiting area again. The officer now has some new clients sitting at her desk.

So I have to sit and watch what’s happening with my process; after about 15 mins (this seemed the longest part of the process) I noticed the cashier officer return papers to my action officer (I’m guessing their mine) and yep after another couple of minutes I see the officer scanning around to find me – ok ‘eye to eye’ contact and I go to collect – given the receipt for the fee plus all the paperwork again and told to give to another officer (who happens to be at the desk right behind me).

Have to stand and wait while this officer goes through a stack of papers – this officer is obviously the senior and she looks and acts like she has to deal with all the worries of the world! Anyway after signing off on a few papers she takes mine, looks through all the paperwork and signs off wherever including the passport stamp; then I’m given back the paperwork and obviously have to give back to my action officer who then gives me my passport and bank passbook back with a wai but also said ‘here read and sign this’and it’s a form to say I am now aware that I have to have baht 800,000 in my bank account 3 months prior to application . After signing she said “see you again next year” and that was it, with me walking out of room 101 at 9.32am.

Oh, the computer system doesn’t seem operational as all the lcd screens I saw were not switched on.

[samtam]

Thanks. Always interesting to hear others' experiences with this. Still takes a heck of a long time, for a supposedly straightforward procedure, and your early arrival doesn't seem to curtail this. As I mentioned in my own experience in May, my renewal took about 4 1/2 hours, (but I thought I was being clever and following a good experience that I'd read here on TV), and I went after 2.00 pm. Big mistake, as I also missed the opportunity to get the re-entry permit on the same day, as it closes at 4.30pm.

[mojaco]

Went to Suan Phlu today for my 9th Retirement renewal today 19 June. Arrived at the immigration office at 7.55am . . .

Trigz, Since you were there so early, does that mean that it it now OK to get the bank account statement the day before? ( In the past it had to "be on the same day application was made")

Please let me know if getting the bank statement the day before is probably OK now and I will try that next month when I renew my retirement extension.

[WilliamIV]

Went to Suan Phlu today for my 9th Retirement renewal today 19 June.

but also said ‘here read and sign this’and it’s a form to say I am now aware that I have to have baht 800,000 in my bank account 3 months prior to application

trigz

If that was your 9th Retirement Extension ...

Are you not Grandfathered on Bht200,000 ?

Have they now increased you to 800K?

Bill

[Lite Beer]

Went to Suan Phlu today for my 9th Retirement renewal today 19 June.

but also said ‘here read and sign this’and it’s a form to say I am now aware that I have to have baht 800,000 in my bank account 3 months prior to application

trigz

If that was your 9th Retirement Extension ...

Are you not Grandfathered on Bht200,000 ?

Have they now increased you to 800K?

Bill

The law says than anyone who was in the system before 21/10/1998 are Grandfathered on 200,000. As you are Bill.

Maybe he didn't quite make it. Or maybe he broke the sequence somewhere along the line.

Would be interesting to know.

[trigz]

I have always done the bank letter the day before and never been challenged on that.

No, unfortunately I am not at the 200,000; just before I arrived it got changed to 800,000 (just my luck!).

[phutoie2]

[quote

Please let me know if getting the bank statement the day before is probably OK now and I will try that next month when I renew my retirement extension.

Well I did mine the day before in May at Bangkok Bank main branch, - Silom the day before and it appeared not to be an issue next day at Suan P.

I have also found out that you can get the statement letter from your local branch if your account is there and that would have to be a few days before the annual trek to Bangers.

[lopburi3]

Normally it has only been an issue when more than a week out of date from reports I have seen. But there is always the exception (that might have other causes).

[mojaco]

Thanks everyone for the replies about getting the bank letter the day before perhaps (probably?) being OK. I'll try that this time. The worst that can happen is for me to have to leave and come back with a "same-day" letter. I'll post my experiences on renewal when I do that in a month.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

trigz

If that was your 9th Retirement Extension ...

Are you not Grandfathered on Bht200,000 ?

Have they now increased you to 800K?

Bill

The law says than anyone who was in the system before 21/10/1998 are Grandfathered on 200,000. As you are Bill.

I technically meet the grandfather clause as my first retirement extension was in May  1998.  This past February I'm down to Suan Plu for my  extension, some baht 250,000 in my SCB savings account for three months, copy of the Thai version of the police order in hand, copies of my monthly  deposits of baht 65,000 from the U.S., and a letter confirming my retirement amount (FYI, not from the U.S. Embassy, from the payer).

The gal doing the paperwork couldn't quite handle the less than baht 800,000, she kept referring back to that, didn't want to read the police order on grandfathering.  I'm smiling OK, no problem on my side, wasn't going to push the issue.  Showed her the 12 "foreign exchange" deposit slips from SCB, she pushed them aside.  asked if I had a letter form the Embassy.  I said no, but how about this one, which she grabbed happily and scooted away to complete the extension process.  Seemed like she just wanted to find something to let her off the hook.  Fine with me, but 10 years on does seem like some of the troops there at SP aren't familiar with the older rules.

Mac