Problems With Retirement Extension

[ubonjoe]

ubonjoe i have contacted guest house in penang re tourist o visa and am waiting their reply.with regards vientiane,if applying for a multiple entry tourist o visa can you tell me what docs.are necessary,and do you need to show thai bank a/c and how much money in the a/c you have to have.My g/f do not have marraige cert. yet.Still have to go to embassy in BKK for stat dec.

For Vientiane all you need is your passport, 2 photos and a copy of your passport photo page.

You have not said yet what country you are from. Every country does the income letter a different way.

The US does not require proof of income so you can divide out your savings and come up with a monthly number. I recently saw on the UK embassy website where they are giving an income letter if you can show the previous 3 months balance for an account in the UK.

Another option for a 2 entry tourist visa is Kota Bharu Malaysia. It is not a great place to visit but it is an option.

[samuibeachcomber]

thanks ubonjoe,maybe look at Khota Bharu,i guess its a consulate and same docs. apply,is it on the thai border,will have to get a map,but thanks your info.i think i'm going to go the 60 day multi entry way and wait and see if exchange rates improve and then bring money over,and season for 3 months.and re-apply for retirement visa.

[samuibeachcomber]

ubonjoe,am an aussie,incidentally how would i get from samui to khotu bhari,have n't found where it is yet.

[Lite Beer]

There are buses from Samui to Had Yai. Plenty of buses or mini buses to Sungai Kolok from Had Yai.

Some info here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Tourist-Visa...mp;hl=kota+baru

[ubonjoe]

Here is a link for a visa run company that does same day visa runs to Kota Bharu from Narathiwat.

http://www.traveller2000.com/visa_run.htm

They might be able to suggest the best way to get to Narathiwat from Samui.

[samuibeachcomber]

thanks litebeer and ubonjoe.

[astral]

A while back there was the low cost asirline, FireFly, offering a direct service from Samui to Penang.

[Lite Beer]

A while back there was the low cost asirline, FireFly, offering a direct service from Samui to Penang.

It is still around.

http://www.fireflyz.com.my/

[cecco]

My retirement visa expires on 08/01/2009 (will be 2nd.extension)

on my last 90 day report in sept.i asked samui immigration when i needed to top up funds and was told one month before visa expires and today i returned to their office to find out latest i could transfer funds (rotten exchange rates the reason) and was told it was too late, funds have to be seasoned 3 months before.So now i have to decide what to do next.

First thought was to apply for marraige visa but i cant show regular income from overseas(money tied up in term deposit)

2nd thought was go for a tourist visa(60day+30day)multiple entry.Does anyone know(1)where i have to go to get this and do i have to show money in the bank to qualify and if so how much.

help would be appreciated.

Each year, I do the following, and each year, I have no problem at all:

1. I go to the USA Embassy or consulate and get a letter verifying that my income is a certain amount above 800,000 Baht a year.

2. I go to the bank and get a letter verifying the existence of the bank account.

3. I take my bank book and a copy with me to immigration.

4. I take copies of my passport and my passport to immigration.

5. I use either immigration in Jomtien Beach or Chiang Mai.

6. I procure a retirement Visa Extension

7. Immediately following the retirement visa extension, I procure a multiple re-entry permit.

Costs, as I remember, are 1,900 + 3,800 THB.

I have as little as 500 baht in the bank I have used, and as much as 70,000. Never more.

[snowy]

I am sure one of our resident experts will give the the exact rule but as I understand from previous posts the 800,000 baht has to be in the thai bank for three months on the first application only, subsequent renewals do not need to be seasoned and this has been reported by a number of tv members. Perhaps another visit to immigration with someone who speaks Thai and explain you are enquiring about renewing your retirement extension, not applying for your first one may clarify the situation for you.

I dont know which imigration office you use but but the last two times that i have renewed my retirement visa here in pattaya the funds (800,00) have only been in my account for 2 weeks.

I was told by imigration that the 3 month rule only applies to first applications and not renewals.

In fact i have just renewed my visa not 3 weeks ago, and the funds had been in my account for 16 days.

I cannot understand why some imigration offices interpret the rules differently.

[Lite Beer]

I cannot understand why some imigration offices interpret the rules differently.

Because they can.

Trying to work it out will only give you a headache.

Just try and go along with what they want.

[ubonjoe]

I dont know which imigration office you use but but the last two times that i have renewed my retirement visa here in pattaya the funds (800,00) have only been in my account for 2 weeks.

I was told by imigration that the 3 month rule only applies to first applications and not renewals.

In fact i have just renewed my visa not 3 weeks ago, and the funds had been in my account for 16 days.

I cannot understand why some imigration offices interpret the rules differently.

The rules are very clear.

Pattaya seems to have a policy of not enforcing the rules at this time.

The problem with knowing today that they have that policy is fine. But next month who knows.

All it would take is a change of the chief there and suddenly you are caught with your pants down.

[Jingthing]

Pattaya seems to have a policy of not enforcing the rules at this time.

I strongly prefer to say what the policy is at that office, (and it is beyond SEEMS, it is now DOES) rather than that they are not enforcing the rules, but the result is the same.

I don't agree it is a big risk to go with their now WELL KNOWN, well verified POLICY. The volume of retirees is so high that there is a good chance if you read this board that there will be a WARNING of any change in policy that may occur. And if you did get caught in a change, it actually isn't that serious, but yes you would have to start with a new visa (which is BTW available IN Thailand).

Edited November 23, 2008 by Jingthing

[xylophone]

As regards your money tied up in a term deposit, you could try to get that changed to one which paid the interest qrterly or six monthly, then apply to your embassy to verify you have that income. That would appear to be sufficient according to my info.