surg Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 I am here on a Non-Immigrant "0", multi entry, 12 month visa from USA. I have the requirements for a retirement visa and documentation needed. Do I have to pay a lawyer 10,000 Bhat or can I do it myself. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamIV Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Surg It is very easy to do it yourself Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I am here on a Non-Immigrant "0", multi entry, 12 month visa from USA.I have the requirements for a retirement visa and documentation needed. Do I have to pay a lawyer 10,000 Bhat or can I do it myself. Thanks. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bt 10,000 would be too much to pay.Fee from top class firm(no disrespect but I'm not talking about Sunbelt or Indo-Siam type outfits who have a different niche) would be about Bt 5000.Equally you could certainly do it yourself and I suspect most do.I have PR but if applying for retirement visa I would do it myself.Really the question is whether you are ready to pay and let someone else take the(actually very little) strain at Suan Plu.There's really no correct answer here but one pont worth making that is often misunderstood.Some people -including esteemed moderators of this forum- will tell you that Immigration Officials resent dealing with lawyers or their agents, and that this might even delay or frustrate your application.Absolute nonsense:in fact the reverse is probably true unless your Thai is very proficient.This assumes of course that the lawyers (in practice their agents) know their way around, have the right deferential attitude etc etc.My comment is admittedly more relevant to the more difficult applications than retirement visas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulfr Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 If 5000B is peanuts for you, go to Sunbelt or similar service. But you can do it yourself. It is not any harder than filing your own simple personal income tax. There are a few hoops to jump thru and you can learn all of them with 30-60 minutes or so of reading Thaivisa after doing a search. My journey was tougher than most because I started with a Tourist Visa that needed to be converted to Non Imm O first. You don't have that problem, so you just need income/bank deposit verification, medical certificate of good health and and Form TM7 (?) filled out. Its not hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajarn Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Do it yourself. Even with a lawyer, you'll still have to get all the stuff yourself, and you'll still have to go to immigration. The only thing the lawyer can help you with is to speak for you, but most immgration officers speak English and will help you... Also, a lawyer might cause a request for an extera 'service fee' from some immigration folks. In CM, a friend is working for a lawyer who handles immigration stuff for some farangs. She says she almost always has to pay 500 baht (requested specifically by officers) per visit... I'll bet that gets translated to a lot more than 500 baht when the farang gets billed for it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 avoid all dealings with lawyers until you can hear the firing squad cocking their rifles. then and only then consider calling a lawyer. getting a retirement visa is straightforward , easy and quick. the immigration officials are polite and fair. it shouldnt take more than an hour and 40 minutes of that is queueing up. the documentation you need is easy to obtain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thetyim Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Do it yourself. There are lots of us here who have retirement visas (visum? visii? never could remember which is correct) If you get stuck just ask or PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajarn Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 the immigration officials are polite and fair. I used to whole-heartedly agree. Now, I say, "Mostly fair and polite" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Do it yourself. Even with a lawyer, you'll still have to get all the stuff yourself, and you'll still have to go to immigration. The only thing the lawyer can help you with is to speak for you, but most immgration officers speak English and will help you...Also, a lawyer might cause a request for an extera 'service fee' from some immigration folks. In CM, a friend is working for a lawyer who handles immigration stuff for some farangs. She says she almost always has to pay 500 baht (requested specifically by officers) per visit... I'll bet that gets translated to a lot more than 500 baht when the farang gets billed for it... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As I said in my original post, I agree a retirement visa is easy to process without a lawyer -and this is the option I would follow if it was relevant to my case.But I think its worth stressing again the value of good legal help at Suan Plu from time to time.Of course, in terms of legal services,you get what you pay for.And yes there are many expats(not many on TV it seems) for whom Bt 5,000 or even Bt 10,000 is peanuts and is worth paying to avoid hanging around Immigration for extended periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Do it yourself. Even with a lawyer, you'll still have to get all the stuff yourself, and you'll still have to go to immigration. The only thing the lawyer can help you with is to speak for you, but most immgration officers speak English and will help you...Also, a lawyer might cause a request for an extera 'service fee' from some immigration folks. In CM, a friend is working for a lawyer who handles immigration stuff for some farangs. She says she almost always has to pay 500 baht (requested specifically by officers) per visit... I'll bet that gets translated to a lot more than 500 baht when the farang gets billed for it... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> As I said in my original post, I agree a retirement visa is easy to process without a lawyer -and this is the option I would follow if it was relevant to my case.But I think its worth stressing again the value of good legal help at Suan Plu from time to time.Of course, in terms of legal services,you get what you pay for.And yes there are many expats(not many on TV it seems) for whom Bt 5,000 or even Bt 10,000 is peanuts and is worth paying to avoid hanging around Immigration for extended periods. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There isn't much I agree with "Boris" on, but this one issue I think he is right on. And for sure, it really is up to you. I use a law firm for my marriage extensions, always have and probably always will. For just a little bit of Baht, the law firm keeps me up to date on the current requirements (for my situation), walks me thru the process and in the end saves me time and money (no extra trip to Bangkok to pick up the "approved extension" as I live outside of Korat). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 How much is worth your time? If you use outside help you might have to join once, the rest the lawyer can do without you. As a retiree, OTOH, you have time and the details and tips you need to know, you find in T-V. I never forget one immi. officer in BKK: "If somebody comes with a lawyer, we think there is soimething to hide". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 (edited) How much is worth your time?If you use outside help you might have to join once, the rest the lawyer can do without you. As a retiree, OTOH, you have time and the details and tips you need to know, you find in T-V. I never forget one immi. officer in BKK: "If somebody comes with a lawyer, we think there is soimething to hide". <{POST_SNAPBACK}> How much is someone's time worth? Only that individual can determine that. Same with how much it takes to live in Thailand. Some live on more some on less. But more specifically, I live 330 km from Bangkok and it's a night in a hotel plus expenses for me and wife. By using the law firm I save on the trip that I would normally have to make to pick up the "extension approval". Also, I feel (and maybe feel is the key word) that with the direct assistance, I am more likely to have all the documentation needed thus, no need for a possible trip back home for something else. But no argument from me that it can be done without the assistance. Many people do it all the time. But if one isn't sure, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a law firm. And never had the experience of the immigration officer thinking there was anything wrong with my decision to use such assistance. Edited January 22, 2005 by Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 How much is worth your time?If you use outside help you might have to join once, the rest the lawyer can do without you. As a retiree, OTOH, you have time and the details and tips you need to know, you find in T-V. I never forget one immi. officer in BKK: "If somebody comes with a lawyer, we think there is soimething to hide". <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I do not question what you were told by one immigration official but I can assure you it does not reflect general policy.I am quite confident about this and it reflects dealing with Immigration over a 20 year period on my behalf and senior expatriate employees.Indeed many retired immigration officials are involved with law firms.One important point does need to be stressed:I am talking about the major Bangkok law firms with an international or regional reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surg Posted January 26, 2005 Author Share Posted January 26, 2005 Thanks to everyone. I have learned a great deal from this website, Lobpuri, Axel, Dr. PatPong, et. al. Will try doing it myself, as someone said, I have the time and would like the experience. Bye for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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