Mis-adventures At Suan Plu

[Portl]

I just got back from another wacky fun day at Suan Plu, trying to do what it seems others have done effortlessly and quickly, only in my case, effortfully and slowly.

In a nutshell, I am trying to get a non-imm-o visa with extension for retirement, using the letter-from-the-US-embassy method. Any thoughts on what might be going wrong or right here from the well-informed will be greatly appreciated.

I arrived in Bangkok from the US a few weeks ago on a tourist visa (not a visa-waiver stamp). Last week, I went to the US Embassy and got the notarized letter confirming I've sworn to my income, and took it to room 303 at Suan Plu, along with the necessary photocopies, a pp photo, 2000 baht, my passport, and the visa application form. After taking all of the above, after about 15 minutes the immigration officer handed back only my passport, along with a receipt for the 2000 baht and a notation on it to come back this week (today, Friday) to have my passport stamped. This seemed odd, since I'd never heard of a waiting period for such a thing. I'm over 50, have the income, no black marks on my record, etc.

So, I came back to Suan Plu this morning as requested, showed my appointment note/receipt to the person in 303 who took it and my passport and handed me a questionnaire seeking feedback regarding my satisfaction with the service at immigration, selection of tv channels in the waiting rooms, etc., to which I of course replied that all were beyond reproach. After completion, I was handed my passport with the non-o stamp in it, with a validity date of 90 days from when I had originally come in last week. I was told that if I wanted an extension based on retirement, I should come back within 30 days of the visa expiry and was sent on my way.

This also seemed odd, since I know of at least one person who has done the same procedure through Suan Plu, and was in fact given an expiration date for the first extension of 15 months from original issuance (90 days + 1 year), and this all on the same day they first applied.

Has the procedure changed again recently? The need to wait until within 30 days of visa expiration puts a kink in my plans, since I'm heading back to the States at the end of June (before the 30 day range kicks in) and won't be back until after the non-o's 90 days are up. I explained this to the immigration officer who said come back on the day before my flight takes off and they might be able to do something. This seems risky at best.

Furthermore, they kept my letter from the Embassy, so I don't know if that means I have to get another one before I go back, or whether I should go back to room 303 and ask about it, or what.

I've been following threads on this kind of thing for quite a while and haven't run across this combination yet. Any insight into whether things have officially changed? I plan on going back to the US every year around July/August. Is it possible to get an extension for 11 months so I won't be facing renewal at the wrong time next year too?

Any and all helpful suggestions are greatly pre-appreciated.

[lopburi3]

1. Change of visa status - have seen other recent reports of leave and come back later for stamp so believe this is the current system.

2. Extension of stay is normally only allowed during the last 30 days of visa validity at Bangkok. Have seen the same reports you have seen that some people got everything in one go but believe that was before the new wait for visa change procedure came into place.

3. You will need a new letter from reports so far.

4. Don't believe they will make a fuss if you do a couple of days early - just have your ticket to show.

5. Extension will be one year from your current permitted to stay until date.

You might want to just wait - obtain a new non immigrant O visa in the US and return with that and then extend 60 days later.

[monty]

AFAIK the procedure is correct. You are effectively doing 2 things.

1st is converting your tourist status to non immigrant status. For this you have to prove that you would qualify for a 1 year extension of some kind (retirement, marriage,...). Hence the embassy letter requirement. Fee for this is 2000 Baht.

2nd is the extension. Once on non immigrant status you apply for extension of stay. Again, proof to qualify is required (again, letter of embassy). Fee for this extension is 1900 Baht. In general, immigration will have no problem processing your extension earlier then the 30 day before expiry, especially if you can prove that you have to leave the country. The retirement extension is normally given on the spot.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

AFAIK the procedure is correct. You are effectively doing 2 things.

1st is converting your tourist status to non immigrant status. For this you have to prove that you would qualify for a 1 year extension of some kind (retirement, marriage,...). Hence the embassy letter requirement. Fee for this is 2000 Baht.

2nd is the extension. Once on non immigrant status you apply for extension of stay. Again, proof to qualify is required (again, letter of embassy). Fee for this extension is 1900 Baht. In general, immigration will have no problem processing your extension earlier then the 30 day before expiry, especially if you can prove that you have to leave the country. The retirement extension is normally given on the spot.

Monty

Looks like the U.S. Embassy/Consular fee for a notarial is US$30, so depending on the exchange rate they're using, shouldn't be over baht 1,200 I'd think. Still a ripoff!

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa/acs/acs_faq.html

NOTARIAL SERVICE

How much is the notarial fee?

The notarial fee is $30 for the first consular seal and $20 for each subsequent consular seal on your documents. (The number of documents does not matter, as some documents require the notary is sign and seal in 2-3 separate locations.

Mac

[Portl]

1. Change of visa status - have seen other recent reports of leave and come back later for stamp so believe this is the current system.

2. Extension of stay is normally only allowed during the last 30 days of visa validity at Bangkok. Have seen the same reports you have seen that some people got everything in one go but believe that was before the new wait for visa change procedure came into place.

3. You will need a new letter from reports so far.

4. Don't believe they will make a fuss if you do a couple of days early - just have your ticket to show.

5. Extension will be one year from your current permitted to stay until date.

You might want to just wait - obtain a new non immigrant O visa in the US and return with that and then extend 60 days later.

Thank you, Lopburi3. I guess normal was closer than I thought.

1 - For what it's worth to anyone wanting to know, the notice to return is delivered on the receipt for the 2000 baht itself, along with a stamp advising that you get a re-entry permit if you leave the country. God only knows what happens if you do get a re-entry permit during the limbo time between applying for the non-imm-o and getting the stamp the following week.

2 - I had a nagging sense that there was something tricky about the expiration date and applying for the extension. I'd gotten myself confused and was thinking it was that you had to apply for the change-of-visa from tourist to non-imm-o within 30 days of its expiration, when i now understand it's the extension itself that must be applied-for within the last thirty days of the ninety-day visa.

3 - New letter - sounds like the safe route, though jeez, how weird is it that you have to get a letter testifying to your income and then sixty days later get another NEW letter saying the same thing? Left hand, meet right hand. (I know, I know...)

4 - Yes, that's what they were implying.

5 - Worst case scenario is I go back to the US without doing anything more and just start the process over when I come back in September. Actually, that might be easiest anyway, considering that I expect not to be here in the July/August period in the future, and annual renewal could get sticky. Better to just come in on an exemption stamp and convert when I come back in September, shoving my renewal time into a period when I know I'll be around. The major risk with that being that they change the rules *again* before I get back.

Thanks again, Lopburi3. Very much appreciated.

[lopburi3]

I would get the non immigrant visa prior to return as will cost no more in US than here and then you will not risk have trouble with the airline about no onward ticket within 30 days using visa exempt entry. And one less Embassy letter required at this end. Over age 50 any of the Honorary Consulates should be willing to issue the visa.

If you continue on present course it probably will work out OK. But you may have the same issue of explaining why you need to extend early every year.

[ubonjoe]

Don't come back on a visa exempt entry or a tourist visa.

Get a single entry non-o from one of the honorary consulates in the states or apply for a non-oa visa there.

For a list of honorary consulates use the pull down menu at the top of this page from DC embassy website.

http://www.thaiembdc.org/AboutEmb/EmbDirect.aspx

Houston give great service. A member just gave a very good report about getting a multiple entry non-oa there. That means you can get almost 2 year of stay in the country without getting an extension here.

For info on the non-oa. http://www.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

Houston will accept all the forms from the embassy website.

[Portl]

AFAIK the procedure is correct. You are effectively doing 2 things.

1st is converting your tourist status to non immigrant status. For this you have to prove that you would qualify for a 1 year extension of some kind (retirement, marriage,...). Hence the embassy letter requirement. Fee for this is 2000 Baht.

2nd is the extension. Once on non immigrant status you apply for extension of stay. Again, proof to qualify is required (again, letter of embassy). Fee for this is 1900 Baht. In general, immigration will have no problem processing your extension earlier then the 30 day before expiry, especially if you can prove that you have to leave the country. The retirement extension is normally given on the spot.

So basically it appears the new rule is that if you're converting to a non-o visa, and then getting an extension based on retirement, you'll need to provide the financial supporting docs TWICE, yes? For myself, it's relatively straightforward, in a twisty way - I just go back to the Embassy, pay another 1050 baht or so and get the same letter again for the extension phase. I have to imagine that for those doing it by the bank method this would be somewhat more painful. I assume that either way the documents must be fairly fresh and must be originals.

Thanks for the reply, Monty.

[ubonjoe]

For the money in the bank option you don't have to have the money in the bank for the 2 months required when you do a change of visa status so it is little different.

The bank letter and in your case the embassy letter has to be recent. For the bank letter it is the day before or sometimes the same day.

[Portl]

For the money in the bank option you don't have to have the money in the bank for the 2 months required when you do a change of visa status so it is little different.

The bank letter and in your case the embassy letter has to be recent. For the bank letter it is the day before or sometimes the same day.

Then I probably didn't really need the letter from the US Embassy last week when I applied for conversion from Tourist to Non-O visa, since at that point the issue of retirement is moot, considering they don't need anything from the bank yet? I wonder why the officer kept it, since they don't make anything off of the US Embassy re-generating these things.

Little mysteries. Thanks for the reply, ubonjoe.

[monty]

AFAIK the procedure is correct. You are effectively doing 2 things.

1st is converting your tourist status to non immigrant status. For this you have to prove that you would qualify for a 1 year extension of some kind (retirement, marriage,...). Hence the embassy letter requirement. Fee for this is 2000 Baht.

2nd is the extension. Once on non immigrant status you apply for extension of stay. Again, proof to qualify is required (again, letter of embassy). Fee for this is 1900 Baht. In general, immigration will have no problem processing your extension earlier then the 30 day before expiry, especially if you can prove that you have to leave the country. The retirement extension is normally given on the spot.

Monty

Looks like the U.S. Embassy/Consular fee for a notarial is US$30, so depending on the exchange rate they're using, shouldn't be over baht 1,200 I'd think. Still a ripoff!

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa/acs/acs_faq.html

NOTARIAL SERVICE

How much is the notarial fee?

The notarial fee is $30 for the first consular seal and $20 for each subsequent consular seal on your documents. (The number of documents does not matter, as some documents require the notary is sign and seal in 2-3 separate locations.

Mac

Oops, my confusing way of writing, I meant that the fee for the extension is 1900 Baht, not the fee for the embassy letter

Edited my post now...

[ubonjoe]

You needed the letter because you were using the income option.

The money in the bank also requires the letter and passbook copies. Just the 2 month time period is not required because they would do the same thing and tell you to come back and by then the money would be the bank for 2 months.

[Portl]

Don't come back on a visa exempt entry or a tourist visa.

Get a single entry non-o from one of the honorary consulates in the states or apply for a non-oa visa there.

For a list of honorary consulates use the pull down menu at the top of this page from DC embassy website.

http://www.thaiembdc.org/AboutEmb/EmbDirect.aspx

Houston give great service. A member just gave a very good report about getting a multiple entry non-oa there. That means you can get almost 2 year of stay in the country without getting an extension here.

For info on the non-oa. http://www.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

Houston will accept all the forms from the embassy website.

Yes, and this is where it gets sticky. Bearing in mind that this is the internet we're talking about, I've gleaned from reading here and elsewhere that the most straightforward way of handling my situation is not the O-A, but the O with year extension for retirement applied-for in Thailand. This may be changing, and I may be just the unlucky leading edge straddling the cusp here, but I did at least try the non-O in the US approach, through the Houston Consulate. They basically stopped replying to my emails after I described my intention of getting a non-O in the US, then extending it in Thailand. I may have made the mistake of saying I'd want to get a multi-entry.

Maybe their server went down, but as far as I could tell, I'd offended them with the mere suggestion.

I do understand the difference between the O-A acquired in the country of origin and an extension acquired in Thailand, and would prefer to go the extension route for a variety of reasons. Up until now, it seemed widely regarded as the more straightforward approach, but again, things change, don't they?

Thanks again for the reply.

[ubonjoe]

You should try for a single again if you decide not to get the extension here. I don't think they will do multiple entries anymore because they have been told to pusht for OA's. But at least get a tourist visa unless you think you can get to immigration within 8 or 9 days if you come in a visa exempt entry because you have to do it when you have to have at least 21 days left on your entry.

[Portl]

You needed the letter because you were using the income option.

The money in the bank also requires the letter and passbook copies. Just the 2 month time period is not required because they would do the same thing and tell you to come back and by then the money would be the bank for 2 months.

Forgive my confusion, I'm trying to understand here. When you say I needed the letter because I was using the income option - this was for the conversion to non-o from tourist, NOT for the extension based on retirement. It appears that I need to establish my retirement qualifications both for the conversion to a non-o visa and for the extension separately. Are you saying that if I were going the bank route, and had the 800K in the bank for the past, say, six months, I would have been able to get the extension without waiting until 30 days before the non-O expires?

Somehow, this all goes from insightfully curious in my head to whiney in written form. Hope you can see past that. Your insights are all appreciated.

[lopburi3]

You needed the letter are proof you qualified for retirement extension of stay - the visa conversion is for a specific reason; and is not available to anyone.

Some people have received extensions immediately but that has not been the case of most people - who are told what your were told - come back after 60 days for the extension of stay. It seems to have been "the luck of the Irish" rather than any policy.

[ubonjoe]

No I am not saying that. If you had the money in the bank for more than 2 months they would of done the same thing.

[Portl]

You needed the letter are proof you qualified for retirement extension of stay - the visa conversion is for a specific reason; and is not available to anyone.

Some people have received extensions immediately but that has not been the case of most people - who are told what your were told - come back after 60 days for the extension of stay. It seems to have been "the luck of the Irish" rather than any policy.

Ok, got it. Thanks to you, ubonjoe, monty and anyone else for the generosity and patience.

[JimGant]

but I did at least try the non-O in the US approach, through the Houston Consulate. They basically stopped replying to my emails after I described my intention of getting a non-O in the US

I don't recall any consulates in the US, honorary or MFA, giving Non Imm O visas based on being retirement eligible. I've seen it in Canada (Vancouver) and England (Hull). And there probably are some others (Perth maybe). But not in the US.

But, maybe that's because of bad memory......