I've been in Thailand since 2006 on Retirement visa. My 90 day reporting just done. New visa due on Monday 22 February. Looking at document requirements to remind myself today, I noticed the requirement is for minimum 18 months left on applicants passport. Min is due for replacement in January 2011. So 11 months only. I'm guessing Pattaya immigration will not allow me to renew my 12 months retiremnt visa? If so, what interim visa to go for? In the circumstances, I'm guessing the best way forward is to go for a 90 day extension, get new passport from bangkok, them apply for new retirement visa when 90 days is up? If I go for 90 day extension, I assume TM7 is still correct to use? And documentation required? Still 3 of everything + 800,000 in the bank? Or are the requirements less for 90 day extension?

Anyone with experience of this, comments would be helpful.

Thanx in advance.

DIG

Where is the 18 months stated?

I was under the impression that Imm will approve your extension of stay but stamp it only to the end of validity of the passport. Once you have a new PP they will stamp the remainder of the year in the new PP.

I will face the same issue late next year with my German PP.

My extension is due mid July every year, PP expires in Sep 2011 but the German embassy won't give me a new one until I have only six months left or if it is stamped full.

opalhort

I had the same problem 2 years ago and they just extended my visa to the end of my passport..............

I had the same problem two years ago and the British Embassy issued a new passport and carried over the remaining 9 months from my old passport so I had a new passport valid for ten years and nine months! simple. Your problem now though is time as it can take a week to get new passport, however the embassy did tell me that Immigration would renew my retirement extension up to the expiry date on my passport so in your case you could get a 11 month extension and then renew when you get new passport.

I had the same problem 2 years ago and they just extended my visa to the end of my passport..............

I just renewed my retirement visa at Pattaya (Chonburi) Immigration on Feb 11, 2010. My passport expires on Dec 10, 2010. Immigration extended my new visa in my current PP until Dec 10, the PP expiration date. When I transfer the stamps to my new PP, they said they would extend the visa date to the original Feb 19 expiration.

Hope so

You have confused visa issue with extension of stay - a visa valid one year requires a passport valid for 18 months or longer. There is no such requirement for an extension of stay. Immigration will extend up to passport expiration date and on return with new passport will provide any remaining time.

Thanks so much for the feedback. That works!

Opalhort/Lopburi3 ... I got the 18 months requirement from the information on this site. I clicked on 'Visa Extension' for Non-Imm O/A, and that's where it states 18 months requirement. I may have misinterpreted. Maybe someone can also have a look at the same link and confirm or otherwise that is what it appears to say.

Best to all

DIG