Permenant retired visa

[albertvb]

I'm retired 62 years old and get a retired visa for more than 5 years.

Last mounth i go to the immigration to ask for a permenant visa but they told that the retired category have been removed.

I read the story from michaelr that he get the same information from the immigration bureau.

I read the information answer from Mister george That this information is complely wrong en that a a retired permenant visa can be aplied.

So it's very difficult for a foreigner that situation and i don't know where to go...

Hope very hard to received a right answer where i have to go to aply for a permenant visa.

Thanks a lot.

Albert Van Biesen

[email protected]

[george]

It's really unclear answers from the Immigration Bureau. I will double check with them on Monday, and return an answer here asap.

If someone else have more info regarding this, please add your info

[marty]

Dear George and Dr. Patpong,

If my application for a permanent retirement residence visa (permit) is anything to go by, Immigration's reply to Albervb may be correct.

In April 1999, 2 months before my 5 year contract of employment was due to end, a Thai lady in our personnel department asked me if I was thinking of retiring in Thailand, and whether I wanted to apply for a permanent

residence permit. I said yes and gladly handed over a sizeable amount of Baht in a sealed envelope to "expedite" the application, with the promise of my money-back should the application not succeed. That promise was, of course, too "sensitive" to be put in writing.

In July of that year I was asked to go to Japan as a consultant for an affiliated petroleum company. In December 1999, while in Japan, I was informed by the Thai lady at my erstwhile company that I was required to present myself at room 301 of the Immigration offices in Bangkok, which I then

did. Her husband was there to assist me with what I thought was going to be my interview with the Immigration official in charge, before granting the residence permit. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the reason for my presence was merely to submit the application in person.

Back to Japan, where I was later requested to present myself at Immigration in Bangkok during March, 2000. Ah, this must be it, I thought, so I thanked my Japanese company and left permanently (keeping my Japanese 3-year work permit). Imagine my second surprise on discovering that this visit was just to extend my Non-O visa for another 90 days, until June, 2000 - my Thai Non-B visa having expired on December 31, 1999.

On arrival at Don Muang in March I was given a 30 day tourist visa, despite my protestations that my application for permanent residence was being considered, as witness the stamp to that effect in my passport. Sorry, I was told, you should have applied for a Re-Entry permit before leaving Thailand in December. Why?, I said, isn't it obvious that I wanted to re-enter Thailand?

Back home in Jomtien, I tried to contact the Thai lady where I had worked before, only to learn that she had left their employ. All attempts to contact her at her new place of employment failed, she was always out or unavailable. Not knowing what to do next, I contacted Pattaya Immigration,

who informed me that I could ignore the 30-day visa stamp but that I would have to leave the country before the 90-day Non-O visa expired, and re-apply for a Non-O. This advice was however incorrect because at Utapao airport I

had to pay a 13,000 Baht fine for overstaying the 30 day tourist visa given at Don Muang in March, before I was allowed to board the plane for Phnom Penh. There I was given a fresh 90-day Non-O.

In September, 2000 I decided to go to Immigration in Bangkok on my own, without the pathetic "assistance" of the Thai lady or her husband. The Immigration officer there told me that I shouldn't have gone to Cambodia at all. I should have just come to her and gotten a further 90-day extension stamp - and that I would have to do the same every 90 days until my

application was finalized.

In 2001, during one of my visits to her, I was informed that Immigration had approved my application and that it had now been forwarded to the Department of the Interior for final approval.

Later that year, on a subsequent visit, I found that all the officials in room 301 had been transferred, and I was informed that all applications were being re-considered by the new Minister for the Interior. The change in Government apparently necessitated a change in all officials.

After another 5 visits to Bangkok Immigration, I was told by the officer in charge that I would shortly receive a letter about my application. He asked me what I would do if it was declined, and for the first time I realized that something was awry, because while waiting, I was also told by a French

chap (who had been waiting for permanent residence as long as I had) that he had heard the new Minister disliked farangs.

The letter duly arrived, almost a month after being written. It informed me that my application for permanent retirement residence had not been granted and that I could present the letter to Immigration in Pattaya for consideration of a one-year retirement visa.

My application in 1999 was number 001 for South Africans, and since there was a quota of 100 for each country at that time, I wouldn't be surprised if there has been an unannounced change in granting permanent retirement

permits to farangs. Either that, or my failing was that I should have given another donation to expedite my application.

It seems that my Thai lady will now either have to marry an old man of 72, or I will have to finish and sell my historical novel before August 2003 to put me in sufficient funds to re-apply.

Best regards,

Marty

[Thailand]

I would also be interested to know the current situation regarding permanent residence. My wife and I are new to Thailand, although many visits in the past. We applied for and received a " retirement visa" and multiple re-entries within one week of arrival in the north.

During the interview we were advised that in three years you can apply for permanent residence, this was only 6 weeks ago.

Bringing animals? We brought three dogs as excess baggage, i.e. they travelled on the same plane as us, all we required was a health certificate from country of origin and pre-booking of space with the airline(s). The other paperwork was completed on arrival in Thailand, about 45 minutes and a charge of 100 baht for each dog!