Tourist To Non-Immo To Retirement Extension

[ProThaiExpat]

Obtained my non-immO visa from tourist visa based on retirement in September 2010 and must now go to get one year extension.

Do I need another pension letter from Consulate, Immigration CM kept original pension letter when I changed from Tourist to non-immO????

[Mario2008]

Yes, you will need a new letter.

Some immigration offices allow you to keep the original, but if they keep the original you will need a new one.

[ProThaiExpat]

Yes, you will need a new letter.

Some immigration offices allow you to keep the original, but if they keep the original you will need a new one.

Thanks Mario2008: You jogged my memory, when I went this route three years or more ago, I now recall the Immigration Senior Sargent who used to handle extensions gave me back my original pension letter and said I would need it for my one year extension in 90 days.

"Word to the wise" for those going this route, ask for the original of your pension letter back, you may be able to avoid the hassle and expense of getting another one if they grant your request.

[noise]

Just to clarify things in my own mind......

Are you saying you got a 90 day visa in September as the precursor to getting your Non-O for retirement? And that as part of your 90 day application (the reason for staying 90 days) you indicated your intent to apply for retirement and provided your proof of income as support?

And then your subsequent posting meant you let a previous retirement visa "expire" and are now applying again?

And your recommendation in the 2nd posting means that if you use the pension letter for the 90 day visa, ask for it back so that you do not have pay for a 2nd one 2 months later?

[ProThaiExpat]

Just to clarify things in my own mind......

Are you saying you got a 90 day visa in September as the precursor to getting your Non-O for retirement? And that as part of your 90 day application (the reason for staying 90 days) you indicated your intent to apply for retirement and provided your proof of income as support?

And then your subsequent posting meant you let a previous retirement visa "expire" and are now applying again?

And your recommendation in the 2nd posting means that if you use the pension letter for the 90 day visa, ask for it back so that you do not have pay for a 2nd one 2 months later?

Maybe,yes, your conclusion is correct, however to use accurate terminology and put the sequence of events in chronological order, the following occurred:

I stayed in Australia past the expiry of my last one year extension of my former non-immO visa and Re-Entry permit and so with advice from Lopburi3, I obtained a tourist visa so I could return to Thailand and stay for three months without pressure. Arriving without a visa is possible for a 30 day stay from which you can change to a non-immO immediately, however, Qantas and many other airlines will not board you without a exit from Thailand ticket, if you are relying on a 30 day permission to stay on arrival stamp to gain entry into Thailand.

When the check in agent in Sydney first looked at my passport, her first question was where is your ticket taking you out of Thailand? Evidently many Australians coming to Thailand for a holiday rely on the 30 day upon arrival stamp and have a round trip ticket. Was I happy to show her where in my passport she could find my Tourist Visa.

About a month after arriving, I went to Chiang Mai Immigration and applied for a non-immO visa based on retirement and was required to produce all the same documents that one must produce for a one year extension of a non-immO visa based upon retirement.

It was then that I did not request nor was I given back the original of my Pension Letter from the CM Consulate and when I went to get my one year extension of my non-immO based on retirement this week, I was told I must have an original pension letter. The fact that Immigration had the original in their files from two months ago fell on deaf ears. I must again go to the expense and hassle of getting another Original Pension Letter to obtain an extension of the non-immO visa obtained about a month after I arrived on my tourist visa.

In the defense of CM Immigration, they are so busy and their filing system may be remote from the office we go to to get our visas and extensions, that it might not be feasible for them to retrieve documents months hence without a major effort.

Fortunately, I have enough time left on my non-immO visa first obtained to get to the Consulate for another pension letter and then the following day to CM Immigration to get my one year extension. My conclusion is that depending on the officer, you might be able to get your original pension letter back when going through this process, as my dim memory refreshed recalls that when I went through this process four years ago I know I didn't have to go get another original pension letter. Clearly, the best advice is to plan your foreign travels so you don't allow your extensions and re-entry permits to expire!