I went to the Immigration office in Khon Kaen to renew my Retirement Visa.

I had the following documents:

Copy of my Passport Photo Page

Copy of Residence Address in Thailand

Copy of my Existing Visa

Copy of my Departure Card and Entry Stamp

Income Verification from US Embassy

Filled out M 7 Form

Photo

Paid B1900. I was in and out in 10 minutes.

Good for another year.....

You did not renew your visa, you received a one year extension of stay based on retirement.

You did not renew your visa, you received a one year extension of stay based on retirement.

You are correct. But it was easy....

Good for another year.....

Good that it went so fast for you. You are aware of the need to make 90 day address reports?

Actually you obtained a new one year extension of stay for retirement and supplied the normal paperwork showing you meet the requirements. I was not aware that anyone meeting the requirements was having that much of a problem. Believe most problems turn out to be misunderstandings rather than real issues.

Good for another year.....

Good that it went so fast for you. You are aware of the need to make 90 day address reports?

Actually you obtained a new one year extension of stay for retirement and supplied the normal paperwork showing you meet the requirements. I was not aware that anyone meeting the requirements was having that much of a problem. Believe most problems turn out to be misunderstandings rather than real issues.

Yes, I have been doing 90 day reports at the Khon Kaen Office. I hear and read that most have problems caused by not having the required documentation and or income requirements.

You did not mention a re-entry, you may want to get that also in case of any unforseen travel

You did not mention a re-entry, you may want to get that also in case of any unforseen travel

If I leave the Kingdom, I just need to check in at Thai Immigration before. I couldn't see paying an extra B2000.

for the convenience of not checking in...

You did not mention a re-entry, you may want to get that also in case of any unforseen travel

If I leave the Kingdom, I just need to check in at Thai Immigration before. I couldn't see paying an extra B2000.

for the convenience of not checking in...

It's THB 1,000 for a single re-entry permit, THB 3,800 for a multiple.

You did not mention a re-entry, you may want to get that also in case of any unforseen travel

If I leave the Kingdom, I just need to check in at Thai Immigration before. I couldn't see paying an extra B2000.

for the convenience of not checking in...

Can you just clarify "check in with immigration.." - presumably that means applying for a re-entry permit at your local immigration office (should you definitely decide to travel) - and at a cost of 1,000 Baht single, 3,800 Baht multiple ?

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by cardholder

You did not mention a re-entry, you may want to get that also in case of any unforseen travel

If I leave the Kingdom, I just need to check in at Thai Immigration before. I couldn't see paying an extra B2000.

for the convenience of not checking in...

Can you just clarify "check in with immigration.." - presumably that means applying for a re-entry permit at your local immigration office (should you definitely decide to travel) - and at a cost of 1,000 Baht single, 3,800 Baht multiple ?

Correct.

Edited October 3, 201114 yr by InterestedObserver

When i read here about people with a problem it seems to stem, as mentioned earlier, from a misunderstanding usually caused by language problem, lack of knowledge of proceedures and requirements by applicant. A few of the complaints seem to be just nit-picking and a desire to complain about something.

The ones I like are the declaration of new rules at immigration when the rules nor the requirements haven't changed in a few years. Good luck to all who have to visit immigration it usually isn't that big a deal.

You did not renew your visa, you received a one year extension of stay based on retirement.

You are correct. But it was easy....

I am preparing to apply for a retirement visa, am a 64 y.o. American. I am now on a 30-day, issued at airport, on arrival, visa.

A travel agent who's been very reliable in the past tells me that NOW, I must show funds in bank and that the letter from the US embassy showing monthly income is not sufficient, on its own.

Can anyone advise if this or is not true?

Also, looking for someone to help me with this process, for a fee....

Yes, it may be easy, but I'd rather eat sand than labor over the rules/regs/etc of this. I would prefer to deal with someone who can tell me EVERYTHING I need, if I need to leave country, etc.

Any recommendations gladly and gratefully received.

Thanks,

Terence

Going for the income route, the embassy statement is all you need, althoug sometimes immirgaiton asks for extra proof. So take it with you if you have to, to show IF they ask.Immigration often wants you to show a bank book with some money in it, to show that you spend money. If you don't have a Thai bankaccount yet, a few recent ATM slips might be accepted.You will probably also need some proof of address, like a rental contract or utillity bill in your name for that addres.With letter from the embassy and proof of address, passport, arrival card (and copies) and passphoto you visit immirgation and ask for a conversion to a non-immigrant visa. This will cost 2,000 baht. They might also gve you an extension of stay right away, for an extra 1,900 baht. If not, you have to come back after 60 days to get an extension of stay.That is all there is to it. But check with immirgaiton if ythey will do the conversion, some won't and send you to BKK to do it. Others Like Pattaya and Chinag Mai will convert themselves.

And remember that your 90 day report still has to be done on the due date, not 90 days from your retirement extension..

....and ask for a conversion to a non-immigrant visa. This will cost 2,000 baht. They might also gve you an extension of stay right away, for an extra 1,900 baht...

Thanks, Mario, but this raises a couple questions:

1. When you mention "non-immigrant visa", is this what I'm calling the retirement visa, same-same?

2. Since I am on my 30-day entry visa, it appears I would not be able to get the retirement in time, without going out of country first.

Thanks, Terence

PS: Maybe you understand now why I want to work with a professional to help me in this.

You don't need to leave the country, but have to hurry a bit. Becasue you don't have an non-immigrant visa, you have to convert first to a non-immigrant visa and than get a permission to stay based on retirement and get extensions of stay based on that.(that is strictly speaking not a retirement visa, but in popular speech it is incorrectly called that).You can convert with a minimum of about 15 days left on your current permision to stay of 30 days, although less than 10 days seems to be accepted.

OP will not be subject to 90 day reports until 90 days after his application for extension of stay.

Copy of residence address in Thailand?

The OP said he needed this when applying for his visa. Is this a new requirement? When I renewed my visa in Bangkok last year (April) they did not ask for this information.

It may be asked or may not be. But for first application it will almost surly be asked as that determines where you obtain your extension of stay from.

It seems the same everywhere now for retirement visas. Perhaps the government appreciates our economic contribution to the country.

I got my retirement visa, re-entry permit and 90 day reporting done in Hua Hin. 8 minutes in and out!

Does the Bangkok office require stuff on 90 day reports for annual DM7 retirement extensions? That's a new one from my experience. I'm delinquent on it, is it going to be a problem if I don't have that?

Thsnks for recent news on this,

swelters

Believe most people present there passport with TM.47 receipt attached so would not know if they are checking it or not - but they do have a computer in front of them and the report information seems to be entered into a computer these days.

I sure hope everything worked out OK for Lometogo. As was pointed out, he didn't need to be paying a Thai "professional" to basically hold his hand. As a friend, I've assisted other westerners in going from the "30 day permission to enter",to "90 day O visa" and then finally to the 12-month extension based on requirement. You don't need the help of a professional if you meet all the requirements and aren't playing games about your income or where your bank account is lodged. If you really have the income and/or have money deposited in a Thai bank account, then the kind folks at the Immigration office will welcome you. They deal with so many problems cases, that I think they're happy to work with someone who actually meets all the regulations.

Can anyone tell me what documents they require to extend a tourist Visa?

Can anyone tell me what documents they require to extend a tourist Visa?

Just posted a link for you in your other tread, note that a passport photo is also required.

In case you only read the first post...

Yes, fast and easy when you have all the documents and forms ready to present.

I did my initial application at Chaeng Wattana here in Bangkok on 28 September 2011

No problems, and the female immigration officer obviously had done the process many times before and spoke excellant English.

The only thing I want to stress is that she insisted the I go downstairs and make a token deposit into my bank account before she would sign the forms.

My bank letter was less than 24 hours old, from the 27th and presented to her on the 28th, but I was told I had to make that deposit to my account to verify the account's validity.

As she said, only a deposit of 100 baht into my account was all that was required.

When I returned she glanced at my bankbook to verify the deposit. That satisfied her.

Don't know if this is a new procedure or just something that particular immigration officer likes to do.

Anyhow, no real problem for me.

The reason I want to stess that point...making a minimal deposit into your bank account...is that I haven't heard reports of that being required before.

But as I said, it's no real problem, you need to have your bankbook with you anyhow.

(I used the 800K baht on deposit method)

Believe Bangkok has required same day proof since move to new location and with banks downstairs is easy to do. I do not use that method so not sure but believe you could also just make a withdrawal from account and use ATM receipt as proof if account would still be above the required amount.

Believe Bangkok has required same day proof since move to new location and with banks downstairs is easy to do. I do not use that method so not sure but believe you could also just make a withdrawal from account and use ATM receipt as proof if account would still be above the required amount.

But if using a fixed deposit account to qualify neither withdrawal nor deposit is possible. Maybe better to get the bank letter on the day from the branch at the immigration office as opposed to getting the letter the day before from your normal branch?

Sophon

Actually believe a teller could update passbook at most banks with current account balance showing current date.