1 Year Extension

[salavan]

hi everyone

i have a 1 year extention to a non immigrant o visa for taking care of my thai child.

i would like to change it to a retirement visa .

does anyone know whats involved and how i go about it.

i know i have to have 800,000 baht in the bank instead of the 400,000 that i have now

[lopburi3]

When next due just apply for retirement using the 800k. They will be happy to do as less paperwork for everyone.

[NancyL]

Of course, in addition to properly aged funds, you must be over age 50 to apply for the retirement extension. Also, they may ask for "proof" of residency and I always bring a letter from the manager of our condo building, but I've never been asked for it in Chiang Mai.

[salavan]

Of course, in addition to properly aged funds, you must be over age 50 to apply for the retirement extension. Also, they may ask for "proof" of residency and I always bring a letter from the manager of our condo building, but I've never been asked for it in Chiang Mai.

interested in your reply as you live in chiang mai im in phuket can you tell me what the immigration are like there as im thinking of moving , are they very strict as in phuket

[lopburi3]

Strict in what way? Retirement is financial proof each year anywhere so is not much of an issue if you can meet the requirement.

[NancyL]

I've always found Chiang Mai Immigration officers to be polite and professional. After they see you a few times, they warm up a bit and make some small talk.

The place is a zoo -- way too many bodies in the waiting area. However, they're well aware of the problem and have done some innovative enhancements to try to move things along -- on-line booking of appointments for 12-month extensions, opening the doors at 4:30 am and setting up an orderly "pre-queue" process whereby early birds sign onto a clip board and then are assigned their queue number in order once they open the queue ticket machine around 8 am. (No more mad dash for the ticket machine with elderly and infirm falling in the crush of bodies.) They've improved their English-language signage and keep rearranging the furniture in an effort to get as much utility as possible from the space they're allocated. Apparently that allocation isn't going to change.

However, they aren't as "lenient" as other offices about some things. For example, they insist you wait until your 12-month extension is in its final 30 days before they permit you to request a new extension. I understand that you can do this within the final 60 days at Pattaya. Also, they don't really have excellent English-speakers on staff. Yes, the Immigration officers speak Thai-accented English, but I've seen newly arrived expats, especially those who aren't native English speakers themselves, really struggle to talk with the officers. Also, they don't do a good job of answering questions from people who walk in off the street. The staffer at the queue ticket machine is often a college intern who sees his/her job as punching the right button on the machine, not to explain the process to you. No expat "volunteers" to answer questions like they have at other immigration offices.