Retirement Visa Renewal?

[Doznotdiz]

Thought I'd better get an appointment in the next 5 weeks because my "extension of stay" expires in 5 weeks time. NO APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE. Nothing available in the next 2 months either. What to do? Chiang Mai Immigration has been bursting at the seams for years - isn't it about time they relocated and expanded? I guess that's not my immediate concern; what are my options here - a trip to Bangkok? Or can you just queue at Chiang Mai like my friend did for 7 hours apparently? In Chiang Mai immigration there are 10 appointment slots per day which would service about 2000 expat visas per year. How many of us are there living here?

[villagefarang]

Are you sure you intended to post this in the Chiang Rai Forum?

[onthedarkside]

Moving to CM forum

[Joel Barlow]

If you have a retirement visa, you can do your 90 day thing by mail. If you need to go in person for renewal, you must go to your regional office (I recently tried BKK - a sign says, in effect, if you don't live here, go to the office where you live). Nothing to do but bite that bullet (except to get it done in another country)

[Gerald14]

You will have to go to the office which handles your area. So I would go there a week before expiry and queue up and explain the problem to the immigration. I am sure they will have to help you

[Mapguy]

OP, the simple answer is that you go to the appropriate regional office and get in the queue to do what you have to do. It is advised that you read the requirements for each procedure, which have been posted many, many times here as well as on TV immigration websites. Alternatively, you may go visit one of the agents who facilitate immigration business. You pay a fee.

[davehowden]

Doznotdiz

A well known visa assistance company here in CM will do your annual extension for 5,500 baht. On top of that you will have all the normal other costs.

Joel Barlow

Apart from the address that put on the application form how do they know where you live, I doubt they will send somebody round to check that you live there?

Edited June 6, 2013 by davehowden

[chiang mai]

If you have a retirement visa, you can do your 90 day thing by mail. If you need to go in person for renewal, you must go to your regional office (I recently tried BKK - a sign says, in effect, if you don't live here, go to the office where you live). Nothing to do but bite that bullet (except to get it done in another country)

Renewals (actually they are extentions not renewals), must be done in Thailand, they cannot be done overseas.

[chiang mai]

If the OP gets really stuck I can recommend a visa renewal company, the same one that manages all my Immigration Dept issues, please feel free to PM me for details, professional, reliable and not expensive.

[butterisbetter]

I use a company called Star Visa. What they do for me is organize it all for me. They give me a list of what documents I need and where to get them, take photos, make photocopies etc. and package it all neatly into a folder. So that when I go to the immigration office, I don't have to worry about glitches. I think the immigraton officers appreciate it too and are less likely to make problelms.. I think Star Visa charged me under a thousand baht last time I used them.

[techno]

My friend went to Immigration yesterday at 9.15am (without an appointment) to get a 1 year extention of his visa and was seen by officers fairly quickly and was out in just over the hour, Maybe he was very lucky