Hi,

I've been retired living in Thailand for 8 years. My one year Retirement Visa expires in late December; I usually attend the last US Embassy outreach visit to Pattaya to obtain my notarized income statement, but I was unable to make the last outreach visit back in September and the next visit is not until January 15, 2014. Is there some way that I can get an extension, say one month, to my Retirement Visa in order to obtain my notarized income statement when the Embassy folks come to Pattaya mid January and avoid the trip to the Embassy in Bangkok especially with all of the protest going on?

Thanks,

David

No.

You do not have a "visa" and the answer is no

You have an 'extension', not a 'visa' - and the answer remains "No".

You have an 'extension', not a 'visa' - and the answer remains "No".

I don't have an extension; I am currently on a Retirement Visa that I need to renew by December 29th. I was just wondering if there was any way to add an extension to my December 29th end date before I reapply for my one-year Retirement Visa.

David

A visa is not renewed. Once you have used it, you have the choice of either going to a Thai consulate and get a new visa or applying at your local local immigration office for an extension of stay with the required documents. If you are unsure what you have, please scan and post the stamp in your passport or quote its text here and somebody can identify it for you.

I'll make it easier:

if the OP obtained his current permission to stay for one year in his home country, he has an O-A visa.

If, as it clearly sounds like, he obtained his current one year permission to stay at a Thai immigration office, he indeed has an annual EXTENSION based on retirement and not a retirement visa.

Yes, it is helpful to know exactly what you have for your own sake and also to communicate clearly when asking questions about it on this forum.

Edited December 1, 201312 yr by Jingthing

You are on a retirement extension and you cannot get a short therm extension unless:

You have a Thai family, legally married to a Thai or are listed on the birth certificate of a child,, then you can get a 60 day extension to "visit your Thai family". I did it during the 2011 floods as it was next to impossible to get to Bangkok to get the letter to renew my retirement extension.

You are under medical care and can can a letter from a doctor that you cannot travel.

If not your best bet would be to make an appointment at the Embassy and go to Bangkok.

Agreed, dollars to donuts he's staying here on ANNUAL retirement EXTENSIONS and just isn't aware of the correct terminology, and yes time to book an appointment at the embassy.

Edited December 1, 201312 yr by Jingthing

You have no choice other than making a trip to the embassy in Bangkok. Appointments are mandatory.

You can find a link to make an appointment and to either fill out affidavit online or to download it on this webpage. http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/notarial-services.html

Let me first apologize for my ignorance as it applies to Visa status. I don't have my passport in hand, but I do have to get annual extensions. I applied for my initial one year Visa at the old Pattaya Immigration Office based on Retirement when I reached the age of 50 years ago and just went through the motions of completing the application and obtaining the required supporting documents to obtain my one-year renewal. I didn't know that thee was a separate Retirement Visa to be had; I'll have to do some research on this. It seemed that back in the day, a one-year visa based on retirement and obtaining the age of 50 was generally referred to as a Retirement Visa, but obviously I was mistaken.

This is the first year that I have been unable to obtain the required notary service for my income statement from the outreach folks of the US Embassy. I just had a thought that if I could only get a short extension until the next outreach visit to Pattaya on January 15th, I could avoid a trip to Bangkok; you guys have answered that question.

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon at the US Embassy for notary services, but was a little concerning about the protests going on in Bangkok hence my thoughts of obtaining a short extension. I'm going to call the embassy today and ask if they think that tomorrow will be OK for travelling to Bangkok or whether I should move my appointment back a week.

Lastly, for those of you who drive to Bangkok when going to the US Embassy, where's a good place to park a car?

Again, thanks for all of your input and I apologize for the confusion due to my ignorance on the subject.

David

I would skip driving and take the bus from Pattaya to Ekkamai then sky train to Phloen Chit station and then from there it's an easy walk to embassy.

Edit: Another option is to drive to airport and then airport rail link to Phaya Thai then sky train to Phloen Chit.

I come from the north via the toll road and get off at the Sukhumnvit exit. Turn left, single lane until you get to SOI 3, and then turn left at SOI 5. Park in the parking lot above Foodland. I then walk across Sukhumvit at SOI 4 and get a Taxi, Cost each way about 60 baht. When I get back to Foodland I do a little shopping, get my parking ticket stamped and turn left, SOI5 is one way. Go all of the way down SOI 5 until it ends at a Hotel, turn right and then right on the next road, SOI 7. Go to Sukhumvit and turn tand make a U turn at the traffic light at Asoke. When you near SOI 4 get in the right hand lane so that you can get in the outer lane as it widens at SOI 4. The entrance to the tollway is just across the train tracks. It's the easiest for me and I always try to have the first appointment in the morning so I can avoid traffic. I come from Nakhon Sawan (235 kilometers) so I usually leave home about 4am, but I miss the traffic both ways. Just my 2 baht worth.