Retirement extension Chaengwattana 18 June 2014

[lopburi3]

Arrived at about 0835 - issued queue 13 with 11 waiting at 0838 - called at about 0900 - exit with new one year extension 0910.

Very efficient service - still about 10 in each queue line as had just opened but moved very fast as no check of documents.

Present passport/departure card

Filled out TM.7 with attached 4x6cm photo and phone number on back side of form below signature.

Embassy letter of income.

Copy of passport data page/signed

Copy of visa/extension xfer information from previous passport/signed

Copy of current extension/signed

Copy of arrival/departure card front/back/signed

Baht 1,900 fee

Filled out two normal forms (request for service/caution extension lost if reason ends).

Photo taken by webcam.

Take forms/passport to officer for final signature.

A pleasure to be back at Chaengwattana.

[KED]

Thanks for the update - ChaengWatana is a good facitlity - just a bit of a journey for many of us. Did you decide against getting a re-entry permit - single or multiple?

[lopburi3]

Last entry was 2003 so did not feel the need for a re-entry permit.

[Cuchulainn]

I also was there today to pick up my Extension (after 30 days). Done & dusted in 15 minutes.

Yes, Lop. A pleasure to be back at Chaengwattana indeed!!

[Bpuumike]

CW is very good indeed.

Much nicer if we didn't have to report every 90 days and could do an extension every 5 or 10 years.

[ccarbaugh]

I had an identical experience on Friday, June 6th.

(Just a little touchy when a uniformed official at the

information desk said I needed 800K and bank-book

in addition to my notarized letter of income.)

Once over that hurdle, just about a 20 minute wait for

my number to be called and treated very courteously

after that!

Total time - 1 hour, 15 minutes!

Chaeng Wattanna is so much more pleasant and

professional than Lat Phrao!

[gamini]

rather a mundane post. Its much the same everywhere. Less than 10 minutes in and out in Hua Hin. If all your documents in order it never a problem.

We are so lucky in Thailand to have it so easy with immigration. Have you any idea what a hassle it is for a Thai to get a visa for Europe? They can't even live there.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Although not relevant to Retirement Extensions, a few years ago my wife's Thai PP was due renewal and having had bad experiences of all day waiting in dreary offices was not looking forward to repeats. But, the Consular Office had now moved to Chang Wattana and we arrived, parked easily, went in to what was then a brand new building with amenities. Wife went through the new one-stop procedure in thirty minutes and we were out in under an hour after eating lunch within. PP mailed EMS to home three days later.

My comment here is just to express my satisfaction with an efficient networked service which seems no to have extended to other government departments.

[briantk41]

Loburi3,

Did they ask you for a bank book with the 800k in your account for 60 days, or just the letter from your embassy?

[ubonjoe]

Loburi3,

Did they ask you for a bank book with the 800k in your account for 60 days, or just the letter from your embassy?

Apparently not.

And why would they since it is not required if you have proof of income.

[Bpuumike]

No proof of address asked for?

[Suradit69]

No proof of address asked for?

I've often wondered at some poster's insistence (not referring to you) that proof of address is required when applying for an extension of stay. I've done 7 extensions at Jomtien and never been asked for it. Maybe it's only required for applicants who appear "shifty" (and yes, that's meant facetiously).

It is supposedly required when doing the 90 day report. I always include it, but can't remember anyone actually checking to see if it's there.

[Bpuumike]

No proof of address asked for?

I've often wondered at some poster's insistence (not referring to you) that proof of address is required when applying for an extension of stay. I've done 7 extensions at Jomtien and never been asked for it. Maybe it's only required for applicants who appear "shifty" (and yes, that's meant facetiously).

It is supposedly required when doing the 90 day report. I always include it, but can't remember anyone actually checking to see if it's there.

I thought it was a requirement so always took it, though I can't remember if they ever look at it or not.

I'll try without next time, they can always check the back of my driving licence.

For my last 90-day all they wanted was my passport.

[laislica]

rather a mundane post. Its much the same everywhere. Less than 10 minutes in and out in Hua Hin. If all your documents in order it never a problem.

We are so lucky in Thailand to have it so easy with immigration. Have you any idea what a hassle it is for a Thai to get a visa for Europe? They can't even live there.

Actually we know quite a few Thai men who leave their wives and families in Thailand and work in Spain so they can send big money home.

However, if you mean the UK then I agree with you completely. It's not a given that you can even make a short visit to see family with a Thai wife!

After we married in BKK, I got the certificate translated into Spanish (also had an English translation made).

Applied for a 90 day EEA family member visa for my wife.

On arrival in Spain, registered her at the town hall, made an appointment with our local foreign office.

After jumping through quite a few hoops, she received her Spanish Foreigners ID card, good for 5 years. She now comes and goes to/from Spain, no reporting, no questions asked, no more paperwork. also - can work is she wants to.

The process in Thailand took a month or so to get the police clearance cert etc.

In Spain about 5 months.

Job done!

Save that when the ID needs renewing (like the whole population in Spain has to do), we will do the renewal, costs about €11 and should be a matter of routine.

Would that it could be like that for us Farang married to Thai's.....

It just took me about an hour to get a simple re-entry permit in Samut Sakhon.

And BTW, the hassle to get an extension based on marriage here is much more than for a retirement extension and it's only benefits are that the show money is 400Kb rather than 800Kb and it is possible to have a WP.

[ubonjoe]

A reminder that this topic is about applying for an extension based upon retirement at Chaengwattana immigration office.

Any further posts that take if off topic will be removed.

[lopburi3]

As extension is based on more than 65k per month pension there is no requirement for bank book. Just the normal calculator conversion of dollar amount to baht done by officer.

There has never been any question of residence proof - but that could be because I am married and home register/address would be in main file. Unless there is a change from previous extension do not believe it would be required.

[briantk41]

Hi

i report in Pathumthani, has anyone had experience there? Is the letter from the embassy stating over 65K per month without bank book all you need?

Thanks

[jcnbkk]

Posted 2014-06-18 11:59:42

POPULAR

Arrived at about 0835 - issued queue 13 with 11 waiting at 0838 - called at about 0900 - exit with new one year extension 0910.

Very efficient service - still about 10 in each queue line as had just opened but moved very fast as no check of documents.

Present passport/departure card

Filled out TM.7 with attached 4x6cm photo and phone number on back side of form below signature.

Embassy letter of income.

Copy of passport data page/signed

Copy of visa/extension xfer information from previous passport/signed

Copy of current extension/signed

Copy of arrival/departure card front/back/signed

Baht 1,900 fee

Filled out two normal forms (request for service/caution extension lost if reason ends).

Photo taken by webcam.

Take forms/passport to officer for final signature.

A pleasure to be back at Chaengwattana.

Good news. I'm saving your clear, concise list for a reminder when I go in next January.

Thanks for the post.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Update from Sept. 19, 2014.

I did my annual retirement extension and re-entry permit renewals at Chaengwattana on Tuesday, much like Lopburi's post above.

Relied on the U.S. Consulate-issued monthly income letter. Was not asked to produce any backup documentation for that, or anything relating to bank books or bank deposits.

The only thing the Immigration supervisor in the extensions section got on me about was that I had scanned and printed separate images of the different stamps from my passport that they want to see, such as the most recent entry stamp, the prior extension stamp, etc etc... And in some cases, trying to make them easier to read for Immigration, I had separated out different stamps into separate printed pages. Wrong idea.

The Immigration supervisor informed me that they only wanted to see photocopies of the entire two-page passport book spreads, in their original size (not even enlarged) so she could see the ordering of the passport page numbers/letters at the bottom of each passport page. Even if that meant having sideways facing stamps and other stamps not pertinent to my application. I said OK fine, and went and redid my photocopies at the shop on the ground floor. FWIW, I've been doing my scans/copies the same way for the past 5 years, and no one at Immigration had ever objected about it before.

Anyway, just out of an abundance of caution, I brought along, but again wasn't asked to see, various other things including: one of my Thai bank books, copy of my rental agreement, map showing the location of my home, a utility bill verifying my address. Bring those things along every year, and never been asked to produce any of them.

For whatever reason, this past Tuesday seemed unusually busy in the retirement extensions section. I arrived at 10 am and was given a queue number that was already behind 40 applicants waiting. Didn't finish the retirement extension part until just after they returned from their lunch break at 1 pm. And then, immediately filed for my re-entry permit, and didn't finish that and get out of Immigration until 3 pm.

One other detail -- as people can read in the different thread on this subject -- this week the staff at CW Immigration told myself and separately another member here that they have now begun requiring the 3-month seasoning of bank deposits for retirement extensions even when using the combo method (part bank deposit and part monthly income) to meet the 800,000 baht requirement. There's been no official announcement of such a change. So for anyone contemplating using the combo method in the near term, please keep tabs on what develops in the other thread on that subject.