Grace Periods

[HeijoshinCool]

Extension by retirement.

Ninety day due on Tuesday, July 22th.

I have a flight out of KL on the 25th, and will be walking across the border into Malaysia on the 24th.

Do the same rules apply for grace periods on border crossings as reporting to the local immigration office? Can they give me a hard time? It's a long ride to my local yokels.

[ubonjoe]

The 7 day grace period for 90 day reporting is only for reporting. If leaving you need to make the report.

You would not have a problem leaving the country because they don't check for them. But they might notice it when you do your first report after returning.

[HeijoshinCool]

The 7 day grace period for 90 day reporting is only for reporting. If leaving you need to make the report.

You would not have a problem leaving the country because they don't check for them. But they might notice it when you do your first report after returning.

Okay, so upon my return there would be no consequences if, after arrival, I stayed less than 90 days, then departed again?

[ubonjoe]

Immigration on departure don't care about 90 day reporting. Most people take the slips out before leaving because they are no longer valid once you leave.

The only time you would be bothered about the report would be at your local immigration office.

[HeijoshinCool]

Got it.

Thanks.

[crazykopite]

Make sure you have a re entry permit otherwise your retirement visa will expire on your departure

[crazykopite]

Make sure you have a re entry permit otherwise your retirement visa will expire on your departure

Sorry it is extension of stay visa not retirement I only mention this because an elderly friend left the kingdom for a brief holiday without realising he should have purchased a re-entry permit on arriving back his passport was stamped with a 30 day tourist stamp which in turn caused him a lot of problems

[lopburi3]

Believe you are trying to correct yourself but still have it a bit wrong - it is not a visa. It is a stay or extension of stay for any reason. Once in country you would need a re-entry permit prior to departure to keep it alive for your return. Otherwise you would need a new visa or visa exempt entry.

[cbluck58]

You need a re-entry permit for sure - there is no grace period on retirement visa - I renewed mine in May and was hit up for 2 days even though one of them was May 1st and everything was closed.

[HeijoshinCool]

I have a single re-entry stamp in my passport, even though I paid for a multiple (but that's another story.)

[TonyPaul]

I am a little bit confused by your predicament HeiloshinCool and by some of the posts. I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on. That Yearly date is very Important. So if you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report on 29th June 2014 for renewal. If not a years renewal may not be granted. This happened to me twice. (I was out of the country for more than a year). Both times the same Immigration officer made an exception for me. Not worth trying your luck IMO.

The other part is the 3 monthly reporting. Yes a 7 day grace period applies. It is Important to remember that when you fly back into Thailand, that is your reporting at The airport Immigration. That negates reporting at your local Immigration office. So, If you fly out of the country before a 3 month is due and it falls while you are out of the country then of course you can't report. It then restarts on the day you fly back in and you must report again in 3 months to Immigration.

Of course if you do not have a multiple entry visa then you must go to Immigration and get your reentry before you go or do it at Suvarnabhumi . In summary, you can be out of Thailand for up to a year as long as you are there for your yearly report. Being outside the country negates your 3 month report.

I hope that helps.

[Strangebrew]

It is best to get muti entry permit when you get retirement visa That way you can come and go as you please and it don't cancel retirement visa. but you still must report every 90 days.

[laislica]

I am a little bit confused by your predicament HeiloshinCool and by some of the posts. I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on. That Yearly date is very Important. So if you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report on 29th June 2014 for renewal. If not a years renewal may not be granted. This happened to me twice. (I was out of the country for more than a year). Both times the same Immigration officer made an exception for me. Not worth trying your luck IMO.

The other part is the 3 monthly reporting. Yes a 7 day grace period applies. It is Important to remember that when you fly back into Thailand, that is your reporting at The airport Immigration. That negates reporting at your local Immigration office. So, If you fly out of the country before a 3 month is due and it falls while you are out of the country then of course you can't report. It then restarts on the day you fly back in and you must report again in 3 months to Immigration.

Of course if you do not have a multiple entry visa then you must go to Immigration and get your reentry before you go or do it at Suvarnabhumi . In summary, you can be out of Thailand for up to a year as long as you are there for your yearly report. Being outside the country negates your 3 month report.

I hope that helps.

As has been said you have an extension of stay based on Retirement - this is not a VISA.

When you have a Non Imm - O Visa you can Extend the period of stay and that can be based on Retirement or Marriage to a Thai.

The rules for both types of Extension are very clear and they can be renewed from 30 days before they expire.

Note that some immigration offices will allow that renewal from 45 days before expiry.

If you choose to allow it to expire you will have to start again from scratch with a new Non Imm - O visa which you can then extend as you did before.

Because I planned to be out of Thailand for a while, I allowed my Extension to expire.

I then had to apply (and pay for) the new Non Imm - O, 90 day visa from the Thai Embassy in the country I was located in.

Then about a month before that expired I had to apply for the retirement extension (and get a re-entry permit).

I thought I would save money by allowing the extension to expire - Wrong!

Sending passport and application by secure courier service, plus application cost, was much more than the cost of renewal.

[ubonjoe]

This topic is about the 7 day grace period for making a 90 day report. It has nothing to do with applying for an extension of stay.

[laislica]

It is best to get muti entry permit when you get retirement visa That way you can come and go as you please and it don't cancel retirement visa. but you still must report every 90 days.

That would really depend on how often you would likely exit and return during your period of extension.

If the timing of your extension renewal is a bit before you would normally leave and

if your planned trip is for about half a year, a single re-entry permit at 1,000b would suffice.

The multi costs 3,800b.

This year, due to a family emergency we have had to return earlier than normal.

A trip to Imm got me another re-entry permit, cost 1,000b.

We plan to exit in the next month or so and return in November.

Normal renewal date is near the end of May so can renew any time from mid March onwards.

As you can see, we follow the sun LOL

Winter in Thailand and summer in Europe.

(More or less)

[Suradit69]

I am a little bit confused by your predicament HeiloshinCool and by some of the posts. I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on. That Yearly date is very Important. So if you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report on 29th June 2014 for renewal. If not a years renewal may not be granted. This happened to me twice. (I was out of the country for more than a year). Both times the same Immigration officer made an exception for me. Not worth trying your luck IMO.

The other part is the 3 monthly reporting. Yes a 7 day grace period applies. It is Important to remember that when you fly back into Thailand, that is your reporting at The airport Immigration. That negates reporting at your local Immigration office. So, If you fly out of the country before a 3 month is due and it falls while you are out of the country then of course you can't report. It then restarts on the day you fly back in and you must report again in 3 months to Immigration.

Of course if you do not have a multiple entry visa then you must go to Immigration and get your reentry before you go or do it at Suvarnabhumi . In summary, you can be out of Thailand for up to a year as long as you are there for your yearly report. Being outside the country negates your 3 month report.

I hope that helps.

"I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on ..

.

No. You have an extension of stay granted by Immigrations. Your visa died long ago. If it was a single entry non-Imm O, it would have been stamped "used" when you entered. It is no longer valid except as an historical point of reference regarding your entry into the country long ago.

A visa is issued by an Embassy or Consulate and only is of use for entering the country. Assuming you are allowed to enter by Immigrations, they grant you permission to stay in the country for a certain period of time and under certain conditions. After that, if you qualify, Immigrations will extend you permission to stay annually based on retirement or marriage or whatever.

Visas are not extended. Permission to stay may be extended.

I am a little bit confused

You're not alone.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Suradit69

[laislica]

I am a little bit confused by your predicament HeiloshinCool and by some of the posts. I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on. That Yearly date is very Important. So if you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report on 29th June 2014 for renewal. If not a years renewal may not be granted. This happened to me twice. (I was out of the country for more than a year). Both times the same Immigration officer made an exception for me. Not worth trying your luck IMO.

The other part is the 3 monthly reporting. Yes a 7 day grace period applies. It is Important to remember that when you fly back into Thailand, that is your reporting at The airport Immigration. That negates reporting at your local Immigration office. So, If you fly out of the country before a 3 month is due and it falls while you are out of the country then of course you can't report. It then restarts on the day you fly back in and you must report again in 3 months to Immigration.

Of course if you do not have a multiple entry visa then you must go to Immigration and get your reentry before you go or do it at Suvarnabhumi . In summary, you can be out of Thailand for up to a year as long as you are there for your yearly report. Being outside the country negates your 3 month report.

I hope that helps.

"I have had a retirement Visa for approx 6 years. These are the facts as I understand them.

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on ..

.

No. You have an extension of stay granted by Immigrations. Your visa died long ago. If it was a single entry non-Imm O, it would have been stamped "used" when you entered. It is no longer valid except as an historical point of reference regarding your entry into the country long ago.

A visa is issued by an Embassy or Consulate and only is of use for entering the country. Assuming you are allowed to enter by Immigrations, they grant you permission to stay in the country for a certain period of time and under certain conditions. After that, if you qualify, Immigrations will extend you permission to stay annually based on retirement or marriage or whatever.

Visas are not extended. Permission to stay may be extended.

I am a little bit confused

You're not alone.

Very nicely put - Thanks.

Many folk think that an extension of stay is a visa, you have explained very well, that it is not a visa - it is an extension of stay.

When we all use the correct terms there will be less opportunity for confusion.

You, Ubonjoe, Mario, Lopbury and a bunch of others really know your stuff.

Well done for all the Free Help you give us others (as the Spanish would say LOL)

[TerryLH]

laislica

"Normal renewal date is near the end of May so can renew any time from mid March onwards."

Which immigration office allows you to extend that early?

[martinatkins]

A retirement Visa is for 1year and can be extended on the due date for another year and so on. That Yearly date is very Important. So if you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report on 29th June 2014 for renewal. If not a years renewal may not be granted. This happened to me twice. (I was out of the country for more than a year). Both times the same Immigration officer made an exception for me. Not worth trying your luck IMO.

If you got a retirement Visa 29th June 2013, You must report before 29th June 2014 for renewal.

Extension of stay is permitted up to DATE .

Holder must leave the kingdom within the date specified herein, offenders will be prosecuted.

[DJH77]

It is best to get muti entry permit when you get retirement visa That way you can come and go as you please and it don't cancel retirement visa. but you still must report every 90 days.

When you have a Retirement Visa with a Multiple Entry Permit, every time you leave Thailand and go to another country, say Laos for instance, on return, even if it is the same day your entry stamp will be for 1 year from that day. Instead of reporting every 90 days at a Thai Immigration office with photo copies of this and that you can simply leave the country and on return your Arrival card that you are given, which is the other half of the Departure Card you filled in on exit from Thailand acts as a 90 day report as the details you fill in show your address etc. I still renew my Visa on the correct date each year but in actual fact if you Departed Thailand, say 2 days prior to the Visa Expiry date and returned the next day you are given 1 year from that day. So the Visa can actually last 2 years but your Multiple Entry Permit will expire on it's due date so you have 90 days in which to renew your visa from the date of re-entry. The Visa gets you into the country but from then on the Arrival Stamp and the Date inserted by the Immigration Officer take presidence. It has never made sence to me but that is how it works.

[laislica]

laislica

"Normal renewal date is near the end of May so can renew any time from mid March onwards."

Which immigration office allows you to extend that early?

Oops,

CM allow from 45 days before, sorry, my bad. Thanks for the pull up.

[NativeSon360]

So why not renew your annual visa prior to your departure, and then eliminate the possibility any bureaucratic "complications" arising in the future?

Edited June 30, 2014 by NativeSon360