Camerata's Guide To The Permanent Residence Process

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Arkady said:

 

Well it was the police hospital. So the urine samples for drug tests are not surprising.  Every now and again they might catch someone by surprise who has been a little speeding or something and get a windfall bust. To be more thorough they should have taken hair samples too. As I recall they are supposed to certify no drug addiction or alcoholism but most doctors will not bother to do a urine test to certify this.  The fact that your urine is clear that day doesn't mean you are not an alcoholic or drug addict anyway.

 

For my very fist WP the lawyer took me to a small clinic for the medical certificate where the doctor asked me to roll up my sleeves and examined my arms closely.  I asked him what he was looking for and he said he was looking for needle track marks in case I was an intravenous drug user. I know he could argue that he was just doing his job but I was very peeved by this and refused to go anywhere near that clinic again. As far as I know, the government doesn't require any specific tests, except for syphilis.  It is up to the doctor's discretion how he determines whether the patient is free from the designated afflictions.

My first medical for a WP was three decades ago, I was taken to a small 'clinic' opposite Pantip Plaza in Bkk.

 

No equipment of any sort, just a desk & chair, no staff. The 'doctor' asked me to stand up and then instantly ticked all the boxes and signed the certificate. I forget the cost, my guess is 60Baht.

 

The lady from my office said later that the doctor commented '2 arms and 2 legs, OK'. She also shared quietly that the 'doctor' was one of several fake doctors along Petchaburi Road. 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by scorecard

[smutcakes]

As an update, i applied late last year, had my interview in late Feb, early March and was contacted by the immigration office last week asking for a copy of my house registration. They expect to have it signed and completed by the middle of November, so very quick process compared to what it has taken previously.

[Misty]

6 hours ago, smutcakes said:

As an update, i applied late last year, had my interview in late Feb, early March and was contacted by the immigration office last week asking for a copy of my house registration. They expect to have it signed and completed by the middle of November, so very quick process compared to what it has taken previously.

Many thanks for the feedback.  How was the interview?  Was there a written exam - what was the subject matter?

[smutcakes]

On 11/6/2020 at 7:46 PM, Misty said:

Many thanks for the feedback.  How was the interview?  Was there a written exam - what was the subject matter?

 

Interview was fine. I was given a list of about 15 questions they could ask and learnt the answers to all of them. They only asked about 4 questions from memory they asked what was the PM name, what number King is the current one and asked me to introduce myself and why i wanted to stay in Thailand. There were 5 other people in the room, 3 on the panel, and 2 others manning the video equipment. I was in and out within 10 mins, probably less.

 

No written exam.

[Misty]

3 hours ago, smutcakes said:

 

Interview was fine. I was given a list of about 15 questions they could ask and learnt the answers to all of them. They only asked about 4 questions from memory they asked what was the PM name, what number King is the current one and asked me to introduce myself and why i wanted to stay in Thailand. There were 5 other people in the room, 3 on the panel, and 2 others manning the video equipment. I was in and out within 10 mins, probably less.

 

No written exam.

Many thanks for this, it is really helpful!

[Smokegreynblues]

On 11/6/2020 at 1:11 PM, smutcakes said:

As an update, i applied late last year, had my interview in late Feb, early March and was contacted by the immigration office last week asking for a copy of my house registration. They expect to have it signed and completed by the middle of November, so very quick process compared to what it has taken previously.

Still don't get why they ask for house registration. If the applicant is a single male with a job and no condo to his name. I have been here for years but still no yellow house registration. The whole point of PR is to get into the blue book anyway. 

[smutcakes]

51 minutes ago, Smokegreynblues said:

Still don't get why they ask for house registration. If the applicant is a single male with a job and no condo to his name. I have been here for years but still no yellow house registration. The whole point of PR is to get into the blue book anyway. 

I am legally single with a condo and a job. Pretty much the sole reason i did PR was to be able to leave my job and never have to worry about Visa issues. Other benefits currently are not really of much interest.

[thedemon]

2 hours ago, Smokegreynblues said:

Still don't get why they ask for house registration. If the applicant is a single male with a job and no condo to his name. I have been here for years but still no yellow house registration. The whole point of PR is to get into the blue book anyway. 

 

I suspect Immigration is asking for a copy of the Tabien Baan (blue) that the applicant intends having their name registered in once PR has been granted. 

[Arkady]

3 hours ago, thedemon said:

 

I suspect Immigration is asking for a copy of the Tabien Baan (blue) that the applicant intends having their name registered in once PR has been granted. 

 

Bit of a mystery why Immigration asked for his tabien baan.  Perhaps you are right and they wanted a copy of the one he will be entered into (either a blank one, if you have bought a new condo, or an already activated one you plan to be entered into).  In my case that would have been impossible as I lived in an apartment for which no tabien baan had ever been issued.  After much entreaty and hassle the owner kindly got a tabien baan issued which I think was for the entire building with his brother as the householder and me as the sole other resident.

 

It's also possible they have got used to applicants showing up with a yellow book and asked for it in case he had one. As far as I know, it is a requirement for district offices to issue a yellow tabien baan to a foreigner who requests one and presents with the right visa and documents but it is not required for foreigners to apply for one and not required for PR applications.  However, if you have a yellow tabien baan (and a pink ID card) you should submit copies with your application for the sake of completeness.

[beeper]

Tabien baan is required at the end of the process as IO will prepare letter to police in the Amphoe where your future official residence will be, and where the red book will be issued after PR is officially approved).  Process with that letter is (valid 1week only) you need to go the local police to get red book issued and with that to the amphoe where they will include you into a blue tabien baan. amphoe can also issue the pink ID (not legally required but nevertheless somewhat useful in my view).

when I got later a local mortgage from  UOB, they updated my pre PR account using the pink ID number (from passport number previously) to identify my account. Other bank where I had account also pre PR (and does not offer local mortgage to PR holder) did not know what I was talking about when trying get them to use pink ID number also. They insist on keeping my passport copy as record of my account ID ignoring PR status. 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by beeper

[Arkady]

4 hours ago, beeper said:

Tabien baan is required at the end of the process as IO will prepare letter to police in the Amphoe where your future official residence will be, and where the red book will be issued after PR is officially approved).  Process with that letter is (valid 1week only) you need to go the local police to get red book issued and with that to the amphoe where they will include you into a blue tabien baan. amphoe can also issue the pink ID (not legally required but nevertheless somewhat useful in my view).

when I got later a local mortgage from  UOB, they updated my pre PR account using the pink ID number (from passport number previously) to identify my account. Other bank where I had account also pre PR (and does not offer local mortgage to PR holder) did not know what I was talking about when trying get them to use pink ID number also. They insist on keeping my passport copy as record of my account ID ignoring PR status. 

 

 

There is great variation between banks on this sort of policy.  Many people have had problems getting banks to change their nationality after getting citizenship. in my case it varied between KBANK which took about 2 minutes by simply scanning my ID to SCB which said they couldn't do it at all after speaking to some numbskull at HQ and told me to open a new account. I waited a year and went back to the same branch of SCB and found that new staff could do it easily without consulting HQ. BBL insisted that i bring in the original naturalisation certificate to photocopy themselves.

 

While still a PR I went to a new job and gave the HR dept all my PR docs, pointing out my ID/tax number which I had used for years on tax returns. What did they do?  They applied to the Revenue Dept for a new foreigner tax ID for me, as if I had just arrived in the Kingdom, which they insisted on not changing for the three years i was in that job.  In the meantime I continue filing my tax returns under my own number without any ill effects. Being a PR puts you into a sort of limbo as very few Thais understand what it is, so just try to ignore it and ask for your passport but it's still worth having in spite of the lack of recognition.

[scorecard]

36 minutes ago, Arkady said:

 

There is great variation between banks on this sort of policy.  Many people have had problems getting banks to change their nationality after getting citizenship. in my case it varied between KBANK which took about 2 minutes by simply scanning my ID to SCB which said they couldn't do it at all after speaking to some numbskull at HQ and told me to open a new account. I waited a year and went back to the same branch of SCB and found that new staff could do it easily without consulting HQ. BBL insisted that i bring in the original naturalisation certificate to photocopy themselves.

 

While still a PR I went to a new job and gave the HR dept all my PR docs, pointing out my ID/tax number which I had used for years on tax returns. What did they do?  They applied to the Revenue Dept for a new foreigner tax ID for me, as if I had just arrived in the Kingdom, which they insisted on not changing for the three years i was in that job.  In the meantime I continue filing my tax returns under my own number without any ill effects. Being a PR puts you into a sort of limbo as very few Thais understand what it is, so just try to ignore it and ask for your passport but it's still worth having in spite of the lack of recognition.

"There is great variation between banks on this sort of policy.  Many people have had problems getting banks to change their nationality after getting citizenship. in my case it varied between KBANK which took about 2 minutes by simply scanning my ID to SCB which said they couldn't do it at all after speaking to some numbskull at HQ and told me to open a new account. I waited a year and went back to the same branch of SCB and found that new staff could do it easily without consulting HQ. BBL insisted that i bring in the original naturalisation certificate to photocopy themselves...."

 

Reminds me of when I wanted to add my adopted Thai son to the family list for my frequent flyer membership at Thai.

 

The service desk man in there office on Silom Road was less than welcoming and when I explained what I wanted and put a copy of the adoption approval from the Interior Ministry on his desk he scoffed and said (in English) 'impossible, Thailand doesn't accept situations like this'. And then ignored me.

 

I had to go to a meeting at Thai inter HO a few days later. After the meeting I asked one of the seniors I had got to know to tell me where the frequent flyer dept., was. He took me there, within 2 or 3 minutes all done, with a smile.

 

A colleague from Singapore was transferred to my team in Bkk, he's a Ph.D. holder from the National Univ. of Singapore, a well recognized uni worldwide.

 

I took him to the Thai Silom Road office (near my office) to start a Thai frequent flyer membership because we would be flying at least once even twice every week.

He took a copy of his Ph.D. award and a copy of his SQ membership which included his name followed by 'Ph.D.'

Thai staff member, no smile, quickly commented 'cannot put Dr., Thailand doesn't recognize documents like this from other countries'. 

I quickly commented 'look at my membership' and put my FF card on her desk, and it showed Dr..

She retorted 'it's not possible, this is not correct' and she pushed the card back at me.

She then pressed her button for the next queue no. to be announced.

Edited January 5, 2021 by scorecard

[stbkk]

On 1/5/2021 at 1:54 PM, Arkady said:

 

There is great variation between banks on this sort of policy.  Many people have had problems getting banks to change their nationality after getting citizenship. in my case it varied between KBANK which took about 2 minutes by simply scanning my ID to SCB which said they couldn't do it at all after speaking to some numbskull at HQ and told me to open a new account. I waited a year and went back to the same branch of SCB and found that new staff could do it easily without consulting HQ. BBL insisted that i bring in the original naturalisation certificate to photocopy themselves.

 

While still a PR I went to a new job and gave the HR dept all my PR docs, pointing out my ID/tax number which I had used for years on tax returns. What did they do?  They applied to the Revenue Dept for a new foreigner tax ID for me, as if I had just arrived in the Kingdom, which they insisted on not changing for the three years i was in that job.  In the meantime I continue filing my tax returns under my own number without any ill effects. Being a PR puts you into a sort of limbo as very few Thais understand what it is, so just try to ignore it and ask for your passport but it's still worth having in spite of the lack of recognition.

 

Absolutely true. This very day I have been to my local Bangkok Bank branch, where I have had an account for 15+ years, to get a new bank book because the old one was full. For the first time that I can remember I don't have a valid endorsement to leave the country in my passport (what they have always thought of as a visa), as obviously I haven't needed one for 9 months or so!

 

'Cannot - visa expired' was the completely expected reply from the elderly lady handling this task (she has done the same thing for me for about 10 years or so). I was prepared with my PR book and police book, which of course made no difference as she didn't have the slightest idea what they were. Luckily there was another lady there who while never having seen the books before at least read them and accepted my explanation that I really don't need a visa! I shouldn't have bothered, that's an hour of my life I'll never get back....  ????

[Dogmatix]

9 hours ago, stbkk said:

 

Absolutely true. This very day I have been to my local Bangkok Bank branch, where I have had an account for 15+ years, to get a new bank book because the old one was full. For the first time that I can remember I don't have a valid endorsement to leave the country in my passport (what they have always thought of as a visa), as obviously I haven't needed one for 9 months or so!

 

'Cannot - visa expired' was the completely expected reply from the elderly lady handling this task (she has done the same thing for me for about 10 years or so). I was prepared with my PR book and police book, which of course made no difference as she didn't have the slightest idea what they were. Luckily there was another lady there who while never having seen the books before at least read them and accepted my explanation that I really don't need a visa! I shouldn't have bothered, that's an hour of my life I'll never get back....  ????

 

Ha ha. Brings back memories. Bangkok Bank went through a phase of demanding WPs during a period I was not working but did have a valid re-entry endorsement. A similar elderly looking job seemed delighted that she had caught a foreigner trying to get a new pass book without a WP. She actually went so far as to tell me she was going to close my account that I had had for many years. I needed to keep that account and had to have a new book. So this became a fight to the death and I lost the cool that one is advised to maintain in tense situations in Thailand. Luckily I didn’t get shot but someone else came over to help calm things down and I appealed to them to call someone at HQ which they did. I talked to the person at HQ who was understanding and helpful and proceeded to order the old bag to issue me a new book, something she did with ill grace, having terminally lost face.

[mattkbv]

Red Police Book Discontinued?

I've had Thai PR since 2011 or so, and have a red "police" book from Khlong Tan police station. I have just moved my house registration to Krabi.  I've been trying to do the same with my police book, since I heard it must be done within 30 days. No one will do it.  Khlong Tan police (by phone), Ao Nang police and another local police station (both in person) all said contact Krabi Immigration. Krabi Immigration rightly said, this is a police document, go to the police. I ended up at Muang Krabi police station where a kind policeman made a few calls to his mates. He the informed me this document is no longer in use.  Can anyone verify this?  Bangkok Immigration previously required this book to issue dependent visas for my family.  And who knows who else may ask for it in the future.  Please share your experiences regarding moving your police book to a new location. Or, if you have confirmed information that this book is no longer required, then please share the source.

 

[Arkady]

3 hours ago, mattkbv said:

Red Police Book Discontinued?

I've had Thai PR since 2011 or so, and have a red "police" book from Khlong Tan police station. I have just moved my house registration to Krabi.  I've been trying to do the same with my police book, since I heard it must be done within 30 days. No one will do it.  Khlong Tan police (by phone), Ao Nang police and another local police station (both in person) all said contact Krabi Immigration. Krabi Immigration rightly said, this is a police document, go to the police. I ended up at Muang Krabi police station where a kind policeman made a few calls to his mates. He the informed me this document is no longer in use.  Can anyone verify this?  Bangkok Immigration previously required this book to issue dependent visas for my family.  And who knows who else may ask for it in the future.  Please share your experiences regarding moving your police book to a new location. Or, if you have confirmed information that this book is no longer required, then please share the source.

 

 

The authority on this would be the PR section at Immigration CW. Even thought they obviously don't issue the Alien Books themselves, they have to send documents to police stations for the books to be issued or have details amended. So they would have know if there has been a change.  I would suggest you give them a call.

 

The Alien Books appear to date back to the original 1927 Immigration Act and look as if they were printed then too. There hasn't been real need for them for decades and they could easily be abolished.  Unlike the Residence books they are not referred to in the Immigration Act, so could be abolished without the need to amend the Act, possibly with a ministerial order.  Now that foreigners can get pink ID cards, the Alien Books could be replaced with those, or better still a decent smart card that is colour coded specifically for PRs and not shared with migrant workers and minorities.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Arkady said:

 

The authority on this would be the PR section at Immigration CW. Even thought they obviously don't issue the Alien Books themselves, they have to send documents to police stations for the books to be issued or have details amended. So they would have know if there has been a change.  I would suggest you give them a call.

 

The Alien Books appear to date back to the original 1927 Immigration Act and look as if they were printed then too. There hasn't been real need for them for decades and they could easily be abolished.  Unlike the Residence books they are not referred to in the Immigration Act, so could be abolished without the need to amend the Act, possibly with a ministerial order.  Now that foreigners can get pink ID cards, the Alien Books could be replaced with those, or better still a decent smart card that is colour coded specifically for PRs and not shared with migrant workers and minorities.

The police at Chiang Mai police station completed the 5 year update in my Police RED book September just passed. 

[SteveB2]

I too had problems locating the police station that issues/updates the Red Book...

 

It took several days to locate the Police station that even knew about them and there was only one senior officer familiar with the admin process who continuously refered to a dog eared old 'procedures book' while filling in the relevant sections.

 

I this instance, try calling a senior member of the Chaeng Wattana PR team in Bangkok for assistance in locating the correct police station in your Changwat - they've always been very helpfull in the past - you should still have some phone numbers handy from your own PR application.

 

Understand that PR/Red Book status is very rare for foreigners in Thailand - many police stations and even immigration officials in distant Changwats away from Bangkok have never seen them before and are not famliar with the admin process,

Edited January 9, 2021 by SteveB2
Remove alliteration

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, SteveB2 said:

I too had problems locating the police station that issues/updates the Red Book...

 

It took several days to locate the Police station that even knew about them and there was only one senior officer familiar with the admin process who continuously refered to a dog eared old 'procedures book' while filling in the relevant sections.

 

I this instance, try calling a senior member of the Chaeng Wattana PR team in Bangkok for assistance in locating the correct police station in your Changwat - they've always been very helpfull in the past - you should still have some phone numbers handy from your own PR application.

 

Understand that PR/Red Book status is very rare for foreigners in Thailand - many police stations and even immigration officials in distant Changwats away from Bangkok have never seen them before and are not famliar with the admin process,

 

I got pulled over halfway through the big intersect where vehicles go off Rama 4 to enter the tollway to Chonburi. Cop accused me of running a red light.

 

My Thai son (hates the police) was in the passengers seat, he immediately asked the cop politely 'how come the lights going the other way are still on red'. Cop just froze.

 

The cop demanded to see my passport. My Certificate of Residence (COR) book was in a small bag between the front seats, my son grabbed my COR book and handed it to the cop. He obviously had no idea what it was.

 

Within seconds 2 more cops were present. One said in Thai 'maybe comes from an embassy'. This frightened the initial cops who apologized numerous times then asked my son if we wanted a police escort to our destination.

 

Son said NO,. Cop saluted and clicked his hells, still apologizing waved us on.

[Michael Hare]

1 hour ago, SteveB2 said:

I too had problems locating the police station that issues/updates the Red Book...

 

It took several days to locate the Police station that even knew about them and there was only one senior officer familiar with the admin process who continuously refered to a dog eared old 'procedures book' while filling in the relevant sections.

 

I this instance, try calling a senior member of the Chaeng Wattana PR team in Bangkok for assistance in locating the correct police station in your Changwat - they've always been very helpfull in the past - you should still have some phone numbers handy from your own PR application.

 

Understand that PR/Red Book status is very rare for foreigners in Thailand - many police stations and even immigration officials in distant Changwats away from Bangkok have never seen them before and are not famliar with the admin process,

 Fortunately for me in Ubon Ratchathani, all the police here seem to know about the Alien Red book. This is because of the large number of Chinese and Vietnamese in the province who have PR. At the local police station there is a room set aside solely for processing the red books. The book is definitely still in use. I got my last 5-year update last July,

[mattkbv]

5 hours ago, SteveB2 said:

I too had problems locating the police station that issues/updates the Red Book...

 

It took several days to locate the Police station that even knew about them and there was only one senior officer familiar with the admin process who continuously refered to a dog eared old 'procedures book' while filling in the relevant sections.

 

I this instance, try calling a senior member of the Chaeng Wattana PR team in Bangkok for assistance in locating the correct police station in your Changwat - they've always been very helpfull in the past - you should still have some phone numbers handy from your own PR application.

 

Understand that PR/Red Book status is very rare for foreigners in Thailand - many police stations and even immigration officials in distant Changwats away from Bangkok have never seen them before and are not famliar with the admin process,

Thanks for the reply.  I don't have a phone number for the PR section in Chaeng Wattana.  I did spend quite a long time on hold last Friday with the general immigration number 1178.  In the end it was disconnected automatically.  If anyone can share the direct phone number for Chaeng Wattana PR department I'd be very grateful.

[Arkady]

My experience living in two different police precincts in Bangkok was that both had a cop dedicated to endorsing alien books sitting at a desk with sign saying alien registrations in Thai in front of him. Although not very lucrative, this must be a plum job for cops who have a sideline job or just enjoy playing LINE and Facebook and chatting up the female cops all day.  Once I was told to come back another day to pick up the endorsed book because the cop with authority to sign, who apparently came only rarely to the station, was not there.  When I told him it was urgent because I needed it to renew my WP he offered to sign himself for an extra 200 baht.  So there is some opportunity for extra income but very few customers.  I can understand why some upcountry cop shops may have problems figuring out what to do or might just deny that the books are needed in the hope the problem will simply go away. But if they were smarter, they would figure it out and see the opportunity to make a couple of hundred baht.

[Bangel72]

Also had issues with the red book, first station sent me to another one, they initially said no and eventually would only be signed by big boss of area who was rarely at the station.  My five years renewal ran into similar issues, initially a point blank refusal, was told to go to a border crossing to get it stamped and only when I insisted i was in the right place and had them talk with CW rep did I get progress, all done, thankfully its a five year thing.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Bangel72 said:

Also had issues with the red book, first station sent me to another one, they initially said no and eventually would only be signed by big boss of area who was rarely at the station.  My five years renewal ran into similar issues, initially a point blank refusal, was told to go to a border crossing to get it stamped and only when I insisted i was in the right place and had them talk with CW rep did I get progress, all done, thankfully its a five year thing.

I'm lost, what does a RED police registration book, administered by the Royal Thai Police (for 23 years in my personal experience, most recently in September 2020 at a bigger police station/admin. centre in Chiang Mai) have to do with staff at border crossings? 

 

Does 'go to a border crossing' mean contacting the RTP at a border crossing or mean contacting the Immigration staff at a border crossing, or perhaps contact the border police (which in my understanding is a hybrid of the RTP and the army)? 

 

 

[mattkbv]

23 hours ago, Bangel72 said:

Also had issues with the red book, first station sent me to another one, they initially said no and eventually would only be signed by big boss of area who was rarely at the station.  My five years renewal ran into similar issues, initially a point blank refusal, was told to go to a border crossing to get it stamped and only when I insisted i was in the right place and had them talk with CW rep did I get progress, all done, thankfully its a five year thing.

I've been on hold for hours with the Immigration "Hotline" but they never answer.  Please do share the name and direct phone number of the CW rep if you have it Bangel72

[andrewfenn]

@mattkbv I think the book is still in use. I got my PR yesterday and went straight to the local police station in Samut Prakan afterwards. They didn't make any indications that the book is no longer needed. In fact, they asked me to come back to pick it up this week. Sounds to me like they're trying to get rid of you because they don't know how to do it.

 

[smutcakes]

On 1/9/2021 at 4:23 PM, mattkbv said:

Thanks for the reply.  I don't have a phone number for the PR section in Chaeng Wattana.  I did spend quite a long time on hold last Friday with the general immigration number 1178.  In the end it was disconnected automatically.  If anyone can share the direct phone number for Chaeng Wattana PR department I'd be very grateful.

 

The definitely still issue the red book, as i was issued one in Thonglor Police station just before New Year.

[Dogmatix]

On 1/12/2021 at 2:25 PM, andrewfenn said:

@mattkbv I think the book is still in use. I got my PR yesterday and went straight to the local police station in Samut Prakan afterwards. They didn't make any indications that the book is no longer needed. In fact, they asked me to come back to pick it up this week. Sounds to me like they're trying to get rid of you because they don't know how to do it.

 

That’s the most likely explanation. It’s pretty appalling how police can just BS to avoid doing their jobs, like most Special Branch provincial offices either refuse to process citizenship applications or, even worse, try to do it but ask for bribes and mess up the applications.

[mattkbv]

An update on moving my red police book from Khlong Tan (Bangkok) to Ao Nang (Krabi) Police station.   Since I had been turned away from every police station around here including Ao Nang, I paid a fixer 5,000 Baht to take care of it for me.  She ended up having to send the book to Bangkok, someone took it to Khlong Tan police station, book came back, then they got it updated at Ao Nang police station.  I think I got a really good deal for 5,000 Baht considering the amount of effort she spent on it.  If anyone knows the process to do this, please do share.  Also, is there any bad consequence to not updating this book or reporting in every 5 years?  Because if I get turned away from Ao Nang police next renewal I'm quite inclined to give up on this BS.

[Arkady]

25 minutes ago, mattkbv said:

An update on moving my red police book from Khlong Tan (Bangkok) to Ao Nang (Krabi) Police station.   Since I had been turned away from every police station around here including Ao Nang, I paid a fixer 5,000 Baht to take care of it for me.  She ended up having to send the book to Bangkok, someone took it to Khlong Tan police station, book came back, then they got it updated at Ao Nang police station.  I think I got a really good deal for 5,000 Baht considering the amount of effort she spent on it.  If anyone knows the process to do this, please do share.  Also, is there any bad consequence to not updating this book or reporting in every 5 years?  Because if I get turned away from Ao Nang police next renewal I'm quite inclined to give up on this BS.

 

Good to hear you have now got it sorted.  The fee was worthwhile in the circumstances, although the cost should not have have more than a couple of hundred baht, if police had been willing to do their jobs from the outset. The procedure is, as the fixer did, check out from original police station and then check in at the new police station with a couple of lines of handwritten comments, stamps and signatures. It should just take a few minutes at each cop shop.

 

Yes, there is downside to not endorsing your book in 5 years time. There are small fines to pay and you will not be able to renew a work permit or, I believe, get a new duplicate white copy of your resident book when it is full, if your alien book has expired.  Different labour offices may take different views but I had a problem renewing my work permit once because the they insisted I had to have an alien book endorsement that covered the entire period of the work permit and I was applying for a two year work permit. So I was forced to run around to the police station and get a new alien book endorsement long before it had expired.