Retirement Visa Cancelled......suggestions please

[JLCrab]

I run an NGO based in USA that is involved -- peripherally to be sure -- in international Treaties negotiation/ratification and US Federal court cases involving disadvantaged populations. You really want to change something or do you just enjoy writing on this website?

[ATF]

 

If the Re-Entry permit was incorporated into a one year visa then all the Cheap Charlies would be up in arms complaining the price of a One Year Visa has doubled or tripled in price.

 

If my memory serves me correctly Single RE 1900 Baht  Multiple RE 3800 Baht.

 

You mean extension...

 

Remember, many (perhaps most?) never purchase a permit...

 

 

You get your initial one year visa and then extend it every 12-15 months depending how long you have spent in the Country.

 

Most holders of such visa never leave the Country as you said so they would be mightily angry at paying an additional 3800 Baht to travel freely.

 

This is why the OP got into trouble.
 

[ATF]

I run an NGO based in USA that is involved -- peripherally to be sure -- in international Treaties negotiation/ratification and US Federal court cases involving disadvantaged populations. You really want to change something or do you just enjoy writing on this website?

 

Well JL can't you setup an NGO for all these Digtal Nomads who are still breastfeeding?
 

[ParadiseLost]

I run an NGO based in USA that is involved -- peripherally to be sure -- in international Treaties negotiation/ratification and US Federal court cases involving disadvantaged populations. You really want to change something or do you just enjoy writing on this website?

 

Offer me a WP and I am yours...

[JLCrab]

 

I run an NGO based in USA that is involved -- peripherally to be sure -- in international Treaties negotiation/ratification and US Federal court cases involving disadvantaged populations. You really want to change something or do you just enjoy writing on this website?

 

Offer me a WP and I am yours...

 

Sorry -- as I said, US NGO. Here is, however, a contact for you:

 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Department of Consular Affairs

Visa and Travel Documents Division

 Director - MR. DANAI MENABODHI

 

His contact details at http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/org-chart

 

Maybe you can set-up a meeting with him.

[ubonjoe]

This topic has gone off topic and has bickering going on. Some posts have been removed.

[ericthai]

Yes I know it's a right pain, I had a similar situation, when applying for a Retirment Visa it's important to get a multi entry Retirment visa, rather than a single one, which I previously had, and like you when I left Thailand for a few days, got told the same as yourself, I ended up having to go through the whole process again... Lesson learned though, but I just wish they had mentioned this when I originally applied.

All the best

 
You can't have a multiple entry retirement visa. You get an extension of your previous visa based on retirement if you fulfil the requirements.
 
Then, if you want to leave the country for any reason, you can apply for a re-entry permit, single or multiple as you need.  
 
Jeez, I do wish some people would post accurate information on here, and also learn the laws of the country you have chosen to live in.
 
It's not rocket science - and it's NOT your home country.  The laws are not the same.  Do some basic research and then you won't end up with egg on your face and a big bill.
 
I've had a retirement visa for three years, left the country six times and never had a problem.  It's called using your brain...

For someone complaining about others not knowing it appears you dont know either. Why are you saying he cant have a Multi-entry Non-imm OA?
There is a mulit-entry non-imm OA available which is a 1 year visa. When this expires then you can apply for the extension of stay.

[PlastikbinLina]

Very possible but never from Phuket. 

 

 

You are going to have to start all over again. Since you only got a 15 day entry you will not be able to do a conversion at immigration.

The best option is go out for a single entry non-o visa,

In Phuket anyone entering Thailand on a visa exemption extension (15 or 30 days)can apply for a 90 day Non O visa provided they have: 

1. 2 days left on the entry stamp

2. Money in the bank with a letter from the bank (no more than 7 days old)

3. Income with Embassy confirmation, good for six months

The money in the bank does not have to be 800,000 on application but it does have to be in the bank for either 2 months for a first time applicant  or 3 months for previous Retirees.

The Non O holder can apply for a Retirement extension in the last 30 days of the Non O.

This is a very common process these days. Dependents of intended retirees must apply for a Non O outside Thailand. e.g. KL or Penang

 

Immigration policy is 15 days remaining on an entry. What Phuket does is not true for all offices that can do the conversion.

There have been reports of people being told no because the had less than 15 days..

 

 

[ZAKY]

Only back to square one


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[ukrules]

You are going to have to start all over again. Since you only got a 15 day entry you will not be able to do a conversion at immigration.

The best option is go out for a single entry non-o visa,

 

The immigration system is a complete shambles.
 

[AYJAYDEE]

 

You are going to have to start all over again. Since you only got a 15 day entry you will not be able to do a conversion at immigration.

The best option is go out for a single entry non-o visa,

 

The immigration system is a complete shambles.
 

 

its always worked well for me

[jacko45k]

They should have a roped off path directly from collection of retirement extension to the Re-Entry Permit desk. :d

Don't expect immigration to tell you and do your research for you....

Many guys (like me) chuck a multiple Re-Entry permit in there as soon as they get the new retirement extension, and of course one can be obtained at the airport on the way out.

A lot of aggravation for a little oversight.

Betchya don't do it again...:d

[ukrules]

 

 

You are going to have to start all over again. Since you only got a 15 day entry you will not be able to do a conversion at immigration.

The best option is go out for a single entry non-o visa,

 

The immigration system is a complete shambles.
 

 

its always worked well for me

 

 

It works well for me too but I'm reading too many reports lately of other people experiencing problems created by overzealous regulations.
 

My concerns are not only for myself but for others as well.

Edited August 11, 2014 by ukrules

[AYJAYDEE]

 

 

 

You are going to have to start all over again. Since you only got a 15 day entry you will not be able to do a conversion at immigration.

The best option is go out for a single entry non-o visa,

 

The immigration system is a complete shambles.
 

 

its always worked well for me

 

 

It works well for me too but I'm reading too many reports lately of other people experiencing problems created by overzealous regulations.
 

My concerns are not only for myself but for others as well.

 

most of the ones ive been reading look to be due to the fact that they are NOW enforcing the intent of those regulations. I dont think thats being overzealous.

[Estrada]

Judging by my recent experience with my spouse extension, you will have to go to Vientiane, get an 'O' visa and start again. A real spherical objects acher. I'm pretty sure that you can't revive your previous extension.

Wrong! Visas on the basis of retirement are the one Non-Immigrant Visa that can be issued in Country by Bangkok Immigration, go there A.S.A.P. and apply using the usual supporting documentation for retirement. They will issue you a Visa based on retirement and then give you an extension of probably 30 days followed by another 30 days to make sure your B800K is still in the Thai Bank. Then you will get the 1 year retirement extension and you can do the reentry at the same time.

[GeorgeO]

At Sam Koke, the Immigration office for Pathum Thani, the put a stamp in your passport after you get your extension:

 

NOTICE

TO KEEP YOUR STAY PERMIT RE-ENTRY PERMIT

MUST BE MADE BEFORE LEAVINT THAILAND

 

NOTIFICATION OF RESIDENCE MUST BE

MADE EVERY 90 DAYS

 

i figure it's nice of them to remind us of these requirements, and in the end, saves them work and complaints, too.

 

Mac

 

I also experience the same thing every time I go to Samut Prakhan office, with specific reference to the point on Re-entry permits.

 

The Samut Prakhan office is so well run that when the whole process is over and you have your passport back, the officer even provides you with a reminder that you need to get a re-entry permit now if you intend to leave the country at all.

 

It's a shame that this isn't common practice throughout Thailand as I also have a friend who did his at Chaeng Wattana and left the country without a re-entry permit, only to find himself in the same position as the OP.

[Eneukman]

a

At Sam Koke, the Immigration office for Pathum Thani, the put a stamp in your passport after you get your extension:

 

NOTICE

TO KEEP YOUR STAY PERMIT RE-ENTRY PERMIT

MUST BE MADE BEFORE LEAVINT THAILAND

 

NOTIFICATION OF RESIDENCE MUST BE

MADE EVERY 90 DAYS

 

i figure it's nice of them to remind us of these requirements, and in the end, saves them work and complaints, too.

 

Mac

 

Chonburi Immigration in Jomtien also put add a stamp about obtaining a re-entry permit prior to leaving the country. Like some others, I always obtain a multiple re-entry permit shortly after obtaining the extension to my original visa.

 

Alan

[Maggusoil]

 

Most agengts will get you a new O multiple rentry visa so you can once again reapply for retirement extension last i heard was it was 4k for a russian couple needing same as you,good luck man.

Why so many people on this forum recommending to use agents ?

- Most of time they just take (a lot of) money to do things you can easily do yourself.
- Many times they use solutions that are "questionable", like getting a non-O stamp from Vientiane while you are in Thailand: that is fully illegal and put you at risk of prison!

The OP should say of which Immigration he depends. In touristic places like Pattaya he can change his entry in a non-O and get his extension at the same time. Not need to exit Thailand to get a non-O.

 

 

As well as consulting the frequently very experienced people here, I find it very useful to consult the "people who issue the visas", or extensions or anything else. That is Thai Immigration. They are usually most helpful and sometimes give me more than I expected. On the positive side.

For example you run aground like this and then say. "Oh, now what can I do?" 

I get the feeling here that people are always expecting them to give us a hard time. Or make it harder than it need to be. 

They are not only trying to enforce the regulations. They are also encouraging legal visitors to make the most of their legal stays to suit their circumstances.

[jpinx]

 

Judging by my recent experience with my spouse extension, you will have to go to Vientiane, get an 'O' visa and start again. A real spherical objects acher. I'm pretty sure that you can't revive your previous extension.

Wrong! Visas on the basis of retirement are the one Non-Immigrant Visa that can be issued in Country by Bangkok Immigration, go there A.S.A.P. and apply using the usual supporting documentation for retirement. They will issue you a Visa based on retirement and then give you an extension of probably 30 days followed by another 30 days to make sure your B800K is still in the Thai Bank. Then you will get the 1 year retirement extension and you can do the reentry at the same time.

 

 

Correct, but time is short on the 15 day entry stamp.........

[ubonjoe]

 

Judging by my recent experience with my spouse extension, you will have to go to Vientiane, get an 'O' visa and start again. A real spherical objects acher. I'm pretty sure that you can't revive your previous extension.

Wrong! Visas on the basis of retirement are the one Non-Immigrant Visa that can be issued in Country by Bangkok Immigration, go there A.S.A.P. and apply using the usual supporting documentation for retirement. They will issue you a Visa based on retirement and then give you an extension of probably 30 days followed by another 30 days to make sure your B800K is still in the Thai Bank. Then you will get the 1 year retirement extension and you can do the reentry at the same time.

 

It does not have to be done in Bangkok. With his 15 day entry he would not be able to do a conversion to a 90 day non immigrant visa entry in and most other offices that can do them.

As I just wrote you get a 90 day entry. You cannot get a 30 day extensions for a non immigrant visa entry.

[Frank James]

The same thing happened to me, right after I had jumped through all of the hoops to obtain my first retirement visa. I say "happened to me", but through lax non-thinking, I did it to myself. If you intend to return, DO NOT LEAVE THAILAND WITHOUT GETTING A RE-ENTRY PERMIT! Sorry about the all-caps, but it is that important. I thought of it about 20 minutes airborne. I thought, "OK. I'll straighten it  out when I get back." HA! Cannot be done.

 

When I returned, I was half dead and inattentive, due to lingering pneumonia contracted in America. I didn't notice that after a long, hard look at my passport, and many dirty looks at me, the guy had given me a 15 day stamp. (I was lucky he didn't run me into the Office for a ream-out.)  I screwed around for thirty days (part of that was time in hospital), thinking that was how much time I had. I tripped into CM Immigration and  was told I was 15 days overstayed, my one year retirement visa was null and void from the time my outbound plane cleared Thai airspace, and I would have to do the MaeSai shuffle, riding all day in the depressing van with the rest of the losers. And now, from what I've heard, one cannot even do that anymore.

 

Paid the big fine at the border, and started up the whole process all over again. which you must now do. All that work, again. All because of inattention to detail. Nobody to blame but ME. Ignorance is expensive.

 

Believe me, I feel your pain.

[GeorgeO]

If the Re-Entry permit was incorporated into a one year visa then all the Cheap Charlies would be up in arms complaining the price of a One Year Visa has doubled or tripled in price.

 

If my memory serves me correctly Single RE 1900 Baht  Multiple RE 3800 Baht.

 

On the contrary, I'm sure that there are many people, like me, who have no real reason to leave the country on a regular basis, as being here provides a valuable opportunity for family and friends to visit me and have a nice holiday in Thailand without hotel bills. There are probably also many thousands who came here to get away from their home country, and thus, have no desire whatsoever to visit it again...! 

 

I would extrapolate, from the people that I know who are on retirement visas, that there are probably three times as many retirees who simply stay here without the need for a re-entry permit, let's say, in more than one year out of every three or four.

 

Immigration could quite easily determine exactly how many retirement extensions are made every year, and exactly how many single-entry permits are applied for each year. If the retirement extensions outnumber the permits by about three to one, why not divide the total revenue from re-entries by the total number of retirement extensions and then combine the costs. If it were to add 600 or 700 baht to the cost of a retirement extension, but automatically included a single re-entry permit, I would have no problems with that, as it would still be only around 50 quid a year for a retirement extension. On a personal note, it might even encourage me to have a holiday outside Thai borders once a year.

 

Anyone wanting a multi-entry permit would of course be required to pay a supplement to the extension/single re-entry cost.

 

As far as I can see, this would greatly reduce the workload of the Immigration Departments (relating to Retirement extensions) and would avoid anyone, like the current OP, ever having to go through his current predicament.

[dotpoom]

It happened to me once before. I was standing in the Q for check in at BKK Airport bound for Penang when it suddenly hit me that i had forgotten to get my re-entry permit. After making all the inquiries I could it was either carry on with the flight and lose my retirement visa or cancel it. As it was my wife's first time ever to fly and I didn't want to disappoint her, I carried on and was told that I could get it all sorted out in Penang. 

   That was not true. However, I came back into Thailand on a tourist visa and applied for my retirement visa all over again. When I got the new one I didn't lose any of the remaining months. I had 6 months left on the old visa so the new one was good for 18 months.

   THE IMPORTANT THING WAS THAT i ALREADY HAD THE 800,000 BT LYING IN MY BANK FOR THE 3 MONTHS REQUIRED TIME FRAME.

Edited August 11, 2014 by dotpoom

[KIWIBATCH]

 

I have a retirement extension with multi entry visa. Needed as I tend to travel on a monthly basis.

 

A couple of trips back, when exiting, the Immigration officer at BKK airport asked if I had a multi entry. I had seen him checking the passport and had wondered if he had spotted any problem. I was able to show him the multi entry. I thanked him for his action in voicing his concern. So some officers do make a point of checking, but obviously not all as it is plainly not their responsibility so to do.

 

But it remains down to the extension holder to ensure they have the appropriate stamps.

 

 

 

 

You aren't using the right terms. It's not just nit-picking , what you said could give the wrong impression, and it's important for people to understand what they need, or they make mistakes, like the OP.

 

If you have a retirement extension then you do not have a visa, multi-entry or any other kind. When you get a retirement extension you must buy a "re-entry permit" (this is what they are called: they are not visas) if you want to leave the country and keep the extended permission to stay active. Even if your original visa was a multi-entry visa, once you are on an extension you must buy a re-entry permit to be able to leave the country.

 

Re-entry permits  themselves can be single entry, for one trip in and out, or multi entry, for unlimited trips during the period of your extension.

 

 

What is said above in Partingtons post is precisely and exactly 100% correct

[Frank James]

It's mildly amusing, and somewhat educational, reading all of these farang suggestions for reform of Thailand's Immigration policies, especially the ones that advocate scrapping the re-entry permit altogether, letting people come and go at  will and whim. That's a good one! They're sure to consider that.  Very soon, I've heard.

[ubonjoe]

It's mildly amusing, and somewhat educational, reading all of these farang suggestions for reform of Thailand's Immigration policies, especially the ones that advocate scrapping the re-entry permit altogether, letting people come and go at  will and whim. That's a good one! They're sure to consider that.  Very soon, I've heard.

They come and go as they want now if they get a multiple re-entry permit.

[gemguy]

Yes sir...you do have to get a re-entry stamp in your passport before you leave on the standard issue retirement Extension.

 

I am on a multiple entry retirement Extension so I can come and go multiple times if need be.

 

Sorry to hear about your problem but it can be rectified some way, somehow.

Edited August 11, 2014 by gemguy

[JLCrab]

As noted by UJoe above and elsewhere: Thailand Immigration Act 2522/1979

 

Section 39 : After having received permission for temporary entry into the Kingdom , if the alien leaves

the Kingdom it is considered that his temporary entry permit has expired. But , if prior to leaving the alien

is granted permission to return by the competent official ... and the period of time previously authorized has not expired , the alien shall be authorized to stay in the Kingdom for the rest of the authorized time.

 

Ain't gonna change anytime soon.

[edwardflory]

Yes I know it's a right pain, I had a similar situation, when applying for a Retirment Visa it's important to get a multi entry Retirment visa, rather than a single one, which I previously had, and like you when I left Thailand for a few days, got told the same as yourself, I ended up having to go through the whole process again... Lesson learned though, but I just wish they had mentioned this when I originally applied.

All the best

 

This SORT OF answers a question that has been in the back of my mind for a long time.  I was wondering if I had spent money for no reason when I paid for  a MULTIPLE RE-ENTRY PERMIT along with my Non O Retirement.

 

My last entry at "the swamp", the officer told me to use the number on the MULTIPLE RE-ENTRY PERMIT as my VISA number.

Did my 90 day reporting in about 3 minutes - I did the paperwork in advance, handed it to the officer, basically it was LOOK, LOOK, LOOK....STAMP, STAMP, STAMP, Thank you, see you in 90 days.

 

multi entry Retirement visa <<<====== do you mean MULTIPLE RE-ENTRY PERMIT along with a Non O Retirement.

[norbra]

Chaeng Wattana have been stamping my passport with a re-entry permit warning stamp together with my retirement extension approval since 2008