Converting visa exempt or tourist visa to retirement visa -- anyone done in CM lately?

[NancyL]

A senior official at CM Immigration told me today that effective December 1, it is no longer possible to do the first step of so-called two-step process to turn a visa-exempt entry or tourist visa into a 90-day non-immigrant O visa which is then extended during the final 30 days for one-year as a retirement extension. This is the so-called "two-step process" for getting (in effect) an in-country "retirement visa" and Chiang Mai was one of the last places in Thailand where it was still possible to do this.

Now, people will have to go to Bangkok for the first step of the process -- i.e. converting the visa-exempt entry or the tourist visa into a 90-day O visa. You can still do the second-step, the 12-month retirement extension here in Chiang Mai, since this is no different than what all the retirees do every year when they say they're "renewing their retirement visa".

Has anyone tried to initiate a two-step conversion since December 1st in Chiang Mai? What have you been told? Have you gone to Bangkok to start the process? I understand you make application and then have to return 15 days later to have the visa and entry stamp put into your passport. Is that true?

Mods -- could you please keep this in the Chiang Mai forum, because this is a major Chiang Mai related development.

Also, it throws a major monkey wrench into production of the long-awaited video of the 22 October Talk of Immigration Officials at CM Expats Club. Today they told me it's "ready to be posted on the internet", but this new development has to be explained with subtitles. At the time of the talk, the two step process was done in CM and that's the way they explained it. I suppose we could just be vague with the subtitle in the video, but I'd like to have it be as useful as possible, rather than just saying "the next five minutes are out-of-date"

Edited December 22, 2014 by NancyL

[khwaibah]

Must be ruff to find out your in Thailand and Bangkok call the shots.

[Konini]

I have a friend who was due to go there early this morning for exactly that purpose, will report back when I know how he went (if he didn't change his mind when he realised just how cold it was at 5am and stay nice and snuggily in bed like I did). I had made it known he really needed to be there at 5 not 6 as he planned, so even if he made it we may not get the full answer if he was just told all queue places had gone. It will be interesting to hear his story.

I'm feeling pretty happy that we got the conversion done a couple of months ago. This goes a long way to explain why the agent we used told our friend they aren't doing conversions any more but only retirement extensions about 3 weeks ago. We were pretty embarrassed at the time having recommended them as we'd been through it only a few weeks before.

Not a good move for anyone wanting to do it though, a lot of people certainly wouldn't have budgeted for 2 x return trips to Bangkok, let alone the inconvenience, and having the convenience of your bank branch being close by in case of anything wrong with the letter, although I suppose they could get a non-o elsewhere and enter the country on it.

It may be a good time for anyone with knowledge of such things to make known the procedure and likelihood of getting a non-o in the region.

[NancyL]

Well, Konini by now you're friend will know the answer, but for others reading this -- the queue to do the initial step of the two step (used to be) a different queue than the so-called 201 queue, the one for retirement extensions. That queue never was very long and you could do the first step of the conversion even if you showed up at 8 am.

Ah, those were the days!

[Konini]

Unfortunately, the warm bed and cold air were a bit too much for him, so he didn't make it, not that I blame him at all. I'm quite bemused that when our friend went to the agent, and it would have been the last day of November or the first day or so of December, he was just told they weren't doing them anymore and not mentioning that they've changed the rules and you have to go to Bangkok now. I know he wasn't a paying customer and as he didn't get up early no harm done, but still, would it have hurt?

Still waiting for confirmation of anyone who has tried doing it themselves this month though as this really will affect a lot of people, as well as non-o visa info for nearby countries.

[pmf113b]

Hi

went to immigration today,I was told to put 800,000 bhats into my account which i did do a month ago

Today i was told that from december 1st you had to go to Bankok or go to another country to change to retirement visa then go to Chaingmai immigration

I really wanted it to get my car licence for 5 years

I will only be here for another 3 months but want to be legal in my car

By all acounts tourist numbers are down and with all this chopping and changing, i have spoken to many farangs who are getting a little frustrated with all the extra time consuming and costs i.e trips to bankok or over the border. other destinations are looking a lot more appealing

I like Chaingmai, if there were more notice in changing rules then you can plan more

I have no problem with putting the money in the bank but now the extra costs Flight and hotels etc...make it very frustrating

Good luck to all wanting to do the same

[khwaibah]

I have a friend who was due to go there early this morning for exactly that purpose, will report back when I know how he went (if he didn't change his mind when he realised just how cold it was at 5am and stay nice and snuggily in bed like I did). I had made it known he really needed to be there at 5 not 6 as he planned, so even if he made it we may not get the full answer if he was just told all queue places had gone. It will be interesting to hear his story.

I'm feeling pretty happy that we got the conversion done a couple of months ago. This goes a long way to explain why the agent we used told our friend they aren't doing conversions any more but only retirement extensions about 3 weeks ago. We were pretty embarrassed at the time having recommended them as we'd been through it only a few weeks before.

Not a good move for anyone wanting to do it though, a lot of people certainly wouldn't have budgeted for 2 x return trips to Bangkok, let alone the inconvenience, and having the convenience of your bank branch being close by in case of anything wrong with the letter, although I suppose they could get a non-o elsewhere and enter the country on it.

It may be a good time for anyone with knowledge of such things to make known the procedure and likelihood of getting a non-o in the region.

To get and receive the information that your requesting you need to go over to http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/1-thai-visas-residency-and-work-permits/

There are some very knowledgeable mods over there and one especially UbonJoe., I won't say he is 100% but he is at least 99%. Your concerns will be addressed in a timely manner.. To start things off the closest Thai Embassy to Chiang Mai for a 90 day single entry O visa for retirement is available from Vientiane Lao.

[NancyL]

Hi

went to immigration today,I was told to put 800,000 bhats into my account which i did do a month ago

Today i was told that from december 1st you had to go to Bankok or go to another country to change to retirement visa then go to Chaingmai immigration

I really wanted it to get my car licence for 5 years

I will only be here for another 3 months but want to be legal in my car

By all acounts tourist numbers are down and with all this chopping and changing, i have spoken to many farangs who are getting a little frustrated with all the extra time consuming and costs i.e trips to bankok or over the border. other destinations are looking a lot more appealing

I like Chaingmai, if there were more notice in changing rules then you can plan more

I have no problem with putting the money in the bank but now the extra costs Flight and hotels etc...make it very frustrating

Good luck to all wanting to do the same

Thank you pmf113b for the post. Sorry you had to be the one to discover the changes. Yes, it would have been good if they'd given some notice.

Actually, very few offices in Thailand have been able to do the so-called "Two-step" process to convert visa-exempt or tourist visa status into a retirement visa. After the coup that number has been declining and Chiang Mai had been the last. It was just a matter of time until that changed.

You may want to look at the cost of going to a neighboring country to obtain a visa vs. two trips to Bangkok. Very few neighboring countries grant a 90-day O visa the same day, so you're looking at an overnight stay anyway. Bangkok is lovely this time of year. Just something to think about. Pop over to the Visa forum and have a chat with the gurus there http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/1-thai-visas-residency-and-work-permits/

[NancyL]

Unfortunately, the warm bed and cold air were a bit too much for him, so he didn't make it, not that I blame him at all. I'm quite bemused that when our friend went to the agent, and it would have been the last day of November or the first day or so of December, he was just told they weren't doing them anymore and not mentioning that they've changed the rules and you have to go to Bangkok now. I know he wasn't a paying customer and as he didn't get up early no harm done, but still, would it have hurt?

Still waiting for confirmation of anyone who has tried doing it themselves this month though as this really will affect a lot of people, as well as non-o visa info for nearby countries.

Your friend probably invested his time wisely this morning in sleeping in.

I'm not surprised the agent said "no can do" when asked about doing a two-step conversion in Chiang Mai on the last day of November or early December. Of course they didn't explain why, because that wasn't the question asked. You're friend hasn't learned yet the fine art of "asking just the right question". Konini, you've been here long enough that surely you know Thai people usually answer just the question asked and don't volunteer any additional information or explanation.

Perhaps if your friend has said "I thought this could be done in Chiang Mai. Has anything changed recently?" There would have been more info offered. Or maybe not.

Edited December 23, 2014 by NancyL

[CMKiwi]

Well well well, I might have been one of the lucky last then. I did the 2 step method as stated back in early Nov. I used the agency thats based in Chaing Mai land (Well known agency) and Rhys said that I was lucky as the rules changed just after my application went through.

One of the few times that Im glad I didnt procrastinate!