My experience at Jomtien for extention and rejection

[hugh2121]

A retirement extension is several hundred times simpler ..... currently.

Last year it took me about 15 minutes in total to get mine, spread over two days, and cost me just 1900B + 100B for the bank letter.

This year you will have to go to one of the designated hospitals and part with an extra 550 baht for a doctor's cert.

[ubonjoe]

A retirement extension is several hundred times simpler ..... currently.

Last year it took me about 15 minutes in total to get mine, spread over two days, and cost me just 1900B + 100B for the bank letter.

This year you will have to go to one of the designated hospitals and part with an extra 550 baht for a doctor's cert.

No he will not.

A medical certificate is not required to apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement.

[yankee99]

tha folks for yr advice it was my 1rst application, hence i did like im being by the immi officer before i filed my docus. next time i m goin

to present 2 copied sets as u wrote . is it written anywhere 2 copies and photo qtys ????

wbr

roobaa01

Yes they have a checklist of requirements at immigration. Its in thai and english.

[tlock]

I didn't realize that you needed a thai witness, witness to what exactly? If I decided to marry a woman I met last week, would I not be able to get a visa based on marriage?

[ubonjoe]

I didn't realize that you needed a thai witness, witness to what exactly? If I decided to marry a woman I met last week, would I not be able to get a visa based on marriage?

The witness is to attest that you are living together as husband and wife. It is not required at all immigration offices. Most do a home visit for the first extension of stay application.

You could get a single entry non-o based upon marriage at any nearby embassy or consulate after your get married. You could then apply for an extension of stay at immigration..

[swissbie]

Photos in front of the house are requested in some provinces, not everywhere, but if, only with family members. I got my extension of marriage non-o today, done in 15 minutes, good luck, no queue. First, they asked me to go to the bank again, because my bank requires 3 days to do this since a few years. Difficult, because my bank book was completely full. As I was going to leave to try doing it tought, they called me back and told me no need to do it, too much of a hassle. Big smiling. I have to admit, I'm quiet fluent in Thai since many years, but it's sometimes still difficult to understand their sense of humour. Happy it went smooth, but still don't know, if they were messing around with me. They make the rules, if they don't like you it can get very strict. Many years in Thailand, but still learning..

[Spellforce]

I've also been rejected today (this is my 3rd extention).

The new thing this year is that you have to bring a thai neighboor/friend (witness) that has has a Tabian Ban in the same city (not so easy to find in Pattaya !)

About the bank papers we need to only rember 2 things:

- The letter from the Bank certify that you have a balance > 400,000 bahts during the last 3 months. Period of validity = 2 days.

- You need to update your bank the same day. Go to your bank, make a deposit of 100 baht, update you book, make 2x copies

Lesson learned !

I saved everything on a cloud to print everything quickly next year!.

- All the copies required are saved on separate word files (TM7, photos of me, my wife, house, documents of wedding,wife's ID Card & Tabian Ban, witness's ID Card & Tabian Ban, passeport). I have also cleared all the pages that they didn't want.

- I wrote on a document a "to do" list, especialy for the bank process

PS: I suscribe to the Thaivisa newsletter, and I'm really suprised not to have been informed about this new requirement, this thai witness who has a Tabian Ban registered in the same city !!??

Edited February 19, 2015 by Spellforce

[yankee99]

I've also been rejected today (this is my 3rd extention).

The new thing this year is that you have to bring a thai neighboor/friend (witness) that has has a Tabian Ban in the same city (not so easy to find in Pattaya !)

About the bank papers we need to only rember 2 things:

- The letter from the Bank certify that you have a balance > 400,000 bahts during the last 3 months. Period of validity = 2 days.

- You need to update your bank the same day. Go to your bank, make a deposit of 100 baht, update you book, make 2x copies

Lesson learned !

I saved everything on a cloud to print everything quickly next year!.

- All the copies required are saved on separate word files (TM7, photos of me, my wife, house, documents of wedding,wife's ID Card & Tabian Ban, witness's ID Card & Tabian Ban, passeport). I have also cleared all the pages that they didn't want.

- I wrote on a document a "to do" list, especialy for the bank process

PS: I suscribe to the Thaivisa newsletter, and I'm really suprised not to have been informed about this new requirement, this thai witness who has a Tabian Ban registered in the same city !!??

Since your referring to pattaya i guess your talking about jomtien?

So now they require 3 months seed as opposed to 2. Also a witness?

Im going to pick my visa up tomorrow as its been 30 days. Ill pick up their latest requirements and post them.

[Spellforce]

Since your referring to pattaya i guess your talking about jomtien?

So now they require 3 months seed as opposed to 2. Also a witness?

Im going to pick my visa up tomorrow as its been 30 days. Ill pick up their latest requirements and post them.

Yes Pattaya = Jomtien soi 5

400,000 balance:

2 months is for the first Non-Im Visa done in Bangkok (validity = 3 months)

3 months is when you'll apply for the 1 year extension in Jomtien

[needamiracle]

Chonburi Immigration is getting beyond belief.

"Bureaucracy makes the possible impossible" applies here - that's assuming you can squeeze in and

find a less than maximum harassed officer to take any notice of you.

It is absolute chaos and it took 5 visits to renew my visa as their idea of necessary paperwork varied

with each visit.

I am an invalide and previously I could send my wife to renew my visa if she had a letter from the

hospital confirming my disability. Oh no, that's not enough anymore. They actually wanted pictures of

me in my wheelchair (one waist up and one waist down), which we provided.

What for a sicko wants to look at pictures of an old guy with multiple sclerosis ?

I have lived here for 18 years and have never known it get as bad as this.

I look after my wife, her extensive family and bring 1 million baht per year into the Thai economy.

So why do I get singled out for treatment befitting a 1st time visa seeker from the moon ?

I hope the responsible Immigration Police HQ in Bangkok can urgently improve their Chonburi office.

[Spellforce]

So now they require 3 months seed as opposed to 2. Also a witness?

Yes this is new, a witness is required.

In Pattaya this is quite easy to find a thai witness, but one with a Tabian Ban registered in Nongprue ??? I've needed to call more than 10 before finding one who has the right Tabian Ban, but he was not available. 5 calls later I've founded the good one available

The problem of the thais people who have a Tabian Ban In Nongprue is that they have a regular job, that's not so easy for them to waste more than 1 hour in Jomtien.

By the way, if a "local" witness is required in Bangkok for the first visa application, it will be a really difficult task !

Edited February 19, 2015 by Spellforce

[laislica]

Thank God for Chiang Mai. Originally I did the marriage, with one renewal a year later, at which time the woman officer told me I should switch to Retirement, as it was easier. On both my original and 1st Extension, it took over an hour sitting at the desk, with tons of paperwork, questions, pictures, and all the other crap. My last 5 Extensions for Retirement have been over in less than 10 minutes each, with only 7 pieces of paper and 1 small photo. And I've never been asked to show 800k in the bank. My "Income Verification" (which is well over the 800k) from Consulate has always sufficed.

My advice - CHANGE to Retirement.

What you say is true and I also choose the retirement extension but.....

Depending on your Consulate or Embassy, the charge for their letter of proof of income (at least for us Brits) can be as high as £50 ,almost 3,000b and sometimes, two visits, one to apply, the other to collect the letter.

The cost of the letter from Kasikorn about 100b and done in a few mins at any branch.

For the marriage extension the money must always be in the bank for a clear 60 days.

For retirement it's 60 days the first time only and 90 days thereafter.

Once you have the full year's stamp you can safely use the money and top it up at 60 or 90 days prior to your application as appropriate.

Note that in both cases if you have a joint account then the required amount is doubled!

BTW, well done OP.

Frustrated but not losing your cool and you got the job done and now know what is needed for next time.

Plus a big thumbs up for your wife help (where would we be without them?)

However, I noted that you didn't mention a re-entry permit.

Remember that if you leave Thailand for any reason (even a walk across the border on a day trip), unless you have a valid (Unused) re-entry permit before you leave, your extension will be cancelled as you leave and you will have to start again and return to Thailand with a new non imm o visa followed by an extension......

If you don't plan on leaving, fine but if something crops up as an emergency, you can get the re-entry permit at the airport if you don't have time to go to Immigration.

Just allow some extra time to get it.

You will need a completed TM8 form (download it from TVF) the fee 1,000b for single or 3,800 for multiple plus a passport photo, copies of your passport photo page and extension/entry stamp and departure card as per the TM7 extension request.

Fun, fun, fun but easy really once you know what's needed.

Cheers

[Spellforce]

So now they require 3 months seed as opposed to 2. Also a witness?

400,000 balance:

2 months is for the first Non-Im Visa done in Bangkok (validity = 3 months)

3 months is when you'll apply for the 1 year extension in Jomtien

Sorry I checked Google and I made a mistake, this is 2 months (visa & 1 year extention).

[roobaa01]

@yankee99

i looked at the list of requirements marriage extension of stay no written phrase about how many copies to be made ????

wbr

roobaa01

[roobaa01]

@spellforce

when u had your first marriage extension done, where u then asked by the joimtiem imo to bring along a person confirming that you are

married and live with your spouse ??

wbrroobaa01

[ubonjoe]

@yankee99

i looked at the list of requirements marriage extension of stay no written phrase about how many copies to be made ????

wbr

roobaa01

The 2 TM7 application forms with attached supporting documents is standard nationwide (except Bangkok). One form and copies is kept at the local office and the other is sent to regional division headquarters for approval.

[roobaa01]

@ubonjoe

tha for yr advice.

i wonder neither the thai nor english list as of 190215 states for the subsequent marriage extension that a witness with pattaya tabien baan must be confirming that one is married living with his wife. the matter is only stipulated for the first application. thus could this request not be questioned

by request to speak to a superior ????

wbr

roobaa01

[maxcorrigan]

I've also been rejected today (this is my 3rd extention).

The new thing this year is that you have to bring a thai neighboor/friend (witness) that has has a Tabian Ban in the same city (not so easy to find in Pattaya !)

About the bank papers we need to only rember 2 things:

- The letter from the Bank certify that you have a balance > 400,000 bahts during the last 3 months. Period of validity = 2 days.

- You need to update your bank the same day. Go to your bank, make a deposit of 100 baht, update you book, make 2x copies

Lesson learned !

I saved everything on a cloud to print everything quickly next year!.

- All the copies required are saved on separate word files (TM7, photos of me, my wife, house, documents of wedding,wife's ID Card & Tabian Ban, witness's ID Card & Tabian Ban, passeport). I have also cleared all the pages that they didn't want.

- I wrote on a document a "to do" list, especialy for the bank process

PS: I suscribe to the Thaivisa newsletter, and I'm really suprised not to have been informed about this new requirement, this thai witness who has a Tabian Ban registered in the same city !!??

Thanks you have clarified a couple of points about witness required, i would dispute the 400k in bank for three months though, on my non-o i have not been in Thailand in total for three months, and opening a saving account on arrival in Dec which would suggest it is still two months in maturity

Max......

[maxcorrigan]

Thank God for Chiang Mai. Originally I did the marriage, with one renewal a year later, at which time the woman officer told me I should switch to Retirement, as it was easier. On both my original and 1st Extension, it took over an hour sitting at the desk, with tons of paperwork, questions, pictures, and all the other crap. My last 5 Extensions for Retirement have been over in less than 10 minutes each, with only 7 pieces of paper and 1 small photo. And I've never been asked to show 800k in the bank. My "Income Verification" (which is well over the 800k) from Consulate has always sufficed.

My advice - CHANGE to Retirement.

What you say is true and I also choose the retirement extension but.....

Depending on your Consulate or Embassy, the charge for their letter of proof of income (at least for us Brits) can be as high as £50 ,almost 3,000b and sometimes, two visits, one to apply, the other to collect the letter.

The cost of the letter from Kasikorn about 100b and done in a few mins at any branch.

For the marriage extension the money must always be in the bank for a clear 60 days.

For retirement it's 60 days the first time only and 90 days thereafter.

Once you have the full year's stamp you can safely use the money and top it up at 60 or 90 days prior to your application as appropriate.

Note that in both cases if you have a joint account then the required amount is doubled!

BTW, well done OP.

Frustrated but not losing your cool and you got the job done and now know what is needed for next time.

Plus a big thumbs up for your wife help (where would we be without them?)

However, I noted that you didn't mention a re-entry permit.

Remember that if you leave Thailand for any reason (even a walk across the border on a day trip), unless you have a valid (Unused) re-entry permit before you leave, your extension will be cancelled as you leave and you will have to start again and return to Thailand with a new non imm o visa followed by an extension......

If you don't plan on leaving, fine but if something crops up as an emergency, you can get the re-entry permit at the airport if you don't have time to go to Immigration.

Just allow some extra time to get it.

You will need a completed TM8 form (download it from TVF) the fee 1,000b for single or 3,800 for multiple plus a passport photo, copies of your passport photo page and extension/entry stamp and departure card as per the TM7 extension request.

Fun, fun, fun but easy really once you know what's needed.

Cheers

Yes agreed without a forceful Thai person coming along it would be nigh on hopeless, the first day i arrived there were countless foreigners milling around and i did'nt hear one speaking English as their first language,as for your point about a re-entry permit i will need one, but another poster on this thread stated you cannot get a re-entry permit until you have the 365 day stamp in your passport! was this wrong info?

Max....

[ubonjoe]

@ubonjoe

tha for yr advice.

i wonder neither the thai nor english list as of 190215 states for the subsequent marriage extension that a witness with pattaya tabien baan must be confirming that one is married living with his wife. the matter is only stipulated for the first application. thus could this request not be questioned

by request to speak to a superior ????

wbr

roobaa01

You could ask for a supervisor to confirm it is required. I think somebody is going way overboard wanting it to be somebody that is listed in a local house book. I cannot come up with any reason for it unless they think you might bring somebody from outside the area to be you witness.

[maxcorrigan]

@spellforce

when u had your first marriage extension done, where u then asked by the joimtiem imo to bring along a person confirming that you are

married and live with your spouse ??

wbrroobaa01

Yes we asked to come back with a witness, who was then questioned on her relationship with us and how long we had been married, which she did not know exactly, but answered in thai "long day" we were told she would need to show her house book and i/d plus copies, this was one of the reasons for rejection on our first visit..

Max...

[Spellforce]

My renewal has been aproved this morning.

My thai witness lives 200 meters from my house, he knows us really good. He brings his original ID Card, 2x copies of : his ID Card + Tabian Ban (Nongprue) + Photos of all 3 inside my house & outside. He has been questioned by the second officer, signed 2 papers. It tooks him less than 30mn in immigration (I will invite him tonight for dinner + drink).

And one more time, don't forget about the bank's documents:

- Letter from the bank: not older than 2 days

- Book Bank: balance statment of the same day. Just before going to Jomtien, I went to my bank, made a deposit of 100 bahts and updated my book.