Witness for Marriage visa extension at Udon Immigration

[ferdis]

I recently applied for my 1 year marriage visa extension at the Udon Thani immigration office. This is my 3rd year extension.

All my paperwork was in order however the lady immigration officer said I was missing a witness (with signed ID and house paper documents) to complete the application. I told the lady that I thought the witness was only required for the 1st year visa application however she insisted that this wasn't the case.

I didn't make plans for this so I was kind of put on the spot. The immigration officer then offered to be the witness for a fee of 500bt. My wife ignored this and luckily we were able to contact a friend of hers who had to drive across town with her ID and papers.

Can anyone confirm if witnesses are required or not for visa extensions? My visa has already been sent off to BKK for consideration however I'm curious to know if what she was saying was true or just a method for her to extort 500 baht out of me.

The immigration officer already took 100 baht from me when she failed to return my change from 2,000 baht. I will remember to take the exact change with me next time.

[ubonjoe]

It does seem a bit odd for them to ask for a witness after the first extension. Udon has been doing some strange things lately,

FYI your application goes to division 4 headquarters in Korat for appporval not Bangkok.

[elviajero]

I had to supply copies of the home owners ID and house book at my last renewal, which was new, but I don't recall being asked for a witness when submitting the application. However, when the immigration policeman called at my home the next day I did have to supply a witness (neighbour). The witness had to give signed copy of her ID and confirm I lived there.

Edited April 3, 2015 by elviajero

[Iamemjay]

In 8 years I've never been asked for any witness other than my wife.

[MJCM]

In Pattaya there is also the requirement to provide a witness with every extension of stay based on Marriage. When I asked the officer why that was, she said "because we don't have kids we have to provide a witness". However, I'm not sure if this is the real reason.

Edit: link to the post in the Pattaya forum

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/804312-changes-to-married-to-thai-visa-extensions-at-jomtien-immigration/

Edited April 4, 2015 by MJCM

[ferdis]

When I asked the officer why that was, she said "because we don't have kids we have to provide a witness". However, I'm not sure if this is the real reason.

My wife and I have two children together so this should be compelling enough evidence that our marriage is legit. Asking for a witness after the 3rd extension seems unnecessary to me.

This is just a heads-up to people doing marriage visa extensions at Udon Immigration, after all it may save you a little time and money. This particular officer has been known for shady practices over the years so it's good to be one step ahead.

[OJAS]

As ubonjoe said in post #2, Udon Thani have, indeed, been doing quite a few strange things lately - as exemplified in the recent thread at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/811803-retirement-extension-procedural-change-udon-thani/ relating to retirement extensions there. Seems their practice is also to issue 30-day "under consideration" stamps to retirees who are not prepared to "donate" 1,000 THB to the upkeep of their tea club.

OP - would be most interested to hear how you get along when you return after your "under consideration" period. Were you stamped in for the rest of your extension period without any ado? Or were you, say, threatened with a further "under consideration" stamp unless you likewise made a 1,000 THB "donation" to the upkeep of their tea club?

[ferdis]

OP - would be most interested to hear how you get along when you return after your "under consideration" period. Were you stamped in for the rest of your extension period without any ado? Or were you, say, threatened with a further "under consideration" stamp unless you likewise made a 1,000 THB "donation" to the upkeep of their tea club?

Apart from her pocketing my 100 baht change and not giving me a receipt, everything else went smoothly.

I'll let you know how I get on when I collect my visa in 30 days time.

[PeVee1st]

I also was caught out with the 100 thb change & no receipt when I did my visa extension, recently.

However, the 30 day "under consideration stamp" is due I believe because you apply for the extension (usually 30 days) prior to the previous year extension expiry.