Pretty Good Experience at CM Immigration

[jeffandgop]

Word is that 'in there' will be changing locations. The CM Immig Office is said to be moving to new location at Prom Mall, very soon. Next year may be different for you, and others.

What word? rumors and inuenndos which is ridiculous. There should be something concrete out there by now. Next year changes I doubt it. Even if the air/con worked that would be a welcome change.

I processed my retirement extension of stay this past Wednesday & asked the officer if/when they are moving to Promenada Mall. Her response was (paraphrasing) "we will move to Promenada Mall temporarily in July". I asked if this location would be handling extensions of stay as well as 90 day reporting and she said "yes".

[jeffandgop]

Hi Guys, i just wondered about the Retirement visa ... so do they need to look at a bank statement /passbook etc to show it has 800,000bth in the account all of the time .. and each time aftyerwards to show it is always in the bank account .. or is it only done the first time applying for the Ret visa ... just not sure how it works when going for renewal each 90 days .. Thanks :-)

It's 800K (in your name only, no joint account) & the funds must be in the bank minimum 3 months prior to applying for the extension of stay for the retirement visa. It's 2 months minimum for when applying for the visa the first time. It has nothing to do with the requirement for reporting your address every 90 days- no banking/funding info required for that just your passport and proof of your address.

[pizzachang]

Word is that 'in there' will be changing locations. The CM Immig Office is said to be moving to new location at Prom Mall, very soon. Next year may be different for you, and others.

I'm interested in the "big move" as I go in June for my yearly extension - the date is after the supposed move - so if anyone goes to the new location after the 15th of June - let us interested people know!

[NancyL]

Folk Guitar, to clear up one point you brought up about when you worked with Assist Thai Visa and they handled your 12-month extension and you didn't have to go into the Immigration office. Those days are over. Now you have to go, even if you employ an agent. You see, you have to have your photo taken at the office (despite attaching a pretty color photo to the TM7 form). I think one reason is to prove you were actually present in the province at the time of application. It's just a minor inconvenience and can still be money well spent to use an agent for some people since they make sure all your paperwork is in order and get you in-and-out of the zoo in quickly. This need for in-person application seems to be a new post-coup rule.

And no, Elgordo, the visa agent and Immigration officer are not chatting about what a stupid idiot the client is in Thai in front of you when they're processing your paperwork. They realize there are some foreigners who understand Thai and still choose to use a visa agent just to expedite the process. I can see the day coming when I do this just because I'm getting where I'm finding getting up at 3:30 am to join the queue to be more and more taxing. Sometimes you just have to admit that you're getting older and preserving your health is worth a few thousand baht. The last time I was in the morning queue, I tore a 1500 baht dress on a car license plate in the melee. Made me wonder how much money I was really saving by not using an agent.

Edited May 30, 2015 by NancyL

[bangmai]

any idea how one would get a fresh update of a term deposit (CD)? Or would the maturity dates be good enough, with a fresh letter? THX!

are you referring to a fixed deposit? If so, the maturity date is not relevant for a renewal of an extension of stay for retirement...the key is that the funds (800K) are deposited 3 months prior to applying for the renewal.

yes, fixed deposit, which are in a similar bankbook...my question was can these be updated by the machines to show a fresh date, like you can with standard bankbook?

[NancyL]

any idea how one would get a fresh update of a term deposit (CD)? Or would the maturity dates be good enough, with a fresh letter? THX!

are you referring to a fixed deposit? If so, the maturity date is not relevant for a renewal of an extension of stay for retirement...the key is that the funds (800K) are deposited 3 months prior to applying for the renewal.

yes, fixed deposit, which are in a similar bankbook...my question was can these be updated by the machines to show a fresh date, like you can with standard bankbook?

At Bangkok Bank, yes. Don't know about the other banks.

[CMBob]

yes, fixed deposit, which are in a similar bankbook...my question was can these be updated by the machines to show a fresh date, like you can with standard bankbook?

At SCB, the answer is "no." I've asked for several years if they can "update" my fixed (term) passbook and they always tell me "no." I got my last annual extension about 5 weeks ago and my passbook had only one entry - the amount and the date I put the funds in the account last September for a 14-month term - and simply a copy of that page (plus the name/account number page) and the bank letter were accepted as sufficient. My passbook does show the maturity date but I presume that's irrelevant to Immigration.

Edited May 30, 2015 by CMBob