4. Investment Visa Extension

[Nepal4me]

News from the new regulation:

4. Investment visa extension. For existing extension of stay holders of 3 million Baht, we are now being told this will now be grandfathered in and they will be able to get the extension forever as long as they renew.

I pulled my 2 posts from the email thread entitled "News from the new regulations" thread. That thread is pushing 400 messages in total and now evolved away from what is specifically of interest to me. i.e. the non-imm-O visa.

I wanted to pass on my story about getting a non-imm O this week. If others have input on this non-Imm-O visa, I'd like to hear about them.

My further comments below.

Is it now too late to apply for the 3m investment visa? I realize there are only 15 days left this month.

Good news.

They are accepting application till the end of the month. As long as you have a 30 day consideration stamp before Oct 1st and are approved, you will be 'grandfathered in"

By the way, the logic why they are doing away with the scheme. “It was too easy for mafia influences to get a visa as 3 million Baht was nothing for them.”

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Good news..........for me anyway. This morning I went down to the Suan Plu immigration office. Brought my documentation for the purchase of a condo, my tax receipts showing I paid all taxes owed and my note from the bank stating the funds came from abroad. I got a 90 day non-0 visa all within an hour. Talk about your Thai efficiency Additionally I paid an extra 3,800 baht so I could have multi entry during these 90 days. After the 90 day visa, I get a one year visa. Normally I get about 4 VoA stamps/month so this new ruling really would have affected me. Lucky (if that's the right word) I bought that 10 mil condo a year ago. We'll have to see how this pans out but if I'm grandfathered in great, if not, have to figure out what plan B will be

Is it now too late to apply for the 3m investment visa? I realize there are only 15 days left this month.

I think I'll do this in a hurry since 3M now with (according to Sunbelt) renewals at 3M later is much better than having to do 7M later, but 2 issues:-

1) I am on a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa at present. I don't think that a 30 day extension will help unless it's an extension of a Non-imm-O. From my last conversation with one of the more senior officials in Suanplu he told me that you first need to change your visa to Non-imm before appying for the Investment Visa. Apparently this can be done in country, but could eat into the remaining days to beat the 1st Oct deadline. Anyone have any experience/comments on doing this?

2) How long does the application normally take to be processed?

Cyborgx,

I did this today. I only had a single entry Visa on arrival in my passport, actually I have about 100 of them since I fly in and out of BKK every week. If you look at my previous post (#290), I went to Suan plu today armed with my investment information, got the 90 day non-imm-O and will get the investment visa in 90 days. It took only an hour and was easy as pie. Cost 1900 baht for the 90 day visa. I actually had to pay an additional 3,800 baht for a multi entry visa non imm O for the next 90 days as I'll continue to be in and out. If you are staying here, no need to pay the extra 3,800 baht. If you've invested 3mil, this is the way to go.

Good luck.

The day after doing this (i.e. yesterday), I was called by immigration and told I need to come back to immigration as the rules have changed starting Oct 1. I couldn't figure out what they were talking about on the phone but came back first thing this morning to try to get it sorted. In the usual madcap way, I made my way to information and to a few more people before finally sitting down for 2 hours in room 101 waiting for my number. Eventually it was explained to me that I did indeed need to come in before the Oct 1 deadline to get the 1 year visa. Well I went through 2 more people, paid an additional 1,900 baht and was told I'm secure now. I have to come back by Dec 11th to get the 1 year stamp put into my passport but because of what I did today, I am eligible for the 1 yr visa. I still really no sense of what actually transpired at Suan Plu. They explained it to me but their English was not that good but they all spoke English better than my Thai so we spoke 75% English and I still didn't understand anything. I did get an extra stamp in my passport but nowhere does it indicate I'm cool for one year and every year in perpetuity. Despite my obvious concerns, they smiled at my concern and assured me that all was well with the world. So I'm just going to wait for a couple of months and then wander back there for my 1 year stamp and hope for the best. Anybody else have any crazy experience on the non-imm O visa this week? on pins and needles till I get back to Suan Plu sometime in early December.