Jump to content

Thai Immi - Did It Again!


cavanami

Recommended Posts

Looks like our buddies at Thai Immi threw another farkin' to the farangs...AGAIN!!!

 

I have a retirement visa; if I leave the country, I get stamped in for 90 days.

 

Errrr, not exactly...

 

my visa expires 21 june and I came back in to LOS on 29 April, before I would get

the 90 days, so actually a bit extra out of the one year visa...NO MORE!

 

I got stamped in until 21 June!

 

Of course, there was no announcement on the policy change...som nam na on me :dunno:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 50
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Not new Cav,

 

Same shit happened to me just over a year ago when I decided to come and fight my ground. On the immigration card I put down my Non-Imm O visa expecting 90 days but the visa was due to expire in 18 days and that is all they gave me. I would have been better off not declaring the visa and taking the 30 day permission to stay stamp instead.

 

It meant I had to go to Singapore and apply for a tourist visa far sooner than expected, now remember my soon to be ex hopefully kicked my out lock stock and barrel, I literally arrived back in Bangkok with a suitcase and my laptop and checked into a hotel. 18 days gave me very little time to find an apartment, get Cable and Internet set up and furnish the place before I went to Singapore.

 

The Thai embassy in Singapore were hard nosed, I applied for my tourist visa explaining I will be changing it to business visa when back in Thailand, they did not accept this and demanded that I had a ticket for onward travel. Now even a couple of years ago I would have exploded but I was actually Jai Yen, I needed a ticket fast, visa applications at Thai Embassy Singapore are only open between 9:30AM and Mid day it was already 10:15.

 

Then I remembered from the previous evening whilst escorting a lady home from Orchid Towers (I am so polite) she pointed out a Travel Agents that many of the girls there used so off I went. Booked a ticket BKK to Siem Reap, the closest thing that came to mind, for 60 days time then back to the Thai Embassy just in time.

 

Now my application was acceptable and the visa was issued, I still have that unused ticket in a drawer somewhere. This is Thailand, one learns to adapt to the rule changes or it would drive you mad.

 

You have your retirement visa (you old fart) as long as you have had the required 800K deposited in a Thai bank for previous 3 months you will have no problem with applying for an additional 12 months "Extension to Stay" at Chaeng Wattana, in fact for a thousand baht you could find an agent who would do it for you saving you the hassle of traveling up there.

 

Welcome home mate!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get the same with my Non-Imm-B. Has an expiry date and the date on the entry stamps always match that whether it's 11 months plus or 15 days to go, the shortest it's been over the years. I go in and out usually every month and sometimes a couple of times a month.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that's actually completely normal practice.

 

once my work permit and my 2 year visa ended 31. Dec. I planned to leave Thailand around 10. of January. So I wanted to do a boarder run on 28. before 31.12. and return on a normal 30 days tourist stamp. When I left they told me that they will give me a stamp until 31. only (4 days only!) and not a normal 30 days tourist stamp.

But when I got back I covered up my non immigration visa and ticked on the form tourist and got 30 days!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have letter in hand from the Thai Labor Dept stated that I have submitted all the paperwork for my work permit so Thai Immi in Penang can issue me a non-immi visa. Hope this works!

 

My bitch was, before (a few years ago?) if you planned your exits/entrances right, you could stretch the one year visa to 15 months, as I had done before but as all you have said, they changed this...TIT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you all are confusing the re-entry permit issued to keep an extension of a permission to stay stamp with a visa. It is very difficult to discuss this because people use the wrong terminology and do not understand the process. Without seeing the actual pages and stamps in the passports it is impossible to show them what they actually have.

 

If you have a non-Imm “O or B†visa and enter before the “Date of Expiry†on it they will give you a 90 day permission to stay stamp regardless of the “Date of Expiryâ€.

 

Here is visa. It is a Non Imm “B†multi entry good for one year issued by the KL embassy. If you enter with only this in your passport you get a 90 day permission to stay stamp regardless of the expiry date of the visa. A non-Imm “O†is identical and you get 90 days the same.

 

post-198-0-60606700-1340158272.jpg

 

After entering on the above visa and getting a 90 day permission to stamp, you can then go to immigration and based on getting a work permit, you can extend that permission to stay stamp for one year (from original entry). You can also extend based on marriage or being over 50 (both with income or money in the bank). The process of getting an extension is identical and it doesn’t matter if you have originally entered on a Non imm “B†or “Oâ€. You can still get a one year extension based on meeting the requirements above.

 

Now that you have a one year extension and new permission to stay stamp good for a year, you need to get a re-entry permit in order to leave the country and be able to return keeping that same persmission to stay stamp date.

 

Here a re-entry permit. It is not a visa.

 

post-198-0-13722300-1340158968.jpg

 

Note that is says “re-entry permitâ€. It also has a date “Valid until 9 July 2002. That date is my extended permission to stay date. It is not the expiry date of my visa. The expiry date of my visa (shown above) is now meaningless. When you return you put the number (blacked out) on the entry card. The immigration officer then finds the page with re-entry permit and gives you a permission to stay stamp that much the Valid utill date on the re-entry permit.

 

If I stay inside the country for 90 days, a report of address form must be filed with immigration. You do not have to go yourself. This is not renewing an extension or permission to stay stamp. It is simply a report of your current address.

 

When I leave and re-enter, immigration will give me a permission to stay stamp of 9 Jul 2002.

Here are several such stamps.

 

post-198-0-07838400-1340158717.jpg

 

Note that on one I entered on 4 Apr 2002 and the officer wrote in “until 9/Jul/02†on the other I arrived on 23 May 2002 and the officer again wrote “until 9/Jul/02â€.

 

When the 9 Jul 2002 date came close, I went to immigration and got another extension, another permission to stay stamp that was now 9 Jul 2003 and another re-entry permit with an “until date†of 9 Jul 2003.

 

Please note, this is the process for a Non imm “O or B†visa. An “O-A†visa is completely different, though it looks identical to the visa in the first image. It just has “O-A: in the type field. For that type of visa you do not go to immigration (except for 90 day address reports). The immigration officer will give you a permission to stay that is one year from that date, regardless of the expiry date shown on the visa. With an “O-A†visa you can stay almost two years without going to immigration for an extension by leaving and returning just before the visa expires.

 

I hope this helps explain the process and what I think happened to both cavanami and mekong. They did not have visas, but had re-entry permits with specific "until dates" and when they entered immigration gave them a permission to stay stamp that matched that.

TH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have both; a non-immi VISA and a re=entry and have had this combo for several years and this is the firs time immi denied the 90 days.

 

You missed the point. Forget about the visa. With a re-entry permit the visa is meaningless. Immigration will only give you a permission to stay stamp date that matches the “until date†on the re-entry permit. That is what a re-entry permit does, it keeps the date of your current permission to stay stamp the same when you re-enter. Once you get an extension (and re-entry permit to keep it “alive every time you leave and return) the visa no longer means anything.

 

If you are staying on 90 day permission to stay stamps why do you have a re-entry permit? The only reason is because you have a one year extension of an earlier permission to stay stamp.

 

Here is my history back in 2001, the first time I worked in Thailand

 

I have shown the visa I got in KL earlier. On that visa I entered on 17 Feb 2002 receiving a stamp (1) giving me permission to stay until 17 May (90 days). I left on 1 May 2001, returning on 3 May getting another 90 days until 31 July (2).

post-198-0-19650600-1340242973.jpg

 

 

I left again on 9 Jul 2001, returning on 10 July getting 90 days until 7 Oct (3). Remember that 10 July entry, it is important.

 

post-198-0-60385100-1340243290.jpg

 

 

 

On Sept 10 I applied for a one year extension (based on getting a work permit). At that point I was given an “Under consideration stamp†good until 10 Oct. (4).

 

On Sept 12, I was granted the extension and was given a new permission to stay one year from the that 10 July entry (5).

 

post-198-0-09364400-1340243500.jpg

 

At the same time, I received a re-entry permit that allowed me to leave and return,

 

post-198-0-88877900-1340243536.jpg

 

receiving a permission to stay stamp of 9 Jul every time I came back in.

post-198-0-65683400-1340243568.jpg

 

 

 

On 11 Jun 2002, one month before my 9 Jul 2002 extension expired, I applied for another year extension, and again received it with date new date of 9 Jul 2003

post-198-0-39638100-1340243755.jpg

 

 

and obtained another re-entry permit with a “until date†of 9 Jul 2003.

 

post-198-0-63829100-1340243887.jpg

Note that at this date 11 Jun 2002, my Non-Imm “B†visa had expired on 11 Feb 2002 but I have permission to stay until 9 Jul 2003. The visa means nothing.

 

I received another extension in Jun 2004, but left for 2 years. I returned in 14 Oct 2004 on a one year multi entry Non-Imm “Oâ€. I have been here ever since, receiving extensions (based on work permit) that have expired on 13 Oct ever since. That visa expired in Aug 2005, almost 7 years ago.

 

For you to say you have both a non-imm visa and a re-entry permit and you are getting 90 day permsion to stay stamps each time you come in does not make sense. Have you been getting a new visa(outside Thailand) each year, even though you have an extention? What number do you put on the entry card? The visa number or the re-entry permit number?

 

I think you need some professional help. I recommend Steve at Indo-Siam. He has people that will take good care of you and his charges are very reasonable.

 

I apologize for the long post on this, but I tend to get frustrated with people when discussing this as they often are thoroughly confused and refuse to understand how the system works. They just can't seem to get past the fact the visa is meaningless once you get an extension and re-entry permit. Then they blame immigration for being screwed up. Immigration is a pain, and the paper work is amazing, but it all makes sense if you understand the process.

 

The only way I know to explain it is too show pictures and hope they can follow it.

TH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You missed the point. Forget about the visa.

 

I apologize for the long post on this, but I tend to get frustrated with people when discussing this as they often are thoroughly confused and refuse to understand how the system works. They just can't seem to get past the fact the visa is meaningless once you get an extension and re-entry permit. Then they blame immigration for being screwed up. Immigration is a pain, and the paper work is amazing, but it all makes sense if you understand the process.

 

The only way I know to explain it is too show pictures and hope they can follow it.

TH

 

I do not dispute what you say, as per my originally message, I have had this combo for some years now and only this time, they do as you say.

 

Before, I had been getting 15 months out of the retirement visa.

 

Saturday I will wander down to Penang, Malaysia to get the non-Immi visa as per the verbal instructions from Thai Immi.

I have the letter from the Thai Labor Dept. so should go smoothly.

 

Thanks for the info about Indo-Siam, I will store that away for the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...