Chaeng Wattana Report

[DogNo1]

I successfully extended my permission to stay at Chaeng Wattana today - April 13, 2020.  I arrived at 12:45 so I had time to get my letter from Bangkok Bank before the doors opened after lunch hour.  I got queue number L1-67 and they were then serving number 55 so I had time to resolve my missing 90-day report issue.  It seems that my 90-day report receipt had gotten lost in the mail on its way to me.  The agent apologized and printed off a new copy for me.  I returned to the L-1 queue and waited about half an hour for my number to be called.  My papers were all in order except for my bank book.  My monthly transfer for October had been printed on the wrong page and after my April 2019 deposit.  The officer said that I would have to go to the bank's main office and get a newly printed statement of my transactions.  I had photocopied all of the pages of my bank book and pleaded that if she just looked them over, she would see that I had transferred each month.  She did this and underlined each FTT transfer and noted what month if was for.  She then gave me three forms to fill out and sign twice.  She then had me draw a map of where my apartment is located and then gave me a fourth form with lots of details to fill in but only required me to write "Bangkok"  for my residence and sign it twice at the bottom.  I then waited for about another 30 minutes in the L-1 Queue seating to receive my passport back with the extension approved.  I went back to the front for a re-entry queue number but there was no queue at all.  The officer at the front kindly made a copy of my new extension for me and I submitted my papers at the re-entry section.  I had my re-entry stamp in about twenty minutes and got in a taxi back to Ratchaprasong at exactly 2:45.  The whole process took exactly two hours and I found everyone to be friendly and helpful.

So Chaeng Wattana wasn't a ghost town today.  There was some waiting but it was twice as quick as in past years.

[DrJack54]

OP, thanks for report.

Did at any stage was it indicated that due to current amnesty you did not need to apply for extension at this time?

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Did at any stage was it indicated that due to current amnesty you did not need to apply for extension at this time?

I am sure it that was actually in effect they would not of accepted his application or given a queue ticket and would of told him to return when the emergency ends.

[DrJack54]

Agree 100% UJ. Trying to get message out to members on annual extensions that its business as usual for need to do their extensions as per usual.

[samtam]

Interesting time approach, (after lunch), which sounds suitable for me, when I go next week, so I can avoid the lunch limbo. I presume 7-11 and/or cafes are open, but I would rather avoid, so doing this timing would negate the need. I'm renewing 34 days in advance, so from what I read, that's allowed. 

 

My blood pressure is usually through the roof on these annual visits, so the added fear of Covid-19 will push it off the charts!

Edited April 14, 2020 by samtam

[TaoNow]

I went to CW today (Tuesday, April 14) to get my extension (retirement) using the 800K in the bank method.

 

I thought I would zip through the process in record time given: (1) The light traffic from/to my home in Taling Chan; (2) The reduction in visitors due to the automatic extensions for the tourists; and (3) The reduction in expats doing extensions who may have chosen to return to their passport country or could not return here yet.    

 

I arrived at about 7 a.m. and got the pre-queue number of 68, and was told to return at 8 a.m.  So far so good.

 

7:50-8:00: They had an efficient system of lining people up in columns of 20 each, at six feet apart, indicated by strips of red tape on where to stand.

 

At 8:20 sharp they started letting people into Immo to get their service queue number.  The line moved quite fast, and I got service number L1 - 9.  (What is 'L2' for by the way?)

 

Great. I figured I would have time to head downstairs to the SCB bank and get my statement and bank book photocopies when the bank opened at 8:30. 

 

Note:  Immo CW allows the bank letter to be dated a day or two before, but the bank book must be up-dated on the day you apply for the extension.  I am not able to up-date the bank book at an ATM since I have the funds in a Fixed Account.  Thus, I had to do a transaction (100 baht deposit) before getting the letter, etc.

 

The bank letter took only 15 minutes.

 

At 8:45 I hustled back up to the L section to see where the queue was at.  Alas, they had passed my number and were already at L1-11.

 

I had to get a new queue ticket, this time putting me at L1-30.  

 

At 9:40 I was called to one of the desks and, was attended by a relatively new officer (I'm assuming), who started the screening process.

 

(I have always thought that my case is one of the easiet for Immo to process:  No entries or exits of Thailand during the year; no withdrawals from the Fixed account; no combo, no income method.)

 

Alas:  The officer spent about 10 minutes going over every line in my bank book, which dates back to 2012.  She thought she spotted a discrepancy between SCB's summary of the quarterly balance for the year and my bank book.  She then said she had to consult her boss.  However, her boss was preoccupied with a couple, and it didn't look like that would resolve soon.

 

10:10:  Finally, she talked to the boss, got cleared up about the passbook detail, and passed me over to her colleague at the next desk.  This officer was experienced ( I wish I had gotten her the first time!) and rapidly handed me the forms to sign and re-enter my address (twice), do the finger/thumb prints, take the photo, and photocopy all the pages of my SCB bank book for the past year (the SCB staff only copied the ID page and the last page).  She also photocopied my 90-day (TM47) receipt.  Then told me to wait out front.

 

The next period was some sort of time sink hole with no obvious action.  However...

 

10:50:  Got the passport with extension and bank book. 

 

In sum, I got there too early today since an L1 queue number in the teens would have worked fine.   Next time, I'll photocopy the full year of my bankbook and the 90-day receipt to make it a tad easier for the officer. 

 

Hope this info is useful for somebody.

 

 

[Anant72]

Thanks for those testimonies. They are really useful. I am going there in 10 days.

[pookiki]

Last year, when I did my last extension of stay, I went to my bank branch and received a letter that documented all of my FTTs for the previous year.  In reading some of the posts, is there a bank document other than this being required by the IOs?  Also, there is no mention of any document verifying of any documents that verify medical insurance.  Any clarifications would be greatly appreciated.

[samtam]

3 hours ago, TaoNow said:

At 8:45 I hustled back up to the L section to see where the queue was at.  Alas, they had passed my number and were already at L1-11.

 

I had to get a new queue ticket, this time putting me at L1-30.  

Did you have to get a new queue ticket because they told you? I think they would  normally allow you to be seen with your missed ticket, especially in the current circumstances. Last year, or the year before, we missed our number, because we were "social distancing" by being outside of the office, (even before SD was a thing), but they let us be processed.

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, pookiki said:

Last year, when I did my last extension of stay, I went to my bank branch and received a letter that documented all of my FTTs for the previous year.  In reading some of the posts, is there a bank document other than this being required by the IOs?  Also, there is no mention of any document verifying of any documents that verify medical insurance.  Any clarifications would be greatly appreciated.

Why did you ask about medical insurance.

What visa did you originally have. Non O or Non O-A etc based on what? Retirement, marriage etc.

[Cuchulainn]

4 hours ago, TaoNow said:

 

Note:  Immo CW allows the bank letter to be dated a day or two before, but the bank book must be up-dated on the day you apply for the extension.

 

If you get a bank letter dated 1 day before application, update your bank book by withdrawing B100 on the day, then the 2 amounts will not tally.

 

Will this be a problem,?

[pookiki]

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Why did you ask about medical insurance.

What visa did you originally have. Non O or Non O-A etc based on what? Retirement, marriage etc.

O-A Retirement

Edited April 14, 2020 by pookiki
grammar

[Peter Denis]

19 minutes ago, pookiki said:

O-A Retirement

Yes, when you apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of retirement, you need to provide evidence that you meet the thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement.

Normally your thai insurer should provide you with a certificate stating that you have indeed such health-insurance that meets the IO requirements and is valid for 1 year.

They also need to upload this on the IO TGIA Health-Insurance database, so that IO can also check it there.

Note: The start date of your 1-year health-insurance policy needs to be aligned with the end date of your current permission to stay, so that the expiry date of that health-insurance policy will be in sync with the extended 1-year permission to stay (otherwise your permission to stay will be capped till the 1-year health-insurance policy expiry date).

[CraigInBangkok]

18 hours ago, TaoNow said:

What is 'L2' for by the way?

When you apply for a marriage extension at L1 you are given an "under consideration" stamp. L2 is where you get the 1 year stamp after the "under consideration" period is up. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by CraigInBangkok

[pookiki]

4 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, when you apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on your original Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of retirement, you need to provide evidence that you meet the thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement.

Normally your thai insurer should provide you with a certificate stating that you have indeed such health-insurance that meets the IO requirements and is valid for 1 year.

They also need to upload this on the IO TGIA Health-Insurance database, so that IO can also check it there.

Note: The start date of your 1-year health-insurance policy needs to be aligned with the end date of your current permission to stay, so that the expiry date of that health-insurance policy will be in sync with the extended 1-year permission to stay (otherwise your permission to stay will be capped till the 1-year health-insurance policy expiry date).

Based on the content of OP, I wasn't sure of the visa for which an extension of stay was processed. That is the reason I noted the medical insurance issue. However, I was more interested in the 'bank letter' requirement.  If I have a letter from my bank that certifies all of my FFT transfers for the previous year, are IOs requiring another document in addition to this?

[JackThompson]

36 minutes ago, pookiki said:

If I have a letter from my bank that certifies all of my FFT transfers for the previous year, are IOs requiring another document in addition to this?

They may ask for proof of origin of the funds - that it comes from a government-pension.  Money from brokerage-accounts, property-rentals, and non-Thai businesses may be declared "invalid."

 

But as you are will be applying by reason of retirement, one can always fall back to using an agent, in which case the fee makes money requirements "taken care of," to the satisfaction of the IO (and agent).  The cases I witnessed were in and out of the immigration cubicle in under 5 minutes (quick picture and signature), between "official" queue numbers.

[samtam]

19 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

If you get a bank letter dated 1 day before application, update your bank book by withdrawing B100 on the day, then the 2 amounts will not tally.

 

Will this be a problem,?

No. They can see your bank letter is for the day before, and the transaction is +100 and plus one day/date.

[Cuchulainn]

Thanks Samtam.

 

Was your bank letter dated the day before your application?

 

[DogNo1]

My extension was based on a Non-O 90-day Visa obtained in 2012. Both last year and this year I needed to have a bank letter dated the day of my application certifying the existence of my account.  Last year and this year my bank book was accepted as proof of my monthly FTT transfers of 65,000 or more.  I'm not sure that a document from the bank central office certifying all of the transfers is actually required.  Perhaps Ubonjoe could speak to this.

The amnesty doesn't apply to one-year extensions so these must still be done.

 For several years arriving just at the end of lunch hour in time to get my bank letter before the doors open has worked well for me.  The only glitch has been when there is an exceptionally long queue for re-entry permits.  It has been hard to get a taxi after 4:00.  

I would appreciate knowing whether a central bank office certification of all of your FTT transactions is actually necessary.  Perhaps I have just been lucky to have my bank book accepted as proof.  The local Chaeng Wattana branch can only certify your previous three transactions.  As I said, the IO did accept my personally-made copies of my bank book pages and I assume that the superior officer did check the copies against my bank book because I received the bank book back with my passport.

Edited April 15, 2020 by DogNo1

[Michelle2019]

Thought this might be useful information. My friend who uses a Imm O 90-day + 60-day extension visa for looking after a dependant left the country after 17 days overstay with no fine implemented. The amnesty is in full effect. 

 

Samut Prakarn immigration refused his emergency 30-day extension despite him having a letter from the embassy. The immigration official asked him to jump through impossible hoops to get a mere 30-day extension. The lady at counter 2 there is a hard ball and incomptionate - I personally have had issues with her about dates on documents. Seems she enjoys the power trip and wasting people's time over trivial details that are not really in the rule book - only in her rule book.

 

The good news is that the airport offcials are not fining people so compassion does exsit in some places!

Edited April 16, 2020 by Michelle2019

[5633572526]

On 4/14/2020 at 7:50 PM, samtam said:

Did you have to get a new queue ticket because they told you? I think they would  normally allow you to be seen with your missed ticket, especially in the current circumstances. Last year, or the year before, we missed our number, because we were "social distancing" by being outside of the office, (even before SD was a thing), but they let us be processed.

It is printed on your Q ticket now that if the Q has passed your number you must go back to the counter and get a new Q number

[samtam]

On 4/15/2020 at 4:32 PM, Cuchulainn said:

Thanks Samtam.

 

Was your bank letter dated the day before your application?

 

Sorry, missed your reply. The bank letter was dated before the visit to IMM. It tallies with the passbook. You pay in a further sum (THB100) and update your passbook, and photocopy the passbook of that transaction, so the bank letter and the photocopy all show that the funds on the date of the letter have not been removed, but added to by the transaction on the date of your visit.

 

I am going today to CW, so will be doing this, as in previous years.

Edited April 21, 2020 by samtam

[Cuchulainn]

Thanks Samtam. Waiting for your report.

 

Im going soon, and for the first time, gonna get a bank letter the day before application.

 

Let us know of the crowds(?) at CW.

 

[USNret]

We went to CW on Monday, April 20. Decided on an afternoon visit, rather than morning. This might have been a mistake. I got my bank letter during the lunch break, then lined up at the orange cones upstairs at 1300.  When we got our number for Counter L (Non-O 1-year extension), there were 56 people ahead of us.  Only 4-5 officers were processing paperwork that day (the following day, April 21, there were 2 more IOs at work.) 

Our number got called at 3:30 PM.  After seeing 2 different people (one more or less confirms the complete packet; the 2nd does all the stamping & signatures). Then she sent me downstairs to make another complete set of copies.  That was at 4:40 PM.  We were finished & left the building at 5 PM. 

[samtam]

I'm knackered. It was the usual ineffectual ghastly experience. SNAFU.

No benefit whatsoever in going now, ahead of time..

UNLESS when they resume they will be back to a less competent level. 

I arrived at 12.30. Paid my THB100 into my account and went to get it photocopied, (the bank were not doing photocopies this year).

I then went up to the entrance, which is blocked off by barriers, and joined a small queue outside this. At 12.55 pm we were led to the lhs of the door and asked to form a queue, at 2 meters apart. This stretched out into the main atrium hall. We were then allowed in at 1 pm, and headed straight for the tickets, (no queue). There were 43 people ahead of me. We initially waited in the seating area opposite L counters. But it became obvious that it was going to be a slow process. As well as this, although seating was restricted for social distancing purposes, people just stood beside each other. So went outside to walk around....and around....and around, until about 3.40 pm (2 hrs 40 minutes) when my number came up. Saw the IO, everything in order. Then saw her senior, and was asked to wait outside. My passport was then sent for further review and I received it back an hour later, at around 4.45 pm.

 

Obviously no chance to get re-entry permit, as the queue system closes at 3.30 pm.

Home in Sathorn by 6.10 pm. Door to door 6 hours.

 

There seemed to be less people, but the processing is grindingly slow.

Edited April 22, 2020 by samtam

[samtam]

Can anyone tell me whether Re-entry permits are being issued at Suvarnabhumi right now? Where is that office located? Is it a relatively quick process?

[USNret]

14 minutes ago, samtam said:

I'm knackered. It was the usual ineffectual ghastly experience. SNAFU.

No benefit whatsoever in going now, ahead of time..

UNLESS when they resume they will be back to a more incompetent level. 

I arrived at 12.30. Paid my THB100 into my account and went to get it photocopied, (the bank were not doing photocopies this year).

I then went up to the entrance, which is blocked off by barriers, and joined a small queue outside this. At 12.55 pm we were led to the lhs of the door and asked to form a queue, at 2 meters apart. This stretched out into the main atrium hall. We were then allowed in at 1 pm, and headed straight for the tickets, (no queue). There were 43 people ahead of me. We initially waited in the seating area opposite L counters. But it became obvious that it was going to be a slow process. As well as this, although seating was restricted for social distancing purposes, people just stood beside each other. So went outside to walk around....and around....and around, until about 3.40 pm (2 hrs 40 minutes) when my number came up. Saw the IO, everything in order. Then saw her senior, and was asked to wait outside. My passport was then sent for further review and I received it back an hour later, at around 4.45 pm.

Sounds exactly the same as my Monday experience. But you had 2 more IO's processing paperwork on Tuesday than what we had on Monday (I counted) because I had to go back on Tuesday to give them one more photo of wife & me at the house. You had 43 ahead of you; I had 56 ahead of me. 

So I guess it doesn't seem to matter. With a shorter queue, and more officers at work, your wait time was exactly the same. I guess they hold a staff meeting in the morning and decide how long they will make farang wait, and that's their target goal of the day ????

[Cuchulainn]

Thanks to samtam and USNret.

 

I think I will go at my usual time of 6.15am with a bank letter dated the day before and take my chances.

 

I will buy you both a beer...........oh wait????

[samtam]

11 minutes ago, Cuchulainn said:

Thanks to samtam and USNret.

 

I think I will go at my usual time of 6.15am with a bank letter dated the day before and take my chances.

 

I will buy you both a beer...........oh wait????

There seems no right or wrong way of minimising the hassle, although I don't know what is open at 6.15 am. (The 43 ahead of me after lunch were from the morning's batch.) Anyway, let us know your experience.

 

I had 2 ????to de-stress. "Two are my limit at most..." as Dorothy Parker said. 

[Cuchulainn]

In normal times, I always get there at 6.15 and am usually around the No 80 mark in the pre- queue. I usually get ticket L10 to 15 when inside immi office.

 

Once I get that L ticket, its a race down to the bank to get a letter and back before my L number is called.

 

Done and dusted about 10am in the last few times.