Married Extension Mae Sai

[bbudd]

Just returned from Immigration Mae Sai

Was attempting to get extension based on marrige

There a little picky in there requirements up there

Wouldn't accept letter of funds in Thai bank  even though there is considerably more than the required 400.000B and been there for much longer than the required 2 months

Problem is they will not accept because funds are in fixed deposit and have no accompanying bank book,even with recent conformation letter from the bank

Next was my photos-they require "formal " wear in the photo-actually asked for suit and tie.   Good thing the foto shop across the street could "photo shop" the image to there requirements

Lastly was the pictures on inside and outside our house-they wouldn't accept "selfie" pictures-had to be "proper" as in taken by someone else and staged

Also weren't impressed by standard paper  from my printer

So    -   just a heads up if your planning on going to Mae Sai office

Good thing theirs an amnesty till end of  July.          Almost no one waiting in the office tho.

[Malawi]

Why would they not accept the letter from the bank?

They must have given you a reason.

Why do you not have a bank book?

You must have.

[Puchaiyank]

Got to love their job...Thai immigration...all that power to make farangs squirm and ruin their families...

[bbudd]

Funds are in a fixed deposit-in foreign currency-interest is just added to balance,so never had nor needed a bank book

I'm guessing that since they had never done it this way there first instinct is to just reject it

Had to do a run to bank and transfer funds from fixed account to savings with a bank book

Took a hit as exchange rates are not good at the moment

Just glad of the amnesty  so I have time to season the funds

The girls at the bank couldn't believe the letter would be rejected

Logically WHAT is the difference between a fixed deposit and a savings account

Just saying so other folks don't run up against the same difficulties

[bbudd]

Actually other than that -the girls at immigration were really helpfull

And only; 1 other other person there the whole time 

Good time to go-IF you have everything in order

[pineapple01]

Its best to read carefully the requirements and follow them. Thousands dont have any problem.

[JackThompson]

24 minutes ago, bbudd said:

Funds are in a fixed deposit-in foreign currency-interest is just added to balance,so never had nor needed a bank book

...

Just glad of the amnesty  so I have time to season the funds
 

Glad they are letting you do an extension of your annual stay during the "free amnesty" auto-extension period.  I assume they said they would do this, so you don't have to go out for a new visa and start over.  This is not the first case of this reported, so appears to be a top-down directive - at least in some immigration-districts.

 

Quote

The girls at the bank couldn't believe the letter would be rejected

Logically WHAT is the difference between a fixed deposit and a savings account

Just saying so other folks don't run up against the same difficulties

There isn't a difference.  Of course they would be surprised, because you meet the Official Requirement exactly - having "400K In Your Name for 2 months prior to applying for the extension."  Nothing is in the regulations about "account must include a bank book."  The certified bank-statement clearly meets the definition.  Messing with you over the "pictures" makes their intent with this tactic clear; it's not about "if you really qualify" - it never is.

 

After your successful application later, let us know if they force to to "re-show the money" when you go to get your final stamp - thus breaking the rules again (as done at Chiang Wattana and other offices), by adding another month to the 2 months required.

Edited May 27, 2020 by JackThompson

[JackThompson]

19 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

Its best to read carefully the requirements and follow them. Thousands dont have any problem.

Please reference where "bank book vs official certified bank-letter", "id picture must be in a suit and tie," "pictures must be taken by a 3rd party," and "pictures must be on glossy paper" are in the Official Published Requirements from Immigration headquarters.

Edited May 27, 2020 by JackThompson

[bbudd]

Any chance you could post a link to "Official Published Requirements"

I've just been following along here on Thai Visa to posted requirements

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, bbudd said:

Any chance you could post a link to "Official Published Requirements"

None exists. It varies by office.

 

28 minutes ago, bbudd said:

I've just been following along here on Thai Visa to posted requirements

Wanting the 4 X 6 cm photo for the TM7 to be with you wearing a shirt and tie is way over the top. I don't recall any office requiring that.

Not accepting a selfie of you and your wife is not new. They want the photo to show the room you are in. I have done them by putting my tablet on something and using the timer to do the photo.

I have been using photo paper for a few years now since they look better. I have used plain paper in the past though.

For the account problem you had it not unusual that they would want at least a statement showing your balance for the past 2 months. I doubt the bank letter showed anything more than the balance on the day you applied.

 

 

[Tuvoc]

7 hours ago, bbudd said:

Just returned from Immigration Mae Sai

Was attempting to get extension based on marrige

There a little picky in there requirements up there

Thanks for this information, all going well I'll be using that office later in the year. Either that or Chiang Rai, I think they are a similar distance from our home.

[john terry1001]

7 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Nothing is in the regulations about "account must include a bank book."

As far as I'm aware, all Immigration Offices are now providing the same/similar list (written in Thai)when being asked what documents are required. Several different posters have posted the list from their own area. The bank book is definitely on the list.

 

Below is my translated list list from Si Racha:

 

Marriage ext documents required at Si Racha.pdf

 

[bbudd]

Actually the certified letter from the bank clearly stated the balance (over 400,000B) and that it had been untouched in the account for longer than required 2 months

Not sure exactly what the hangup was except there was no accompanying bankbook

 

Now the funds are in a savings account complete with accompanying bankbook waiting now for 2 months "seasoning"

I realize that what they ask for is totally at the discretion of the immigration office,so please be aware of what they want in Mae Sai and save yourself any confusion

 

Thanks for translation.

[john terry1001]

1 minute ago, bbudd said:

Actually the certified letter from the bank clearly stated the balance (over 400,000B) and that it had been untouched in the account for longer than required 2 months

Not sure exactly what the hangup was except there was no accompanying bankbook

 

Now the funds are in a savings account complete with accompanying bankbook waiting now for 2 months "seasoning"

I realize that what they ask for is totally at the discretion of the immigration office,so please be aware of what they want in Mae Sai and save yourself any confusion

 

Thanks for translation.

According to the list I was given the bank book, and copies, must be produced.

 

The list is the same everywhere, but of course, as you inferred, the individual IO's interpretation is sometimes debatable.????

 

For example, I have three UK pensions, one state and two private, and when I renewed my pension in February that initially caused a problem. In Thai the rules say pension (they don't just add an 's' to mean more than one as we do in English) and because there is no direct explanation in those rules that more than one form of income can be added together the IO INITIALLY INSISTED I could only use one of my pensions in the application. A kind supervisor from Jomtien Immigration came to my rescue and phoned the IO at Si Racha directly to explain the rules to her. No problem after that.  Thank you Jomtien ????

[jesimps]

8 hours ago, pineapple01 said:

Its best to read carefully the requirements and follow them. Thousands dont have any problem.

Looks like the op did just that and still got pulled up. The trouble is that thousands do have a problem because of different interpretation of the rules at various offices.

[statman78]

The past 2 years I did my retirement extension at Mae Sai without any issues.  Before I go my wife calls and confirms what I need since I use the income method and my embassy does not provide the letter.  I find that they are efficient and friendly.

[statman78]

4 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Thanks for this information, all going well I'll be using that office later in the year. Either that or Chiang Rai, I think they are a similar distance from our home.

If you are planning to go to Chiang Rai be aware that they don’t do extensions everyday.  I think it is only Monday and Wednesday.  Mae Sai is open and does extensions everyday.

[EricTh]

I never had any problem with my fixed deposit for my annual extension. Of course , mine has a bank book.

 

Why is yours so special?

[adv008]

I did my first extension of stay based on marriage there two weeks ago. I cod not believe how quick it was. There was a printed document by the doors telling you in Thai and English exactly what was required.  I followed that exactly and on the day there were no problems.  It is very quiet there at the moment. 

[Aussieroaming]

I think you could get caught out with foreign currency accounts. We have got 15M fixted term account, that has a bank book associated with it. However we also have a substantial foreign currency account which in reality seems to live in limbo until we transfer from that currency to our savings account. No idea why they do it but I assume its due to currency fluctuation..they can't assign it a fixed value.

[Peter Denis]

17 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

Thanks for this information, all going well I'll be using that office later in the year. Either that or Chiang Rai, I think they are a similar distance from our home.

I can be mistaken, but always thought that you could ONLY apply at the local IO, that has the jurisdiction over the place where you are staying.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

I can be mistaken, but always thought that you could ONLY apply at the local IO, that has the jurisdiction over the place where you are staying.

In this case that does not apply. Mae Sai is the main office and the one in Chiang Rai is a sub office of it.

Same situation here in Ubon where we have 2 offices.

[zoza]

i found immigration had issues with the photos after three days in the Jomtien office

(they had tried to find fault with everything else)

we had to go back to our condo and get a thai friend to redo the photos and then a short

trip to the Kodak shop for some glossy new pictures that shut another door in our Quest

to get a legit  ''married to Thai Visa''.

yesterday i went to immigration for my TM30 Report after five mins the young lady asked

why was i doing a TM30 report as it was not required, as i had not left Thailand.

i told her that last January i was fined while applying for a ''married to Thai visa'' because

i had not reported the same trip, and i was not going to give them any more reason to try

and intimidate me and my wife, so if you are on the same extension be aware.  

[Peter Denis]

12 minutes ago, zoza said:

i found immigration had issues with the photos after three days in the Jomtien office

(they had tried to find fault with everything else)

we had to go back to our condo and get a thai friend to redo the photos and then a short

trip to the Kodak shop for some glossy new pictures that shut another door in our Quest

to get a legit  ''married to Thai Visa''.

yesterday i went to immigration for my TM30 Report after five mins the young lady asked

why was i doing a TM30 report as it was not required, as i had not left Thailand.

i told her that last January i was fined while applying for a ''married to Thai visa'' because

i had not reported the same trip, and i was not going to give them any more reason to try

and intimidate me and my wife, so if you are on the same extension be aware.  

Thanks for the report, and it confirms that applying for a Family Visa or extension at Jomtien is an ordeal (mainly because of the obnoxious female officer handling those applications).

>> I did PM you a message on how to register on the IO TM30 website, which will allow you to do your TM30 reports on-line instead of having to do them in person at the IO.  Registering and filing your very first TM30 report will take approx 1/2 hour, subsequent filings are a piece of cake and will take max 2 minutes to do.

[john terry1001]

3 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Thanks for the report, and it confirms that applying for a Family Visa or extension at Jomtien is an ordeal (mainly because of the obnoxious female officer handling those applications).

While I understand some people have had issues at Jomtien, my experience was the opposite. They were extremely helpful.

 

First I will say I do my extensions at Chonburi's other office at Si Racha. To cut a long story short, I was applying for a marriage extension. To start the IO told my wife that for 15k she would do a retirement extension and complete it within an hour. Basically, after some discussion when I refused their offer because I thought it was illegal and I qualified for a marriage extension, she told me they no longer did marriage extensions and application was incomplete so she was refusing it. So I could either accept their offer to do a retirement extension or go to Jomtien for a marriage extension.

 

When we got to Jomtien the IO took one look at our address and said I must go to Si Racha. When I explained they had sent me she called a couple of supervisors and said 'they're doing it again'.  Ono of them called us over to his desk, asked what had happened then looked carefully at all my paperwork and said everything was correct. He then phoned Si Racha and asked what the problem was. They told him different parts of my application  were incorrect/incomplete/missing but every time they mentioned something he simply replied that wasn't true, that he had all my documents laid out in front of him and everything was complete and presented correctly. He must have been on the phone 15-20 minutes talking to them then told them Jomtien couldn't process their applications and he was sending us back to Si Racha. He told us to let him know if we had any more problems.

 

When we got back to Si Racha we were ushered into the 'Boss Lady's' office. She said their was obviously a miss-understanding and asked to see my Finance Documents. After looking at those she called the IO in the office, said everything was in order, and she should process the application. Everything sorted and my under consideration stamp was put in my passport. 

 

I can't praise the supervisor at Jomtien enough for the way he dealt with our problem. He went out of his way to make sure everything was sorted and that Si Racha understood. And the 'obnoxious' IO at Jomtien you mention could have just told me to go but she didn't, she involved the supervisor.

Edited June 3, 2020 by john terry1001

[JackThompson]

23 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

While I understand some people have had issues at Jomtien, my experience was the opposite. They were extremely helpful.

 

First I will say I do my extensions at Chonburi's other office at Si Racha. To cut a long story short, I was applying for a marriage extension. To start the IO told my wife that for 15k she would do a retirement extension and complete it within an hour. Basically, after some discussion when I refused their offer because I thought it was illegal and I qualified for a marriage extension, she told me they no longer did marriage extensions and application was incomplete so she was refusing it. So I could either accept their offer to do a retirement extension or go to Jomtien for a marriage extension.

 

When we got to Jomtien the IO took one look at our address and said I must go to Si Racha. When I explained they had sent me she called a couple of supervisors and said 'they're doing it again'.  Ono of them called us over to his desk, asked what had happened then looked carefully at all my paperwork and said everything was correct. He then phoned Si Racha and asked what the problem was. They told him different parts of my application  were incorrect/incomplete/missing but every time they mentioned something he simply replied that wasn't true, that he had all my documents laid out in front of him and everything was complete and presented correctly. He must have been on the phone 15-20 minutes talking to them then told them Jomtien couldn't process their applications and he was sending us back to Si Racha. He told us to let him know if we had any more problems.

 

When we got back to Si Racha we were ushered into the 'Boss Lady's' office. She said their was obviously a miss-understanding and asked to see my Finance Documents. After looking at those she called the IO in the office, said everything was in order, and she should process the application. Everything sorted and my under consideration stamp was put in my passport. 

 

I can't praise the supervisor at Jomtien enough for the way he dealt with our problem. He went out of his way to make sure everything was sorted and that Si Racha understood. And the 'obnoxious' IO at Jomtien you mention could have just told me to go but she didn't, she involved the supervisor.

That is an interesting story - but what happened, was the Jomtien people were mad at Si Racha, for sending "another PITA Marriage-Extension w/ no envelope" to them.   If you were in Jomtien's service-area, your experience would have differed significantly. 

 

Glad it worked out for you, regardless.

[john terry1001]

2 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

That is an interesting story - but what happened, was the Jomtien people were mad at Si Racha, for sending "another PITA Marriage-Extension w/ no envelope" to them.   If you were in Jomtien's service-area, your experience would have differed significantly. 

 

Glad it worked out for you, regardless.

I've been here for sixteen years and, because I'd originally been told that Si Racha, even back then. didn't want the hassle of processing marriage extensions, I have always gone to Jomtien. I have never had a problem in all those years............until two years ago when they told me the rules were tightening and I must in future go to Si Racha because that was my local office. No problem last year (but was still able to use the embassy letter then). This year we have a different set of rules (income based) and, because that is a bit more complex, I suspect the IO at Si Racha decided to offer the retirement option, and give themselves a backhander in the process. A lot would pay the money without too much of a problem because of the negative stories about tea money that do the rounds.

 

Me, I think a bit differently. I have always been legal so my attitude is more 'why should I pay somebody 15k Baht to get a backhander extension that I already qualify for and would only cost me 1900 baht.............and, unlike the tea money version, is 100% legal. 

 

If you're application is legal and your documents are accurate and complete, personally, I don't think you'll have a problem at Jomtien. The problem occurs if your documents are questionable/incomplete.

[Peter Denis]

44 minutes ago, john terry1001 said:

I've been here for sixteen years and, because I'd originally been told that Si Racha, even back then. didn't want the hassle of processing marriage extensions, I have always gone to Jomtien. I have never had a problem in all those years............until two years ago when they told me the rules were tightening and I must in future go to Si Racha because that was my local office. No problem last year (but was still able to use the embassy letter then). This year we have a different set of rules (income based) and, because that is a bit more complex, I suspect the IO at Si Racha decided to offer the retirement option, and give themselves a backhander in the process. A lot would pay the money without too much of a problem because of the negative stories about tea money that do the rounds.

 

Me, I think a bit differently. I have always been legal so my attitude is more 'why should I pay somebody 15k Baht to get a backhander extension that I already qualify for and would only cost me 1900 baht.............and, unlike the tea money version, is 100% legal. 

 

If you're application is legal and your documents are accurate and complete, personally, I don't think you'll have a problem at Jomtien. The problem occurs if your documents are questionable/incomplete.

Thanks for your report, and I sympathize with your stance about not succumbing to questionable practices by IO when you fully meet the requirements.

But of course that might mean 2 or 3 visits to your local IO because of last week's unpublicized changes to the local IO requirements, which obviously you will not comply with.

Imo it are those 'last minute' changes to the requirements, that often drives applicants to the tea money solution to get rid off the hassle. 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Peter Denis

[zoza]

2 hours ago, john terry1001 said:

I've been here for sixteen years and, because I'd originally been told that Si Racha, even back then. didn't want the hassle of processing marriage extensions, I have always gone to Jomtien. I have never had a problem in all those years............until two years ago when they told me the rules were tightening and I must in future go to Si Racha because that was my local office. No problem last year (but was still able to use the embassy letter then). This year we have a different set of rules (income based) and, because that is a bit more complex, I suspect the IO at Si Racha decided to offer the retirement option, and give themselves a backhander in the process. A lot would pay the money without too much of a problem because of the negative stories about tea money that do the rounds.

 

Me, I think a bit differently. I have always been legal so my attitude is more 'why should I pay somebody 15k Baht to get a backhander extension that I already qualify for and would only cost me 1900 baht.............and, unlike the tea money version, is 100% legal. 

 

If you're application is legal and your documents are accurate and complete, personally, I don't think you'll have a problem at Jomtien. The problem occurs if your documents are questionable/incomplete.

 

last January i went to Jomtien with all my paperwork/bank details/pictures in two big stacks, the first

thing that was said was ''why is he asking for a married to Thai extension''  they picked through the two stacks of paper and gave them back as they were not in the correct order?

 

after two days of''nit picking'' my wife called a friend who is an x Thai school teacher, she turned up

five mins later and began to question the lady IO, and it seemed to affect the''dragon lady''

on the third day we were told the pictures were not acceptable (they were ones from a batch from the year before) we went and got all new pictures, and i looked at them and they had given us three days of scowls and ridiculous query's i kept a smile on my face as we were only asking for a legitimate visa.

 

i have been using this immigration office for 16 years also, and next time i will bring a few Thais with us as i got the impression they just might feel a bit of shame when they are observed by their own 

people, every other service in this office i have never had a problem with.

 

                                                                                                            

[john terry1001]

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

But of course that might mean 2 or 3 visits to your local IO because of last week's unpublicized changes to the local IO requirements, which obviously you will not comply with.

Imo it are those 'last minute' changes to the requirements, that often drives applicants to the tea money solution to get rid off the hassle.

I made a point of going to Immigration about three days before I made my application to ask for a list of required documents and confirm there were no recent changes. They gave me a printout in Thai (my daughter and her university lecturer translated it and as she's studying/teaching Thai Law at Uni I knew the translation would be accurate).

As a timeline over an eight day period:

day one - made application at Si Racha (thirty days before my extension expired so I had thirty days to correct any anomalies/problems.

day two - after the initial rejection I phoned the 1178 hotline to clarify a few points.

day three - went to Jomtien Immigration.

day four - returned to Si Racha Immigration with a Thai friend as an added interpreter. 

 

39 minutes ago, zoza said:

last January i went to Jomtien with all my paperwork/bank details/pictures in two big stacks, the first

thing that was said was ''why is he asking for a married to Thai extension'' they picked through the two stacks of paper and gave them back as they were not in the correct order?

after two days of''nit picking'' my wife called a friend who is an x Thai school teacher, she turned up

five mins later and began to question the lady IO, and it seemed to affect the''dragon lady''

on the third day we were told the pictures were not acceptable (they were ones from a batch from the year before) we went and got all new pictures, and i looked at them and they had given us three days of scowls and ridiculous query's i kept a smile on my face as we were only asking for a legitimate visa.

 

i have been using this immigration office for 16 years also, and next time i will bring a few Thais with us as i got the impression they just might feel a bit of shame when they are observed by their own 

people, every other service in this office i have never had a problem with.

I did my extension just after you, in February. I thought at first Si Racha were just trying to 'persuade' people to take out the easier retirement extension and add to their tea fund at the same time, but your 'nit picking' problems seem remarkably similar to mine and around the same time. This would have also been during the period when we came under the new income option changes for the first time. I wonder whether these problems we encountered could have been instructions by Chonburi Immigration (both offices) to ensure every 'i' was dotted and 't' crossed to prevent loopholes, bearing in mind a lot of people were also complicating things by trying to change to a marriage extension to get round the new medical insurance requirements that had been introduced. It certainly crossed my mind that these two issues could be the real cause of our problem.

 

I do agree that taking a Thai friend along is a good idea.I introduced mine as my interpreter to the IO at Si Racha.