When I first applied for a visa to Thailand, all I could get was a three month Non-Immigrant “O”. I tried to get a twelve month visa from the Embassy in Washington, DC, but for volunteer work that is no longer an option. My three month visa expires on January 16th. The last day of class at the Foundation is March 30th.
There are several legal options; I can take a bus across the Thai border every two weeks, I can fly to another country and apply for another three month Non-Immigrant visa, and finally, being over 50, I can apply for a 12 month retirement extension. I went for the not leave the country 12 month extension. It was very easy, and straight forward–even easier than I had been told.
After I finished with class today, I took a motorbike taxi to Jomtien, Soi 5, Immigration. It cost 100 baht ($3.34). I brought along my passport, a TM-7 form, copies of my passport information page, my passport visa page, a passport photo, and my “exit card”. I also had all my rent receipts, a copy of my health insurance card, my K-Bank passbook, and a pension income letter from my embassy. The pension income letter cost $50, and a trip to Bangkok, since the US Embassy outreach does not come to Pattaya until February. If timing had been better I could have skipped the trip to Bangkok.
At Immigration, there is a British guy that works for Immigration who will pre-check your paperwork if you ask him. He’ll also sort it into the proper order for the Immigration Officer. Forms sorted and stapled, I waited for my number to be called–about 10 minutes. Check, check, check, stamp, stamp, stamp, 1,900 baht ($63.00) please. I wasn’t asked for two copies of everything, or for my residence receipts, or my bank book, or for proof of health insurance. If I were just going to finish teaching at Father Ray and go home, I’d be done at this point. I want to come back, so that requires a re-entry request.
The thing about the retirement extension, without a previously purchased re-entry stamp, the first time you leave Thailand for any reason, your twelve month visa is done. Without the re-entry, when I return to the US in April, I would have gotten three months and change out of my twelve months, and the visa would become void. So, there are two options, a single re-entry for 1000 baht ($33.34), or a multiple re-entry for 3,800 baht ($126.67). I would really like to use Thailand as a base to explore other parts of Asia. I could go back to the US and return to Thailand in the single entry, but if I want to see Angor Wat in Cambodia, and several other places, I would need to keep buying single re-entries. I went for the multiple, meaning I have to make at least four jaunts to make it pay off. I know I have many more than four places I want to see, so I don’t think that will be a problem. A side bonus is not needing to keep going back to Immigration to apply for the single re-entry stamps.
The only problem I had was that the queue for re-entry was the same queue for tourist visa extensions. That queue was several hours waiting for my number to come up. Then, TM-8 form, passport, copy of passport information page, a passport photo, copy of NEW visa page, copy of OLD visa page, check, check, check, pass papers to the another desk, 3,800 baht please, and it was back to wait in a chair. Getting the final stamping of my passport only took another ten minutes or so and I was out the door.
Coming back home to Pattaya, I caught a baht bus on Jomtien Beach Road, and rode it all the way to 2nd Road and Pattaya Klang for 10 baht ($0.34). The rest of the way home, I just walked. Mission accomplished and a nice evening for a stroll up Pattaya Klang, and down Soi Yumi.
