Retirement Visa Renewals Taking Longer?

[fountainhall]

I wonder if anyone else has noticed that it now seems to take quite a bit longer to renew the annual Retirement visa. I was at Immigration at the Bangkok Chaeng Wattana office before it opened at 8:30 this morning. A Thai friend had bagged a place near the start of the queue and I got ticket No. 2. I always have all the paperwork signed and sealed in advance, and in the last few years that would have had me out of there in around an hour. Usually I have seen just two different officers for the visa. Today the papers were taken off to a third before being returned about 15 minutes later. My friend asked around and was told that security has been ramped up for all long stay visas - due to ISIS concerns perhaps? The reentry permit process then took two hours. The centre was certainly busy. But when you are second in line for processing, two and a half hours in total is way more than before.

[Smiles]

Location, location, location. Then, time of day, time of day . . .
I'm fairly sure that living in Bangkok, Pattaya, probably Phuket pretty well means long waits unless you are very lucky. I have a friend in Chiang Mai who tells me longish lineups have happened there reasonably often, but not every time.
Difficult to say why such a wait if one is next in line . . . the terrorist thing sounds very un-Thai. Lunch perhaps?

I live in Hua Hin and with very few exceptions the immigration experience for Extensions and Re-entry can be measured, at most, in the half hour frame and normally less. I expect that same scenario can be repeated outside the Big Four, and even quicker in non tourist areas.
Want an in-and-out? Move to Nakhon Phanom.

[BonTong]

I have a friend in Chiang Mai who tells me longish lineups have happened there reasonably often, but not every time.
Chiang Mai immigration is overwhelmed, and that's after they moved the Burmese service to another office. Have heard reports of people without appointments having to arrive around 4 a.m. to be sure to get seen for an extension. One thing that changed last year was they now take a digital photo so you HAVE to be there in person (and still provide two other photos :-o ) They openly admit they are overworked but BKK won't give them extra resources.

On the other hand, some things, like 90 day reports and re-entry permits, you can turn up mid-week at 2 p.m. and get seen straight away. I guess this is what they mean by discover Thainess (http://www.tatnews.org/thailand-to-celebrate-%E2%80%9C2015-discover-thainess%E2%80%9D-campaign-with-grand-opening-celebration/) :-?

[fountainhall]

Difficult to say why such a wait if one is next in line . . . the terrorist thing sounds very un-Thai. Lunch perhaps?
In at 8:30, out shortly after 11:00. Doesn't quite fit with lunch I reckon!

[Smiles]

" .. out shortly after 11:00. Doesn't quite fit with lunch ... "
What?? 11:00AM is deeply into 'getting-ready-for-lunch' territory. I witnessed it myself this morning at 10:30AM in Hua Hin tessaban attempting to pay a 57 baht water bill.

[Jellybean]

Hmmm тАж thanks for the heads up Fountainhall. IтАЩll be renewing my visa on Tuesday and was expecting something like a 2 hour wait. Think thatтАЩs how long it took last year in the temporary immigration office down in Major Hollywood in Suksawad.

I did renew my visa many times at the variously located immigration office in Hua Hin and yes, depending on the time of day, and if you were lucky, it could all be sorted in 30 minutes. And the same officer handled the retirement visa and the multiple entry visa. In Bangkok it means two different queues and twice the time. Sigh. Ah, well тАж I suppose itтАЩs only once a year, thatтАЩs something.

[PeterUK]

Took me five minutes to renew my retirement visa at Jomtien last week. It was dealt with by a junior clerk who highlighted a few lines in my documents with her pen, didn't even bother to consult the immigration officer next to her and told me to collect the passport on the next working day. Quickest it's ever been.

[Smiles]

" ... told me to collect the passport on the next working day ... "
Is that normal experience, keeping a passport until next day? Perhaps because of a much larger number of customers?
Here in Hua Hin passports are handed back immediately, after a very quick trip to a little old lady sitting by herself far away in the back of the room who stamps-a-lot.

[Up2U]

" ... told me to collect the passport on the next working day ... "
Is that normal experience, keeping a passport until next day? Perhaps because of a much larger number of customers?
Here in Hua Hin passports are handed back immediately, after a very quick trip to a little old lady sitting by herself far away in the back of the room who stamps-a-lot.
Pattaya processes a huge number of applications, if you arrive early morning you get your passport back same day, if you arrive later then you must come back the next day. Friends who have condos in both Bangkok and Pattaya always chose Pattaya for annual extensions because of location and efficiency. Bangkok Immigration can be an all day affair. In Pattaya, 90 day reporting is computerized and takes 2 minutes.

[Jellybean]

As with last year, I decided to go down the proof of income route for obtaining my Extension of Stay Visa (Retirement Renewal Visa). I arrived at the British Embassy, obtained a ticket at 09:00 and, when called, I presented my passport, form P60 (my official certificate of earnings for the tax year ended 5 April 2014) and a photo-copy of my passport. I paid 2,340 baht (the figure was 2,520 baht last year) and told to return at 14:00. I was finished by 09:05.

I returned at 14:00, the counter opened at 14:10 and I was out at 14:25 with my embassy letter confirming my monthly and annual income in GBP.

Well, it seems I got off lightly last year at the Major Hollywood Immigration Office with a mere 2 hour wait. This year I was at the Chaeng Wattana Immigration Office and waited a tediously long 4 hours 30 minutes!

Unfortunately, I didnтАЩt allow enough time to arrive at 08:30 and arrived later than planned at 08:55. After being allocated a ticket I found out that there were 29 people ahead of me at the тАШRetirement RenewalтАЩ/Extension of Stay Visa Section, Section L 34-45 and that, for the first time, they required copies of every previous visa on my passport, covering 8 pages. I had come with only 2 copies of the photo page, last yearтАЩs visas pages and TM6 (my Departure Card) as thatтАЩs all that had been required in previous years. It would have been helpful if photo-copy facilities were either in or close by the immigration office, but no, it was located downstairs and a lengthy, laborious trek away. Not for the first time I thought тАж ah, things were so much easier and less time consuming at the Hua Hin immigration office.

We didnтАЩt need to hurry because we had a long wait ahead of us. My application form TM7, passport copies and letter from my embassy were judged in order. I was asked to sign 3 further forms and a photo was taken of me. I paid 1,900 baht for the new visa and we were asked to wait while the passport was checked and processed. We were not finished until 10:45.

After that we went downstairs to the photo-copier outlet to make a copy of the new visa, then returned to the ticket allocation desk for the Multiple Entry Visa Section тАУ C2. Crikey! The ticket showed there were 63 people ahead of us. We clearly werenтАЩt going to get out before the office closed for lunch at 12:00. I was right, with only 5 people ahead of me they closed the office and we went downstairs for lunch. At least we would have a short wait on our return.

After lunch we returned to the immigration office at 13:00 and were seen in 10 minutes. A cursory examination of my TM8 application form and signed photo-copies was carried out. Then another photo was taken and I paid 3,800 baht for the multiple entry visa. It took approximately 3 minutes. We then waited in the seating area near Section C2 and were called at 13:30 and I was given my passport with the second visa.

Great! ThatтАЩs it all over for another year. I can now relax.

And finally, in answer to the question put forward by fountainhall in the topic heading, in my case, the answer is an emphatic yes!

[christianpfc]

Extension of stay for tourist visa yesterday (barely missed Jellybean) took longer than before.

Arrive 13:36 at immigration, get copies downstairs (yes, a few meters away, but no problem for me), fill out form, receive ticket 13:56, 43 persons waiting. From my notes from last year I can estimate it will take over 2 hours, enough time for lunch downstairs. Hand in documents 16:22-27. Receive passport back 16:37.

(Note: passport copies have to be signed and immigration officers check your address carefully.)

Return by bus 166 (aircon 18 Baht, leaves bus station at government center 16:57, takes expressway, arrives Victory Monument 18:03).

[francois]

At Immigration in Jomtien/Pattaya the retirement visa process took less than 10 minutes. I was given a number to return next day to pick up passport which took just a few minutes. Then applied for a re-entry permit which took perhaps 40 minutes. The electronic signs were not operational so had to listen carefully for your number to be called. The new arrangement of counters was more efficient than the past configuration. My feeling was better to come in the afternoon since most people arrive early morning. But who knows?