What are the experiences and lessons learned when applying for a 1 year O-A Retirement Visa extension in Thailand?

Thought I’d my share experience of applying for 1 year O-A Retirement Visa extension at Division 1 and some lessons learnt.

Having thought I’d got all the paperwork etc sorted. Dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s, filled all the forms and booked an afternoon appointment for Monday just gone. Then watched the lady officer disassemble all the paperwork, stamp, sign, staple, restamp, copy, reshuffle, restamp etc etc… Then passed forms over in Thai and mumbled things that where inaudible as she was wearing a facemask and sat behind a perspex screen, while load speakers bellowed out appointment slots. Signed things, wrote telephone number etc. No idea what she was asking or what I was doing!

Then another officer came over (think he was her boss) and told me…

* The TM 30 address on their system was different, to the condo contracts I’d provided, even though I’ve lived at the same address for two years ???– so I will need to go to residence residing Area B to correct the TM30.

* Also told me AXA had not updated the “Long Stay Website” for my 4,000,000TBH Health Insurance, so despite having got all the AXA paperwork and Insurance Certificate, I would need to contact AXA and tell them to update the system Aghhhh

Queued for 2 hours to resolve TM30 which included the officer their talking to my landlady and her sending ID through. Eventually got an updated TM30, by which time it was too late to go back to Extensions. (It turned an agent the Landlady was using had updated the TM30 after we’d been to Krabi on a long weekend and had updated the TM30 with the wrong address and never gave us a copy.

It then took 24 hours for AXA to get back to confirm they had updated the “Long Stay Website”

SO THEN…. Booked appointment for 8:30 and a car to pick me up from condo at 7:30. Heavy traffic and a road accident! It took 1½ hours to do what should be a 40min trip Agghhh – got to Immigration at 9:15 and saw the same guy who’d raised the concerns and explained that it was a continuation of the Monday application. Fortunately they still saw me even though late. Got the 1 year extension HOORAY!

LESSONS LEARNT

• Even if you have an Insurance Certificate make sure the company have updated the “Long Stay Website”

• Always check you have the latest TM30 and don’t assume it’s correct on the system without checking

• If you have an appointment allow DOUBLE the journey time to get there. Shit happens!