We have just returned from outside Thailand directly into Chiang Mai Airport. Just a note of info about our immigration experience. We were lucky to be at the front of the queue and only 4 back from the IM Officer. It was obvious that he was having a few issues with some ASEAN visitors. Two lots were sent away by a flick of the wrist emphasised by the Officer leaving the box to point to where the forms are. Now slightly flushed and flustered he called us forward with me handing my docs to him first with a simple greeting in Thai.
Standing back on the marks I could not see what he was doing but he stamped my passport, wrote something (date) and slammed the passport down at the exit of his cube. I picked it up and followed advise from this group, I stood there to check the date. He tried to shoo me away and took my wife’s passport to check. He stamped it and was giving it back to her but only then noticed the retirement visa in hers. He then set about changing the stamp to suit the correct date, took mine back to change too. He was most apologetic to us and I cracked a little joke in English that made him smile. All the time he was almost swearing about these ‘other nationalities’ not conforming to requirements. As he wrote the date in the passports he said them out aloud and checked with me before thanking us and wishing us a great time in Thailand. Then we noticed my wife’s TM6 was still on his desk! A quick staple and we were off to collect our luggage. Just think how many times this could have (did) go wrong for us. He was having a rough day and we have zero bad feelings towards this guy.
Now the good bit...took the passports, TM6s and the TM30 stub to CM Promenada and spent a whole 4 minutes getting it updated!
Glad to be back.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The user shares their immigration experience upon returning to Chiang Mai Airport. They describe a challenging situation for the immigration officer due to non-compliant ASEAN travelers. Despite the officer's initial frustration, the user and their wife received their passport stamps after some corrections for the retirement visa. The experience ended positively, and the user noted how quickly they updated their immigration paperwork at CM Promenada.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
