@Linda **********

BTS doesn't go to either airport. DMK is served by the SRT Red Line, and Suvarnabhumi by the Airport Rail Link (ARL).

@Dick *********

Sure, I understand. What I'm saying is that the requirements for a retirement extension are different from the requirements for the in-country retirement visa application - though why that is, I have absolutely no idea.

I did extensions of an OA for a few years as you're doing, then gave it up once the OA insurance requirement went into effect (I have comprehensive US health insurance, but extending the OA requires Thai insurance). I left the country, reentered on a visa exemption, got the Non-O at CW, and have been doing extensions of the O ever since.

Out of all those interactions with immigration, only the visa application required presenting rent receipts - and as the OP showed, it's a real, written requirement, not just something that one officer made up. Why require that for the visa but not the extensions? Who knows?

@Dick *********

The OP concerns an in-country application for a Non-O, not an extension of stay.

@Shan *******

Perhaps the Line thing is something new - I haven't seen that before. When my friends and I did it, it was a very simple "come back in two weeks", and then putting the stamps in the passport only took 5-10 minutes when we returned. If they said "before 8 May", though, I'm guessing that really means "on 9 May", since 8 May is a Sunday, and there have been so many recent holidays. Good luck!

@Shan *******

The face time with the officer is well under 15 minutes - similar to an extension of stay (though for some reason the officers in the Non-O section are a lot jollier). After that, they put a stamp on your receipt telling you to come back in two weeks to get the actual visa, which is just a formality - I've never heard of anyone approved at the first stage who didn't actually get the visa when they came back.

BTW, they do not hold on to your passport during that two-week period, and they don't put any "under consideration" stamp in the passport either.

I did my non-O at CW about two years ago. At that time, the receipt requirement wasn't on their info sheet, but when I went in for the application the officer told me - to my surprise - that I needed to show the receipts, even though I had my lease and a letter from the landlord, and was using the same address I had been using on all immigration forms for my previous OA extensions. She was kind enough to let me scan and email the receipts (I had them at home), and the visa was ready when I returned after the waiting period.

As to why they ask for receipts, it makes no sense to me, either. The officer's explanation was that "it shows you're not actually living in Pattaya instead of Bangkok" - because apparently a lease is easy to forge, but rent receipts aren't...? 🤷

For that matter, I don't understand why a lease is required, either, as there's no rule against spending your retirement moving around between hotels (or friends' sofas), but it's their game, and they get to make the rules.

@Bob ******

The Regional Federal Benefits Unit covering Thailand is located at the US Embassy in Manila.

From their website: "Unless otherwise stated in the sections related to your destination or point of transit, THAI follows just the regulations put in place by the countries it operates to."

Finnair often has the cheapest extra baggage rates.

@Mike **********

Very true, and unfortunately most websites aren't up to date :/