A friend of mine went to Udon Thani Immigration office recently to apply for another 1 year extension of stay based on retirement. He receives a pension in Euros, thatdue to the currently strong THB,just falls short to qualify for the income requirements. He offered to deposit the gap of THB 25,000 into a bank account, but immigration requires this amount to be seasoned by 90 days. The seasoning would therefore occur after his extension expires end of September.
Question for you: what are his options, without travelling to his home country? Are there embassies/consulates in the region that would issue a Non-O based on retirement without proof of (sufficient) funds, i.e. Savannakhet?He is well aware of the option of converting a tourist visa to a Non-O, but would see this as a last resort at the moment.
Many thank you for your help!
Insufficient pension to qualify for extension of stay based on retirment
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In fact, the senior official at the immigration office has the discretion to waive the seasoning requirement. At many offices, they prefer you use an agent for the extension instead (at which point, the senior official does waive seasoning). However, it is known to happen for individuals. Before using an agent, I would ask to talk to the senior official to plead your case. If possible, take a respected Thai with you to help. If the official does waive the seasoning, buy a nice food item for the office to share to show your gratitude.