I've just read and am posting from a ThaiVisa Forum:

The topic title here is taken from the headline of an article on the front-page of the most recent issue of the Pattaya Today newspaper date Volume 6, Issue 21 16-31 July 2007

I post this to generate some discussions about this to see if anyone else has seen this article or one like it. Forgive me for any typing errors as I am the hunt and peck typist and I believe I have quoted the article in it's entirety.

I fall into the area of using the letter and partial money in the bank. I am an American over 60 with a full pension and this year I will be renewing for the second time. I just received a new letter from the US Embassy last month so I will easily be OK about the 12 month limit.

The article goes into detail to say:

"The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that effective October 1 this year, foreign applicants for the one year retirement visa, or those renewing, must take their embassy letter guaranteeing their income to the ministry of foreign affairs in Bangkok for a stamp of confirmation. They then return to the local immigration bureau with the letter and process the application as now."

The article goes on to say:

"The ministry emphasized that applicants need journey to Bangkok to do this only once and not annually. The letter they take to the ministry must be the original from the embassy and must not be more than 12 months old. This means that most applicants for a retirement visa, or a renewal, from October 1 this year will need a new letter from their embassy concerning his or her income."

It continues:

"Immigration sources stressed that all applicants for one year visas, whether farangs over the age of 50 or those with a Thai spouse or dependents, will need to register as a one-off with the ministry if they need an embassy letter as part of the process. "It's just one extra step and the immigration bureau will handle the applications as now provided that the embassy letter has to be stamped by the ministry," a senior police official said, adding that no other regulations have been changed."


"The exception to the new rule are those foreigners, aged 50 and above, who keep at least 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and can show it has been there for three months prior to the application renewal.
These long stayers do not need a letter from the respective embassy to apply for the yearly visa and thus do not have to appear at the ministry of foreign affairs in Bangkok. However, only a small minority of retirement visa holders keep such a sum in a Thai bank for the requisite period, most relying on a combination of pension income in their home country and a lessor amount in the Thai bank."

"Holder's of one year visas, whether retirement or the married man's variety, are asked to note the new regulation for the time being."

The article closes by saying, "Nearer the starting date on October 1,2007, there will be leaflets in English and Thai available at immigration bureaus, including currently ambiguous matters such as foreigners who are unable to travel long distances because they are incapacitated."

Hopefully I won't have go to Ministry of foreign affairs this year as I will do my extension in Bangkok next month!I'll be using a two year old copy of my letter from the embassy and a bank acct. with 22,000 baht in it!Last year I had 44,000 baht in the acct.

Pattaya Today News:
Immigration boss explains new visas ( Pattaya Today Newspaper ) / Admin
Much less paperwork for some farangs

Police colonel Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai

Head of Pattaya’s immigration bureau, police colonel Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai, has announced that the foreign holders of some long visas will no longer have to provide mountains of paperwork every year. Once registered, they will be cleared for entry and exit for up to five years on a case by case basis. However, they will still need to obtain a re-entry permit if they do decide to leave the country.

Never heard of this one before!!

i like that one

This gives one much more hope that the process will be easier one day and still exclude those that the Thai government seeks to exclude.

The post from Thaivisa is not yet on the Pattayatoday.com site.So it must be in their printed paper because the website only shows volume 5,no volume 6!

Those like me who are planning to retire to LOS but have not yet taken the plunge to apply for a retirement visa, might like to know that a Thai Consul-general in Oz today said that my idea to apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa so I can check out whether to proceed to a retirement visa application later, is a very good one and such a visa can be applied for by mail in Australia. I plan to come to Udon at the end of August and stay for 3 months and if all goes well I will apply for a retirement visa early next year accordingly. Trevor

Once the letter from the embassy gets its stamp of approval in Bangkok I wonder how many years it will be accepted. I get the impression that it is indefinite. If so, then the one time trip to Bangkok wouldn't be too bad.

I also wonder if someone else can take the letter to Bangkok to get its seal of approval. If so, a small group could underwrite one person's trip to Bangkok each month for those people needing the seal. As we learn more about the process this forum could help facilitate such.

My next visit with immigration is at the beginning of September, so I guess I won't need the seal until next year.

I look forward to hearing more about the case by case approval of 5 year visa extensions. Anyone got any information on what case by case approval means?

And I'm sure, expat, you will get many volunteers for such a 'cook-off' BUT at the end of the day, after everyone has a belly full, it will still come down to each volunteers individual OPINION!! I respect yours and LA's and everyone else's for that matter. Many are posted, and THEY ARE ALL CORRECT!

you will have to take that steak to bkk, to get stamped, then back to your grill for approval. we'll check back in 90 days.

hmm, too many windows open, and not even 10 pm, must of been an early start.

I was trying to figure out your post because the word volunteer-s instead of immigration officer(THEY ARE ALL CORRECT) confused me!Then I read the Best steaks thread and figured that the volunteer word was there because this post was actually in the wrong thread.

Pakawala wrote:And I'm sure, expat, you will get many volunteers for such a 'cook-off' BUT at the end of the day, after everyone has a belly full, it will still come down to each volunteers individual OPINION!! I respect yours and LA's and everyone else's for that matter. Many are posted, and THEY ARE ALL CORRECT!

You got it Stan, sorry for the confusion. LA was right when he said I had too many windows open...

I, too, wondered what was up and figured if I waited I'd find out, or I'd just have to wonder.

It will be interesting to see how this new deal plays out.

Bad news. The article mentioning the 5 year visa was from the December 16, 2004 issue of Pattaya Today.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22763

It would be wonderful to only have to worry about visa extensions every five years, but I see little hope of it.

HAA,only 3 years old!I never remember it being discussed anywhere,do you?I would have thought a 5 year visa offering in the works ,would have caused quite a stir!