Udon Thani Immigration Office

[Tafia]

Tafia, thanks for the reply.

After 4 years in Thailand I have still yet to see ANYONE with an 'O-A' that was issued from within Thailand. I'm not saying it isn't possible; I'll believe it when I see the stamp myself.

All the info Ive received supports what you say, and I spent a considerable amount of time deciding the best way to go and searching thro all the options.
The most I think you can hope (inside Thailand) for is to turn the Non O (with 90 day border runs) into a Non O (Retirement) which does away with the border runs and introduces the 90 day reports.I think this can be done after 60 ot 90 days (unsure)
Lopburi3 is one of the most knowledgable guys on Visas I have spoken to on this site and Thaivisa and is always happy to answer questions.

[doo]

Hi,
My friend who got married to a T.G. four years ago applied to NKI for a marriage visa, i.e. to support a T.W. and family. After getting all the necessary paperwork, he went to N.K.I.. He seen Mr happy there and was told by him it would be easier to get what we call a retirement visa, which he did. When he got this visa the stamp in his visa had, besides other things on it, "O-A" visa. he has to report every 90 days to imag. to let them know where he is living etc. After two years he has to go through the same hoops again.
I HAVE SEEN his passport and confirm it has a "O-A" visa issued at NKI. Before this he had to go to Thai Embassy in V.T. every 90 days to get a "O" visa. Which was not obtainable in LOS. The women at NKI said to me go to V.T. to get a 90 day "o" visa.
I myself in the U.K. i enquired to Thai Embassy and was told I could only get a "O" visa outside of LOS and a "O-A" visa could only be obtained in LOS. If anyone is now living in the U.K. can check this with a simple phone call.
Cheers.

[laphanphon]

i filed and received my retirement visa in thailnad. previously i had a support of family visa, as i was divorced at the time, requiring exits/entries every 90 days. when that expired, i went to laos for a 30 day freebie when re-entering thailand, then applied for my retirement, all paperwork prepped, and filed/approved in all of 15 minutes, by nina, about 5 years ago. too easy.

i was advised when asking, i could simply extend my support visa for a year, w/check ins, rather than exit/entries every 90 days. opted for the retirement, as now independent of anyone else's input.

[Tafia]

Hi,
My friend who got married to a T.G. four years ago applied to NKI for a marriage visa, i.e. to support a T.W. and family. After getting all the necessary paperwork, he went to N.K.I.. He seen Mr happy there and was told by him it would be easier to get what we call a retirement visa, which he did. When he got this visa the stamp in his visa had, besides other things on it, "O-A" visa. he has to report every 90 days to imag. to let them know where he is living etc. After two years he has to go through the same hoops again.
I HAVE SEEN his passport and confirm it has a "O-A" visa issued at NKI. Before this he had to go to Thai Embassy in V.T. every 90 days to get a "O" visa. Which was not obtainable in LOS. The women at NKI said to me go to V.T. to get a 90 day "o" visa.
I myself in the U.K. i enquired to Thai Embassy and was told I could only get a "O" visa outside of LOS and a "O-A" visa could only be obtained in LOS. If anyone is now living in the U.K. can check this with a simple phone call.
Cheers.

I'm not going to argue, you seem to have got it into your mind you are right and everyone else is wrong, but you are reporting on what happened to someone else. I have told you how I did it. Read the Royal Thai Embassy (London) Website and you can see all the requirements that I have written here on a Non OA.
I doubt whether your friend can stay for 2 years without a border run providing he has an OA.In all probability he went for an extension to his Non O based on marriage but as most will tell you Imm will always try to get you to have it based on retirement rather than marriage - less work!!
What can be done at NK is to change a Non O with 90 day stamp into a yearly one without having to do the border runs after fullfilling the financial requirements, tho extensions are then required each year. (as per the previous poster) But as your friend has been here 4 yrs then he is probably applying for his annual extensions.
As one poster put it Non O or OA they are both for a year, read and meet the requiremnets and there are no problems.
I wish you good luck, I see no point in pursuing this subject any further. You must do what you think is best.

[jackspratt]

Hi,
My friend who got married to a T.G. four years ago applied to NKI for a marriage visa, i.e. to support a T.W. and family. After getting all the necessary paperwork, he went to N.K.I.. He seen Mr happy there and was told by him it would be easier to get what we call a retirement visa, which he did. When he got this visa the stamp in his visa had, besides other things on it, "O-A" visa. he has to report every 90 days to imag. to let them know where he is living etc. After two years he has to go through the same hoops again.
I HAVE SEEN his passport and confirm it has a "O-A" visa issued at NKI. Before this he had to go to Thai Embassy in V.T. every 90 days to get a "O" visa. Which was not obtainable in LOS. The women at NKI said to me go to V.T. to get a 90 day "o" visa.
I myself in the U.K. i enquired to Thai Embassy and was told I could only get a "O" visa outside of LOS and a "O-A" visa could only be obtained in LOS. If anyone is now living in the U.K. can check this with a simple phone call.
Cheers.

I'm not going to argue, you seem to have got it into your mind you are right and everyone else is wrong, but you are reporting on what happened to someone else. I have told you how I did it. Read the Royal Thai Embassy (London) Website and you can see all the requirements that I have written here on a Non OA.
I doubt whether your friend can stay for 2 years without a border run providing he has an OA.In all probability he went for an extension to his Non O based on marriage but as most will tell you Imm will always try to get you to have it based on retirement rather than marriage - less work!!
What can be done at NK is to change a Non O with 90 day stamp into a yearly one without having to do the border runs after fullfilling the financial requirements, tho extensions are then required each year. (as per the previous poster) But as your friend has been here 4 yrs then he is probably applying for his annual extensions.
As one poster put it Non O or OA they are both for a year, read and meet the requiremnets and there are no problems.
I wish you good luck, I see no point in pursuing this subject any further. You must do what you think is best.

+ 1

[lepidoptra]

My friend's uncles brother in-laws friend states he got an O-A visa from somewhere in Thailand, He can't be sure where cause he only caught a brief glimpse at his uncles, brother-in-laws, friends passport. I wish I had known this before I attended the Thai embassy in London. I had to produce my bank statement, letter of no previous convictions and a doctors certificate. Had to take these to a notary solicitor for authentication. I shall tell the Thai embassy about my uncles, brother-in-laws, friend and tell them to change their web site.

[bumper]

With all this going on surely the guys got a Visa by now

[pompui]

Hoping this thread gets back on track about Udon immigration office.If you lot want to slug it out over O and O-A visas then this thread should have been separated longtime ago.

Just need to know if any person has an update (ie has visited the office)as to when it will be fully operational.

[Tafia]

Hoping this thread gets back on track about Udon immigration office.If you lot want to slug it out over O and O-A visas then this thread should have been separated longtime ago.

Just need to know if any person has an update (ie has visited the office)as to when it will be fully operational.

The latest was that they are only doing 90 day and Re-Entrys....so not fully operational as yet

[BobHelm]

The last I heard it was going to be a 'couple of months' pompui. So I guess that means sometime next year . I understand that the head man for Udon Immigration will be at the next Udon Expats Meeting - so maybe more will be known after that - although, in my experience, it is doubtful that a firm date will be give (or actually hit if it is).
I suspect that the first that will be actually known will be when someone from Udon will actually be refused to have his application processed by Nong Khai because Udon is fully operational - but I will be pleased to be proved wrong...

[pompui]

Thank you Bob and Tafia,a friend has to renew his retirement mid november, so off to Nong Khai we will go, to say our goodbyes to the soap/watch/immigration lady of the 'only fools and horses' ilk and also to Mr Happy.
Then some fine nosh in the market with the bogstandard police highway check on our return nearing Udon

[BobHelm]

Give it 6 months & I am sure that many will have similar tales to recount about the new office at Udon pompui - just to make all the Farang around Udon not to feel left out
If I hear anything concrete about it being fully operational then I will certainly post on here.
The day before your mate goes to NK it might be worth giving them a bell if nothing extra has been said....

[Ray.Charles]

I too have non-immigrant O-A from the New York City consulate, twice. It also has "long stay" written by hand on top of the printed O-A.
Each time I applied and received by mail; didn't need to notarize the documents either.

[laphanphon]

My friend's uncles brother in-laws friend states

classic, too funny............. =D> =D>

[LoveDaBlues]

Hi,
According to Thai law, and Thai immigration. A "O" type visa can only be obtained outside of LOS. A "O-A" visa can only be got in LOS. if you have a "O" visa. Which I have. This is what im. told me yesterday.
From Europe if you have a "O" visa, which is a requirement to getting a "O-A" visa, ie. extension to "O" visa.. After 60 days residing in LOS you can apply for a "O-A" visa. This is the law. A friend of mine did this a year ago at N.K.. through Mr Happy. He applied for a marriage visa but im. said a retirement visa would be easier to get. TiT, Which he did as he was getting over 800,000B per year. This visa lasts for five years, before having to jump through all the hoops again, he has to report to im. every 90 days to confirm address and after two years have to show all the details again, he is from Germany which has the same requirement as U.K. The cost was 1900B
I only went to im. to see what the rules were, and only got crap for answers. No help at all. Lady said did i want a extension now, I said no I am only enquiring what forms etc. i need. No help at all. Maybe I caught her on a bad day. Also you do not have to show money in a Thai bank, only proof of income from your embassy per year. or per month will do. The British Embassy in BKK give both, monthly and yearly income, as I got mine last week. Over 800,000B per. year for pensions, my bank balance is personal, not even the wife knows.
Wife phoned BKK this morning, no problem, Can get "O-A" visa, so it looks like a trip to BKK. good three day trip away from the kids.These are the facts of what happened to me, not a friend of a friend or hearsay. Just trying to inform board members of my experances.
As for the police report, in. said no need as i have lived in LOS for over five years, verified by passport. But i did have police reports from my own country, and LOS. Belt and braces.

So then the countdown begins. Soon you'll be back from BKK with the "O-A" stamped in your PP which you can show to Jackspratt for that free feed.......correct? And of course, you'll report here on UM as soon as the "O-A" is stamped in your PP.......right?

[arjay]

Perhaps when that answer is forthcoming, it will posted on a suitable thread about Non Immigrant Visas, so that this thread can get back to the topic of Udon Thani Immigration office.

In the meantime, we await someone's report of when Udon Thani Immigration office is fully up and running.

[Mainer]

Hoping this thread gets back on track about Udon immigration office.If you lot want to slug it out over O and O-A visas then this thread should have been separated longtime ago.

I agree 100%. Enough of the misinformation about O vs O-A visas. And that is what a lot of these posts contain. There are other places to discuss that.... and have been argued to death. Much easier to go to the Immigration office and ask.

[PopsIcafe]

I went to do my 90 days at the Udon Thani Immigrations office at the Udon Thani International airport. The office is located the old terminal near the restaurant (old domestic terminal). The officers there are all from different providences here in Thailand. They are friendly and willing to help. When I was there, there weren't able to do the extension as of yet. They were still getting things in focus to be fully operational.

The Inspector of Udon Immigrations was friendly and helpful as were the rest of the staff. Please understand, they have just opened, so give them a chance, PLEASE.

You may have to be there a little longer, I was there for about 45 min., you will have to do the initial residence notification. It's the same process done at Nong Khai. Once that is done then things will be a bit faster. The inspector was very happy to see that I had a yellow book and wasn't ignored. He was happy to see it, along with the wife's blue book. This gave further proof of where I was living. So if you have one, bring it along with your wife's blue book.

The staff is friendly and happy to see you come there. Knock off the chips on your shoulders and give them a chance. Once they able too, soon I hope, they will be processing extensions on your visas.

Pop's

[bumper]

Ok did the 90 day today, armed to the hilt thanks to Pops heads up. It went as Pops said it would. One thing changed one of the experieinced Officers from Nong Khai was there. So he stopped the confusion immediatley and it was done as it always has been in the past.

Originally they thought my wife was my land lord and they wanted additional paperwork from her, not me. Once they understood she was my wife it was business as usual.

I noticed they now have a lot of stamps forgot to ask when they would be fully operational. I don't think they are today.

Everything was done in a friendly manner no complaint here.

[Bandung_Dero]

Can someone ask them if they will be doing postal reports, please. Still thinking I'll post my next one off to Nong Khai as usual.