Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the fact that different Thai Immigration Offices are tightening up regarding Thai Retirement Visa Extension specifically in different ways. As I have discussed in other videos, albeit not for a while, I haven't brought this up in quite some time, quite honestly, we became much more news centric throughout the last summer, and then it looks like Immigration is kind of more the thrust of things to talk about especially in Expat land going into this coming summer. But the point I'm trying to make with this video is as I have discussed in others, different Thai Immigration Offices do things differently, and administratively they have a rather significant amount of leeway if you will, or discretion, in deciding how they will implement changes in policy. 

So I thought of making this video after a viewer sent me screenshots which we will throw up on screen. Most notably, this is actually from Korat, Nakorn Ratchasima's Immigration Office. I'm going to go to this second one. Documents from the Bank. 

-        A letter certifying the account balance. 

-        A bank statement covering the past 13 months. 

-        The bank must be the same day as the document submission, and copies of all pages must be provided. 

*All documents from the bank must be issued on the same day as the Visa Extension submission." 

So a couple of things to take away here. One, as we can see, up in Korat apparently, they want to see 13 months of bank statements. We have seen other Immigration Offices only wanting to see 12, but more to the point, "the bank book must be the same day as the document submission" which that is quite a feat. I mean anybody that knows how to deal with documentation associated with Immigration, having things issued on the same day that you would be applying for the Visa - being that you only have one day to apply - anybody that has ever been to an Immigration Office, now albeit in the provinces it's a little different, that said in Korat, there's a pretty large foreign presence up in Korat, up in Nakorn Ratchasima and I could see where they have lines. It's not like one of the more rural provinces where it's like walking into the Maytag repairman's office and you just kind of go to the front of the line and get things done. I have got to imagine; you have got to get there early in the morning to get things done within the day. So on top of things, to have to deal with all of one's banking documentation in the same date as you would be dealing with the actual extension itself, that's a pretty onerous requirement, notwithstanding the fact that it's 13 months as opposed to 12. Again tip of the hat to the viewer who sent me this. Very useful. 

Thing to understand for the viewers of this channel is this. Different offices do have different protocols so if you are watching this and you think this is the requirement nationwide, it isn't. Different provinces do things differently. Down here in Bangkok, they have a different set of protocols; frankly Pattaya does things a little bit differently; Hua Hin as well as Chiang Mai do things differently. Clearly Korat is doing things its own way with regard to extending Retirement Visas here in Thailand. That being said, I have got to be honest with you, that's not so much many hoops to jump through, that's one major hoop to have to jump through all at once, all in one day. So the thing to take away from this video, again different offices do things differently. Understanding the different picadilloes associated with each different office can be a little bit onerous. For those who find themselves overwhelmed by all of this, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.