Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Retirement Visas, specifically renewals. I have done videos on this in the past that they were talking about the possibility - especially in the provinces - of requiring Tabian Baans, those are house registration books, in order to renew and extend Thai Retirement Visas. 

That said, I got some new anecdotal evidence from a viewer via email; tip of the hat to that person, thank you very much. Quoting directly: "I'm an American living in Thailand going on five years who just renewed his O-A Visa". So note, that is the O-A Retirement Visa as opposed to the standard O Retirement Visa. Big difference between those two categories: the O-A requires continuing insurance coverage in order to renew, the standard O Retirement Visa does not. That said, matters pertaining to other documentation regarding both of these visas tend to be similar. So for purposes of this video I think it's fair enough to view the O and the O-A as pertinent to this. 

That said, quoting further: "My dearest wife (and I'll leave the name redacted) does the whole thing for me, with me just doing some of the basics getting the paperwork for her. That is what I do like about wives in Thailand; they are really sweet about that, they kind of take care of us all and we just kind of hand them things. That said, quoting further: "This year went exactly the same as before. No requirement for the past year's bank statements month by month, just the usual bank statement issued on the day of the interview which means we stop off at the Bangkok Bank in the immigration building and then go in to the Immigration Department with the last piece of paperwork. One thing my wife was told by the Immigration Officer that is new is that next year, and from now on, we must also include the Tabian Baan from us from the building owner and the lease from the apartment owner from whom we rent. I'm just mentioning this with reference to the recent YouTube video posted about a client who mentioned the difficulty this time around. I've been listening to your podcast for years and it is a mainstay for me intellectually and emotionally. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. All the best to you and yours." Well thank you very much. Thank you very much. I very much appreciate that; tip of the hat to you. Thanks for sending this in. 

Yeah, it looks like documentation pertaining to residence is becoming increasingly sought after by the Immigration Authorities. As I have discussed in other videos, there are certain provinces that were announcing some months back that they were not going to renew or extend Retirement Visas without an actual Yellow Tabian Baan. I'm not sure that that's a hard and fast rule because again not everybody has that document. It's not relevant or pertinent in everyone's case. Again, someone might be leasing for a year and not need a Tabian Baan. Again, depending on the underlying facts in the given case, a Tabian Baan may or may not exist. 

That said, and I think the thing to take away from this video, at least in the provinces, it looks to me like more and more we are seeing requests for documentation pertaining to legal residence and the Tabian Baan, the yellow Tabian Baan specifically sounds to me like it's the document that carries the most weight. So if you have that, or the ability to get one, probably not a terrible idea to do it. As I have discussed in other videos, because the yellow Tabian Baan is the creation of the Civil Registration Act of 1991 and matters pertaining to immigration are covered under the Immigration Act of 1979 primarily and regulations stemming therefrom, these two documents, they are not actually dispositive so just getting a yellow Tabian Baan doesn't automatically do anything for you as it pertains to the Immigration Act. That said, as we can see as evidenced from this new policy, having one may make things easier or may bring one into compliance with rules moving forward in the future. That said, it remains to be seen if a Tabian Baan itself is a requirement, or just documentation pertaining to one's residence is what will be required in the future. So we'll certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.