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In Pursuit Of The Yellow House Book

By admin on January 26, 2012 in Khon Kaen Retirement / no comments / 241 views

The saga of getting a Yellow House Book from the Thai Government.

When I applied for my one year Non-Immigrant O-A visa extension last year, one of the required documents is some kind of proof of where you live – Blue or Yellow House Book. I used my wife’s blue house book (tabien baan) along with her ID card and listed that address as where I live. No check was made. More info here.

Since that time, we have moved into a newly built house, and I told my wife that I wanted to get a tabien baan (yellow house book) for myself which is basically a proof of residence.

Yellow House Book

There were a couple of reasons that I wanted the Yellow House Book – one – so that I could use it for annual visa extension requests, and, two, to use to get a driver’s license. There may be some additional uses, but these were my main two reasons.

So, my wife decided she had some time, and headed out to the local Amphur (registration) office here in Khon Kaen. She was told that I had to go to Thai Immigration in Khon Kaen and get a letter attesting to my residence.

The next day, my wife and I went to Thai Immigration and I went inside while my wife remained in the car. I had my passport and my wife’s blue house book, and copies of it along with copies of my visa, arrival card, wife’s ID card, and marriage paperwork. I took a number and a few minutes later sat down with Police Captain Aroonrat.

She was very pleasant and spoke English very well. I explained that I needed a letter of residence in order to get my Yellow house book. My wife had also supplied me with a few lines of Thai writing from the Amphur that I showed her. She asked where my wife was and I told her she was waiting in the car. Police Captain Aroonrat politely asked me to fetch my wife.

As soon as my wife sat down, the entire conversation reverted to Thai. I picked up quite a bit, especially when the Police Captain’s voice lowered and she indicated that Thai Immigration doesn’t do these kind of letters and that their purpose in life is to do 90-day extensions and visa stuff.

However, the nice Police Captain, out of the goodness of her heart, would be able to do up the required letter for a nominal fee. When my wife asked how much, the Police Captain said it was not up to her to specify a fee. Basically, it was “up to you”.

Now, my wife is no stranger to Thai Government graft and corruption, so she handed the paperwork to the Police Captain, along with a 500-baht note, and 5 minutes later we had the required letter. But, the Police Captain’s assistant had my visa info wrong. She then had to correct Non-Immigrant O to Non-Immigrant O-A. It isn’t until we get home that we notice that the letter has the old house address and not the new. My wife says she will get it changed at the Amphur office – I am sure for a small fee.

My wife felt that she might have been able to get away with offering a little bit less, but didn’t want to piss off anyone at Thai Immigration since I have to go there next month for a visa extension. She wanted it done quickly so we could get out of there.

After we get home, my wife has a little bit of buyer’s remorse and keeps debating with herself if she could have gotten it done cheaper. I tell her not to worry as this is a one-time deal and we got what the guy at the Amphur requested.

Then, my wife tells me that we are supposed to have two witnesses that can attest that I actually live in the house that will be listed in the Yellow house book. She is also told by the guy at the Amphur that if my wife cannot produce two witnesses, they can be had at the Amphur for a small fee.

My wife was up and at ‘em bright and early, and off to the Amphur office with all documentation in hand. About 1/2 hour later, she calls and wants to know the names of my mom and dad. Go figure.

My wife returned home at 1600 and told me she got the Yellow House Book at 1500 (she did a bit of grocery shopping on the way home).

I asked her what it cost and she told me 100 baht for the Yellow House Book and an “up to you” payment of 200 baht for the two “witnesses” that attested to my living where my wife reported.

At no time did I go in or near the Amphur office. Only my passport and the documents from Thai Immigration were there to represent me.

So, now I have a book that shows where I live that was issued by an office that was based on a letter from Thai Immigration. Now, I can use this book to prove my residence to Thai Immigration. Here we go loop de loop, Here we go loop de lie, doin’ the yellow house book tango.