TBKK

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure where you got the 2k baht number from.

A single reentry permit is 1000 baht and multiple is 3800 baht. At the airports they charge a additional service charge of 200 baht to do the form, photo and copies.

I have a O-A retirement visa that expires on 11-13-19. I currently am allowed to stay in the Kingdom of Thailand until 4-17-2020. If I obtain a single reentry permit when I leave at the end of this month and come back to Thailand in December 1919,  the reentry permit will be good until 4-17-2020 and I will have to apply for a extension of my retirement visa before 4-17-2020. Is that correct?  

On 2/22/2019 at 11:39 AM, onera1961 said:

They don't care full medical check up. Why do you want to do a full medical check up? 

You need to take the form provided in the embassy website and get your doctor sign it, stamp it, and if required notarize it. I applied in Washington DC and that does not require notarization. What the doctor does is between you and your doctor. My doctor did not do any thing. He looked at it, laughed at it and signed it. 
 

 

The new medical certificate form that Ubon Joe submitted does not contain any requirement to have the certificate notarized, the old form did. I interpret this to mean that you no longer have to have your doctor notarize the medical certificate.

17 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

Medical certificate  (I was able to get my primary care doctor to order a couple of the tests and he then signed the certificate.  My insurance paid for it)

I get my O - A visa every year back in the States also.

I noticed that they want the medical certificate notarized, which is kind of ridiculous but my doctor complies and takes the form to a notary to have the form notarized for me.

I think that they would not be so strict about this requirement as long as it is signed by a licensed physician but my doctor is a friend of mine so he takes the form to a notary just to be sure that I don't have a problem.

Did your doctor take this medical form to a notary to have it notarized or did he just fill it out, sign it, and give it back to you?   

16 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

i was trying to do that last year, wanting to send cash out of china.  unfortunately, the only bank that offered cashier's checks did not offer them in my province.

 

had looked into check options.....some banks and brokerages have phone apps that allow you to take a photo of the check for electronic deposit.  no need to mail it.  found one that allowed scanned and emailed images of checks for deposit, for those without smart phone skills.

That's interesting..........was not aware that there was a program that would allow you to scan a check for deposit that can be used on your laptop.

Care to share the name of this program?

Charles Schwab has an app which allows you to scan a check on your smart phone and deposit it into your account but they will not allow you to use it to deposit checks in foreign currency. 

I guess every bank and brokerage firm has different rules regarding procedures they will allow their clients to use to deposit checks in a foreign currency.

It is my understanding that you can obtain a notarized certificate of residence from the embassy of your country of residence in lieu of certificate of residence from Thai Immigration.

The cost might be a little bit more but you will probably experience less time and aggravation.   

My brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, informed me that I could withdraw a Cashier's Check in Thai Baht from my Thai Bank, mail it to them and they would deposit it in my account at the exchange rate on the date it was received. The only charge would be the cost of the Cashier's Check from BKK Bank, Schwab would not charge me any type of conversion fee.

I have not tried to do this, but it may be an option to consider to avoid an 800 BAHT bank transfer fee.

Has anyone tried to withdraw a cashier's check from their bank in Thailand, travel to the U.S, and deposit the check in their U.S, account. 

Charles Schwab informed me that I could withdraw a Cashier's Check in Thai Baht from my Thai Bank, mail it to them and they would deposit it in my account at the exchange rate on the date it was received. The only charge would be the cost of the Cashier's Check from BKK Bank, Schwab would not charge me any type of conversion fee.

I live in Illinois and send my request for background check to Illinois State Police. I had to establish an online account with them.

I pay them $10 with my credit card and they e-mail me the certificate.

I then print out the certificate and I'm good to go........simple!

No need to spend $200.

17 minutes ago, TBKK said:

The medical certificate that I have been using for my retirement visa application lists the same diseases but requires that the form be notarized by a Notary Public. This is very inconvenient for the doctor to go and have this form notarized.

 

Is this an updated medical certificate form and where can I obtain a copy of this form to print out?

 

I would much prefer to use this form rather than the attached form because I think that it is ridiculous to request the the doctor go to a Notary Public and have his signature notarized.    

medical_certificate.pdf

The medical certificate that I have been using for my retirement visa application lists the same diseases but requires that the form be notarized by a Notary Public. This is very inconvenient for the doctor to go and have this form notarized.

Is this an updated medical certificate form and where can I obtain a copy of this form to print out?

I would much prefer to use this form rather than the attached form because I think that it is ridiculous to request the the doctor go to a Notary Public and have his signature notarized.    

medical_certificate.pdf

5 minutes ago, ndfdjnd said:

I'm also doing one of those vertical marathons this year, hence the thread.  This one is 70 floors.

 

I worry that even if you don't feel your joints aching at the time , running down isn't going to be good for you longterm.  I run trails sometimes and going down the hills does feel heavy on the joints, but I suppose if you take your time and tread like you're on eggshells it wouldn't be so bad.

Have been running down the stairs for about 5 years and haven't experienced any problems.

Always felt stress on my joints when jogging on concrete but haven't had any problem with the stairs.

Best workout that I've come across!

Running stairs is an excellent work out.......better than jogging.

Friend turned me on to it a few years ago..........didn't realize it was so difficult until I tried it.

I ran in the Bangkok Vertical Marathon last year which was a vertical run 61 floors up to the top of the Banyon Tree Hotel on Sathorn Road.

I don't have any problem with my legs running down the stairs so I don't need to take an elevator down to the first floor.

My joints started to bother me when jogging on concrete but I don't have that problem with the stairs.

On 8/17/2018 at 11:57 PM, TSF said:

Or you can get a visa agent to get the residency certificate for you, when I was in Pattaya I always got my visa agent to get them when needed, reasonable cost and saved me having to deal with imm myself.

Can you tell me the amount of the reasonable cost and the visa agent you used? 

I was told by my brokerage firm, Charles Schwab, that if I obtained a certified check from my bank in Thailand (Bangkok Bank) and mailed it to them, they would do the conversion at the TT rate when they received the check and deposit it in my account.

In other words, if I wanted to send 1 million baht to my brokerage firm in the U.S., I could just go to Bangkok Bank and obtain a certified check for 1 million baht and mail it to them via Fed. Ex. and they would do the conversion and deposit it in my account.

I have never tried this so I can't verify if this information is correct but I doubt that they would provide me with false information.  

I need to renew my 5 year driving license next year and I am on a one year retirement visa.

Does anyone know if I can get a notarized resident certificate from the U. S. Embassy instead of a residence certificate from Thai Immigration to satisfy the requirement for a residence certificate to renew license.

I prefer to spend $ 50 to obtain a notarized resident certificate from Embassy rather than deal with Thai Immigration.  

Worked for me but it took 6 days at Chonburi Immigration.

Summitted the form on Wednesday and was approved the following Tuesday.

Was pleasantly surprised! 

11 hours ago, ericthai said:

Sorry to hear about this. It should be criminal to do that!!!  

 

You have some options.  

If you dont have enough quarters to qualify for part A (40 quarters is needed , about 10 years) then you can purchase part A which for 2018 is $422

 

If you worked any years not for the govt and made at least $920.00 for the year that qualifies (part time work as a kid??) If you dont have the full 40 quarters, but have at least 30 quarters worked then this payment would be reduced to $232. 

 

Are you married? If so and your wife qualifies and you have been married more than 1 year then its possible to enroll in part A under her.  If you are divorced or widowed and your spouse qualified then it's possible to enroll under her. 

 

There are not work requirements to enroll in part B or part D.

Thanks for the information.

I have some quarters which I have credit for but not the full 40 quarters.

Glad that I have at least some options available to me under Medicare.

On 12/2/2017 at 10:15 PM, Langsuan Man said:

On 12/1/2017 at 12:05 AM, lopburi3 said:

That should be quite common as many of use on Federal Retirement do not receive social security but can have Medicare if we want. 

Only if you were on the old system, Federal Employees in the Federal Employee Retirement System  ( FERS  ) since 1986,  now pay into and receive Social Security 

I am in a similar situation.

Worked for federal and local government and did not pay into social security but into my pension fund.

Local government removed my medical benefits which I was supposed to recieve under my pension.

Lawsuit by the pension fund to restore medical benefits failed in the court system.

It is my understanding that since I do not have enough quarters in the Social Security System to qualify for Medicare, I am will  not be eligible for Medicare when I turn 65.

Does anyone know if my understanding of this situation is correct?

It appears that the new website has different information regarding the documentation required to obtain a one year extension of one's retirement visa. Under the heading Required Documentation, it does not mention documention regarding proff of  residence or a TM 30. I'm not sure if this is just nonsense and unaccurate information or they have decided to change the documentation requirements. 

1. Aliens must be inspected. Temporary category
2. They are 50 years and older.
3. Is there evidence of not less than 65,000 baht per month?
4. At the time of applying for a deposit in a bank in Thailand The savings account (regular / regular savings) in the account 
   for the past 3 months not less than 800, 000 baht only in the first year to show the account. 
   Deposit with the money deposited in the account. 
   Not less than 60 days?
5. Have money year round And have a bank deposit Calculated at least 800,000 baht, 
   up to the date of submission of the application.
6. Foreigners who entered the Kingdom prior to 21 October 1998 
   and were permitted to stay in the Kingdom. To live forever in succession. 
   To apply the following rules: 
   (a) Age 60 and over and earn a certain amount of money with a fixed account throughout. The period of 3 months is not less than 2000,000 baht per year 
   or income of 20,000 baht per month. 
   (B) Age less than 60 years but not less than 55 years. Remain in Account for a period of 3 months 
   at least 500,000 per year or income of not less than 50,000 baht per month.

Required documentation.

1. Request Form 7
2. Copy of the applicant's passport
3. Proof of income such as a pension or interest Or dividend, etc., and / or
4. Certificate of deposit from a bank in Thailand (Ordinary / regular savings type) and bank account copy
5. Only in accordance with the provisions of clause (6), the documents are the same as those mentioned in items 1 - 4 above.
    

note 

I have a Garmin Nuvi that I have been using in Thailand for several years. Every year I get my Thailand ESRI map updated to the most recent map at a shop at Tukcom for 500 baht. This year the shop had closed before I couid purchase my update. Does anyone know of a shop in Bangkok or Pattaya that would be able to download the latest Thailand map to my Garmin GPS ?   

3 hours ago, dentonian said:

 

I think your still misunderstanding how the O-A Visa works.

 

You currently have an O-A Visa issued October 2016.

It has an enter before date of ?? October 2017.

During the period Oct 2016 - Oct 2017 you can exit and re-entry Thailand as many times as you want because the Visa is multi entry.

On each re-entry you are given another 1 year permission to stay.

 

If you exit and re-enter Thailand just before the 'enter before' date on the Visa (?? Oct 2017) you will be given another 1 year permission to stay until ?? Oct 2018.

Although the Visa and it's multi entry facility expires on the 'enter before' date (?? Oct 2017) your permission to stay remain valid until Oct 2018.

If you want to exit and re-enter Thailand during the period Oct 2017 - Oct 2018, you can purchase a re-entry permit from Immigration which keeps your permission to stay valid (single entry 1,000 baht, multiple entry 3,800 baht).

 

You then don't need to obtain another O-A Visa until Oct 2018.

You are correct and I do understand how the O - A visa works. 

In my case, I just returned from a trip and I have permission to stay until March 15, 2018.

I plan on leaving Thailand at the end of April and not returning until November 2017 which will be after my current O - A visa expires.

I have two options, obtain a new visa before I leave the States in November or buy a re-entry permit before I leave in April and apply for a one year extension of my current visa before March 15, 2018 in Thialand.

I would prefer to obtain a new O - A visa before I leave in the States because I don't like dealing with Thai immigration in Thailand.

OK............I understand. 

Will have to ask the Thai Consulate in Chicago if I can apply for a new visa before my existing one expires. 

Didn't realize that it depends on which foreign consulate that you are dealing with.

35 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You don't have to wait until your current extension of stay (it is not a visa) ends. You no longer have a valid extension as soon as you leave the country.

It would be best not to have a re-entry permit to avoid problems when entering the country with the OA visa.

ubonjoe,

I think you misunderstood my question.

I currently have a O - A visa that expires in October of 2017.

My question is whether I have to wait until my visa expires in October 2017 to apply and obtain a new one or will I be able to apply and obtain a new type O - A visa before my existing one expires.

Last year I had an extension of my existing O - A visa that expired in Feb of 2017 and I decided to obtain a new type O - A visa in the States in October 2016.

When I came back to Thailand in November of 2016, I had a new type O - A visa and also a vailid extension of my old visa. The immigration officer looked confused and he had to ask his collegue for assistance. They finally asked me which one I wanted to use and I told him I want to use my new O - A vias and not the extension of my old visa.

I guess that probably haven't encountered that situation too often! 

I have one follow up question regarding this post.

I've decided to obtain a new O - A visa every year in the States instead of obtaining a one year extension of my existing visa in Thailand .

I've decided that this is easier for me instead of dealing with Thai immigration every year for the past 13 years.

Does anyone know if you are allowed to obtain a new O - A visa in the States before one's existing visa expires or do you have to wait for your existing visa to expire before you obtain a new O - A visa?