Petrus

How can they be too boored to read but take the trouble to criticise?

Pay no attention to the whiners Rooster, your phone call was classic

Thanks Chris

Your info was very helpful. As I intend to try my luck tomorrow. Probably early!

On 2/16/2020 at 11:08 AM, Peter Denis said:

Hi,

1. You can apply for an extension of your Non Imm O - retirement Visa 30 days before expiry of the Permission to Stay it provides.  Some IOs allow application even 45 days before expiry.  Also, due to special circumstances (e.g. not being back in-country before expiry date), your IO might be OK with extending your permission to stay even earlier.  Note: And of course you would need a Re-Entry Permit before exiting Thailand, to keep the granted Permission to Stay valid for re-entry.

2. If the above is not possible/feasible and your present permission to stay will expire while abroad, you will have to start from scratch again.

There are many options:

a) Applying for a 1-year Non Imm OA (long-stay) Visa in your home-country < this requires meeting the now mandatory health-insurance requirement, but when you already have international health-insurance coverage, would be worthwhile to consider >

b) Applying for a 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa in your home-country < not all countries still provide them, USA doesn't - UK and many European countries still do >

c) Returning to Thailand VisaExempt or on a Tourist Visa, and once in-country apply for a 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa at the local IO of the place where you want to stay, and in the last month of those 90 days apply for a 1-year extension of stay at that same local IO.

3. When opting for c) applying in-country, be aware that you need to be able to prove the foreign origins of the 800K in a thai bank-account.  When you cannot prove that anymore (you wrote that you already have them seasoned there long time), you could contact your local IO whether they would be OK with that.  Or alternatively you could apply for the 90-day Non Imm O - retirement Visa in a neighboring country which does not require to prove the foreign origin of the funds.  Also switching to the monthly-funds-transfer method is an option (you would not be required to prove 12 months of transfers as it is a NEW application).

 

>> I also PM-ed you a comprehensive Roadmap with all details/options to apply for or convert to a Non Imm O - retirement Visa.  To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your Profile when logged in to the Forum.

 

Success!

 

Hi Peter Dennis,

I have the same problem as several other posters on this thread and would really appreciate a copy of your 'roadmap' to a new retirement visa Non imm - O

Thanks in appreciation of your sterling work for this community 

Petrus

A bit down this week but wonderful final line!

Where I live in peri urban Chiang Mai every speculative land parcel that has lain idle for the past 10 years is now sprouting rice.

And there is a small army of piece workers planting, ploughing and spraying the poisons.

So the spectre of a Thailand unable to feed itself is codwallop.

What will happen is mechanisation

The era of back breaking labour will disappear with rsising labour costs and aversion to the hard work

If your 800K will be seasoned two months at the time of your application for extension in Thailand, you won't even need a single entry O visa. You can enter Thailand on a 30 day stamp and then do the "two step" process: first apply for a change of visa status IN Thailand, and then the extension (usually in the same day). Caveat, not all offices will do change of visa status. If your doesn't, that can be done in Bangkok.

Thanks Jingthing -

Yes my money will be well 'seasoned' by the time I am free to return.

So the 2 step sounds like the dance for me.

I wonder if anyone has had experience doing the 2 step in Chiang Mai?

I hold a Retirement visa but I do some work outside Thailand each year to maintain myself in the Kingdom.

This year I am further afield than usual and the job is taking longer than I expected.

It definitely will not be completed before my Retirement O-A visa expires next month.

I have my 800K bank deposit in place, so my question is:

Must I travel back to Thailand and apply for the extension of stay in person,

or can I somehow arrange the extension from outside Thailand?

If anyone out there has any experience with this, your advice will be much appreciated.

Petrus