kate271

Kate - My wife and I are in a similar situation (in Chiang Mai), though we are Brits and will use the bank balance as opposed to the income option to substantiate financial wherewithal. We will be following the same advice soon at Immigration (though we are on Triple Entry Tourist visas and the second 60 day departure date is still a couple of weeks away, so time is not yet critcal for us). It would be helpful to share experiences after the visits. Good luck to your dad ...

Thank you everyone!!! You have been immensely helpful! I wish I had found this forum earlier.

tomdfc - My Dad should be heading to the immigration office soon, so I will let you know what happens

This is all wonderful news! He will be very relieved. Thank you all so much for the advice!!!

Wow thank you everyone for the quick replies!!! You guys are great So he can do this all through the Immigration office in Phuket and does not need to leave the country again and go to a Thai embassy/consulate?? That's fantastic! He definitely won't be going back to the US to get anything done and would prefer to not have to do another visa run if it isn't necessary. He thought he needed the criminal background check, etc for the type O, which is why he didn't apply for that in KL. What a shame.

So he can then even apply for the one-year extension at the immigration office as well? With these visas and extensions, is it necessary to leave the country and re-enter every so often? Or I read something about checking in with immigration or the police station every 90 days? There is such contradictory information online...

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help clarify the process for changing from a Tourist Visa to a Non-Immigrant Type O Visa (Retirement) from Thailand. My Dad (an American) is currently living in Phuket. He did a visa run to Kuala Lumpur this month to obtain a Tourist Visa (he had entered just on his passport) and now is trying to get everything together for his Non-Imm Type O Visa. Problem is, he can't seem to get straight information on the requirements for this. The first question is, does he need to do this outside of Thailand (such as go back to KL or another consulate/embassy if easier)? Next, he cannot open a Thai bank account with his Tourist Visa, but has a letter from the US embassy in Thailand declaring a satisfactory income. Is this sufficient for the Type O visa? Finally, the consulate website in KL states that you need the following:

1. Medical Certificate issued from the country where the application is submitted showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the ministerial Regulation No. 14 B.E.2535 and shall be valid not more than 3 months
2. Criminal Report verifying that the applicant has no criminal record, issued by competent Authority valid for not more than 3 months and notarized by notary organs or application’s diplomatic/consular mission

Is this really needed (I have seen posts online stating otherwise) and if so, how do you get these? With regard to the criminal report. Is that a report from a police station in Thailand or does he need to get something from the US?

Any help would be much appreciated as this process is quite confusing!!!! Thanks so much in advance!