DocRobert2015

OMGI,

Well, thanks for your response but I think it is not correct. First of all I am a native born American, with 18 years in the military, etc, and even a VA membership card.

Second of all, it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with dual citizenship. I was shown the regulation that clearly states that two forms of legal identifications must be shown if the original passport is no longer available, in order to re issue a new Passport.

I think this is where I erred...One of those forms must be photo i.d., not both of them. And since I had only my expired Nevada license, they would not accept that as a legal i.d. any more due to expiration. I was not in AZ, I was in CT at the time, so I could not get a state legal i.d. card because that required 90 days living in CT and an established address and utility proof. Of course since I was only on vacation I had none of those.

Additionally, I have no permanent address in the USA now for nearly 15 years so I could not go back to AZ even and get a state issued card any longer.

So for expats who have lived abroad for many years, allowed their DL to expire, and then need to travel back to the USA for some reason and then turn around and lose their passport, they will be required to have someone who knows them escort them to the passport services office, fill out an affidavit form in front of an officer there and sign it so they can certify their signature.

And if you, by chance, are just traveling and do not have someone locally who knows you who can do that, you are kind of stuck with limited options.

So once again, I reiterate, I would not recommend allowing either your state issued identification, whatever form that might take, expire, or you could find yourself without the necessary documentation to get a replacement passport. We don't need that outside of the USA if we lose our passport. We go to the local embassy, tell them it is lost, they can verify we had one on their computer system and they can reissue a new pp without all of this fuss, which seems kind of ironical having these issues inside of our own home country.

And no, at least as of June last year they cannot regenerate the application from past records or if they can they wouldn't which also seem kind of ironical.

Whatever the case, why put yourself into this vulnerable position knowingly unless there are other conditions that prevent you from renewing your license like mine was not having a home address to connect to a driver's license in AZ any longer? I have no intention of returning to the USA other than for a short period ever, and I have no need for a home address there any longer.

There can be a serious downside depending on your individual circumstance of allowing your US license to expire. I did let mine expire since I have been outside of the USA for 12 years. I went back to see my daughter last June and had to renew my passport since it was lost during my trip there from Chile. When I went in to have a replacement passport issued, they told me I was required to have two USA or state government issued i.d.s with my photo on them in order to apply for a new passport.

I had my birth certificate, a copy of my old passport, my legal citizenship identification from Costa Rica with my photo showing also that I was born in the USA, and a government issued D.L. showing I was a legal U.S. Citizen. They would not accept any of my documents and told me I would have to have an affidavit signed in front of them from someone who knows me personally. The would only accept legal identifications issued in the USA. They told me that was the only alternative available to me other than having the 2 i.d.(s) with photos.

Fortunately, my daughter was available to do this, but I have been gone so long that I lost track of most other people there and was in an areas where my daughter lived and I knew no one else. If it hadn't been for her helping me I am not sure what I could have done to renew my passport in time to get going to Thailand on the scheduled flight I had already paid for. So beware, that it can seriously cause problems if you face a similar situation.

I would never suggest that you allow you DL expire if you have an available option. I am a dual citizen of Costa Rica and the USA and now am going to have to find out if Thailand will accept my Costa Rica drivers license as they would from the USA? Does anyone have an answer about this also?

BestofAthens,

This is probably not the best forum to get responses from. I know for a fact that atheists do not teach what you said they do. YOU ARE WRONG ON THIS ONE. For one things where would atheists teach this in the first place. It is not an organized cult like religions are in their temples with their false idols.

If you do not want to be criticized then go to the best place to get your answers. You are in Thailand, a land with strict guidelines on saving national heritage and preserving their culture. Public schools are controlled by the government on what they have to teach just like public institutions in most countries. You do not go in and just dictate your personal beliefs on the public system.

If you want to ask someone who can give you the best and conclusive answer, then go to the school where your child will be attending and ask there...Forget these type of questions on this forum. You open yourself up to appropriate flaggelation and ridicule for your archaic thinking and beleifs. Either that, or pay to have your kid go to a private school where you may have more of a say, or better yet, leave Thailand altogether and go back to your beloved Greece. Open up your mind and allow your child to come out of the cave of ignorance and learn about the world that we live in and not one that does not exist and never has.

Adapt and be flexible in another culture. When will you religious zealots figure out that your time has come and gone with the ancient Trojans of the past.

More people have been killed in the name of their god than any other cause of murder. Get a clue and join the 22nd century....(we are already moving rapidly toward an englightenment of the coming centruy.)

Thank you every body for their helpful and even those who are just negative neigh sayers also. As you look at this forum as a newbie, I do not know who is an expert or who proclaims to be an expert and knows only from what some told someone who told someone else. So my conclusion in reality is not to use this forum for such questions in the future. I think some of the response are uncalled for and one can see rapidly that these are persons who are here only to judge others and be critical of anything said that may offend them for some reason. Saying these things to people they do not know or may never meet, when in reality this is the only forum available for them to pronounce their sad lonely lives on.

The terms I used came straight from the website which calls the O-A via a "pension" visa. I don't know what it is called personally and really do not care. If I do not intend to work there then that visa sounds like it makes sense to me, but it is more paperwork apparently. I say apparently because I have no first hand knowledge and am not a smart ass but only someone trying to work my way through all of this so I can live in peace and harmony with my environment and the people I choose to be around.

Past attorney for the person who said he has never heard of that, well, just goes to show you how narrow your world is. I went through law school, never practiced law, but consulted for international corporations for many years, thus past attorney. My most current profession is much different. I am also a past Medical Doctor, meaning that I left that career in my 20s when I realize how difficult it would be for me to put up with insurance companies and the like, and the problems ahead in the health care industry.

I am "past" several things and maybe even a present smart ass working my way through these more complex issues since I have lived in 9 countries, travelled extensively and so far have had to deal with European, North, Central, South American, and Vietnam issues for many years now...so I am not inexperienced in travel having lived outside the USA for over 25 years in many different places and cultures.

I do appreciate those of you who are experts but who am I to know which of you is a true expert and who is just trying to be helpful or even just critical for your own malicious reasons. I thought I could come here and get good information but should have known better if I would have taken time to read other comments here from people that have nothing better to do than to criticize someone who does not have the experience in Thailand as they do.

As usual I will sort these things out and take into consideration all comments here. I am close to the consulate in New York City and will simply pop over there and sort things out with them and then I too will become the expert, "right." At least until things change again as they do so often in many countries. Thailand seems to be more than arcane in its visa policies so finding out facts seems to be the only way to go and to disregard most of the rude and even vulgar comments of those who have nothing to add to this forum except their angry vile comments.

This gives me a pause to remind myself that there are those out there who really are helpful and know what they are talking about, those out there who try to help but have no real idea of what the facts are, and then those out there who have nothing to add except criticism of everyone else....

For all of those who want to help me, I truly appreciate your comments and maybe I will figure out (in time) who the real experts are, but for now the true expert is the Thai Consulate and even they get it wrong sometimes if they are like other consulates in other countries.....but such is the life of a gypsy and this is what makes life colorful and interesting.

I hope I end up meeting some of the more helpful people once I get there and have a nice Thai lunch together and laugh about all of our experiences, and for those others, well please stay as clear of me as you want me to stay from you...I have no need for someone's anger and rude thinking directed toward me, but I do understand how miserable your life must be for you to be so rude to someone you have never met or know nothing about....

Once I find out the "facts" personally I will post my comments just to let all of us understand what happens in New York City at the consulate and I promise I will not distort those facts to suit my own purpose but will also add, please do not take my comments to be facts because those "facts" could change in a New York minute that both you and I are aware of.

Thanks to all, even the smart asses with their rude comments...it is evident you came from a country that allows freedom of speech, but need to remember that Thailand is not that country and you must be careful how your big mouths will get you in trouble if you criticize the wrong person in Thailand...freedom of speech is different there so beware.

See this is the problem...My question was one thing and I have responses for everything nearly except for what I started out asking. The NON IMM O visa is not for retirement. The NON IMM OA visa is the "retirement or Pension" visa. The O is the one I am told that I can get here in NYC with no problem, so I will simply go over to the consulate and find out for sure and get whatever one they recommend for me and that will put an end to the discussion that seems to become more confusing as it progresses here.

And it sounds like I can do the paperwork myself with a little effort once I am there. I am a past attorney from the USA anyway so legal stuff does not daunt me in the least.

I am not interested in a retirement visa right now. The Non Imm O visa is the way to go for me I believe now after talking to the embassy today. They do issue the NON IMM O visa in New York City according to the person at the consulate I talked with this afternoon. The retirement visa is another issue all unto itself. Since I have not lived in the USA for over 14 years it is difficult to get all the paperwork they want from here....I will wait till I lived in Thailand to consider that.

Copied from the embassy pages in NYC:

Required documents for Non-Immigration-O visas

1. One application form
2. Two passport-size photographs (2x2 inches)
3. Passport (valid for at least the next 6 months)
4. For family visits, the applicant must provide proof of relationship to the family member and proof of Thai citizenship for that family member.
5. A copy of airline ticket or confirmation slip with flight no., date of entry and name.
6. Visa fee

The O-A visa for long stay (retirement) is also issued according to the person I talked to at the embassy today, so maybe your information is outdated or incorrect, unless the person at the embassy does not know what he is talking about...

So once again I reiterate, when posting information here, one needs to be sure what is correct as of today and not from past experiences.

Well according to the webisite for the Thailand Consulate General in New York City, this is copied from their website so if they do not provide visas then their whole section on visas is incorrect. Are you saying they are not correct in their website:

The Royal Thai Consulate General in New York has a main function of providing passports for Thai citizens, issuing visas for foreigners to travel to Thailand and offering legalization services and protection for Thai nationals who live in the United States of America."

​The ticket out is an airline issue and not a legal issue for Thailand and that is easier to deal with just with an itinerary if needed, easily gotten since I have to exit anyway at the end of 90 days....cheap enough to get that one..But with the O visa I do not think I will have to have an exit ticket at the airport....

I think you have to be careful about mixing apples and oranges. The Consulate in New York City is NOT an "Honorary" consulate, it is a full services consulates. Honorary consulates are normally located where there are no general consulates near by. Full service Consulates DO offer all the different types of visas for USA citizens I understand according to the conversation I had with them today over the phone. So please be careful about spreading mis information and confusing the issue more than it already is.

Okay, got it..thanks for the responses I received. ,I think I can do this myself then...your input really set me on the right track! Thanks to all!

Thanks Wayne...very helpful comments. I sent a PM to you for info on fright forwarding company...Now I have a path to follow on the visa issue. I have read so much on this issue and the more I read the more confusing it gets and everyone has their own opinions, so you seem to make a lot of sense with your experience and knowledge.

Thanks so much for your comments.

Obviously they need my input..you missed the point here i think...I of course have to fill the paperwork out and provide the information to an agent...but if that is all that is entailed and then submitting it to Immigration then it does not seem to require their further services. Then I go to the beach!

The Non Imm O visa is not the same as the OA visa, right? I have read that is a simple visa to apply for at the embassy her in New York City, and requires a payment of $200. I did not read if it is a multiple entry visa or am I required to leave every 90 days with that visa as well?

Since I have not lived in the USA for the past 14 years the OA non imm visa seems to be a challenge for me to qualify for since I have no home of residence to get a police report, bank letter or the like, in the USA. So I can only assume that you mean the plain Non Imm O visa as listed in the embassy pages here?

Please comment on this because it seems to be a bit confusing in the beginning...

Thanks for your comments.

Also, I plan on living in Chiang Mai. My home shipment is coming from my last place in Chile, to Thailand and will take about 2 months to get delivered to Thailand. I will need to find a reliable transportation company to deliver my goods (about 10 cubic meters), there. Anyone have suggestions in Bangkok for a good company to contact?

Second issue, should I apply for the visas at Chiang Mai or in Bangkok since I can do either? I plan on hanging around Bangkok for a month or so possibly just to get to know that area and then going on to Chiang Mai while my household goods of being shipped.

Third, I have heard that the US embassy does not verify income but simply a citizen must provide a notarized statement provided by the embassy for verification of the income coming from pensions in the USA? Is this true or are there different possibilities at different consulates, (like in Chiang Mai) or not?

As everyone here knows, it is great to get feedback about these issues and I for one, really appreciate feedback from my fellow ex-pats with their vast experiences already.

Thanks for this, so the best place to start is at Thai immigration once I have my extended visa issued here in New York City and arrive in Thailand? I understand that I can get a 90 day or more tourist visa from the local Thai Embassy here, right, then do the rest in Thailand. I am a pensioner with sufficient income to meet the annual requirement for the retirement visa once I get the paperwork done there in Thailand.

I am in the USA now preparing to move to Thailand soon. I have been told that it is not difficult to do my own visa applications and submit them myself, vs. using an attorney or visa service.

I would like to receive opinions on these two options to make a decision on which way to go. I have hear charges range from $500 and upwards to have an attorney or service do the paperwork but it makes it easy to do since they do it all and you simply can "go to the beach" while they do the work.

And those who have done it themselves say that they simply follow the directions and seem to get it done with too much hassle either.

What is your recommendations, please?

A new soon to be farang...