Kim1950

They can use a FBI Identity History Summary or the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). These systems would also include purged information and include OUI's. Some people use a simple and shallow state or local background check for extended visas. They won't cut  it, if authorities want a deep dive. I would aspect like other developing countries, if you are from the US, if you have dirt, Thailand will find you.

On 10/2/2017 at 10:04 PM, sfokevin said:

Equally as bad are the ones walk with an open bottle of beer... 

And smoking. With a F.U. Attitude.

Has anyone been declined a Retirement Extension, even though, they have met all the requirements? The approval is still based on the discretion of the immigration officer. I wonder, if there is a unofficial policy to decline people who appear unhealthy, too old, or might have mental health problems.

Trying to remediate an issue with Social Security or Medicare could take you a day in a queue only to be told you need some other information or wait to hear from us. Thai Immigration seems to do a better job.

On 8/28/2017 at 11:41 PM, amvet said:

List the manager of the hotel you are staying at or ask the US embassy in Thailand who to list or use a Thai dating service or one of the ladies at an on line beer bar. You have answered my question above where the requirement came from. 

Got it. I plan to use the NY Consulate. The forms are slightly different between the NY and DC Embassy.

This information helped: 

Recommendations for foreigners with Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) while staying in the Kingdom:
Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry.

The start date is  "date of first entry". I do need the flight information and I will plan this forward enough to hopefully catch a decent deal with trip protection and I also need aisle seats for that hike. The hotel will work as a contact. By the way the airfare is not a bad as I thought from Boston.

So if the VA thinks I am "in good physical and mental health, and free from any defect", I am all set. With this request, they are wondering about my mental health. I do use a Thai Dating Site, not sure how that would work. Most seem sincere, those interested in me, typically middle-age, civil servants, and divorced, beats me.

Thanks.

I am looking at two forms that are required for a One Year O-A Visa. One is the Visa Application, the other is specific One Year O-A Visa. I have the following questions. Thanks in advance.

Form A

Date of arrival in Thailand: This question does not ask for a flight itinerary. Can this be TBD or planned date of arrival?

Place to stay in Thailand, Tel: Do I need to show reservations?
Reference person and address in Thailand, Tel and email: What if  you don't have a reference?

Form A

Date of arrival in Thailand, Flight No, Port of Entry: Here they are more specific.

Proposed address to stay in Thailand, Tel, FAX: Same question.

Reference person in Thailand, Tel, Fax: What if  you don't have a reference?

I am asking these questions because if a have a one year approved visa, it appears to be good for one year upon approval. From that date I would commit to the best available airfare and accommodations. I still stuck with a Thai Reference.

On 7/11/2017 at 10:46 PM, NancyL said:

Please let us know how the FBI record looks.  It's probably going to be just fine and you'll get an O-A visa no problem.

 

In the US a Non-Immigrant Category “O-A” requires either an apostille state or federal background check. I have received a clean state level background check. The state also figures the federal level background check, when completed  should be clean. Next for Thailand from the US will be FICO scores.

With the world wide threat of terrorist, and counties not wanting 'deadbeats', crooks, or people with lapses of moral character, these checks are getting deep-dives. The databases, data analytics, and information is becoming fast and more globally connected. You can't get into Canada with an OUI. There will be fewer places to hide, and what's left won't be very desirable.

The VA can do the health check for free and I don't expect any issues. My finances exceed the visa requirements. The forms seem daunting, they don't come with instructions and no 'help desk'. I am supposed to commit to airfare and lodging without knowing if and when the visa will be approved. Who's my Thai reference, if I don't have one. 

In my case it is a 'Leap', it's a bit administratively messy, to expatriate yourself with no US residency and reliable contacts back home. I cashed out my property and cleaning up as many webs of things and connections that happened over the years. A big 'take-away' is the VA, it's received bad press, but my facility and care is decent, golf course, gym, indoor pool and dozens of free activities.

We will see. In any event, I would like to travel all through SEA and Thailand would be a good home base.

By the way, I looked everywhere, I don't see where in the US you can apply for a Non-Immigrant Visa Category “O” for the purpose of retirement.

On 7/4/2017 at 5:42 PM, bkk6060 said:

Did you do Live scan for the FBI check?  If so you sometimes can wait 10 to 12 weeks for that.  Just for info. so you can plan ahead.

Yep, fingerprints. Still waiting. I am curious.

46 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

You can transfer money through the Bangkok bank branch in NYC to an account in Thailand.

You need a Thai Bangkok bank account first to do this.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx 

I am assuming I can setup the account in the US. Then wire money into the account. Then if I am in Thailand I have access to the account and also have money being seasoned in the same account for Visa Requirements. Maybe not. Though that would be a good service.

46 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Contact a honorary consulate. They will do one. Info here: http://thaiembdc.org/royal-thai-honorary-consulates-general-in-the-u-s/

Try contacting the consulate in Portland. They have been reported as doing them by mail.

Thanks, I'll look. A person said he transferred money as needed from his US bank to the Bangkok Bank in NYC which was than available to him in Thailand. This saved on costs on wire transfers. So to be safe could I, if needed, season money with this transfer without ever being in Thailand. Then I am not crammed to work this within 30 days. I do have SS and a military disability which could cover things, but I would like a safty cushion.

On 6/23/2017 at 8:29 PM, ubonjoe said:

In the states they would not ask for proof of fund to get a non-o visa. To get a multiple entry non-o in Penang for example they would accept both.

To apply for an extension at immigration it is 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 40k baht income. No combination allowed.

Seems I can't find a this 90 day single entry non-o visa for being 50 or retirement being offered in the US. One's for volunteering or journalism. Then those visas begin once they are issued. Then you would have 30 days to season any necessary money for 60 days to then apply for an extension that's a tight scheduling window for  committing to airfare, travel, and preparation. I have read some Thai Banks have offices in the US. Could you set this up in advance of travel?

16 minutes ago, sunny17 said:

And the battle rages on.....

 

I started the thread to ask about the incomes of a third "second world" country, but now the debate has morphed into matters of the "fourth world"

The battle is over. The problems of the 4th World are because according the 'know-it-alls' the "4th worlders" are people who are socially backward with alcohol / drug problems, violent, no education, unemployed, unwilling to grab the opportunities society offers them - and it's hereditary. So to them we are to assume the peoples of the third world are only a slight more advanced along the evolutionary lines. I give up on them, like the Old World British Imperialists. 

19 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Once again, RIF - Reading is Fundamental!

 

It was "oldhippy" that wrote the original post to which I simply replied.

 

And since you seem to want to expand the roster of things that are fundamental, let's add to it "not state conclusions from facts which are not in evidence".

 

Just like "oldhippy's" post which was, well, "oldhippy's" and not mine, nowhere have I made any mention of my knowledge, or lack thereof, of history.

 

And it seems to be only you who has mentioned the topic of "professional capacity" but since you brought it up, I do hold a professional license and work in a professional capacity the U.S. and the idea that anyone in my field, or for that matter an overwhelming majority of licensed professional fields, would be "out of work or terminated from employment" for using a clever adjective is so far beyond laughable that it's unthinkable. 

You are a phoney,  maybe among unprofessional colleagues you might call people "4th worlders" as referring to people who are socially backward, with alcohol / drug problems, violent, no education, unemployed, unwilling to grab the opportunities society offers them - and it's hereditary. But, not in professional capacity or formal dissertation other than how prejudicial the term is to people. You won't find it's use in any clinical material or training.  And, it's not a clever adjective. it's demeaning, prejudicial, sweepingly generalized, sophomoric, and of no redeeming value. If you do have a license, it says plenty about your profession and you. You are so clever and professional, you don't even imagine how offending the term is to some people. That's why you are a phoney. By.

27 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

So you did not read post 222?

 

Yes, you are referring to a  Fourth World Anti-Poverty Organization, not this colloquial or cultural term "4th Worlders" , who are being defined as alcoholics, criminals, a particular race, lazy, or uneducated people -- and it's hereditary. So what, I didn't reference Wikileaks, it was implied and in context. How modest, you know so much. I am not dropping my resume, experience, or history on you. Your definiton "4th Worlders" is used to suppress people like Indians driven off their land by America's Manifest Destiny, or Himmler's  "slave like souls",  simply to deny people's rights. 

I am only on this site because I am thinking about retirement in Thailand. I lived there years back, though have traveled all over the world. It seemed like a good place, but with everyday it seems more difficult and unwelcome. It's "No Country For Old Men". We have drifted way off the topic of this forum. Peace. So it goes. 

6 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Hear! Hear!

Hear! Hear!, so I will concede you have coined the colloquial term "4th Worlders" who are alcoholics, criminals, a particular race, lazy, or uneducated people -- and it's hereditary" I also understand you see no connection to the use of this term in the suppression of people's rights. However, I won't concede the use of this biased and simple term does lead and can justify to the denial of people's rights. For example: Pre Germany WII, or America's Manifest Destiny and in these cases there were also the mass following of deniers. It would seem you like to win, be right, be better read. And, so you are. 

12 hours ago, oldhippy said:

So I am blamed for describing the problems of the fourth world?

 

The term Fourth World first came into wide use in 1974 with the publication of Shuswap Chief George Manuel's: The Fourth World: An Indian Reality. Manuel thought of the Fourth World as the "indigenous peoples descended from a country's aboriginal population and who today are completely or partly deprived of the right to their own territories and its riches. "

4th Worlders has nothing It has to do with drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, a particular race, or uneducated people, so I confess, I don't understand your discussion. Unless you are inferring that indigenous peoples have been deprived of their rights because they are drug addicts, alcoholics, criminals, a particular race or uneducated people. If anything, they have been deprived of their rights precisely because that's how they have been self-servingly defined by the people who have taken their rights.

1 hour ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Kim 1950,

 

One trait that sure as s**t  immediately and unfailingly identifies a 4th worlder is utter contempt for and mockery of the idea and practice of RIF - Reading Is Fundamental.

 

I don't presume to speak for "oldhippy" since he's clearly literate and can do so for himself, but I certainly appreciate and expect that if a BM is going to respond to one of my posts, he at least take the time to practice RIF and give me the courtesy of actually reading what I and, by extension, previous posters really wrote before posting a diatribe based on inferences that were never, by any stretch of the imagination, even remotely implied.

 

Neither I nor "oldhippy"  wrote anything about people with mental health issues, autistic people, "enlightened" views,  Nazis, SS or otherwise, etc. or even hinted at anything remotely resembling some dark "solution".

 

You wrote. "4th worlders refers to people who are socially backward, with alcohol / drug problems, violent, no education, unemployed, unwilling to grab the opportunities society offers them - and it's hereditary!". I might add history is Fundamental. Maybe your depth of history is a Facebook Timeline. Your syntax without context is right from the Heinrich Luitpold Himmler Playbook. "it's hereditary"

https://books.google.com/books?id=YvFDBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37&dq=himmler+cross-eyed+quote&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiniI7QjK_VAhWDOj4KHcajBMoQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=himmler cross-eyed quote&f=false

So you or your culture changes the term , then it was "slave like souls". If anything you suffer from ignorance. You note symptoms to problems, not the problem, nor any solution. Humanity has not evolved without hope, redemption, and the will to help each other. Labels matter. Ask any ethnic minority. So what is your solution.

And while we are on the topic, if anyone in a professional capacity in US used a term like "4th worlders ", they more than likely would be out of work or terminated from employment.

On 7/27/2017 at 3:16 PM, gentlemanjackdarby said:

4th worlders - great term. 

Would your 4th worlders, "them" socially backward, with alcohol / drug problems, violent, no education include people with mental health issues. Are autistic people or people with learning disabilities  your "them". Not sure about  Belgium, but this is not an enlightened view or helpful to the human condition. I suppose in your view, we could like years ago place "them" in "Nut Houses", how about lobotomies, maybe a Nazi SS solution to the 4th worlders. More like your view is below a 3rd World Country.

58 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Sorry to burst your bubble.

From a US perspective almost anyone with serious money will very unlikely retire in Thailand. Maybe visit as a tourist, and even that now gets poor press. Too crowded, too far, too complicated. There still is a niche market for the wayward. Or, dual residences. That's not cheap. 

So let's play with an average SS Pensioners budget of 80K baht per month, then maybe a modest IRA of 200K USD. Staying here, you get Medicare. Most decent towns have senior care services like meals-on-wheel, daily activities, even day or weekend trips, order your stuff on-line. If you look and are decent, and if you don't own, you can find decent rent. People even Group   Up.

Maybe the grass can be greener, right where you are. And, you don"t have to make yourself miserable living to a budget. Make the most of it, or stay in your pant load of woulda, shoulda, coulda. That goes for Thailand, too.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They only want to see a ticket to here not a return or onward ticket. Many embassies and consulates want to see them to issue any visa.

There is no consulate in DC. You apply at the consular section of the embassy. Their requirements are here. http://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-o

7.  Letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record (verification have to valid for not more than three months and must be issued from a state or Federal Bureau of Investigation only. Online criminal record without authorizer’s signature is unacceptable )

At the DC Embassy,  It also states, "no criminal record', ' I requested the FBI Identity History Summary which takes about 10-12 weeks. I have read this information can go, as far back, as in your teens. It can note any incidents dismissed or expunged by the courts. I am assuming anything noted in this report is a Show Stopper' for applying for a Long Stay O-A Visa. They would not accept any remediation in any form by anybody no matter the seriousness or length of time in history for anything on this report.

A better indicator would be distribution of income in Thailand. For example, even in the US at minimum wage with no expense sharing with family and friends you might be living out of a car. Through media, you might think most people live in two car garage houses with two SUVs and work for Google or Apple. Not complaining, but it ain't all Disney World. And, many inner cities are beltway drive over or past war zones. The elderly held economically hostage in one room project housing. 

19 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

If you have an income of $2,000 a month that is enough.  Just go to the Embassy in Bangkok and swear to it and get a certificate.

 

If you go to the right agency they will manipulate the 800,000 b thru an account they have.   No need to worry.  The right agency will do absolutely everything for you just walk in with your passport and tell them what you want.  It will cost you of course but you did say in your original post that you were willing to pay so.......

 

But, it appears from all the negative posts I have read now in this and another thread, that you have decided not to come here anyway.

So, I guess it is all a mute point.

Good luck in your retirement choices hope you find a place right for you.    

I have more than a $2000 USD monthly income, money in cash, and money in an IRA. The VA will give me a health certificate. I submitted the FBI fingerprint 'rap sheet' paperwork, will be waiting for that for two months. I am 66 who knows what!s there,  in fact, I talked to them and they don't really know for petty things that happened 40 years ago. They can't even confirm if a case was dismissed by a state court. In those days, they were only interested in felony cases. The Embassy tells me anything there is Show Stopper. No appeal. And, it would cost me plenty to mediate the issue. I not expecting anything

Plan B, there's this supposedly a 90 Day in country Visa that can be obtained that can be extended for a year, and more years, if you meet the financial requirements, no security clearance or medical check though under a tight banking timeline. Better facilitated through an agency. Then I am told this 90 Day Visa can't be used for exploring retirement. I don't get this option not has it been explained very clearly.  Maybe chasing a scam.

I am not negative about Thailand. It's my dream to return there to travel the country over an extended period of time, maybe years. I lived there. Loved the people and culture. Get to know more. I didn't find much of this Anti- Farangs thing. Except for the a-holes you would get anywhere. We will see.

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Geez.  I am certainly no expert on this but you seem to be making it difficult in your mind.  I came on a 30 day passport stay, went to the embassy got my income verification, then applied got my retirement visa.  Like I suggested before, come here and do it, it is much easier. Yes they give you 90 days first here, then go back before it expires and get the 1 year.

Again, come here and do it.  If you are still confused bite the bullet hire an agency your first time I did and I got everything (90 day and 12 month so 15 months total).  The agency walked with me thru BKK immigration, handed out a few envelopes and I was out in 45 minutes.

I am with you. An Agency claims they do all this in country. However, they claim I need a 800,000 THB security deposit in a Thai Bank for two months, then I go to the US Consulate for proof of income or cash equivalence of 800,000 THB. And, maybe the health check and background check would most likely not be required by immigration.That's 1600,000 THB. I can handle this financially, but a security deposit of 800,000 THB. I am not even sure I can wire that lump sum in one transfer. Or how long the 800,000 needs sit in the bank.

10 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Geez.  I am certainly no expert on this but you seem to be making it difficult in your mind.  I came on a 30 day passport stay, went to the embassy got my income verification, then applied got my retirement visa.  Like I suggested before, come here and do it, it is much easier. Yes they give you 90 days first here, then go back before it expires and get the 1 year.

Again, come here and do it.  If you are still confused bite the bullet hire an agency your first time I did and I got everything (90 day and 12 month so 15 months total).  The agency walked with me thru BKK immigration, handed out a few envelopes and I was out in 45 minutes.

My problem is a worked for a huge multinational company and the military. I traveled all over the world, sometimes short stays, sometimes long stays, overfilled my passport many times. They used somebody and I as all set, ready to go, no problems. Flights, Hotels, Visas, or immigration. No background checks, People ready to show you the ropes. Got spoiled. And, those days are over.

You are correct. The 90 day Non Immigrant Visa would seem not to be for the purpose of exploring retirement. The description was noted from a Thai Visa Agency and I did not read the details from the LA Consulate Site. The Agency claimed, for a fee, they would handle retirement option.

 

http://www.thaiconsulatela.org/service_detail.aspx?link_id=34 

 

So. I am still confused about comments that not one can get a 90 Visa then within country opt to long stay, one year renewable Visas.

 

Sorry for the confusion. This is not looking optimistic.