partington

if ur legal in the US , open an account there at a BIG bank (Chase, B of A, Wells), put some significant cash in it and get an ATM card .

u DO NOT want to be in thailand w/ only one (shaky) way to get to ur cash .

Sorry not really feasible. I leave US for good in one day. All my money comes from UK now-imagine trying to pay UK rent and UK offshore bank bond interest into Bank of America! Tricky.

Consensus seems to be I'll just have to try to open a UK offshore checking account.

Incidentally I didn't say that Barclays Bank had cancelled my UK checking account, all I said was BarclayCARD had threatened to do this, and I was worried that this policy might suddenly be applied by Barclays Bank too, though I have no reason for thinking so. But then I had no reason to expect Barclaycard to cancel my account after 10 years either!

[incidentally for anyone in same position: a quick phone call to Barclaycard with the statement that I was leaving the US to go back to UK (=untrue) and giving my brother's address seemed to completely satisfy them, and they are not going to cancel now. Not that I care about the card-I've used it once in the past three years]

Just find a list of banks, close your eyes and stick a pin in it and you'll be right.

Your mistake is that you are trying to prove your address is in the UK when you don't live in UK.

Just provide proof of address in the country where you DO live and it's no problem.

Thanks for help, but I think you might be misunderstanding my post a little. I know I can either

1. open a UK account (needs proof of UK address) or

2. open an offshore account (needs proof of foreign address).

I can't do 1. for reason you state, (but it would be a whole lot easier to have a UK account to deal with stuff arising in UK, eg accumulating rent money, paying bills for flat repairs etc. So I really hope Barclays don't cancel my account)

I can't do 2. because I am literally in transition from US to LOS and so would have practical difficulties in providing proof of residence in either place now. Add to that the fact that many UK offshore banks (eg Barclays, Clydesdale) don't offer products to US residents (I know , I've checked) means practically I'll have to wait to apply until I have residence etc set up in LOS, so could provide that residence proof.

I just don't want to find half way through the transition that Barclays cancel my account leaving me with no account yet set up to control, move or manage money!

Never mind, I'll just have to wait , I appreciate that.

cheers

Virtualtraveler

Thanks for the very full answer-very helpful indeed.

As a general point: I do know Barclaycard are a different company to Barclays Bank- it just worried me that this suddenly happened with Barclaycard after 10 years of it being perfectly OK for me to have a non-UK address. I always got replacement cards fine, so something has just changed with Barclaycard. I don't really need the Barclaycard in any case, I was just worried that whatever policy they are suddenly applying might in the near future be applied by Barclays Bank too, also suddenly after 10 years of it being perfectly fine. (It seems odd that it's OK to have a bank account with a non UK address but not a credit card from companies that are somewhat related)

As for other replies: thanks but I think applying for NEW UK bank accounts from overseas , even if you give a UK address in your application, is really difficult to almost impossible. The ID requirements now imposed need you to verify your address in UK with utility bills etc. Also opening a new offshore acccount is possible but still needs the notarised passport and utility bill verification, and I don't really have time to do it in the time I have left (because my address will change from US to LOS in 4 days but I don't know exactly where ). But I'll definitely have a go when I get there, and settled.

However if I'm mistaken and someone could give me the name(s) of UK banks that have accepted an application from overseas recently that would be really useful-

thanks!

I have just got this astounding letter from Barclaycard beginning:

" We've noticed from our records that we have a US address for you. Unfortunately under the terms and conditions of your Barclaycard it's not possible for us to maintain a permanent overseas account, Therefore we regret to inform you that on 5th July 2010 we'll have to close your account."

It goes on to say that if my residency in the US is temporary and I have a UK bank account let them know (by phone) and they'll update their records, and keep the account open.

This is astounding for several reasons. 1. I'm a UK citizen, but I've been in the US for 10 years and they've not had a problem

2. If I just give some UK address on the phone eg my brother's, then they'll just accept it?

This might seem a bit irrelevant to a LOS forum, but bear with me:

What worries me is that I bank with Barclays Bank and if they also close my bank account I'm screwed. I've quit my job here in US, and am 5 days away from moving to LOS. I had carefully planned finances and how I was going to transfer money. The cash comes from rent of house in UK and from an offshore bond (4.5% interest on £250K!) and from a lower interest instant access internet offshore account with less cash in it. All of these ( bond interest, rent and online electronic transfers)go into my Barclays UK account, which I would then use to transfer money to a LOS account by phone (or letter if more than £5000). All working fine.

If they suddenly decide to close my Barclays account (I don't have another UK one) I'll have no way of even receiving this money in the UK, or any way of handling money at all never mind sending it to a Thai account!

Does any one know if Barclays Bank are likely to do this to me too? Should I just call Barclays telephone banking and change my address to a UK one (sibling's) to forestall this possible eventuality? Would they just take my word for it?

Any advice appreciated! My great escape is suddenly looking like it could become a trip up s*#t creek..

Apologies for some misinformation.

I am trying to get a black & white link regarding some change of policy on Visas stamped in the passport as opposed to computer printed if you know what I mean.

I will update later.

Actually no, have no idea what you mean. Please don't spread scary misinformation! Thanks!

Dave,

you should really trust lopburi3 and the others. Even Hull has got it wrong in this reply. It isn't as hard as it seems:

1. The O/A is the name of a visa that you apply for outside Thailand on the basis that you are retiring in Thailand. It isn't given inside Thailand.

2. Another way to retire in Thailand is to get a non imm O visa (FOR ANY REASON eg collecting folk songs in Chiang Mai). Then when in Thailand if you suddenly reach 50 and have 800000B in the bank for three months you can go and get your original O visa extended. Basis for extension? Retirement. What you have then got is NOT an O/A visa (Hull's mistake). It's your original O visa, which you have just extended inside Thailand, for the reason of retirement. It is just an extended O, which you can then extend indefinitely annually (or until they change the rules).

Honestly it's that simple. O/A outside Thailand. Extended O inside.

cheers

RESPONSE TO ME (OP) FROM ROYAL THAI CONSULATE (HULL) re applying for "O-A" Visa in Thailand.

I have looked through various comments on the link you provided and my comment is that someone has become confused between the "O" visa

and the "O-A" visa. Every foreigner who wishes to enter Thailand legally for a purpose other than tourism needs to obtain a non-immigrant visa of

some sort. The requirement of a category "O" non-immigrant visa is necessary in a number of situations including people who are entering Thailand

because they wish to apply for retirement status. Information on the website of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Non-Immigrant

Visa "O-A" Long Stay states that whilst applicants may apply at the Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate-General in their home country

(there are no Consulate-Generals in the UK) they can also apply at the Thai Immigration Bureau in Bangkok. Additionally we know it is possible to

apply at Thai Immigration Bureaux in main Thai cities/towns. However, if applying in Thailand, it is not possible to be able to enter Thailand without

first being in possession of a non-immigrant category "O" visa. I can assure you that many UK passport holders have entered Thailand with the

"O" visa and have subsequently successfully applied for the "O-A" (long term) visa.

I hope this helps.

Regards

Alan Taylor

Hon Consul

<div align="left">Royal Thai Consulate

Priory Court

Saxon Way

Priory Park West

Hessle

HULL HU13 9PB

United Kingdom

</div>

thanks guys. I love LOS! every experience from 'it's absolutely impossible' to' it's incredibly easy'! All true I'm sure. I'll do as you suggest and shop around starting with the named branches here. I liked the giving of the address of the hotel without mentioning it's a hotel tip. And I always dress nice for 'official' visits-I know what thais think of 'birdshit' farangs!

cheers

Hi there

I'll be in LOS in a week or so for a couple of weeks, and have an eager long term plan to do the retirement thing.( I thought it was going to be this year but moan moan it could be in two whole years now!) For a number of reasons it's going to be easier for me to apply for a visa extension(either from a tourist or nonImm O) within the country, when the time comes. So to help fulfil the 800k bt in the bank for three months requirement ifor a retirement extension, it makes sense to open an account now, so I can transfer money in plenty of time when I need to.

I've read some conflicting stuff about how easy it is to do when you're just on a 30 day waiver and don't have a permanent address in the country.

So my question is: has anyone done this recently, and if so what bank and branch was it ( I'll be in BKK) and what docs did you need? (I am Brit citizen , living in US.)

Many thanks for this info!

cheers

Brilliant and informative post, thanks wpcoe. As a sideline, did you find it easy to both get a bank account and rent a permanent place to live with just a 30 day stamp? Both obviously necessary to go through the procedure you describe. Thanks again

yes you should. I'm tired of people on this board who claim airily that you can get a NonImm O easily for "visiting friends".

While I don't doubt that this can occasionally happen (many years ago?) it is clearly as rare as snow in July and to all intents and purposes discount the advice of anyone who tells you this.

Very bad information given Pattaya46

Yes, you can get a non immigrant O visa if you are under 50. You do not have to be married. You do not have to have Thai parents. You must be visiting for Bussiness, Professional education or other non tourist activities.

Sorry, but you are the one that is incorrect. One will not be issued a non-immigrant 'O' visa for any of the activities you list. Business visitors are issued non-immigrant category 'B' visas, students non-immigrant category 'ED' visas, missionaries non-immigrant category 'R' visas, etc. Suggest you review the list at Non-Immigrant Thai Visas before you are so quick to criticize.

Visiting friends and family of friends is an acceptable reason. A letter from a Thai friend would certainly bolster the chances of approval

Once again you are incorrect. "Visiting friends" is not technically a valid reason for a Thai consular office to issue a non-immigrant category 'O' visa, although some of the smaller, friendlier consular offices may in fact do so. A Thai embassy will generally follow the letter of the law and category 'O' is usually reserved for dependants/family as Pattaya46 stated.

Ovenman, yes you are correct. I am partly wrong. I took my information from the Thai consulate site in Brisbane. Whilst typing the reply I inserted the "O" after non immigration Why??? Probably because that was the type of visa I obtained from them. It was not intentional.

Aplologise to pattaya46 in this case, as I was responding on my own experience. IE: Multi non immigration O visa issued for visiting friends.

Next time I'll just shut up and leave it to the experts

just to add -I was researching a few weeks ago about how to get a 90 day non-imm O (in the US) to then extend the stay inside LOS to a one year "retirement" precisely to avoid the the hassle of doing the whole O-A application within the US, with all the required documentation etc. I was advised to do it through Houston (among other things), and put researching into retirement as the reason. I feared, and it now proves true, that if you put "retirement" on a non-imm O application form they start trying to give you an O-A, NOT a 90day non-imm O. And so you get asked for all the documentation for O-A. Clearly this strategy is wrong..o dear

Plus I don't understand the person who said they got several O-A's through the mail without this documentation. There's clearly a misunderstanding here. You DON'T get O-A's from outside Thailand without this documentation-you get O's, even if they are valid for a year they're not O-A's!

It seems my Houston strategy needs a rethink. O well, my potential investment windfall that would have enabled me to do the retirement thing looks like it isn't going to happen soon if ever, so it's becoming a bit academic for me......aarghhh

OK thanks all

Looks like I'm being a little too wary and this might be easier than I thought. I might even just try doing the whole thing from here. Even LA might be alright because when I say I'm nearing the dreaded 50 I mean I'm one week away! Now if only those investments go like I hope.......

cheers for the info

You're 50 now so apply at LA if you like, but you can apply at other Consulate's by mail. Houston and Denver are good bets.

Thanks Doc, but to quote JimGant above:

" LA, as of a year ago, would NOT entertain O-A visas for anyone but US passport holders. So, forget them."

I'm a Brit, and I thought it would probablybe useful to repeat this info to save others a wasted application!

I ideally wanted to avoid the full OA application here because the medical cert. and police cert. thing in the US seems complex (e.g will a police cert from here even count with the Thai immigration authorities because I'm a UK citizen, though I've been here 10 years) and expensive. I may not have the choice though, and may have to try a full OA at one of the lesser consulates that can cope with a green card holder applying...

cheers for the help

Oh dear! Didn't look at this thread for some time (busy). Sleepyjohn, I know that getting a normal 90 day O visa and then extending it in Thailand is a way of getting an extended 1 year "retirement" stay. It's by far the best way because you don't need nearly as much documentation , no police cetificate and health cert is done in 5 mins and at a tenth of the price. I WANT to do this.

My problem, stated at the start of this thread, was that I didn't understand HOW you get the initial non immigrant O visa. Really to be honest I still don't.

ALL the consular websites. UK AND US, say versions of: "if you want to tour or visit for long periods apply for a tourist visa: don't apply for a non immigrant O , these are for business, education,visit thai wife or relations, etc. All these O's seem to ask for supporting documents. I saw one that appeared to be a guarantor statement that you had to get someone in Thailand or your home country to sign saying 1.how long they've known you and 2. that you have enough money to support yourself and get home and 3.that if you don't, they agree to pay for you!

And now here you are saying apparently that you can just write "visiting friends" on the O application, not add any supporting documents and they'll just give you one??? Is this right?? How did you do it??? And where???

cheers

I wasted a lot of time and money telling the consulate in UK that I wanted a retirement visa. They asked for a No-criminal-record thing which took a month and money from Scotland Yard. Also medical certificate from my doc which cost £25. Etcetera.

When I got my passport back it had exactly the same OM visa I had got the two previous years when I filled in the form where it asked "reason for visit" as "visiting friends", and hadn't mentioned retirement. I had been told to put this in by a friend who's been coming for twenty years.

The "retirement visa" is actually an extension stamp issued in Thailand.

Hope it helps.

Good luck

thanks guys, it's getting much clearer. My plan should be: 1st do the very easy but non-officially sanctioned non O application at Denver. If refused, do the OA complete at Houston or Denver. Leave LA alone and as a last resort, hire Siam-legal to do it for me.

Now I'm prepared. Wow, this may really happen!

cheers

woah! you see how hard it is to work out what to do!! Thanks for the replies, even though they are somewhat contradictory, ie harpman was told 'you only qualify for the OA full retirement visa' while LoveDaBlues got in on a multi non-O by saying he was scouting for retirement locations. I'm sure these are both accurate posts and really reflect an alarming (or encouraging!) lack of consistency between individual offices and visa officials... I'll just have to try it and see

I still favour the multi entry non O approach so far: LoveDaBlues can you remeber what supporting documents you had to send in to get the multi O at Denver? A list would be much appreciated!

cheers

Thanks Dr PP and JG, but, oh no! now I'm all worried again!! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that even though the forms on the LA consulate website specify that, for example, you need a police certificate from 'your state of citizenship OR RESIDENCE' that they still don't accept applications from a state of residence. Nor that someone mentioned on another thread that they contacted their police department (in Hawaii) for a police certificate , and that police department didn't know what they were talking about. This is just what I was imagining would happen, baffling difficulties.

So can I ask just another couple of follow ups?

1. Dr PP were you joking when you said contact the FBI for a criminal record certificate??????????

2. If I do try to apply at Houston for a multiple entry O, what EXACTLY do I give as reason for O application? If I say 'retirement extension once I get to LOS' is that acceptable? It's just that this never appears as a reason justifying applying for an O on any of the forms. And so there is no detail of the documents you would need to submit for this application reason, because it doesn't appear as a reason qualifying you for an O. Sorry to be so particular but I can imagine being told 'if you want a one year "retirement" visa you should apply for an OA' and so forth

cheers

OK thanks all

Looks like I'm being a little too wary and this might be easier than I thought. I might even just try doing the whole thing from here. Even LA might be alright because when I say I'm nearing the dreaded 50 I mean I'm one week away! Now if only those investments go like I hope.......

cheers for the info

Hi all

at the risk of getting a series of more or less irritated "use the search function" responses, I have a few questions that my last two hours of using the search function and reading haven't made clear.

My status: I'm nearly the dreaded 50. I'm pissed off and want to make a wild escape. It's just possible that I could make some cash this year and if I clear $500000 I'm seriously thinking of jacking in the job and making my 7th visit to LOS indefinite...

So retirement visa...yippee! From my reading it seems that getting a 90 day non O first, then extending it to a one year in LOS with a qualifying bank deposit of 800000B is much the easiest way. Much less documentation to get etc etc. Certainly looking at the US embassy website (I'm a UK citizen, but green card resident of the US) the amount of certification, bank documents, police documents medical certificates you have to get and notarised is completely daunting, with the distinct possibility that one or all of them will be found wanting or incorrect and returned for several attempts. I've no idea how you get a criminal record certificate or what one is even...Also many posters here imply that immigration aren't familiar with the OA, and won't readily give you a 1 year stamp at Don Muang if you arrive with one. Whereas the extension process in LOS described on the forum and for example here:

http://www.gaybutton.com/retirementvisa.html

seems very easy.

But my question is: how on earth do I get a non O!!?? I don't have any business, family or other justification that the embassy site seem to suggest is necessary. It seems you can't just say cultural research, tourism etc So how do people do it?

An alternative strategy, but one that seems a bit dubious and the subject of contradictory information on this board, is to go on a 60 day tourist visa, change the status of this to a non O at immigration in BKK, and then apply for the one year retirement extension. But many people say you can't apply for a long stay O inside the country when on a tourist visa, that you basically can't change status from tourist to non O. Can anyone tell me if they've done this? Is it common, accepted, certain, or one of those things that's an exceptional circumstance relying on an officer being in the right mood on a sunny day...

This guy

http://www.geocities.com/huahin_photos/tha...rement.visa.htm

seems to have done it by a combination of the two ie going to LOS on a tourist visa then leaving to get a non O in Penang, and coming backto apply for the retirement extension in LOS. But he doesn't say what the eligibility requirements for the non O in Penang were. I assume again you need a business education or family support reason to get your primary non O that then allows you to apply for long stay retirement, and you can't just say retirement is the reason for applying at that stage. Is this right? Any help from someone who's done these things will be appreciated. Or even a post from someone who's done the complete retirement application in the US before leaving indicating how onerous it really is. (I think I have to use the LA consulate where I am).

I want fun in the sun!

cheers