Mike Teavee

I don’t believe that’s true you can get a Re-Entry permit for the Non-IMM O to protect your permission to stay for the whole 90 days from your 1st entry so nothing to stop you leaving & then doing your extension when you get back. Obviously you can’t get a Re-Entry permit if you’re Visa Exempt & I think you would probably need to remain in-Country for at least 15 days until you got your Non-IMM O. it’s possible that your Agent will be converting you to the 90 day visa + getting the 1st year extension in 1 shot (quite a common way to do the conversion in Pattaya, costs 23,500b, takes a couple of days & you get the 90 day visa + 1st years extension so good for 15 months) I don’t know the implications of travelling before your extension “kicks in”, would suggest you ask the question of somebody like Maneerat (Visa Agent in Pattaya who have done all of my friends conversions) who should be able to give you a definitive answer about whether you can travel outside of Thailand in the period between getting your Non-IMM O and being on the extension that the agent has got for you with it.

You 1st need to wait until your re-entry permit expires & then leave the country ending your current permission to stay and Non-IMM OA Visa. You then have a choice of coming back in Visa Exempt/Tourist Visa & doing a conversion (would need at least 15 days) OR do a long weekend in Laos/Vietnam OR go back to your home country to get the Single Entry 90 Day Non-IMM O Visa. Once you have the 90 day Visa you can apply up to 30 (45 days in some places e.g. Jomtien) in advance of it expiring for a 1 year extension which just takes 1 day.... If you did need to leave Thailand in the 1st 60/45 days you would just get a Re-Entry permit & as long as you return with a couple of days left before it ends, can do your 1 year extension when you get back.

I agree 100% & I wouldn't have even bothered getting a Visa at that time if it wasn't for the fact that I was spending almost every other weekend in Bangkok & got stopped on entry at Don Muang one time to explain why, haven't flown from/to DMK since. Penang was by far the easiest place for me to get a Non-IMM O & as a bonus they gave me the 12 month multi-entry variant, at that time getting a Non-IMM O from the UK wasn't possible ( @Bday Pranghas kindly explained that it is now possible even though the Website suggests you need a State Pension) & getting it in Singapore wasn't an option as I didn't go for PR before I hit 50. I think in fairness to long term Non-IMM OA holders, it was a great Visa before the Health Insurance requirements kicked in as you could do 1 trip home every 2 years (Border Bounce just before the end of the 1st year) & get a new one, so never needed to do an extension or even have a Thai Bank account (although it seems when @TigerandDog got his he had to put 800K in the bank after 3 months, am not doubting him but this is the 1st time I've heard anybody having to do that & have read of many guys who are happy with the fact that they don't need to have any money in Thailand with their Non-IMM OA).

I sort of agree with your last point, but think they should scrap both & come up with a new “Retirement” Visa whilst “Grandfathering In” existing holders. Of course this would only “Cement In” your gripe about Non-IMM O getting preferential treatment over Non-IMM OA but again, unless changes are made that impact Non-Imm O holders retrospectively I will always be receiving preferential treatment over you.

You call it “Lazy” I call it making the best use of my time (a bit like paying for Fast Track access at the airport)… works out at <17b pd… Worth it to me, not too everybody. You have consistently complained about Non-IMM O holders getting preferential treatment over Non-IMM OA holders so to make things “Equal” it would have to apply retroactively as it did with Non-IMM OA holders. So either you do want it applied retrospectively or don’t want to see the Visas being “Equal”, make your mind up.

Non-IMM O wasn’t available for me in the UK as it requires you to be receiving State Pension (eVisa website still says you need this) so I got mine in Penang as I was working in Singapore at the time & didn’t have the time to spend 2 weeks in-country doing the conversion.

TBH I think they had somebody who spends the day at CW that would get you a Queue number before you arrived… No need nowadays with the appointment booking system.

If it is/was mandatory to attend then I’d happily show up at Jomtien to go through the formalities. CW was a pain to get to (approx. 1.5 hours from On-Nut) but I found using an agent you were in & out quickly even before they introduced the appointment booking system as the Agents know the best times to attend.

No need to attend for Re-Entry Permits (even at CW) & strictly speaking your attendance is not required for your Extension as you sign an agreement with the Agent authorising them to do it on your behalf, however CW will only accept non-attendance for Medical Reasons so you would also need a note from your Dr. there. I used to use an Agent in Bangkok & did have to attend with them for my extensions but not for the Re-entry permit I got to my initial 12 month Multi-Entry Visa before getting on the Extension treadmill, since moving to use Jomtien IO, attendance is not required.

Why should Agents be declared illegal? I use them (for convenience) for all of my immigration needs despite keeping the 800K in the Bank. The next 10 days are going to be interesting as I need to Extend my Non-IMM O Visa Get a Multi Re-Entry Permit Do a TM30 change of address 90 Day Report (Despite doing a TM30 which obviously reports my address to immigration ) You can bet your bottom dollar that I will legally be using an Agent to do all of the above (8K for the extension, 4K for the Multi-Rentry Permit, unknown for the TM30 & they normally do a new 90 Day report for me as part of the Extension). PS. I also have Health Insurance (Visa Friendly Policy with Pacific Cross) which I got when they made it mandatory for Non-IMM OA holders as I thought there was a possibility that this would be extended to Non-IMM O holders but I wouldn't want to see this made mandatory as there are lots of guys that have lived her for decades who are too old to get it. Make this kind of stuff mandatory for New Visas by all means, but retrospectively making changes for existing holders that they cannot meet is simply unfair.

If you think Hong Kong would be a nightmare, Singapore would be worse as they only issues them to Citizens & PRs . I'd be royally screwed if Thailand insisted on a Police Report for the 12 years prior to retiring to Thailand that I spent working there!

Pretty sure it was “Aliens” who had been on unbroken Non-IMM O/OA visas for 4 years that were Grandfathered.

I would go for the LTR if I qualified (hold my hands up, I don't on income grounds as I'm living on rental/dividend income & due to Covid, 2000/2001 were bad dividend years for my main holdings) and if I was already planning on purchasing a >8.5Million THB property (Which I am).... I wouldn't bring in $250,000 for any other reason than to purchase property. I would have gone for the Non-Imm OX if it had been available when I was getting my 1st (Non-IMM O) visa hence me creating the topic, but have more or less decided now to wait out the next 2.5 years until I can show a guaranteed > $40K income from my private pensions and go for the LTR As an aside I really am hoping that any changes to Retirement Visa will introduce a new 1/2 way "house" between LTR/Non-IMM OX and current Non-IMM O/OA giving a 5 year visa for higher financial limits... But I know i should be careful what I wish for!

Barclays will allow you to pay money into your investment/ISA account via a Debit card so I don't see why a Wise (MasterCard) Debit Card wouldn't work. Unfortunately I can't try it as I've just dug out my Wise Debit Card & found out it has expired ???? https://www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/video/how-to-videos/debit-card-payment-isa-gia/

An oldy (2008/2009) but a goody if you're a fan of the gritty British crime dramas.... Criminal Justice... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1188927/ Drama series following people accused of crimes and their journey through the British Criminal Justice System.

I don't "need" to change, I was just mulling over my options for long term stay in Thailand [I should have added in my OP that the upcoming changes to the Thailand Elite Visa also prompted my question as I've also been considering the 20 year 1 Million THB visa before the changes coming on 15th September] As things stand I have decided to stick with my Non-IMM O (I do keep 800K in the Bank + have Health Insurance anyway) and do nothing for the next couple of years until my pensions start to pay out & then will go for the LTR visa. Thanks to all for your replies & here's hoping any changes to the Non-IMM O include Grandfathering for existing holders

The current discussions about possible changes to "Retirement" Visas & potential increase in how much money you need to keep in the bank got me to thinking.... Is it possible to convert from a Non-IMM O to a Non-IMM OX without leaving Thailand? I know you would need... - 3Million in the Bank (or 1.5 Million and 100K pm income) - Health Insurance - Criminal Records Check But assuming you had all these & were happy with keeping a minimum balance of 1.5 Million in the bank (& ignoring the 1Million deposit protection limit) would it be possible to convert to the 10 year visa or would you have to "Exit" your current visa and get a new Non-IMM OX outside of Thailand?

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I seem to remember somebody saying the Embassy had updated their site to include higher finance requirements then quickly took it down... The above is still there today on the Sydney Embassy site... https://sydney.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-visa-type-o-a But on the same site to get a Non-IMM O you only need A$2,000 in your bank account! Proof of adequate finance - A bank statement in the past six months showing a deposit account with the minimum fund of AUD 2,000 https://sydney.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-visa-type-o-retirement?cate=60a49cffd5987e330c3424e2

Another video from Integrity Legal... More "Inspection Of Bank Statements" For Thai Retirement Visas? Key point is that Big Joke specifically mentioned that the lack of inspection of bank statements by Immigration Bureau officers is allowing some Foreigners to "Window Dress" their Bank Accounts.

Ouch... With that + a 100K pm income you could get the 10 Year Non-IMM OX visa. Speaking of which it's the 10 Year Non-IMM OX & new(ish) 10 year LTR visas that make me think they will introduce a new multi (5) year visa targeted at guys who can put more money in the bank. Funny enough, 1.5Million would be my guess for it or an income of 100-125K pm.

My post was what I think they will do... I believe they will Grandfather in existing holders (save for more scrutiny on Extensions) & create a new 5-year Class of Retirement Visa. Time will tell... Edit: Why don't you share your number, as I posted if they do increase existing limits I expect it to be 1Million/80K pm.

Maybe somebody should start a Poll... I would select an option that said no increases to existing O/OA Visa Holders (except maybe greater scrutiny on people having the money in the bank and/or income) & the creation of a completely new retirement visa based more on the OX... Not unlike what they are (rumoured to be) doing with the Thailand Elite visa, i.e. leaving the existing Visas as-is & creating a new class of PE visa. If I had to select an increase I would go with 1Million/80K pm...

It's well known that THB was pegged to USD for a longtime & I'm pretty sure it was UbonJoe (RIP) who shared that fact but I can't find the post as it was several years ago.

I seem to recall somebody saying that the 800K/65K pm was set to match on approx. $2K pm so at current rates that would be 70K pm /840K.