ryanqqq

On 3/21/2023 at 12:29 PM, ericdiam said:

Normal tourists cannot stay even 30 days as they need to return to work 

Only retired people can. 

If they really have the money for it. And not start working illegally as many doing these days. Sure the Russians started working and taking jobs from Thai. Uncontrollable anymore. Soso many already

There are countries that have 25-30 days of paid leaves. Some even more if they take vacation time in lieu of being paid for overtime work. 

I have similar intentions as you have. I initially thought of non o-a visa so I can let the fund stay in my account outside of thailand. But the insurance is a deal breaker. I was also advised here to go for non o visa. 
I also already have a Thai bank account so I just moved some of my funds there. I also have a time deposit and the idea is to use it for the long stay extension requirement and leave it there until I decide to leave.

28 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

. . . 

Considering that EU nationals can still enter the UK with their national ID cards, it's also questionable how much if any attention a busy IO in the UK would pay to the stamps in the passport of a Swede. The Swede in question might even have a valid ID card and could show that instead of her passport.

The UK no longer accepts national IDs from Schengen Area nationals since October 1, 2021. A passport is now required.

24 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Since your looking for some time to think about things....be aware that a visa exempt entry can be extended by 30 days.

Also after that (if available) you could obtain covid extension 60 day.

That would not stop you from obtaining a non O retirement. 90 days. 

The 12 month extension applied for in last 30 days of that permit requires the 800k to have been in bank for 2 months 

Keep in mind it's still your money to withdrawal and return to home country if you decide it's not for you.

One thing you may not have considered is that with the extension and maintain funds you can purchase reentry permit and use this as ongoing way to visit or live in Thailand.

Everything is much clearer now. I might indeed do the normal extension and Covid extension if that is still available. 
The re entry permit is a good info. Thanks. Depending on conditions then, I will definitely need that as I would like to travel to neighboring countries during my stay in Thailand.

If I decide to be based elsewhere, I’d withdraw some of the money but will still leave some as I will definitely go back to Thailand anyway even for a few months of stay. 

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Only had quick skim of your post.

1. Enter visa exempt. (As you have existing bank account).

2. Obtain non O retirement. 800k in Thai bank account on day of application.

3. That non O gives you 90 day stamp.

4. Obtain 12 month extension (if looking positive at that time)

5. Not happy here withdraw your money and leave Thailand anytime during that 12 month.

Plan 2. Use agent to obtain non O + 12 month extension ...cost ~25k+.

UP2 U.

Thanks for quick response. I’m daft. Thought Non O gives 60 days only. The additional 90 days gives me the time I need to decide including ample time to process the 1 year  extension through retirement.

Sorry to hijack the thread but I don’t want to create a new thread on visa exempt plus what I am planning and what my options are.

Depending on certain conditions, I might go for in Q1 next year for a long term retirement.

I will initially do visa exempt for a month. This is my question though. Want are my best option for next steps? I want a trial of 3 months total before deciding if I will go for a non O extension via retirement. 
1 Shall I extend for a month visa, then can I ask for non O after that for another 2 months and processing the 1 year extension on the last month prior to expiration.

2 Or am I forced to ask for a 2 months Non O and processing the 1 year extension during the last month. This will give me just 2 months to decide though, to stay for at least a year.

It is around march/april. If there is still Covid extension, that’s what I’ll use, but if it is no longer available, which is applicable for me above? Or other options pls. I am hoping the first option is even possible as I will do that. It is the ideal for me as I have never spent longer than a month in Thailand before.

Some info. I am 50 yo. It will be for Bangkok. I have the 800k already in the local bank there. I have a dual citizenship (France/Philippines). If I decide not to go for long term in Thailand, I’ll go to the Philippines. 
I am currently based in Europe. If Thailand or Philippines does not work out for me in the next 2 years, I may go back to Europe. 
sorry if some info are irrelevant. 
Thanks.

2 minutes ago, DaLa said:

I had a (Bangkok Bank) bank account for about 5 years before I applied for my extension based on retirement. I actually had to reduce it to 800k because IO in Phetchaburi was trying to squeeze me.  I finally acquired my extension in Nonthabhuri and was never asked to prove it came from the UK ( it did circuitously via a paid invoice), nor indeed anything other than the amount and timescale.

Thanks for this info. One less worry. 

I’m planning on staying in Bangkok as I prefer the bustle of city life. So hopefully they are OK with this as well. Worst case is I’d just transfer what is needed and use my current funds for  living expenses.

btw, sorry to Grecian for sort of hijacking his thread. I just have similar plans as you do, and I didn’t  want to create a similar thread.

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You need the medical insurance for every entry allowed by the OA via.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I was hoping it won’t be needed during the bonus year/months of visa validity. 
I would perhaps just go into the non-O or visa exempt entry and apply for extension based on retirement.

One more question please.

I have a bank account already and have slowly building my funds in baht. It has been active for quite some time. If I decided to go for visa extension, I would just top up to get it to 800k. Do they check that it should all come from overseas transaction? It did all come from overseas funds. My problem is that, it has been open for 5 or so years already, and sometimes I deposited my leftovers from my vacation. It is cash transaction though obtained from money changers. 

Sorry to leach on this thread. 
Question on non O-A possibility of getting almost 2 years of it. 
I understand if it is timed properly, re-entering before the expiry date gets another year. Does this require that the insurance also gets renewed? 
Also, if you did get in with a year of ‘bonus’. Can one still leave and return using the re-entry permit or if you leave, you’d lose the visa and have to start all over again?

My plan of doing this would not be earlier than June 2022, so hopefully, coming and going would be easier by then.

Additional confirmation it was not allowed on Thai-Laos border. I have a passort from France and the Philippines. 

I always use my  FR passport to enter Thailand as I need it to get back Europe where I live to avoid scrutiny. I wanted to use my PH passport to ditch the Visa on arrival fee in Laos for a short visit coming from Thailand. Not accepted. I had to purchase the visa despite having a valid passport that allows a 30 day stay in Laos!

I've done passport switch previously in Vietnam and Myanmar with no issues.

Vietnam recently added visa exemption for France and a few other countries recently. It wasn't so the last time I went there.