Martyp

I got my O-A visa at the LA Consulate in February 2017. I stayed in a hotel walking distance from the Consulate and dropped off the application 1 day and picked it up the next

The visa you get will allow you to enter anytime for one year. Each time you enter you will get 1 year of stay from that date of entry. If you leave and enter just before the end of the first year you will get 1 year of stay on re-entry which means you will have gotten about 2 years of stay on the first visa.

That initial visa allows you to leave and enter the country multiple times during that first year. The multiple entry permit does end after the first year. I never gets extended an additional year when you re-enter. That means if you plan to travel in and out of the country during the second year you have to purchase a new multiple entry permit. Others have said do this at the airport. You can also do it at any immigration office.

The LA Consulate will tell you to report to immigration after 90 days. What they mean is that you must report to immigration if you stay in the country continuously for 90 days. However, if you leave the country and re-enter before you have been here 90 days then the 90 day clock resets. In my first 90 days I returned to the US twice. On my 2nd return the 90 day clock started again.

Once you get here you want to open a Thai bank account. This may not be easy. You may have to go to several branches before a manager allows you to open an account. I got lucky the first time because I had my Thai girlfriend with me and she convinced them to let me open an account. Don't panic. Just keep trying.

Make sure your bank in America is capable of supporting international wire transfers. I had problems with Wells Fargo Bank. I changed to Bank of America and have been happy with them. You want to make sure they don't have a limit on the amount you can transfer. The other annoying thing is that they want you to have a US address and telephone number. I have the cheapest ATT plan I could buy but I'm looking for something better.

I looked into shipping a small amount of things to Thailand. Either it was too expensive or too slow. I ended up coming with just two suitcases. You should know that, in Bangkok at least, most condos are already furnished. Mine came with all the furniture, TV, pots/pans, and dishes. At first you think that you need a lot of things from the US but after about 6 months you realize you don't need most of it and the rest you can obtain here. My advise - resist the urge to reproduce your US life in Thailand.

BTW - You will hear about some expats using agents to help them through the visa process while in Thailand. I've never used an agent. It isn't that hard and it is good for you to personally experience and know the process. The speculation about the recent changes to the financial requirements is that it was done to eliminate some of the practices of agents. I have a good friend who came to Thailand on a tourist visa and then used an agent to help get is 1 year extension base on being over 50 years old. His agent helped him a lot and he is happy. Agent or no agent. Up to You.

In Bangkok you can apply for a 1 year extension 45 days before your visa expires. 

13 minutes ago, yang123 said:

It would be great if you could post a copy of "the letter" here - Thai version alone would be very helpful.

I think this is it.

 Before I went to Immigration I payed Kasikorn 200 baht to print 6 months of past statements. These were the statements the Immigration officer didn’t care about. She instructed me to go to the Kasikorn office downstairs to get “the letter”. It is whatever she wrote down on the note she gave me. I have a photo of the letter. It is in Thai. I should probably get it translated. I was just planning to show it to the bank next year to show them what I wanted.

Get a printout of your statements. I’m always in favor of being over prepared. 

I got my 1 year extension of my Non-immigrant O-A visa last November. I bank 800,000 baht all year. I did the extension myself and it was pretty easy. This also conforms to the new rules. It really depends on if you can afford to do it this way and not worry about it. Many people don’t have the money or are concerned about interest rate issues. It up to you.

22 hours ago, steve73 said:

The bank letter just confirms you are the owner of the account, and the amount on the day it is issued.

 

You also need a 3 month statement stamped & signed by the bank (or some times a copy of the bank-book if it's kept up to date is accepted) to allow the I/O to confirm you have seasoned the funds adequately.

I suspect that in future you will need a 12 month statement (or possibly longer, ie. 13 months, back to your previous extension date) to allow the I/O to confirm the account has been operated above the new specified minimums.  

No. Last November the Immigration Officer in Bangkok wouldn’t accept my 6 months of Kasikorn statements. She wrote down what she wanted. I took that note downstairs to Kasikorn Bank. They issued the letter which I then gave to the IO. She took that letter and not the statements and sent the bundle of documents to be reviewed. I also updated my passbook that day after withdrawing 1000 baht. I got my first 1 year extension of stay an hour later.

90 day reports have nothing to do with extensions of stay. You had to do them before the recent changes to financial rules. We don't know yet how they will confirm the 800,000 baht 3 months after being granted an extension of stay. That is to be determined. Everything else is speculation.

I also maintain a constant 800,000+ baht balance throughout the year. I only have one account. I transfer money for month-to-month living to that account and just don't let the account balance to drop below 800,000. The bank letter just confirms that I meet the financial rules.

I wire transfer money from Bank of America to Kasikorn. The transfer fee is $35 and it shows up in my Kasikorn account as a domestic transfer. Someone explained to me that international transfers are handled by Bangkok Bank and then show up in Kasikorn as a domestic transfer. I think I also read that you can go to Kasikorn and they can produce a  record showing that it is an international transfer however they may only be able to go back 3-6 months.