oldcpu

I have applied for a 90-day Type-O visa in Phuket, after having entered Visa Exempt. Previous I was on a Type-OA visa, that was invalidated when I left Thailand without a re-entry permit on that Type-OA Visa's permission to stay. Previously, for my Type-OA visa I was using proof of funds (800K) in Bangkok Bank which came from abroad (and I have proof of that). But for the Type-O I transferred funds from Bangkok Bank (that came abroad to Bangkok bank) to Krungsri bank, and I applied using the funds in Krungsri as proof of the 800K THB. When applying, I was not (yet) asked for proof of the 800K THB coming from abroad. I probably could have provided that, but it would have been a complex trail of money from abroad to Bangkok Bank (transferred a few years ago) to Krungsri bank (6 months ago). So it would have been complicated. Fortunately I was not (yet) asked to produce. This was 2 weeks ago and I am to show up at immigration in 3rd week of November, hopefully to pick up my 90-day Type-O Visa. But its still possible I could get a phone call between now and then, asking me to come in to immigration, to show that convoluted paper trail. I will know presumably in 3rd week of November.

Thanks. I will contact Boi.

No one says that, as far I know. The problem is, how can one buy such? The banks I went to will not assist in doing such.

The conversations at these banks were in Thai language with my Thai wife translating. I asked for more detail as to why K Bank didn't allow foreigners to buy bonds on the secondary market and my wife said she was told by the bank that there was a limitation with their trading app. The bank requires secondary market bond purchasers to use the app " G wallet" and purportedly one can only register on that app with a Thai citizen ID card number.

I went to KBank in Phuket. They stated the opposite of what you posted. They claimed they would only sell to foreigner on primary market (ie at issue) and not at secondary market. .. Maybe every branch is different. I also visited Bangkok Bank, GSB bank, and Krungthai bank and I was told the same from each bank. Krungthai will only allow Thai to buy in secondary market. Further I was advised it typically difficult to buy bonds at issue time as there is a mad scramble to buy and they are typically sold out in seconds. So if I don't come up with another investment approach that is satisfactory to me then I may pass on the LTR. .. I don't want to buy more real estate than what I already have. Another different LTR story. The Phuket KBank I went to had a foreigner with a new LTR Visa show up, and try to open an account. The KBank ( assistant bank manager) was advised by her management to not allow an account to be opened for the foreigner with the LTR Visa as the Bank procedures had not yet been updated to allow accounts to be open with that LTR Visa. Those on the cutting edge of getting this Visa may encounter issues that will take time to go away.

I agree completely with the above if 2.5-million baht is a significant/majority of one's finances. In my case, I like to have a certain % of my portfolio in bonds (I believe in diversification) in addition to stocks, real estate and other investments. So if I am going to own bonds, it might just as well be Thai bonds, as long as the amount is not too large. Hence 2.5-million Thai baht in bonds is fine for me. But 9.5-million in Thai bonds is a greater % in bonds than I would like given other potential global investments for my portfolio. As you say, its the choice of each of us, as to how we invest our hard earned money.

This will be a necessary point to clarify for me. I am ok with purchasing ~2.5 million Thai baht in Thai Government bonds (as I like to carry a limited % of my portfolio in bonds), but I don't want to invest any more than that together with the current condo that I own in Thailand (for investments in Thailand) , else the Type-O (with its constant 1 year extensions) will start to look more appealing to me at present time.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will go to my Bangkok Bank branch, and see what options I have.

Thanks for the suggestion. I see now (from another post) that Bangkok Bank may have possibilities, so given I have an account there, I will try that first, and failing that, go to KBANK.

I will need to obtain clarification on that. I could but I have no desire to purchase $250K US$ equivalent (9.4m THB) in Thai bonds (nor purchase any more real estate than what I already own). So if I had to buy more bonds than the 2.5m THB, it would change the ball game for me. 2.5m THB would be ok ... but much more than that and I prefer to have the money more fluid to use elsewhere. That's interesting. This will be my first non-imm Type-O. Previous I had a Type-OA. Hopefully the 90-day Type-O expiry won't complicate my travel plans (to leave Thailand with a re-entry stamp on the permission to stay, leaving for 2 weeks) in the 2nd/3rd week of February-2023. If I don't go for the 10-year LTR then I am probably going for a 1-year extension of the Type-O based on retirement, applying end-January-2023. I'm not using an agent ... and I have no desire to do so, BUT I have friends in Pattaya who always use an agent. An agent saves them the hassle of a long day or two at immigration, where Murphy's Law says without an agent, one could be unlucky to be at immigration for many hours on a crowded and hot day. The older one gets, the more unpleasant that becomes. From what they tell me, they pay closer to 15K.

Correct me please if I am wrong, but Thai Government bonds are NOT being purchased for their interest, although obviously that is a secondary consideration, but rather to show an investment in Thailand. Bonds issued in other countries are simply not accepted to qualify for a Wealthy Pensioner (who uses the $40K US pension criteria) as part of the $250K US equivalent investment in Thailand.

No - my substantial savings are outside of such a plan.

I am considering applying for the LTR Visa (Wealthy Pensioner) and I have a question about purchasing Thai Government bonds (to be a Thai investment) to qualify to apply for the LTR visa. I am currently on a 45-day Visa exempt, waiting for a Type-O that I applied for to be approved (I am supposed to go to immigration on the day after my 45-day Visa exempt permission to stay expires). Assuming I obtain the the Type-O in the 3rd week of November, that will give me a permission to stay until sometime in January (if the permission to stay is measured from my application date). Hence I am thinking to apply for the LTR Visa as soon as I get the Type-O visa. I don't meet the $80K US$ equivalent per year retirement income for a wealthy Pensioner (as my pension source is Europe and the Euro has dropped significantly, bringing my retirement income below that $80K US equivalent criteria). I do meet the $40K US$ equivalent. Hence as a retiree I am considering the $40K US equivalent per year, plus a $250K US equivalent investment in Thailand. My 50% share of the condo unit I own in Thailand is not enough to meet the $250K US equivalent, so likely I will need to purchase about 2.5-million of Thai government bonds to be assured of meeting the $250K US (with some extra margin). Any recommendations as to the best bank to buy Thai government bonds ? My understanding is neither Krungsri nor Bangkok bank (where I have bank accounts) support such purchases, and further I may have to purchase via a secondary market - as opposed to waiting for buying on the issue date. I suspect it not necessary to go for a 10-year bond term (ie 5-year term, followed by buying again in 5-years) although possibly a 10-year term is easiest if one is not concerned about tying up that amount of money (where I am not concerned about typing up such amounts). I also was told foreigners are limited to 2-million Thai baht worth of Thai government bonds, although I suspect that is limited to a specific series of bonds ?? < not sure > . I want to purchase 2.5 million (so to have margin in case of further Thai baht drops vs US$). For the moderators - if this is in the wrong forum area, please feel free to move, or to simply delete, with a suggestion of a better location to post such a query. I am happy to start a new thread on this topic.

I flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok with a one way ticket (Thai airways) arriving Bangok visa-exempt (as my Type-OA was invalided by my leaving Thailand without a re-entry permit). I had an inexpensive, legitimate, one way ticket out Thailand (Krabi to KL) but Thai Airways never asked for it. They did call me up to the counter in Bangkok, paged through my passport, saw the Type-OA-Visa and extension stamps, but likely missed that the OA was invalid. When I arrived in Bangkok Airport at immigration, the IO asked for my Ticket. I showed my boarding pass and the IO repeated, she wanted my ticket. I was digging through my backpack to get both my original FRA-BKK ticket, and my 'Krabi-to-KL' throw away ticket, when my Thai wife the IO exchanged some words in Thai, and the IO waved me through without having to show a ticket. I never expected the immigration IO to ask for my ticket. .. Further on this topic,consistent with Dr Jack54's comment, a friend who recently flew from Vietnam to Thailand, planning to arrive Thailand visa-exempt, was asked in Vietnam, for his ticket, showing his departure from Thailand. He had a throw-away ticket which he showed and so he was allowed to board. He was not asked for his ticket on arrival in Bangkok. My opinion is having a 'throwaway' ticket is a good idea for some cases (such as entering Thailand 'visa-exempt' ).

Thanks I recently did the same (leaving Thailand on a Type-OA extension to void that Visa), and re-entered Visa-Exempt (45-days permission to stay, as I arrived in October), and subsequently applied for a 90-day Type-O visa. Like you, upon departing Bangkok, the IO at Bangkok departure immigration kindly pointed out to me, I was voiding my type-OA extension permission to stay. And like you, upon arrival at Bangkok (when being given a 45-day permission to stay on Visa Exempt), at Bangkok arrivals immigration, the IO was kind enough to make sure I was aware I was getting only 45 days stay, also possibly from seeing my previous extension stamps. The 45 days permission to stay (instead of 30-days) turned out to be very handy, as for health reasons I was not able to report to immigration to apply for a 90-day Type-O visa, until after being in Thailand for 2-weeks.

I don't know about Jomtien requirements, but I know in Phuket, where I applied for a 90-day Type-O visa (earlier this week), I was asked for either: (1) copy of my lease and the landlord's ID/house registration, or (2) copy of my deed for a condo I owned, and copies of pages from the associated Blue book. This information is not listed on the Phuket volunteers website as being required for a 90-day-type-O visa (that I could see - maybe I missed it ?? ), but I was asked for this information/copies at immigration. I own a condo, so I provided a copy of 'my deed' and copies of my 'Yellow book'. They initially accepted that, but I will see if later they ask for the old 'Blue book' pages copies ... The Phuket IO asked I exchange Line social media information, so they could confirm my residence. A couple of days after the type-O visa was submitted, I was asked to do a short video chat with the Immigration, showing me in my condo (in the video chat), showing me by my condo door (where condo # visible), and by the condo road entrance (showing condo name/address). Apologies, I can't provide any experience with regard if one is a renter - but the point I wanted to make is other immigration offices also have requirements that can appear unique to them.

I prefer not to use an agent myself , ... but I believe an agent is perfectly legal, where I suspect (suspect as I have not yet used an agent myself) that one in essence grants the agent 'power of attorney' to do the immigration dealings on your behalf (likely sign a document to that effect ? ) . I have friends who live in Jomtien who much prefer using an agent, as opposed to potentially spending a long day at immigration and run into an obscure quirk in the paperwork that might even cause things to run into an extra day. Their view is the 15,000 to 20,000 baht for an agent they know is reliable is money 'well spent' , and they believe it is worth not spending what could be a difficult day at immigration. I just completed applying for a 90-day Type-O visa (previous I had a Type-OA visa) and it was a very long tiring day for me, going to the bank, and then to immigration, where immigration was a zoo, over flowing with foreigners - and hence long waits. That is the situation my friends prefer to legally pay money to an agent, to avoid. Don't forget what ever approach you adopt, that the application fee for the Type-O is also 2,000 baht.

In early October I arrived Thailand from Europe, and was not given a TM6. In Phuket I completed an application for a 90-day Type-O Visa a couple of days ago. In the TM87 application form I left the TM6 field in that form empty. I had no problems with that field left blank.

I recently returned to Thailand from Europe, where my Thai Airways ticket had me only entering Thailand (with no return Thai Airways ticket) outside of Europe. I had read one really should have a throw-away ticket, so in fact I did buy one, which I posted about previous on this forum ( I bought a legitimate Krabi to Kuala Lumpur one way ticket for 740 Thai baht.) In Frankfurt, Thai-Airways did not ask for my return ticket. BUT I suspect they saw my old Type-OA visa (in my passport), so my old permission to stay, and saw (an no longer valid re-entry permit) and mistakenly thought I had an appropriate re-entry permit, which I did not have. In Bangkok, the Thai Immigration Officer (IO) asked for my ticket. I passed him my boarding pass, and I was told, "NO - ticket". I did not now which ticket he wanted? The ticket to fly to Thailand, or my ticket showing me leaving Thailand. I was rummaging through my backpack to get both tickets, during which the IO ws talking to my wife (in Thai). I have no idea what was said, but then the Thai IO waved me through, and I did not have to show a ticket. I asked my wife a week later what was the discussion she had with the IO, and she could not remember it. ... In the past few days, a friend of mine entered Thailand from Vietnam with a one way ticket (Vietnam Airlines). He was ask to show a departure from Thailand ticket. He was entering Thailand Visa Exempt (as his previous Type-OA visa permission to stay had expired). He had a throw-away ticket (legitimate) that he showed them, and they allowed him to board.

A couple of days ago I just completed at immigration in Phuket applying for a 90-day Type-O visa (based on retirement). Back in August (with a Type-OA visa) I deliberately left Thailand without a re-entry permit so that I could re-enter Visa-Exempt (which I did in early October) and then apply for the Type-O. Fortunately I was given 45-days permission to stay, for the day after arrival in Phuket I came down with COVID symptoms (likely caught COVID on flight or in Airport in Europe, as other than myself and wife, no one else was wearing a mask). ... So it was two weeks before I recovered and was able to safely go to immigration (fortunately my COVID symptoms were very mild). So with about 30-days left in my permission to stay, I applied for the 90-day Type-O visa. It took the entire day (immigration was VERY crowded) but in the end my application was entered in the system. My permission to stay expires on a Sunday just under a month from now ... and I was told to come to immigration (with my passport and blue receipt for the 2000 baht) on the Monday after (ie one day technical 'overstay') to presumably have a Type-O Visa stamped into my passport. I would have applied sooner for the Type-O (ie a day after arrival in Thailand) had I not come down with COVID symptoms (later confirmed to be COVID). The 45-day permission to stay with Visa Exempt is very nice - providing extra margin to apply for the Type-O Visa.

At the Krungsri branch in Central Festival in Phuket, to show 800K in my account (for 3 months) it took them about 15-minutes (albeit that was over kill as for my applying for a Type-O I think I only needed to show the money in the bank on the day I went to immigration). Krungsri advised me for their branch to show 800k in the bank for a year would take them longer (a bit less than an hour). Still, it is superior to my experience of Bangkok Bank in Phuket, where to show for one year my Bangkok Bank branch in Phuket have to contact Bangkok, and it can take a few days to a week. I am in the processing of applying for a Type-O visa (having left Thailand without a re-entry permit to invalidate my Type-OA visa) and I am currently on a Visa Exempt. Likely I will wait until the 3rd week of November before I post (separately) on whether I succeeded to get the Type-O Visa. I did successfully complete the Type-O Visa application at immigration a couple of days ago, so I am positive about getting the Visa. ...

I suspect a number of us who were on the type-OA visa plan to do such an 'expiry' of the Type-OA to come back and obtain a Type-O. I left Thailand a couple of weeks back, invalidating my permission to stay on my type-OA Visa. As I left Thailand the Thai immigration officer at Phuket airport was very good and he pointed out to me that I had no re-entry permit and that I would invalidate my permission to stay when I left. I stated to him I was hoping to return with a different visa (other than the type-OA) and he nodded - which makes me believe he was aware various expats were doing such. I return to Thailand early October, and I plan to enter Visa Exempt. I might get a 45 day permission to stay with that (given some recent news), but regardless, within a few days of my arrival in Thailand, I plan to apply for a 90-day Type-O Visa. I have the required money in a Thai bank already (from when I had it in the bank to support my Type-OA visa). ... Then in the last month of my permission to stay on the 90-day Visa (ie in early December), I plan to apply for a 1-year permission to stay based on retirement. This means a few trips to immigration when in Thailand, but I live less than a 20-minute car drive to immigration, so for me the travel is not an issue. I see no need to apply for a Type-O (?) outside of Thailand in my case ... possibly the need to have money in a Thai bank, and also possibly the distance of where one plans to live (in Thailand) to the closest immigration might be the main reason (?) why one would want to apply for the visa from outside of Thailand?

Actually there is no such written and then signed agreement about NATO expansion. Maybe (and maybe not) there was a handshake on this behind closed doors, but there is no such written signed agreement about NATO expansion. If you know of such, please point out the signed agreement - and show the EXACT signed agreement and wording where I have my facts wrong. I can thou, point to you a signed agreement, where (after fall of Soviet Union) that when Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, that Russia (and USA) signed a document stating they would not invade Ukraine. Sadly, Russia broke that agreement. .

Thanks. That's an interesting option - although I hope to avoid such , as there are places (in Thailand) I wish to be after I return Visa-Exempt in October - I prefer to avoid a side trip to Vientiane - but its good to have such as a fall back. I've been pondering if I will do this, but whether they say yes or no, will it change my approach? I don't think it will. If immigration say "no problem" then I don't have to do anything. And if immigration say there IS a problem (and I need to bring 800K in), then as soon as I arrive back in Thailand in October, I simply transfer the foreign equivalent of another 800K THB into Thailand. I prefer not to do that, but I would rather transfer another 800K THB than a side trip to Vientiane. I think I can do that transfer (if told needed) in a few days or less so I can have the money in time. Hence in this "problem" case, where I can still transfer more money to Thailand, I don't fully understand the need for an early visit to immigration. I just don't like the idea of putting more money into Thailand (into Thai Baht) than necessary. Perhaps if the Thai Baht was weaker, then I would not mind as much the transfer (buying a weak Thai baht in such a case). I am incredibly lucky I have many options - and fortunate to be able to monitor this forum , receive feedback, and have my various options planned, such that however "the cards play out" I can adopt an appropriate approach. I appreciate the feedback/comments.

That's my plan. I am fortunate that I can open a new 800K Thai Baht account (in Krungsri) without touching the older existing fixed account (with 800K) in Bangkok Bank. Great !! Thanks for sharing that. That is encouraging.