Over the last few months I went through the process of getting an LTR visa. I had never looked into the visa until I had no money in a Thai bank to renew my marriage visa. My pension wasn’t enough to qualify but the withdrawals needed to buy a house, and then a condo, and build a house, gave me enough passive income to qualify.
The application process was super easy aside from the website which seemed a bit buggy. I did it all on my phone over a couple hours and if I did it over I’d use a computer. I only received one request for additional information, and I sent the 176 pages of my complete health insurance booklet. I wasn’t in a hurry but after the 20 day deliberation time had entered 30 days I wrote asking if they needed anything additional and they approved my application that day. I printed out the three forms that come with the approval notice and booked my appointment to receive the visa.
For the appointment I go to the LTR lounge and take a seat. Everything is collected and I sit for a while. After an hour or so I am asked to sign my passport copies and am then taken for a photo, then back to the lounge to sit before being taken to window where I pay. Then back to the lounge where after a while I am given my passport with visa. The whole process was a bit over two hours.
The whole point of this post is that I read several stories about people having not printed out some form or missing something. The BOI sends the instructions of exactly what you need to take, and that’s it, there is nothing else. The other thing is that I’m not sure how having a visa agent would help in the process. All my financial and insurance information was already in pdf form so it’s just a matter of sending it directly to the BOI rather than having a middle man do that. Lastly, just the peace of mind the visa provides is just amazing. It’s like a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The end.