Phil Clark

I went to Penang for a Non Imm 'O' visa last December.

Some of the information in my trip report may be of help.

Click on: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4065&hl= to view the thread.

He is new. Don't be pedantic, and let us all help. Of course a re-entry permit is what he means.

Have a bad hair day Mr Pong?

If letting someone, new or not, know the correct procedure and terminology in a given situation is being pedantic, then yes I am a pedant and happy to be one.

Perhaps if more members took the trouble to point out misconceptions there would be less confusion and misunderstandings.

I wonder which form the Immigration Officer would have given him when he asked to apply for a multiple entry visa? Perhaps he would have simply told him that he would have to apply from a Consulate?

I believe that by telling the poster that he would need a multiple re-entry permit rather than a 'multiple entry visa', plus the cost and timing involved was being helpful.

He clearly did not know there was a difference: I suspect he now does.

What help did your pompous snipe provide, hmmm…?

Once I've obtained my retirement visa, it would be my intention to immediately apply for a multiple entry visa. I'm not sure how often I would be leaving the country each year but it would simplify matters for me just to pay the extra fees there and then. At least, it would ensure that i did not have to apply for a re-entry permit if I wanted to escape from Pattaya at Songkran.

Alan

How can you apply for a multiple entry visa after you have extended your 'O' visa for retirement purposes?

Do you mean a multiple re-entry permit?

If so, that will cost you 3,800 Baht and you can go out and back in as many times as you like during the extension period of your 'O' visa. You can apply for that as soon as you get your 'O' extension.

The only way for an under 50 is to marry a Thai, or invest 3 million baht in Thailand

in a government bank or a condominium.

Not applicable to me as I am already sorted, but what Dr PP says could help a pal out. He is under fifty and has a top end condo he bought in his own name a year or so back for way in excess of 3 million Baht.

Could this allow him to apply for a Retirement Visa or some equivalent? He has all the TT3's and so forth fully documented.

Thanks

Phil

Relatively recently, I recall reading a post saying that to open a Thai bank account requires you to have a Non-Imm 'O' visa and be registered for tax, "PERIOD".

I have searched at length to find the thread using various 'key words' with no success.

Would the poster, or someone else, please direct me to the thread?

TIA, Phil

I 'borrowed' the following from the http://www.bahtbus.com Message Board. It will be interesting to see if he gets a reply.

TO BOB ANDREWS OF THE EXPAT TELEGRAPH

Dear Bob,

I congratulate you on writing the biggest pile of crap I have ever read under the banner of The Daily Telegraph.

The Daily Telegraph used to be a well-respected organ within the quality press when I lived in UK. It appears that their recruitment budget has how now been 'down-sized', affording them to only employ 'organs' to fill available column space.

Did you actually research the subject before tapping out your slanted words? No, I thought not. Why let the truth get in the way of what you obviously believed would come across as a good story. The truth can be a nuisance for some in your 'profession', it would appear.

Firstly, may I say that yes, the financial requirements for a foreign male obtaining a Non-Immigrant 'O' visa on the grounds of being married to a Thai national will be doubled as from the 10th of July 2004. However, there is no definitive indication or statement from the Thai Authorities to the effect that the requirement for 400,000 Baht to be permanently held on deposit in a Thai bank account as from the 10th of July.

You seem to be unaware of the principles behind even the current proven income/cash requirements. The very purpose of having an option between proven income or capital (or a combination of both) is to ensure that a foreigner is sufficiently funded to care for himself and his dependants whilst living in Thailand. The logic is simple: If one does not have a proven future monthly income stream to meet the requirements, the existence of a proven cash sum in a bank account at the start of a year that approximates to the same income over a year will serve the same purpose. As you maintain that successful applicants will be unable to touch the capital upon which they are supposed to live, are you suggesting, therefore, that those with a proven income stream are not allowed to touch that money during the tenure of their visa?

In any event, how would the Thai Authorities stop a foreigner from withdrawing money from his bank account? The worst the Authorities could do would be to deny a renewal application a year later, but that makes little sense given the income alternative.

Secondly, I refer to 'Jim Francis' and his past visa status. You infer that Mr Francis has been relying on obtaining a Non-Immigrant 'B' visa, affording him the ability to only leave the Kingdom of Thailand every quarter to remain a legal guest. If he has been doing this in the past with no intention of obtaining legal employment and associated mandatory Work Permit, then he has been falsifying his intentions on his visa applications. That practice is currently illegal and will remain illegal after the 10th of July.

Thirdly, I refer to the income you state that Mr Francis receives. You state that his pension amounts to 9,500 Baht per month whilst he has been ostensibly comfortably paying 2,000 Baht per month (24,000 Baht annually according to you) from that to keep his dubious visa up to date and himself therefore legal.

That leaves him with 7,500 Baht per month upon which to support himself and his wife. Unless Mr and Mrs Francis reside in a free hovel, live from hand to mouth, fatten up cockroaches so they can have some meat on special occasions and otherwise 'live with nature', they must be living to a standard that would cause the most unfussy of derelicts to complain before moving on.

You, emotionally it would seem, state that Mr Francis is 62 years of age. Surprisingly enough, people of that age are prone to suffer from failing health as the years advance. There is no National Health Service available to foreigners (or anyone else come to that) in Thailand so what happens should he become unwell? How will he be able to pay for Doctors' fees and medication? He will clearly have great difficulty but he will certainly not become a burden on the state, as he will simply not be cared for at anyone's expense but his own.

Moving on from the obvious to the more patently obvious, do you and Mr Francis believe that Tony Blair is going to jump on his white charger and flash his sword at the Thai Premier? Thaksin Shinawatra could not give a flying whatever for Brits who obviously cannot afford to live in their own country, let alone live in his as a pauper. Why should he? If you do, then you both must be many prawns short of a dish of Kaow Pat Goong,.

And oh please do tell where the clearly knowledgeable Mr Francis gleaned the information that: " the average family income in Thailand is 3,340 Baht (£49) a month." Perhaps he had a surf on Google when he was checking his share portfolio?

The last paragraph of your piece was classic as you quoted your poor Mr Jim Francis:

""What right has anyone to say I can't support my wife on 9,500 Baht a month? I've been living happily with her for the past seven years, have never got into debt and we've never gone without."

Let me help you here Jim. It is not your country and the Thai authorities have every right to say what they ###### well please about any foreigner who thinks he is above their laws and pompously believes he has a right to live in their country with funds insufficient to keep a family of gerbils at a standard that would make a Vet weep.

As for you, Bob Andrews, you should resign immediately, as should your Editor. You are a disgrace to your 'profession' and give even the lowest of the lowest hacks in the as was 'Street of Shame' a bad name.

I look forward to your prompt reply but will not be holding my breath.

Anyone know the opening hours - lunch break time of Immigration in Soi 8 in Pattaya?

The office is open from 08.30 -16.30 Monday-Friday. There is no official lunch hour as far as I know, but sometimes they will ignore you between 12.00-13.00.

My last two visits were between those hours and they were serving customers throughout.

Best bet is to call them on 038 410 240 and ask.

Worst case if they are closed for lunch is to have a couple of beers in the Sailor Bar next door.

The following appeared in Stickman's latest column:

"It's better to let it expire!

The new laws for drivers licences are in place. I had a 1 year that was due to expire on March 13th. I checked the week before and was told that I had 2 choices. If I renewed it then and there, I could get another 1 year. If I waited until it expired, I could get a 5 year license. Went in on Monday the 15th. Needed photos and copies of passport and visa. No residence certificate or doctor certificate. Costs were 505 baht for car, 255 baht for motorcycle. The new ones expire in 5 years, but they use your birthday as the expiration date, so these are good for 5 1/2 years. Ready in 1 hour."

Can anyone definitively confirm or deny this claim?

TIT I know, but the logic of the one year versus five years defeats me...

I successfully applied for a new Tourist visa in Singapore last September. I had a string of prior Double Tourist Visas but there was no problem.

Had you just arrived in Singapore from Thailand? My understanding, both from what I have observed and what I have read, is that the Thai Embassy in Singapore hassles the visa seekers who are making a visa run straight from Thailand.

Yes, I had flown in the previous evening from Bangkok.

I might add that I had a chat with the moslem lady about retirement visas, explaining that I was not yet eligible for one but asked her about their policy in Singapore for issuing Non-Imm 'O' visas.

That was three months prior to my 50th birthday. She just shrugged and said that I should do that in Thailand.

Perhaps the fact that I was so close to retirement age may have softened her attitude with the Tourist visa?

Nah, probably down to my dashing good looks and winning charm.

Hello,

I wonder if anyone can help me with a simple question. I'm going to visit the thai embassy in Singapore for a new tourist visa and i wonder how long it will take to get a new visa there. If i deliver my passport and papers Monday morning, when can i pick up my passport again?. Has anyone any experience in this and can answer my question, i would be very grateful... If someone has any advice for me i would be happy to receive them as well.

I successfully applied for a new Tourist visa in Singapore last September. I had a string of prior Double Tourist Visas but there was no problem. I put my application in mid-morning and picked it up the following afternoon.

I did not need or ask for a multiple, but my understanding is that they are reluctant to issue more than single entry.

EDIT:

Sorry, I did not read the full thread before posting.

i am travelling to thailand in may on 2 month visa with b a can i travell on one way ticket?please advice me as i dont know how long i will stay , i might try and lease a bar when i get there. im travelling from london.

If you are planning to lease a bar, then I would say it is essential to have a return ticket.

If someone with a Work Permit loses his job, what is the situation with that permit, -does it automatically become null and void?

Is the holder obliged to report the situation to the Authorities?

The armchair experts on here have caused me untold worry in the past and all for nothing. Unless you are a real live immigration officer SHUT UP even when so called officers make statements here it's always anonymous WHY ? Because the bloody rules change so often that even they are not sure that what they say to you today will be true tommorow.

Nooky, your defensive reply to the suggestions that you are a Troll is overwhelming by its absence.

You spouted: "Unless you are a real live immigration officer SHUT UP."

So. Sir, please tell us the name of the Immigration Officer who handled your 'successful' application and the Immigration Office concerned.

I am sure that others would be pleased to apply through this upstanding vanguard of the drive towards pragmatic flexibility and understanding concerning farang that do not like the rules of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Your expected continued silence would speak volumes.

I hope you enjoyed your moment of 'fame', but now you have to back it up or be seen as the clown I believe you to be.

Can you produce the goods? No, I thought not.

Name names or just run along, there's a good lad...

Enjoy your stay - hold your own council and don't use todays rules for a visa that you may require in 2 to 3 months the rules will probably be different then and you will do all the worrying for nothing.

So you are not remotely concerned about renewing your visa in July?

Be prepared to eat your own words about rules.

Not that it matters, if you really did apply for an 'O' visa on the basis of marriage, I do not believe your story as stated for a moment.

Keep on ...trolling along, just trolling along...

Apply in the morning day one, and pick up in the afternoon day 2. Check so there is no Thai or Malaysian public hoildays, because the Thai consulate will be closed.

Get there early, they open at 9.00 am and they only accept applications up until noon. You then return the following day at 2.00 pm to collect your Passport.

Also check for Christian holidays as they were closed at Xmas last year, despite their supposed religion(s).

If you fly Thai Airways, you will have to fly out in the morning the day following picking up your Passport, as Opalhort kindly pointed out.

Please let us know how you get on.

For what it's worth, have a look at a trip report I wrote not too long ago.

I am sure there must be an easier way of quoting the link (anyone tell me how please, I'm too lazy to find out for myself!) but this should get you there or thereabouts:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4065&hl=

Have a good trip.

Thais can be added to a yellow booklet, no problem.  Also, once a foreigner obtains permanent residency he is given a blue one.

So how would a farang who just bought a newly constructed condo (first owner) stand if he was given a Blue Book (and chinoot in his name) but not a Yellow Book?

My understanding is that any farang with a valid visa (even Tourist) can legally purchase a condo provided that all the other criteria are complied with (TT3, 49% farang ownership restriction etc).

What is the significance of a Yellow Book as opposed to a Blue one?

down in pattaya, i remember there used to be a beer bar open during the day called the "f+ck you too" i went in a couple of times <some real dog biscuits in there, so they kept it dark inside>

why can't someone open a beer bar that specializes in dipshits that know all the upcoming visa changes. when you ring the big bell, it doesn't buy the girls a drink, you have to stand up and announce your freshest BS visa idea.

Yes, there was a bar of that name but they changed it to the 'Love You Too' bar when the 'Social Order' campaign was in full swing.

Odd how the 'Dog's &lt;deleted&gt;' retained its aesthetically pleasing name, yet the 'Nice and Sleazy' Bar changed its telling name to 'Nice and Easy'.

I am pretty sure I know the board 'not' referred to at the start of this thread and it is Pattaya based with 'Lovers' somewhere in the name.

The 'expert' presenting his dubious info is well-known for being an attention-seeking no-hoper who scratches a living by conning people with favours in the form of 'in the know' information, eg 'cheap' taxis. He actually resides in Bangkok, living the 'high life' in a 3.5k baht per month condo.

Perhaps he was one of triplets and got stuck in the middle at feeding and playtime.

They can do that change, but usually won't. This one looked as though the extension could have issued on the strength of just a tourist visa. I wonder whether there was a change of classification on another page of the passport.

That was the exact same question I asked, but was categorically assured there were no other stamps showing a conversion.

That is what makes it so strange as I 'know' that you can convert a Tourist Visa to a Non-Imm 'O' without leaving the country (according to the guru Khun Pallop on the 3rd Floor in BKK). Perhaps the conversion is 'invisible'.

The applicant also confirmed that he only paid 1,900 Baht in toto. Had there been a conversion I would have expected it to bear a cost.

And there was I thinking I was becoming an expert too!

We live and learn it would seem.

Could it be that this whole subject suffers from 'Moving Goal Post Syndrome?'

Here is an Aunt Sally for all you experts out there:

Can a foreigner over the age of 50 with either 800k or proven pension of 65k pm or combination of both get an initial Retirement Visa in the Pattaya Immigration Office in Soi 8 if he is just at the end of his six month triple-entry TOURIST visa. i.e. WITHOUT a Non-Imm 'O'???

It was not my intention to ruffle any feathers, but rather to allude to the fact that the application of the so-called rules is not as black and white as some preach.

I recently had a disagreement with a pal of mine over Retirement Visa requirements. I was adamant that you must have a Non-Immigrant 'O' as the Retirement Visa is by definition an extension of an 'O' visa. My pal was equally insistant that a Tourist Visa could be extended in the same way. To cut a long story short, he had been involved in a discussion on the very same subject on another board and was provided with 'evidence' to support his view. Below is what he forwarded to me, although I have blanked out the name of the individual for obvious reasons:

The above certainly seems to show that the applicant did in fact successfully get his extension (and before anyone points it out, the person concerned was unaware that he could have extended each Tourist Visa entry for 30 days).

On the face of it, this does not make any sense according to what I thought were the current rules. Regardless, that is what happened.

Moreover, the following is the information sheet that the Immigration Office in Pattaya Soi 8 now hand out to would be applicants:

Not that a possible omission actually proves anything, notice there is no mention of a requirement to have a Non-Immigrant 'O' visa.

It seems to me that the interpretation of Thai Immigration rules is clearly an Art and not a Science.

well heres some more info. yes i want a multiple entry. and a type O. ultimatly i want to get a retirement visa.  so i have to get the non immigrant first.  any info would be much appreciated. thank you all

I went to Penang for the same reason in December 2003 and wrote a trip report on how it went.

Search on my exact name, 'Any Date' and click on the thread entitled:

Thai Embassy Penang

Non-Imm 'O' Visa

Hope that helps

Could it be that this whole subject suffers from 'Moving Goal Post Syndrome?'

Could it be that different Immigration Offices apply the 'rules' differently?

Could it be that 'rules' vary with the mood of officials?

Could it be that certain self-appointed 'experts' believe they know far more than they do?

Could it be that erroneous advice from the 'knowledgeable' causes people unnecessary grief and makes them incur needless expense?

Here is an Aunt Sally for all you experts out there:

Can a foreigner over the age of 50 with either 800k or proven pension of 65k pm or combination of both get an initial Retirement Visa in the Pattaya Immigration Office in Soi 8 if he is just at the end of his six month triple-entry TOURIST visa. i.e. WITHOUT a Non-Imm 'O'???

The answers to that question should reduce the credibility gap from within which far too much erroneous advice has being offered of late.

So, what say you, 'experts'?

The above, whilst being a tad tongue in cheek, is not a wind-up, it really is a serious question.

I know of a person who applied under the above circumstances this (2004) year.

How did he get on and what was he told, hmmmm?

That is it Fred. The full amount in the bank solves the problem. Remember the $$$ requirements increase in July 2004

As far as I was aware, the requirements for a Retirement Visa will remain at 800k in a bank, 65k per month income or a combination of both.

Are you saying they are going to increase the above? If so, what are the new levels?

Why not just apply for a double entry Tourist Visa or will the UK no longer issue them? If successful, that would give you a full six months (inclusive of two 30 day extensions).

Tor Tor Som?

Sorry but im just trying to picture it.

He is referring to a Tor Tor Sam (TT3) which shows that monies came in to a Thai bank account from overseas in a foreign currency.

Just for general info, if you bring money in for the purchase of a condo, in Pattaya the TT3 MUST specifically state that purpose. I recall the code they use is 5.22. Without it, the Land Registry will not accept the form and therefore not give you title.

No

I do so enjoy in-depth, detailed and well thought out replies...

On a more serious note though, could the asset generated by the personal purchase of a condo be used as part of the requirement for proven funds as required by certain visas in the eyes of the authorities?

It just happens I was recently asked the question by a friend who may have problems meeting the cash in bank criterion when he needs to renew.

Anyone know?