JimGant

I just went online to the thai consular section website and found that the $35 fee is waived if applied for by March 3. Does this mean my travel must be by this date or the application reach the consulate by this date?

Good question. Easily answered by anyone who has recently received a single-entry freebie: Was the "use by" date March 3rd (or 4th) -- or three months from date of issue? I would say the latter, except the following post raises some doubt (which may be an individual consulate issue, which are frequent):

Strangely, the Liverpool Consulate is now maintaining that to qualify for a free Tourist Visa the traveler must actually use the visa before 5 March rather than simply apply before that date, even though that seems to contradict the policy as announced by MFA.

Never saw any replies to that post.

Also, when I applied last year, the prepaid postage fee was less than $5. Now they appear to be asking $18. Has anyone applied recently and had to pay this much postage?

I don't know where you're applying, but I do see the Thai Embassy DC uses "$18.30" as the cost of USPS "flat rate service." They're half-right: this IS the cost of flat rate express (overnight) service. But, you're not restricted to this, as you can use the flat rate priority service, which only costs $4.90.

I guess they're trying to be helpful. But the cost of your postage -- and which delivery service you use -- is up to you.

I guess if I were a Brit, Halifax Bank would be my choice for sending money to Thailand. I would certainly appreciate the ability to do this online, which, according to the Halifax site, saves you 10GBPs over doing it by phone or walk-in. Out of curiosity, to your knowledge, is this a SWIFT transfer?

I transfer from my Nationwide Flex to Halifax.

Presumably, that can also be done online. How many days does that take?

The amount per withdrawal depends on the physical machine age. Older ATMs can provide 20 notes per withdrawal. Newer ATMs can provide 25.

Ian, thanx for solving that. I guess I haven't encountered any 20k machines.

what Immigration Office did you use? (Curious, 'cause not all Immigration offices will do same-day conversions and extensions.)

I am planning my trip to L.A. mainly for this reason.

Of the four official consulates (LA, Chicago, NY, Wash DC), LA is the worst choice, as they're the only ones that don't issue a multi entry Non Imm O-A. And their single entry O-A limits to one-year the effectiveness of the O-A visa (vice two-years for the multi entry variety).

Wash DC will take applications from anywhere in the US. Don't know about Chicago or NY.

If you transfer money from the U.S., no need to fill this form out as the financial institution you transfered the money from takes care of the U.S. Treasury reporting.

Please cite your source for that. It's clearly spelled out that you must file a FBAR (report of foreign bank and financial account) if you, at any time during the year, go over $10,000 in aggregate of your foreign accounts.

It's highly unlikely Treasury keeps an account on everyone sending money abroad. To keep tabs on all the nitnoy amounts being sent abroad -- then adding it all up to see if $10k is topped for accounts belonging to any one person -- is not feasible from a cost/benefit angle. We little folks aren't being screened.

For large amounts, the SWIFT coding system, and others, do have the ability to track the fat cats. And if such a fat cat doesn't file a FBAR, I suspect this would sound an alarm. And then the laws governing FBAR filing can be severely applied, as intended.

Having said that, if, indeed, Treasury knows how much money you've sent abroad -- because your financial institution has told them -- then even more reason to file a FBAR, as the law requires. If they know it -- and you don't file as required -- then you're maybe setting yourself up for some problems.

Again, it's the fat cats they're after, and who they track -- not us paupers.

But it takes little time to fill out the form -- and the fine for not doing so is substantial. So why take the risk that Treasury, hurting for money, finally does get access to everyone's finances abroad -- and then comes to the realization that it has a new source of revenue from expats who don't file required FBARs.

Amen...Another reason not to get your wife a Tax ID Number as well. Who in their right mind wants to include their wife on the IRS radar?

If she's a housewife (meaning she earns little to no income), why wouldn't you want to file "Married Filing Jointly?" Substantial savings over filing as a "Single." (That she's a nonresident alien makes no difference.)

The banks have your passport number and are required to report your account to the USA

I don't believe that's true.

30 Days by air.

15 days by land.

21 days by sea?

A lot of folks on this forum have missed their extension renewal window and have had to start over. Have never seen this to be a difficulty. As long as this doesn't become an annual event, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Immigration to raise a fuss, as there are a lot of honest reasons for being out of the country at renewal time.

That you successfully converted a 30-day stamp to a Non O and a retirement extension on the same day is nice to hear. Pattaya seems to be good in this department, as others have reported this same-day service. But why push your luck the second time? That this will be your second time doing this just might trigger a "come back for the extension" mentality -- thus possibly requiring a second income affidavit (which has been the case with Bangkok Immigration). Thus Lopburi's advice to get a Non Imm O while back home is sound -- you'll certainly have plenty of time to do it. Just remember a single entry Non Imm is valid for only 3 months, so check your timing. Also, some consulates, at least in the US, may not issue a Non Imm O on the basis of "I want to go to Thailand to retire." So, if you're from the US, you might have to shop around. Other countries seem less sticky on this.

And while you apparently didn't have a problem with the airline last time you traveled to Thailand without a visa, I wouldn't push your luck a second time without an onward ticket.

I would hate to spend an estimated 2,500 baht on a trip up to Bangkok from Pattaya to obtain an affidavit of income

Presumably, you'll have to come thru Bangkok on your way back to Pattaya. Why not just give yourself some extra time to pick-up your income afidivit.? To get it now -- and hope it will still be valid way down the road -- doesn't seem too prudent, as this would probably be a judgement call by the Immigration Officer.

20,000 THB per withdrawal at Bangkok Bank ATM's

Must be a limitation of your issuing bank. My daily ceiling with my Stateside issuing bank is well above 25000 bt, so there's never a problem getting 25k each time. Lately, however, I've only been using my Be1st ATM/Debit card. Again, 25,000 bt per.

A couple of times they loaded the 25 slots with 500bt notes. A big note on the machine said: "12,500 max dispense." But, that is rare.

I only use Bangkok Bank machines, attached to Bangkok Banks, in case the machine 'eats' my card (easier to rectify this way). Don't know much about other banks' machines. Believe I heard SCB can dispense 30,000 bt at a time, but maybe it was some other Thai bank.

Using the ATM scenario you need to consider that each ATM will limit you to 20,000 THB per withdrawal.

Maybe some do, but Bangkok Bank's ATMs will deliver 25,000 baht (assuming the 25 feeds are loaded with 1000 baht notes).

As long as you're not exceeding the daily limit established by your card's issuing bank, you should be able to get 25000bt per pull.

A good CPA will site you the State laws defining "residency" for tax purposes.

And that's exactly what his CPA did. Virginia is trying to scare former Virginians who didn't move to another state. Here is their directive:

If you are a Virginia resident who accepts employment in another country or moves outside the United States for other reasons, the fact that you are living abroad does not mean that you are no longer considered a Virginia resident for tax purposes. Unless you have established residency in another state, you will still be considered a domiciliary resident of Virginia, and will be required to file Virginia income tax returns.

A domiciliary resident of Virginia is one whose legal domicile in the technical sense is in Virginia. Unless an individual acquires a legal domicile in another state, he or she is still a Virginia resident. This applies even if the person is residing in another jurisdiction and may have been residing there for a number of years. The fact that a person has been absent from Virginia, whether in the foreign service of the United States or in the exercise of private enterprise, does not in any way cancel out their Virginia citizenship or legal domicile. As a matter of law, he or she is as much liable to income taxation in Virginia as residents who are physically present in Virginia throughout the year.

TurboTax (or any tax software) does not step you through murky situations like this. They leave it up to you to answer the question of what state or states you're liable for taxes in. At best, they ask the question of whether or not you lived in more than one state during the tax year -- or derived income from more than one state. To ask: "Did you move from Virginia to a foreign country, without establishing residency in a new state" isn't quite covered. Not this tax year, at least (per my checking my TurboTax).

It sounds like Virginia is just trying to set themselves up to be able to collect back taxes, should you ever move back to Virginia. Let's hope that's the extent of their ambition.

That Virginia "gotcha" has come up before. Click on this link HERE, and then go to post 93.

If it's not too late, give your CPA an address of a relative or friend to put on your Virginia tax form. This way, the "last known address" in their database won't be Thailand, but another state.

Completely unenforceable -- I hope.

If a consul decides to give an applicant a non-O visa for the purpose of travelling to Thailand to visit friends, ie for "other purposes" in accordance with the design of this visa, he is, as far as I know, acting correctly within the guidelines he presumably received from Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

It almost appears guidelines issued by the MFA could be ad hoc to individual consulates -- or if shotgunned to all, intentionally worded to be broadly interpreted. Why would GB's honorary consulates be instructed to shut down O-A operations, while apparently no such guidance was issued to the States (until now). Or did the consulates in the States interpret the original instruction to their benefit -- and just recently received a "tighter" directive? Or, maybe the part of MFA dealing with GB didn't coordinate with other geographic offices......

The following was from the Denver Honorary Consulate a few years back:

We are trying to tell customers who are trying to obtain a visa, to go to their

nearest consulate within the state they reside in. We will accept travelers

who are within the state of Colorado or neighboring cities who do not have a

consulate in their area.

We are trying to make customers understand that we will not be issuing

visas as easily as we had in the past due to the changes that have taken

place since October 2006. We are trying to follow the rules the best we can

per the Thai Embassy.

We do not want customers misinformed that we can issue ANY TYPE of visa

easily if requested or we will take applications from those who

reside outside our area. We will try to ask the customer to provide as

much documentation as possible pertaining to the type of visa applied for.

We know other honorary consulates in the States tightened up about this time in their criteria for Non Imm O visas. However, only Florida, to my knowledge, went along with Denver in limiting their clients to a certain geography.

And while Hull was told a few years back to quit O-A visas -- they apparently didn't get the same message -- or interpretation -- as did Denver on Non Imm O criteria.

Nor several other non-US honorary consulates.

A couple of hours ago, I pulled up the Portland Honorary Consulate website. ( See HERE) This is what I saw:

Non-Immigrant Visa: $65.00 single entry/$175.00 multiple entry (O-A (Retirement) visas can only be issued at Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Washington, DC).

I then sent out an email to Portland, asking the following:

I noticed on your website that you no longer issue Non Imm O-A visas.

Is this a new requirement? (I know in the past you have issued such visas -- and provided excellent service and guidance in doing so.)

Does this now, to your knowledge, pertain to all honorary consulates? (I.e., was a general directive issued to all honorary Thai consulates?)

Here's what I got back within half an hour:

Thank you for your e-mail. The new requirement was issued to all Honorary Consulates – it is very unfortunate, especially for our repeat customers. We have put in a plea to the government to allow us to continue, but so far no luck. I am, however, able to continue issuing the non-immigrant O visas, so if you would like to get that one from me, I have no problem issuing it to you from this office.

Sincerely,

Mary Wheeler

Consular Assistant

Royal Thai Consulate General

1136 NW Hoyt Street, Suite 210

Portland, OR 97209

The latter part of her answer was in response to asking if one could apply to Portland from anywhere in the US, not just in Oregon (the answer, apparently: "yes").

Honorary consulates in Great Britain lost the capability to issue O-A visas a couple of years ago. If, indeed, "all" honorary consulates in the States have now gotten this directive, that sucks big time!

Florida Address

It's been reported before that you needed to have a Florida address for this consulate, but this has not been consistent. Denver is the only other consulate that has required residency, or at least near proximity.

$175 money order made to Royal Thai Consulate

Copy of Airline Ticket

I guess they just want to make sure you really plan to go to Thailand, and are not just wasting their time -- and your $175. Or was that an onward ticket they were looking for? In which case, what do they say when you tell them you're going to extend the rest of your life in Thailand (which is why Non Imm visas don't have ticket requirements -- except maybe at Coral Gables).

convert my two-month tourist visa to a Non-O for marriage but were told we have to go all the way to Bangkok, that the CM office will only do conversions to retirement visas!

Sounds like that's the policy overall......conversions with the intent of getting an extension based on marriage have to be done in Bangkok.

Post #4 showed this for Jomtien....where the poster had to go to Bangkok to get his conversion -- since a marriage extension was his goal.....

....while post #9, also for Jomtien, had the conversion done at Jomtien -- since the poster's goal was a retirement extension....

...which he got 'same day' as the conversion. I've seen same-day conversions/extensions at Jomtien from other posters.

Anybody recall seeing 'same day' at Chiang Mai?

Bluray on an LCD TV is a massive improvement over standard DVD on the same TV.

Yep. And you need a 1080p TV to see best results.

Actually the UK does have something exactly like the US ACH, it is called BACS.

Thanks for pointing that out. Somehow I couldn't navigate on the Bangkok Bank site to where it explains about using BB London as a conduit to Thailand. Apparently, that's what the OP was referring to.....

Interesting when compared to an ACH transfer to Thailand from the US. It's both considerably more expensive ($10 vs about $30) and slower (5 vs. 2 business days). A SWIFT transfer almost costs the same -- and is faster. The only advantage may be the ability to initiate via the Internet (not sure you can do a SWIFT transfer via Internet in GB......). Other than that, doesn't look too exciting.

Interesting that you have the option to do the exchange in GB rather than Thailand (no such option with an ACH transfer to Thailand). But why would you ever want to? Even with fee savings on both ends for not sending pounds, you'll still lose with the much less favorable exchange rate in GB. Only if you knew the pound would tank during the 5 day journey to Thailand could you come out ahead.

With “never 'flagged' to see an agent”, are you saying that no airline staff at all looked at your passport at the US airport of your departure?

Correct. Apparently the passport particulars are validated when you type in correctly all the information requested. It, of course, is then run against a federal database that shows a match.

Don't know why Delta -- and maybe others -- involve further human screening.....

I would suspect, like Delta, United would deny online checking-in for folks going to countries requiring visas. Possibly going to countries, like Australia, where you can get an electronic visa, are exceptions......

Hmmmm. That Delta site link is a little hard to follow. 'Visa noncompliance' will result in "deportation." Yeah, but is not having an onward ticket 'visa noncompliance?' And we've all heard of some airlines, at some times, checking for onward tickets. Has anyone ever been checked by an airline to see if they have the required 20,000 baht equivalency? If they check for one, why not the other? Sounds like we're talking footnotes, and not hard and fast violations related to visas.

I don't think the airlines get slapped so hard, if at all, for letting someone on the plane without an onward ticket and/or sufficient funds. They certainly would, however, if you got aboard without a valid passport. (But, yes, deportation may not be the same as denied boarding. However, both result in a bad trip.)

Having said that, on my last flight on United to Thailand, I checked in online, which involved validating passport details online. And no questions about visas. I was never 'flagged' to see an agent about whether or not I had a valid visa (I did). So, apparently, United doesn't worry too much about onward tickets (I had none, so there wasn't one in the system) or any fines that may ensue. They just know that a valid US passport equates to no visa needed to enter Thailand. And that any risk of being fined is probably nonexistent -- or at least worth the cost savings in not having to pay an agent to check for a visa or onward travel.

Interesting, Delta apparently *does* have real eyeballs check your passport (quote below), even with electronic check-in (where, I guess, they could also check for visas or onward tickets):

Note: For travel outside of the United States, you will have your passport credentials checked by a Delta agent prior to boarding. Additionally, if your travel requires a Visa, online check-in is not available.

I'm not suggesting gaming a gray area (you might just get burned). But for those stuck in a situation where they don't have time to get a visa, or a return ticket, I just wonder how the major airlines stack up in their online (or kiosk) check-in procedures..........?

The L.A. Consulate pretty much defines the straight O visa (no police or medical report) as for visiting spouse or parents of Thai nationality.

Actually, it says for the purpose of "visiting family." Presumably, they mean "Thai" family, and not your farang missionary aunt and uncle.

It doesn't preclude your wife from being at your side when you apply. All's they want to see is proof of marriage to a Thai national. Certainly nothing about your wife's current location.

I guess they could have made this a true "marriage visa" with different wording. But, "visiting [Thai] family" brings in the requirement for marriage to a Thai, so it all works out the same.

Plus, if you have Thai blood -- but only a farang passport -- I guess you could easily get a Non Imm O visa under the "visiting family" wording.

I have the required money in a UK bank

Sounds like you might have a Non Imm O-A visa....... Is that a multi entry O-A? If so, and it hasn't expired, you're good-to-go for another year, if you do a border out-and-in before it expires.

If expired, you're now at the mercy of the remaining time on your permission to stay stamp to obtain an in-country one-year extension of stay permit (status of your visa is irrelevant). If less than two months remains, you're out of luck going the money in Thai bank route, either 800k for a retirement extension *or* 400k for marriage extension. However, if you can prove to the Brit Embassy that you receive the equivalent of 65k baht per month in income, you can get a letter from them that will allow you to get a retirement one-year extension. (Proof of 40k per month can get you a marriage one-year extension, but is more of a bureaucratic hassle.) In the income route, you don't need two months left on your permission to stay stamp -- just need to apply at Immigration before it expires -- but usually no earlier than 30 days before expiration.

For a retirement extension, you can also combine income with money in the bank to approximate the 800k figure Immigration is looking for. AND this method doesn't require any time requirement in the bank. (Whether or not you can combine for a marriage extension -- someone more knowledgeable than me will have to answer.)

Also, the two months in the bank requirement MAY actually be three months in your case, as the two months was a nod to those first time applicants who entered on a 90-day stamp, and thus not able to meet the three months in the bank requirement. As you're here on a 365-day stamp, this 'nod' may not apply to you. Again, folks more in the know can confirm this.......

my retirement visa is soon due for renewal(first time)

Visas can't be renewed. If you can't meet the in-country extension requirements, above, you'll need to leave Thailand and obtain a Non Imm O visa (there are other ways, but that's probably best for you, being married to a Thai). Then, you'll have 90 days to go thru the above wickets.

Or, you can go back to jolly old England and get another Non Imm O-A visa -- meeting all the requirements you initially had to meet. If a journey home was in your plans, this might be the best way. Keeps all your money in England. And a multi entry version will give you nearly two years to never have to visit Thai Immigration (assuming you do your 90 day reporting by proxy).

I would highly recommend this service.

Unfortunately, the OP is a Brit, and he apparently doesn't have an equivalent of the US ACH electronic funds transfer system, whereby we can use Bangkok Bank New York as a conduit for an Internet transfer to Thailand.

If there is such a system, it is not advertised on the Bangkok Bank website, which only mentions the ACH/BB New York system. You would think that, if you could do something similar with Bangkok Bank London, it would be mentioned......

But they have lost there non immigrant visa status so would not be allowed to extend there stay for the normal one year they desire - so it would be self defeating to do so at this point.

But once he is able to get a 60 day extension of stay, he can -- in theory -- go the TM87 route to obtain a new Non Imm O visa, as he now has the requisite 21 days remaining on his [new] permission to stay in which to apply.

As pointed out, tho', some of these hick Immigration offices get befuddled when they see a TM86 or TM87 conversion form. To add a 60 day extension twist to the process would probably blow their minds.

Nevertheless, worth a try, I would think, before hitting the road to Laos, or wherever.

Lemme see: 1900 for 60 day extension; 2000 for conversion; 1900 for one-year extension; and 3800 for multiple re-entry stamp. Still, the extra 3900 baht for the first two steps might be worth the cost and bother of an unwanted journey.

Out of curiosity.......

Para 2.24, which allows 60 day extensions for spouses and fathers of Thai nationals, says nothing about needing a Non Imm visa to do this (as do the paragraphs on retirement, ed, work, etc extensions). And, the immediate paragraph above 2.24, whereby Thai nationals can get one-year extensions, also says nothing about Non Imm visas. And, since I know for a fact that, yes, it is easy for a Thai national (my wife) to get a one year extension -- off a 30-day visa exempt stamp -- my question is:

Can't someone with a Thai wife, but here on a 15 or 30 day visa exempt stamp, get a 60 day extension from Immigration? I would think so, per the above. And it sure would open up options, to include folks married to Thais who just want to come here for 3 months or less -- but don't want to hassle getting a visa ahead of time (if, of course, they don't mind the return airline ticket question, or running into a maverick Immigration officer when they go for their 60 day extension -- both of which make this route questionable).

and did not offer the 60 day extension

Maybe this is peculiar to this Immigration office. Or OP maybe could try again, depending on any positive answers to my above query. A different officer, or a better explanation/understanding of para 2.24, might save a journey outside the country.