tlcwaterfall

Hi,

I am going to my local Thai consulate in Melbourne Australia this week. I am going to apply for a Multiple entry non immigrant o visa or if this is not granted a 3 entry tourist visa. I hope to stay in Thailand for a minimum of 6 months.

I am 49 years old and will turn 50 at the end of July 2009 and I am from Australia.

My question is do I have to have my flight booked prior to applying for visa as I am not 100% sure if I will leave in March or April 2009. This is due to work commitments and family issues. Sorry for what is probably a silly question but I need to know answer before I go to consulate.

Thank you.

For the non immigrant O vsia you will not need to show any tickets. For the tourist visa that will depend upon the consulate. Some want to see a ticket others don't. Contct them to see what they requre.

I would not apply for either visa now. It normally only takes a few day to get one.

Both visas have use before dates that start on the date of issue. So after issue every day they are not used is a day that is lost in the total amount of time you can remain in the country.

Thankyou for your replies. Much appreciated. I will ring consulate in the morning and find out some more information.

Hi,

I am going to my local Thai consulate in Melbourne Australia this week. I am going to apply for a Multiple entry non immigrant o visa or if this is not granted a 3 entry tourist visa. I hope to stay in Thailand for a minimum of 6 months.

I am 49 years old and will turn 50 at the end of July 2009 and I am from Australia.

My question is do I have to have my flight booked prior to applying for visa as I am not 100% sure if I will leave in March or April 2009. This is due to work commitments and family issues. Sorry for what is probably a silly question but I need to know answer before I go to consulate.

Thank you.

You can transfer funds into any Thai bank. I suggest you only use one of the larger banks. Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank and K-bank.

You should be able open a PO box. One of the Surin members will know for sure. Home delivery works also.

All you will need for your extension is your passport, money in bank or proof of income for the extension. For the money it only has to be in the bank for 60 days now instead of 3 months (new immigration rules).

Immigration office is in Kap Choeng. Not far from Surin.

Do above banks all have branches in Surin?

You can always get your mail sent to a local shop/bar/restaurant. etc. Once you get to know a few people.

Thankyou both for your help. Much appreciated.

Hi ,

I plan on moving to Surin in April of 2009 and will hopefully have multiple entry non immigrant "o" visa which I will apply for in Australia. I do plan on retiring in Thailand as I turn 50 end of July 2009.

My first question is does anyone know which banks will accept funds transfers from Australia as this is the bank I will need to open an account with. Looking for some Aussie input here if possible. Maybe all banks will accept transfers but I do not know if this is the case or not.

Secondly can I open a post office box in Surin to accept my mail from Australia? If not what are my other options?

Do I need to bring birth certificate, bank statements with me or any other paperwork to apply for retirement visa and any extensions in Thailand and can this be done in Surin?

Thank you for any help.

Just wondering if there is a way to receive internet on my laptop when I am living in Surin. I will be living around 14 kms out of Surin. Is there a device such as a wireless modem I can purchase and receive internet this far out of Surin? If so how much do I pay for modem and plan?

Any advice is appreciated.

I Had ipstar satellite for ages be for throwing it out was paying about 2,500 a month for it now use CAT CDMA item CCU -680 usb modem with a flash memory max3.1 mbps cost 13000 TB and 874 TB per month unlimited all in. C ost me a few bob extra which made it the 13000, as I had an antenna and cable to connect to my modem for my desktop old computer , but it states access on the go @ true broadband speed ,have been more than happy with it compared to ipstar , but a cheaper way would be to buy the nokia 3110 @ about 4,000 TB, I brought one and it was far better than my ipstar and quicker to , but not suitable for me as I tend to do a lot of downloading which is why I choose the CAT .

Thankyou all for your help. Much appreciated. Any fans of "The Bill" in Surin? If so can I watch it in Surin?

Just wondering if there is a way to receive internet on my laptop when I am living in Surin. I will be living around 14 kms out of Surin. Is there a device such as a wireless modem I can purchase and receive internet this far out of Surin? If so how much do I pay for modem and plan?

Any advice is appreciated.

Hi,

I am confused about the the mix of deposit and income requirements when applying for a multiple entry non o immigrant visa. I know you can have 800,000 baht in Thai bank account 3 months prior to application as one way of obtaining visa but would like an easy to understand explanation of deposit and income rule if possible.

An example in dollar terms would be of great assistance as I truly cannot get my head around this. Eg I I have say 40,000 baht in income how much do I need to have in my bank account and can it be in my Australian account or does it need to be in my Thai bank account.

Thankyou for any help on this.

Cheers

Mark

Yes Mark you mentioned turning 50 in 2009, but, you did not mention retiring in Thailand. (Retiring in Surin at 50 would make you one of the youngest swingers in town).

You said you were going to live in Surin for 6 months and that was basically all you said, you did not say you were going to stay.

So now my advice would be to get a MULTIPLE ENTRY NON IMMIGRANT 'O' VISA. That will give you 1 year plus an extra 3 months on your last renewal stamp. Giving you, in total a 15 month stay. No need for trips to Loas or Malaysia just a border crossing as I stated earlier.

There is an Ozzie or 2, and a few pommes who will help you out with this in Surin (Dave the Dude), Geoff GEaussie (George), Martin at the Farang Connection and plenty others.

So basically just go for the visa I have said then you will have plenty of time to make your mind up what you want to do and you can still keep getting the same visa if you are still un-sure, by travelling to KL or Penang Hong Kong or hey even Australia if you fancy a trip home.

Hope this helps, please feel free to ask anything else you want. That's what we're here for, it's just a matter of reading the original post correctly.

John.....

Edit Spelling

Thanks again John,

I have been told by my consulate in Melbourne I need to apply 3 months prior to departure. I will ring them shortly to enquire what information they require for multiple entry non immigrant 'o' visa and will keep my fingers crossed that they look after me.

On a seperate issue I am a big fan of the tv series "The Bill". Is there any chance that this show is televised on cable in Surin? If not I will have to get a friend to tape them for me and send them over. Much prefer to watch them on tv though. Any information on this would be welcome.

Cheers

Mark

Good advice given by JohnSouthshield & ubonjoe

I hope you go along with this advice.

Dave (from Surin)

Thank you Dave.

As stated before.

Forget all about Mukdahan, Savannakhet, Penang, KL etc, etc. I don't see anything in your post about retiring in Thailand, only going to live in Surin for 6 months. In other words an extended holiday. I do a similar thing myself every year and I don't retire.

All I do is get a multiple entry non immigrant 'O' visa, which is quite simply a tourist visa. You just say you are going to visit family or friends, with no need to prove anything.

As stated by ubonjoe, all you do is get a non immigrant 'O' visa to suit your needs (just tell the consulate how long you intend staying), and they will tell you the desired number of entry's (a double I believe), but you can get a multiple which will actually give you 15 months.

Quite simply, NO NEED to go to any immigration office for extensions just a quick run to the border for a new entry stamp and hey presto job done, as stated in my previous post.

You can even have a day out in Cambodia and visit the casino, or hire a motorbike taxi to the market or even the village further down the road. You might have a good time there, perhaps Dave the Dude can explain a little bit more on that. It's a long time (too long), since I've been down that way.

Hope this helps.

John.....

Thankyou John for your invaluable advice. I am hoping to retire in Thailand in 2009 or 2010. I will live in Surin for 6 months and if I like it I will stay if not I will move elsewhere in Thailand.

Does this now change your advice to me or does it stay the same? Once again your assistance is much appreciated.

Not sure if I mentioned this in my original post but I am 49 and will turn 50 in late July 2009 and I am from Australia.

Cheers

Mark

Hi,

I am going to live in Surin for 6 months in 2009. I will initially have a single/double or triple entry tourist visa. I am turning 50 late July 2009 and will ask Thai embassy in Australia to issue multiple entry O visa if possible but will not hang my hat on that one. Will most likely obtain tourist visa.

My question is can I apply for visa extensions in Surin and also a multiple entry O visa? If not where would the closest place to Surin be where I can apply for these?

I am a complete newbie with visas so I would really appreciate any help please.

Cheers

Mark

You are welcome.

You should maybe post in the Isaan forum for info on the local office to Surin.

Any office will be able to do a retirement EXTENSION. Reports are not all offices will be able to do a conversion of a tourist or stamp to an O. If your local office cannot, you will have to find another way to get an O, in Oz, in Bangkok, Penang or Vientiane, Laos. If using the income qualification you need a letter from the Oz embassy in Bangkok and you need to find out what documentation they require to give that letter. For Americans, they take our word, but I think most embassies require some proof of the income. The income needs to be 65K baht per month minimum, if short of that, you can compensate using the COMBO method, as long as the total of pension and bank account tops 800K per annum, bank account seasoning for 3 months usually not required if using the combo method. The income letter often needs to be obtained annually from your Bangkok embassy. For the first time, contact your local Thai immigration office to find out how recent the letter needs to be, usually it doesn't have to be spanking new.

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers

Mark

Hello there.

There are numerous ways you could do this, but given your timeframe, the general answer is YES!

I suggest starting with a double or triple entry tourist visa and using those, 30 days extensions in Thailand, one day visa runs to get 30 day stamps, you can easily stretch this out until July 09 at which time with 21 days left on whatever visa or stamp you have, you can apply for a conversion to an O visa (in Thailand), and then a one year extension based on retirement. You don't have to return to Australia again unless you want to. You do need to consider how you will qualify for the retirement extension, if using the bank account only, it MUST be in a Thai bank account for three months before the application. Have fun.

It is difficult to give you an exact step by step because you have so many options, and depends on your travel plans once you arrive in Thailand. Your best bet is to educate yourself on the use of tourist visas, 30 day stamps, reentry permits etc and then you can apply your knowledge to your own plans.

BTW, another option IF you can find a friendly consulate there is to go for a multiple entry O visa by telling them exactly what you want to do, eventually convert to retirement. They may so no because you aren't 50 yet. With an O visa you do have to do a visa run every 3 months, but you would then avoid the need to CONVERT to an O in Thailand.

BTW, even if you get unlucky and the ONLY visa you can get is a single entry tourist visa, the answer is still yes. One entry tourist visa can be used for a 60 day stay, one in country extension of 30 days allowed, plus you are allowed 90 days in Thailand using visa run 30 day stamps (quick trips out and in), and/or you can get another tourist visa entry or two in Laos or Penang. Remember, you can convert to an O visa in Thailand even on a 30 day stamp if you have 21 days left on it.

One caveat, where will you be living in Thailand? Some offices won't do the conversion to an O in Thailand, and will send you to Bangkok to do it. Also note you can choose to get an O in Penang if you want also if you can show your retirement qualifications there.

What an absolutely brilliant and helpful reply. Thankyou so much. I will be living in Surin for most of the 6 months with an initial stay of one month in Pattaya. From your post it would seem I should open up a bank account straight away and ensure I place required funds for O visa in said account soon after.

I have already made contact with local Thai embassy and need to see them to apply for visa within 3 months of my departure date. So at this time I will ask re Double/triple entry tourist visa and of course the possibility of multiple entry O visa. What an absolute bonus that would be if I could get O visa here instead of applying in Thailand. Knowing my luck that will most likely not happen but I sure will try.

Am I likely to be able to apply for extensions in Surin and if not where is the closest place I would need to go?

Also I am unsure of how to apply for visa using the income option. If you could please explain this it would be most helpful.

Thankyou once again for help and if you could help with other 2 questions that would be most appreciated.

Cheers

Mark

Hi there,

I am travelling to Thailand in March 2009 and hoping to stay for six months. I am 49 years old now and will turn 50 late july 2009 while I am in Thailand,. My nationality is Australian.

I am unsure what visa to apply for and am wondering can I apply for long term visa once I am 50 during my stay in Thailand. Sorry for the questions but I really am very confused about all of this and would appreciate some help.

Thankyou

Cheers

Mark