curtklay

I would like to describe my plan to retire in Thailand, and see if any members have advice or input. The process is rather confusing, and before I move I would like to sure I won't encounter any surprises later.

I am 60 years old and an American citizen. My wife is 58 and has dual Thai/US citizenship and passports from both countries. We built a house on my wife's property in Northern Thailand, and plan to move there at the end of this year, after selling our house in the US. My understanding is that I should apply for a "non immigrant multiple entry type O visa" while still in the US. This will get me a year, in 90 day segments, to establish a bank account, get a hospital report, police report, and other documentation needed to get my visa converted to "type O-A retirement visa", after which I will only need to renew annually to stay in the kingdom, and my wife will have to nothing. So far, am I correct?

The next challenge will be collecting Social Security when we each reach age 62. We qualify, have enough credits from working years, and receive annual statements showing our monthly income when the time comes which will be in 2 years for me, 4 for my wife. My understanding is we can apply online, and/or submit paperwork to the SS office in the Philippines. Should any further documents be required, we can do that at the US Embassy in Chiang Mai. Once everything is approved, SS will direct deposit the monthly checks into our US bank account, which can then be transferred to a Bangkok Bank account in our province. How am I doing?

If my assessment is correct, we should be able to enjoy our retirement without any complications, frustrations, or unplanned trips back to the US. I don't think my wife's dual citizenship presents any problem in either country as long as she keeps her passports current, and reports her address to Social Security.

I am seeking confirmation from those who have gone before me that my plan is sound. Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated.

I basically agree with the previous post if you can show the income requirements go for your OA in the states the other side if you do it hear you do not need a police report and the medical is kind of a joke, only 100bt. Also you are eligible for and extension based on marriage since your wife is a Thai national. Financial requirement is only 400k in the bank or 40k a month income. On your SS Its a snap you do a telephone interview with the office in the Philippines on their money. Email them your details 90 days before you become eligible and they will do the rest. You will go to the US Consul in Chiang Mai to get a certified copy of your US passport and birth certificate, make sure you bring your original birth certificate with you. The consul will not fax these copies to Manila you will have to send them FedEx or DHL. The US Counsel does not charge for this service. Have your bank details in the US they will direct deposit to your account. Suggestion make sure you have online access for banking needs in the US I suggest you go with Bangkok Bank in Thailand they have and international branch in New York If you go online to Bangkok Banks web you can bring the information up for transferring funds from the US to Thailand. I just had my first direct deposit from SS today. I signed up for SS by doing the above. Whish you the best.

Thank you for the excellent info!

Oops - sorry for the interuption. Thread now back in focus!

I'd only add one thing to what's already been written....

I know many people who really make a complete mess of their banking arrangements back in the "home" country, and here.

DO ensure that you have a good internet / phone banking arrangement set up with your bank in the States, with your Thai bank account as a nominated account to send money to.

I simply pick up the phone, or press a few keyboard buttons, and hey presto, the money is here in 48 hours. You wouldn't believe the pain some of my friends go through.....but will they listen?

Happy retirement.

Thank you for the bank tips, the good wishes, and returning to the topic!

I would like to describe my plan to retire in Thailand, and see if any members have advice or input. The process is rather confusing, and before I move I would like to sure I won't encounter any surprises later.

I am 60 years old and an American citizen. My wife is 58 and has dual Thai/US citizenship and passports from both countries. We built a house on my wife's property in Northern Thailand, and plan to move there at the end of this year, after selling our house in the US. My understanding is that I should apply for a "non immigrant multiple entry type O visa" while still in the US. This will get me a year, in 90 day segments, to establish a bank account, get a hospital report, police report, and other documentation needed to get my visa converted to "type O-A retirement visa", after which I will only need to renew annually to stay in the kingdom, and my wife will have to nothing. So far, am I correct?

The next challenge will be collecting Social Security when we each reach age 62. We qualify, have enough credits from working years, and receive annual statements showing our monthly income when the time comes which will be in 2 years for me, 4 for my wife. My understanding is we can apply online, and/or submit paperwork to the SS office in the Philippines. Should any further documents be required, we can do that at the US Embassy in Chiang Mai. Once everything is approved, SS will direct deposit the monthly checks into our US bank account, which can then be transferred to a Bangkok Bank account in our province. How am I doing?

If my assessment is correct, we should be able to enjoy our retirement without any complications, frustrations, or unplanned trips back to the US. I don't think my wife's dual citizenship presents any problem in either country as long as she keeps her passports current, and reports her address to Social Security.

I am seeking confirmation from those who have gone before me that my plan is sound. Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated.

I basically agree with the previous post if you can show the income requirements go for your OA in the states the other side if you do it hear you do not need a police report and the medical is kind of a joke, only 100bt. Also you are eligible for and extension based on marriage since your wife is a Thai national. Financial requirement is only 400k in the bank or 40k a month income. On your SS Its a snap you do a telephone interview with the office in the Philippines on their money. Email them your details 90 days before you become eligible and they will do the rest. You will go to the US Consul in Chiang Mai to get a certified copy of your US passport and birth certificate, make sure you bring your original birth certificate with you. The consul will not fax these copies to Manila you will have to send them FedEx or DHL. The US Counsel does not charge for this service. Have your bank details in the US they will direct deposit to your account. Suggestion make sure you have online access for banking needs in the US I suggest you go with Bangkok Bank in Thailand they have and international branch in New York If you go online to Bangkok Banks web you can bring the information up for transferring funds from the US to Thailand. I just had my first direct deposit from SS today. I signed up for SS by doing the above. Whish you the best.

Many Thanks!

Thank you to all for your input, and sorry to have started a firestorm. It's just different strokes for different folks.

I'd like to clarify my situation and see if I am still going about the proper procedure. Financially, I will not have 800,000 baht in any bank, US or Thai, until I sell my house or cash out retirement funds. I won't have the 65,000 baht social security income for 2 years. I plan to stop working at the end of this year. Since I have income for this year, I don't want to cash out retirement funds until next year due to the taxes. When I sell the house, I won't have a place to live, so I don't want to hang around for 2-3 months to qualify for the O-A visa. So, the way I see this is; when the house is about to sell, I should apply for the multiple entry O visa in the US and go to Thailand with that. This will give me 90 days or up to a year with border runs, to deposit the required money in a Thai bank, wait the 2 months, get the other required documents, and then apply for an "extension" of my O visa annually "based on retirement"? I guess I'm confused on the terminology between O, O-A, and extensions. To put it simply, my goal is to get to Thailand, get established as a retiree, and get my visa changed to whatever status will allow me to stay in Thailand with no glitches as long as I renew annually and report every 90 days (no border runs required).

I believe I could also start with a 90 day tourist visa, but the O visa would seem to be more to my advantage...I think. Also, I am married to a Thai citizen for 37 years if that affects anything.

The other option I see is to whip out the credit card, call Siam Legal, and go have a beer. That doesn't sound bad, but I'm willing to do it myself if I can get the proper procedure.

Thanks again to everyone.

While a lot of us state our opinions and/or relate our personal experiences, and then get steamed up over the interaction , I do wish you the best whichever route you go. My last piece of advice (well maybe) is to take everything you read here (including what I've written) with a grain of salt. I don't see anyone here making any attempt to steer you wrong, but my experience with this forum is that there's as much misinformation around as the occasional gem of a post that gets everything perfect. Even the misinformation isn't usually intentionally or maliciously done. Best of luck!

Well said! Thanks for your thoughts.

1. You can not go have a beer. You have to meet requirements and you have to do the paperwork (which is close to nothing).

2. Having a Thai wife counts for a lot and opens another road. You only need 400k in Thai bank account or 40k income to qualify for marriage one year extensions of stay.

3. The marriage also opens the door to non immigrant O visa issue as they are very hard to obtain in US for retirement reasons as they prefer to issue OA.

4. If you believe there may be a delay in meeting requirements for extension of stay do try for the multi entry non immigrant O visa as it will provide the extra time if required and you can extend on any 90 day entry - you do not have to expire the visa. But even if you only get single entry you can easily obtain another, and another locally if required with a quick trip to Malaysia for Consulate to issue every 90 days.

Thanks for the clarification and follow up. I think I've got it figured out. Now I'm going to have a beer.

Agreed, as above. I would go even further. Make wiring arrangements with MULTIPLE banks because you would be surprised how policies change, banks go out of business, they decide they don't like you anymore because they figure out you are an expat (recently one of my accounts was frozen because I had not physically used an ATM machine or entered a US branch in too long a time, online payments weren't good enough for them), etc. In other words -- have backups.

Thank you to all for your input, and sorry to have started a firestorm. It's just different strokes for different folks.

I'd like to clarify my situation and see if I am still going about the proper procedure. Financially, I will not have 800,000 baht in any bank, US or Thai, until I sell my house or cash out retirement funds. I won't have the 65,000 baht social security income for 2 years. I plan to stop working at the end of this year. Since I have income for this year, I don't want to cash out retirement funds until next year due to the taxes. When I sell the house, I won't have a place to live, so I don't want to hang around for 2-3 months to qualify for the O-A visa. So, the way I see this is; when the house is about to sell, I should apply for the multiple entry O visa in the US and go to Thailand with that. This will give me 90 days or up to a year with border runs, to deposit the required money in a Thai bank, wait the 2 months, get the other required documents, and then apply for an "extension" of my O visa annually "based on retirement"? I guess I'm confused on the terminology between O, O-A, and extensions. To put it simply, my goal is to get to Thailand, get established as a retiree, and get my visa changed to whatever status will allow me to stay in Thailand with no glitches as long as I renew annually and report every 90 days (no border runs required).

I believe I could also start with a 90 day tourist visa, but the O visa would seem to be more to my advantage...I think. Also, I am married to a Thai citizen for 37 years if that affects anything.

The other option I see is to whip out the credit card, call Siam Legal, and go have a beer. That doesn't sound bad, but I'm willing to do it myself if I can get the proper procedure.

Thanks again to everyone.

I would like to describe my plan to retire in Thailand, and see if any members have advice or input. The process is rather confusing, and before I move I would like to sure I won't encounter any surprises later.

I am 60 years old and an American citizen. My wife is 58 and has dual Thai/US citizenship and passports from both countries. We built a house on my wife's property in Northern Thailand, and plan to move there at the end of this year, after selling our house in the US. My understanding is that I should apply for a "non immigrant multiple entry type O visa" while still in the US. This will get me a year, in 90 day segments, to establish a bank account, get a hospital report, police report, and other documentation needed to get my visa converted to "type O-A retirement visa", after which I will only need to renew annually to stay in the kingdom, and my wife will have to nothing. So far, am I correct?

...

If my assessment is correct, we should be able to enjoy our retirement without any complications, frustrations, or unplanned trips back to the US. I don't think my wife's dual citizenship presents any problem in either country as long as she keeps her passports current, and reports her address to Social Security.

I am seeking confirmation from those who have gone before me that my plan is sound. Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated.

Rather than answer your questions, let me tell you what I just did during the current year. Each time I say "retirement visa", what I am actually saying is "visa extension based on retirement". To some on the forum there's a big difference, and the latter is actually correct.

I decided I could afford it to do it the easy way. So I contacted Siam Legal (they advertise a lot here on Thai Visa forums) through their live chat function on the computer. I purchased one of their legal programs so that they would do all the work for me.

They had me mail my passport and some paperwork to one of the honorary counsuls in the U.S. to get a 90 day visa. No health report or police check required.

I also opened an American account with HSBC, because they have banks in America and in Bangkok. I had enough to have a Premiere Account, which has been very helpful.

My first full day I opened an account in the HSBC in Bangkok for the required amount to get the "retirement visa". I could have also gone the monthly income route, but that required a lot more paperwork with the two government agencies I get retirement checks from in the U.S.

My 11th week in Thailand the Siam Legal people filled out the paperwork for me and HSBC supplied me with 2 months of statements plus a current statement and a formal letter stating that my money had been in their Thai branch for over 10 weeks, and Siam Legal and went with me to Immigration. We greased the wheels to be next in line and had the "retirement visa" in about 20 minutes. Again, no police report and no health report.

I don't have to make any visa runs, but every 90 days I have to go to Immigration to report my current address. I go to a different office that is more convenient than the Immigration Office, and once there it take me less than 6 minutes.

I assume you don't want to hire Siam Legal because 95% of the expats here write the word "cheap" or a synonym in every sentence they ever write in this forum. The other day in the health forum an expat wanted to know where the cheapest place was to have open heart surgery. Didn't ask about quality. Just asked about being the cheapest. May he rest in peace. Just joking...sort of. I'm not clear why you think you have to do 90 day visa runs, and it is my impression they are getting a little questionable.

This is a very viable option, if a bit pricey. I have researched Siam Legal, and agree that they may be the easiest route. My thinking was to get the O visa first, get to Thailand, get the money in a Thai bank, then get the O-A visa. I thought having the 1 year option would be to my advantage although everything could be done in 90 days. Seems either way would work.

Cheap is good, but sometimes a few extra bucks paves the way...so it seems in Thailand.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Most of your research is ok, but I would think about just getting your OA multi entry visa while in America. Then your good for the first year with no visa runs after arrival. At the end of the first year all you need to do is cross the border and return this will give you another year extension and then all you would need too do is get another entry approval either single or multi entry (suggest multi). For social security I just went through it and it is painless and yes just have them direct deposit it to your bank in the US ,,,what you may want to do is set-up a recurring bank transfer from the US to your bank in Thailand this gives you available cash without having to use your US bank card in atm's here at 150bt each time. Sure is nice to arrive and not have to worry about visa's......Also if you go the OA route you can either use the method of either 800000 bt in a Thai bank or 65k (baht) or a combination of the two with a letter given by the embassey yearly.

Thanks so much for your input. I agree that getting the OA in the US is the most desirable, but I won't have 800,000 bt. in a Thai bank until I get to Thailand and deposit proceeds from my house sale. I won't have the 65,000 bt income until social security starts. So, I think my procedure is the only one that will work, if more inconvenient. But what the heck, border runs are fun, right? Thanks again, I appreciate knowing I'm on the right track!

I would like to describe my plan to retire in Thailand, and see if any members have advice or input. The process is rather confusing, and before I move I would like to sure I won’t encounter any surprises later.

I am 60 years old and an American citizen. My wife is 58 and has dual Thai/US citizenship and passports from both countries. We built a house on my wife’s property in Northern Thailand, and plan to move there at the end of this year, after selling our house in the US. My understanding is that I should apply for a “non immigrant multiple entry type O visa” while still in the US. This will get me a year, in 90 day segments, to establish a bank account, get a hospital report, police report, and other documentation needed to get my visa converted to “type O-A retirement visa”, after which I will only need to renew annually to stay in the kingdom, and my wife will have to nothing. So far, am I correct?

The next challenge will be collecting Social Security when we each reach age 62. We qualify, have enough credits from working years, and receive annual statements showing our monthly income when the time comes which will be in 2 years for me, 4 for my wife. My understanding is we can apply online, and/or submit paperwork to the SS office in the Philippines. Should any further documents be required, we can do that at the US Embassy in Chiang Mai. Once everything is approved, SS will direct deposit the monthly checks into our US bank account, which can then be transferred to a Bangkok Bank account in our province. How am I doing?

If my assessment is correct, we should be able to enjoy our retirement without any complications, frustrations, or unplanned trips back to the US. I don’t think my wife’s dual citizenship presents any problem in either country as long as she keeps her passports current, and reports her address to Social Security.

I am seeking confirmation from those who have gone before me that my plan is sound. Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated.