One Year to Ten Year Retirement Questions

[moto77]

I currently have a one-year retirement visa and want to change to the new 10-year visa.

1. My one year expires November 11. Can I apply for the 10-year visa this week? Or do I have to wait? (I might not be back in October/November this year.)

2. What do I need to take to the Bangkok immigration office? 

(NOTE: I am actually employed in the US, but I don't have to be at work much, so if some of these questions seem strange, that's why. I'm not really retired--but I am over 50.)

I THINK I need:

1. A notarized statement from the US embassy stating that I have a 100,000+ baht per month income.

2. Proof of insurance. I have an employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the US that provides coverage worldwide without limits including repatriation for medical reasons. I've used it in Bangkok several times. Will that work? How can I document this?
3. Two photos
4. Proof of no criminal record. How do I get this? 
5. Immigration forms that I will receive at the immigration office.
6. Anything else?

[elviajero]

3 minutes ago, moto77 said:

2. Proof of insurance. I have an employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the US that provides coverage worldwide without limits including repatriation for medical reasons. I've used it in Bangkok several times. Will that work? How can I document this?

I don't know any details of this visa yet, but the reason they have started offering it is to sell Thai insurance company insurance policies. I would guess that your existing policy will not be accepted, and you'll need to take out one of the policies offered by one of the sponsoring insurance companies.

[moto77]

1 minute ago, elviajero said:

I don't know any details of this visa yet, but the reason they have started offering it is to sell Thai insurance company insurance policies. I would guess that your existing policy will not be accepted, and you'll need to take out one of the policies offered by one of the sponsoring insurance companies.

Hope not, but who knows... That would be a new level of corruption... LOL

[ubonjoe]

At this time it appears immigration is not issuing the non-ox long stay visa yet. The requirements have thus far only been posted on some embassy websites. I think it can only be applied for at embassies and official consulates which is the same as the OA visa.

The embassy in Washington DC lists the requirements here. http://thaiembdc.org/non-immigrant-visa-category-o-x-long-stay/

The info includes a link for insurance offered here. http://longstay.tgia.org/

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time it appears immigration is not issuing the non-ox long stay visa yet. The requirements have thus far only been posted on some embassy websites. I think it can only be applied for at embassies and official consulates which is the same as the OA visa.

The embassy in Washington DC lists the requirements here. http://thaiembdc.org/non-immigrant-visa-category-o-x-long-stay/

The info includes a link for insurance offered here. http://longstay.tgia.org/

 

During my visit to CW BKK Immigration last month, I asked various officers there -- a supervisor I know, the queue desk officer, the front counter/info officer and others -- about the O-X visa. As might be expected, I got varying answers from each different person, although the majority claimed they were able to issue O-Xs.

 

That general guidance ultimately pointed me to the section just to the right of the re-entry permits area which supposedly is the staff handling the O-Xs. My wife talked to one officer in that section who said she didn't know any details about O-Xs, but pointed my wife to another officer who supposedly did know about O-Xs. But that officer was away from her desk, and we never saw her return during the next two hours we were still in the area.

 

Asked about, but was unable to identify anyone who could provide a corresponding TM or other application form for the O-X, or even any kind of Immigration document sheet on the various requirements.  Typical...

 

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The way I read and understood the previously publicized requirements, the applicant's insurance policy supposedly had to come ONLY from one of the few listed/authorized Thai insurance providers for the program. I never saw/heard anything about any other kind of policies being acceptable.

 

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

During my visit to CW BKK Immigration last month, I asked various officers there -- a supervisor I know, the queue desk officer, the front counter/info officer and others -- about the O-X visa.

I have seen nothing on either of the immigration websites about the non-ox visa. Not even a notice posted about them being available.

At least the OP will be able to see the embassy requirements and will find that his income alone will not be enough. He also needs 1.8 million in a Thai bank.

 

12 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The way I read and understood the previously publicized requirements, the applicant's insurance policy supposedly had to come ONLY from one of the few listed/authorized Thai insurance providers for the program.

The link I posted only shows 4 participating Thai insurance companies on it

[KiChakayan]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The way I read and understood the previously publicized requirements, the applicant's insurance policy supposedly had to come ONLY from one of the few listed/authorized Thai insurance providers for the program. I never saw/heard anything about any other kind of policies being acceptable.

 

So anyone who has a coverage from his/her former employer, like the OP will not apply for the non O-X. We cannot envisage one second to drop a cover for life to take one of these fake Thai policies. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

So anyone who has a coverage from his/her former employer, like the OP will not apply for the non O-X. We cannot envisage one second to drop a cover for life to take one of these fake Thai policies. 

 

I have a pretty good health insurance policy I pay for every year with an international insurance company that has a local entity/company here in Thailand. Its coverage details and amounts are better than any of those offered via the O-X insurers.

 

It's crazy and senseless that someone with better Thai health insurance coverage through a different Thai insurer would not have that accepted and recognized by the O-X requirements.

 

But then again, perhaps the entire point of this particular visa program is to make it NOT appealing to most folks.

 

[pearciderman]

14 hours ago, elviajero said:

I don't know any details of this visa yet, but the reason they have started offering it is to sell Thai insurance company insurance policies. I would guess that your existing policy will not be accepted, and you'll need to take out one of the policies offered by one of the sponsoring insurance companies.

 

So, you don't know any details about it, yet you know why they brought it out?

[KiChakayan]

4 hours ago, pearciderman said:

 

So, you don't know any details about it, yet you know why they brought it out?

Right now, I seems that one would have to get coverage from one of the four companies participating to this scheme (scam?). As far as I am concerned this visa is a product with in built obsolescence. Imagine someone getting cancer after a couple of years? Thai health insurances have the habit of not renewing coverage once you become a risk. Since Immigration plans to review one's entitlement yearly, one would be stuffed. I am repeating myself but if someone like the OP would have dropped his corporate plan for this shit?...

[soisanuk]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

At this time it appears immigration is not issuing the non-ox long stay visa yet. The requirements have thus far only been posted on some embassy websites. I think it can only be applied for at embassies and official consulates which is the same as the OA visa.

The embassy in Washington DC lists the requirements here. http://thaiembdc.org/non-immigrant-visa-category-o-x-long-stay/

The info includes a link for insurance offered here. http://longstay.tgia.org/

The Thai Washington DC link above state it can also be applied for in Thailand, but as mentioned, Thai Immigration Offices apparently have not been issued any guidance.

 

Further, I don't know why anyone would want the O-X Visa - if you read the DC Embassy information you still have to report to Immigration with documents every year to show you still meet requirements - if not, it is cancelled.  Further, you still have to do 90 day address reports.

 

So, other than eliminating the need for a Re-entry permit (it is multiple entry for 5 years and presumably will still be so when applying for the 2nd 5 year period - not clear, but will probably need the 3 million or 1.8 million in Thai bank  for the 5 year renewal) - you still have to trek to Immigration with the same frequency if you are here on one year annual retirement extensions PLUS you have to continually keep 1.5 million baht in the bank  vs the 800,000 for 2 or 3 months for a retirement extension (or nothing if solely using the 65,000 baht per month to qualify).

 

To me, it is all negatives except perhaps the ability to do volunteer work without the need for a Word Permit as they mention under the benefits at the bottom of their website - as to the buying of a vehicle or condo, you can do that anyway.

Edited September 25, 2017 by soisanuk

[elviajero]

9 hours ago, pearciderman said:

So, you don't know any details about it, yet you know why they brought it out?

Fair comment. No I don't know, but based on the sketchy details since it was first proposed I'm assuming the aim is to flog Thai medical insurance.

 

The visa was reported as being introduced to help make Thailand a "medical hub", and one of the conditions was to have medical insurance. I questioned, at the time, whether or not existing policies/non-Thai policies would be accepted, or if we would be forced to buy specific policies. Since it's actual launch the requirements still aren't clear, but they have added links to four Thai insurance companies that offer policies for the visa. It could be that they are just there for people without cover, but my money is still on the fact that they want people to buy Thai insurance. I hope to be wrong.

 

I think the idea behind the scheme is that someone deposits 3M in the bank and spends up to 1.5M of that money on the insurance. 

 

 

[chubby]

On 9/24/2017 at 5:18 PM, ubonjoe said:

At this time it appears immigration is not issuing the non-ox long stay visa yet. The requirements have thus far only been posted on some embassy websites. I think it can only be applied for at embassies and official consulates which is the same as the OA visa.

The embassy in Washington DC lists the requirements here. http://thaiembdc.org/non-immigrant-visa-category-o-x-long-stay/

The info includes a link for insurance offered here. http://longstay.tgia.org/

Seems this visa's major difference, is one can no longer use  a non Thai Bank  e.g.  for the O-A  type visa

 

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by chubby
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[gk10002000]

It sounds like you can kind of afford things financially, so I would recommend the Thai Elite Visa 5 year, especially since the new 10 year as apparently proposed requires a significant cash deposit of million baht in Thailand.  If you want to deal with transferring money in and out of the country, so be it.  The Thai Elite 5 year you would put 500k up front to buy in, but things are simple after that.