Change to Thai Elite while in Thailand ?

[moogradod]

My Thai Wife and me will now definitely retire from Switzerland to LOS until End of coming March, but my Visa is not 100% decided yet, but most likely I will follow the normal non-immigrant-O route since I qualify easily - I would suppose. But just in case a question for the knowing:

Is it possible to change a a) tourist visa or even visa on arrival or c) non-immigrant O to a Thai Elite Visa while in Thailand ? This is meant as a security option if something goes wrong with the standard process to get a retirement extension in case of a) inkl. conversion to non-immi-O.  Or c) because of difficulties opening a bank account for the 800K deposit or other strange occurrences.

[BritTim]

It is definitely possible to change a tourist entry (including visa exempt) to a Thailand Elite Easy Access visa, without leaving Thailand. I believe the same is true for a 90-day entry on a Non O visa (not sure though). If you have a long term extension of stay, you need to cancel it by leaving and reentering the country to receive a Thailand Elite visa when reentering Thailand. That is not so onerous. A same day in/out by air can get it done.

[ukrules]

Yes, it's not only possible to do this, it's easy.

 

I did it myself a few years ago while in Thailand.

 

When I got this 'TE' visa I was on a 30 day stamp with no visa at all and had been living here for many years on various different visas.

 

If you pay the fee they don't seem to care what your status is.

 

I think I read about one exception  to the above rule a while back and that's if you're currently on a marriage visa, I think it might cause a slight complication if you have a marriage visa but I can't be sure of this. I'm not married so it's irrelevant to my situation.

 

[mduras01]

Yes you can change in country no problem. Did mine in Bangkok, converted SE visa to TE visa 5-year. Lady greeted us in Chang Wattana immigration and did everything. Very fast, took no more than 15 minutes. Very professional and really glad I did it. I am also married but chose TE as it was less hassle.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[reallybigken]

Yes, you can. I have one and love it. You just fill out the form (from Thailand Elite website). They do a background check, which can take up to 14 days. You pay the fee and you good to go. It takes about 15 minutes to put the VISA in you passport.

 

You still need to do 90 day reports. They can also provide a service to do the 90 report for you,  if you live in Bangkok, Chang Mai, Phuket, or Pattaya.

 

If you can afford it, it is well worth it!!!

 

[sead]

The Elite visa is Magic. They will assist you with anything regarding current visa, and new visa, questions about opening business etc. Even if you have problems with Police or other governmental issues you are 1 call away from Elite support.

Thats what i heard firsthand 

[Jbrin]

Hi - I'm thinking of getting the 10 year visa ( 5 + 5) and wondered if anybody can advise if after getting the first 5 year visa if you then have to attend immigration every year or only once at the 5 year anniversary to obtain the next 5 year visa? ( I understand the requirement to continue with the 90 day reporting )

 

with thsnks

 

 

john

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, Jbrin said:

Hi - I'm thinking of getting the 10 year visa ( 5 + 5) and wondered if anybody can advise if after getting the first 5 year visa if you then have to attend immigration every year or only once at the 5 year anniversary to obtain the next 5 year visa? ( I understand the requirement to continue with the 90 day reporting )

with thsnks

If you leave the country at least one time every year you will never have to visit immigration for 5 years other than doing the 90 day reports.

Every time you enter the country you will get a new one year entry.

If choose not to leave the country you could apply for a one year extension at immigration every year and stay for the 5 years.

[bkk6060]

6 hours ago, reallybigken said:

Yes, you can. I have one and love it. You just fill out the form (from Thailand Elite website). They do a background check, which can take up to 14 days. You pay the fee and you good to go. It takes about 15 minutes to put the VISA in you passport.

 

You still need to do 90 day reports. They can also provide a service to do the 90 report for you,  if you live in Bangkok, Chang Mai, Phuket, or Pattaya.

 

If you can afford it, it is well worth it!!!

 

Really?  I don't need or have one but I was told by the representative, it would take one day. Please come now one day...

Too many odd stories about this Visa so I did not do it.

[galt67]

I recently converted to a 20-year TE (inside Thailand) from a 'visa exempt' stamp about 60 days ago.

 

As others stated, the process is easy and the TE staff is helpful and proficient in English.

 

I recommend, CALLING to request the forms which were emailed to me minutes after my request. This also gave me a TE 'point of contact' that helped me ensure everything was correct.

 

From the day I received the documents to the day I received the TE visa at Chaeng Wattana--10 calendar days.

 

Also, I have had the pleasure of dealing with multiple TE personnel (at CW and BKK) and they are excellent! Frankly, I was surprised how helpful they are and that everything has totally been 'above board'.

 

Needless to say, although I am 50 years old this was the correct decision for ME.

[Jbrin]

Ubonjoe

 

many thanks for your reply

 

john

[4evermaat]

It should be noted that TE visa is classified as a [long stay] tourist visa, NOT a non-immigrant visa.

This probably wont have much impact on most members, but it is worth mentioning. A strategy worth considering might be to get non-o or o-a first, then open a couple of bank accts, buy a vehicle or at last get a yellow book, then switch to TE.

I could be overreacting a bit.

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[HerbalEd]

On 10/12/2017 at 8:31 PM, 4evermaat said:

It should be noted that TE visa is classified as a [long stay] tourist visa, NOT a non-immigrant visa.

This probably wont have much impact on most members, but it is worth mentioning. A strategy worth considering might be to get non-o or o-a first, then open a couple of bank accts, buy a vehicle or at last get a yellow book, then switch to TE.

I could be overreacting a bit.

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

No "strategy" is needed. The TE visa is very easy to obtain. You don't need bank account(s), vehicle, or yellow book. 

 

What is your strategy supposed to accomplish?

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, HerbalEd said:

No "strategy" is needed. The TE visa is very easy to obtain. You don't need bank account(s), vehicle, or yellow book. 

 

What is your strategy supposed to accomplish?

Some cautious individuals would be inclined to take care before shelling out 500,000 baht. The suggested strategy is a means of feeling things out for a year or so in Thailand before making the long term commitment. You could even decide that the O-A visa meets the needs sufficiently (if making trips home every year or two) rendering the Thailand Elite visa unnecessary. That said, the extra cash does come with simplicity and convenience.

[moogradod]

On 12.10.2017 at 2:14 PM, ubonjoe said:

If choose not to leave the country you could apply for a one year extension at immigration every year and stay for the 5 years.

Thanks ubonjoe, but how easy is the extension then ? If you say "apply" then requirements need to be met again. Which ones ? THe TE magic seems to me that you dont have to bother a lot for 5 or 10 years - and that is - besides avoiding the extreme overhead applying for a non-o in my country - the reason why I would consider to spend 1Mio a fonds perdu.

[Psimbo]

I struggle to understand the benefits of this visa- a retirement permit once a year costs B1900, over ten years this is B19000. Ten multiple entry permits are another 38k.

 

Either way one still has to do the 90 day reports and notification of address every time you go out of your main residence to another place within or without Thailand. 

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, moogradod said:

Thanks ubonjoe, but how easy is the extension then ? If you say "apply" then requirements need to be met again. Which ones ? THe TE magic seems to me that you dont have to bother a lot for 5 or 10 years - and that is - besides avoiding the extreme overhead applying for a non-o in my country - the reason why I would consider to spend 1Mio a fonds perdu.

 

I've done this a few times and what he means is go to your local immigration office, fill out the regular extension of stay form, write in 'PE/Elite VISA' as the visa type and tick it because it's not printed on the form.

 

Further down the form it asks how long you want to extend your stay for, enter 1 year in this space.

 

Hand them the form and the relevant photocopies / photo, pay your 1900 Baht fee and you're done.

 

It's the exact same procedure as a 30 day tourist visa extension of stay, same documents, same fee, etc. The difference being you get one year every time you do it and you dont need to leave between extensions.

 

I haven't left Thailand in more than 3 years now. I had the initial year when my visa was inserted / activated in Bangkok as I was already in the country, since then I've done 2 one year extensions back to back.

 

Edited October 16, 2017 by ukrules

[Coremouse]

Normally get tourist visa or visa stamp then switch to elite visa, this is the de facto way. Few get visa beforehand arrival Thailand. So it's possible for tourist visa or visa stamp, definitely. 

 

Switching from non-immigrant visas could be tricky, first you have to cancel your current visa, then switch to elite visa while on temporary extension. Which is better handled by trustworthy agents if you don't know what you're doing. 

 

In my case, elite card personal told me I have to cancel Non-B first( I already decided to quit work ), then get elite visa on 7 days extension of temporary stay. As I understand, I have to 1. go to labour department to cancel the work permit  2. same exact day when wp cancelled, go to immigration & cancel non-b & get extension.

 

Which turns out I misunderstood a lil. Problem is, I signed my wp cancellation form: "quit work on May 14". Because delays in the company, I actually submitted the form to labour dep. on May-18. And because labour dep. server goes down, I actually got WP cancellation receipt on May-22ish.

 

Same day at Immigration, officials told me the effective "quit work date" is which one I signed on the form, so May-14. Thus I'm bounded to leave Thailand on May-22 and no way for me to get a 7 days extension. The officials even assured me airport/labour dep isn't sharing data so no problem if I leave immediately, <deleted>... 

 

Finally got my PE visa when I returned to Thailand.

 

Point is:

  Logically, I can't work anymore after gave up my WP to labour dep., so the signed quit work date could not be beyond the day to submit cancellation form, right?; 

  And I need the WP cancellation receipt to ensure WP is cancelled, so be able to cancel non-b, then get another extension / visa, clear tax, etc.;

  Further more I have absolutely no control over labour dep. efficiency, or Bangkok traffic jam, etc. 

  Plus I have to cancel non-B the same day as WP cancelled, otherwise it's a overstay. Another typical Thai loophole. 

 

So, switching from non-immigrant visas to elite inside Thailand is possible & doable, but might be difficult depends on several circumstances.  

Edited October 17, 2017 by Coremouse

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, moogradod said:

Thanks ubonjoe, but how easy is the extension then ? If you say "apply" then requirements need to be met again.

It is very easy to apply for the one year extension. Just show your passport (plus copies of it)with the PE visa in it and pay the 1900 baht fee is about it.

[moogradod]

Thanks. That's what I call a reasonable application. Why not always like this ?

 

Will consider the TE despite the cost. I am 62, could as well meet the normal retirement requirements with money in the bank etc. But it starts with the application here in Switzerland for the non-O and continues with the yearly immigration discussions, bank letters in time, not too early not too late etc. We will see.

 

 

Edited October 17, 2017 by moogradod
grammar

[bkk6060]

1 hour ago, moogradod said:

Thanks. That's what I call a reasonable application. Why not always like this ?

 

Will consider the TE despite the cost. I am 62, could as well meet the normal retirement requirements with money in the bank etc. But it starts with the application here in Switzerland for the non-O and continues with the yearly immigration discussions, bank letters in time, not too early not too late etc. We will see.

 

 

It sounds like a huge waste of money for someone over 50 if they qualify for the retirement Visa.

You could practically buy a condo, or at least pay rent for several years on the money saved.

Doesn't make any sense to me. 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

It sounds like a huge waste of money for someone over 50 if they qualify for the retirement Visa.

You could practically buy a condo, or at least pay rent for several years on the money saved.

Doesn't make any sense to me. 

Some people will pay to stay in 4 and 5-star hotels, when you can sleep perfectly well in a decent 2-star hotel at about a quarter of the cost or less. The fact is that, for people who are financially secure, comfort and convenience are often worth a premium. I criticize neither people who stay in 5-star hotels for "wasting money" nor people who stay in 2-star hotels for "slumming". It is up to people to decide based on their own financial means and preferences.

[gk10002000]

On 10/16/2017 at 12:31 PM, Psimbo said:

I struggle to understand the benefits of this visa- a retirement permit once a year costs B1900, over ten years this is B19000. Ten multiple entry permits are another 38k.

 

Either way one still has to do the 90 day reports and notification of address every time you go out of your main residence to another place within or without Thailand. 

It is convenience.  It is not about money.  The Elite people will handle the paperwork, even most of the 90 day reporting.  You get it, and except for the yearly extension that you still have to pay for, (1900 baht still I think), things are done.   If they really do help or handle most if not all of the 90 day reporting process, well, that alone makes it pretty good in my mind.  And you don't have to tie up 800K baht in a Thai bank account.  You don't have to deal with retirement monthly income verification from your home embassy. 

Edited October 17, 2017 by gk10002000
add

[pearciderman]

On 10/12/2017 at 8:31 PM, 4evermaat said:

It should be noted that TE visa is classified as a [long stay] tourist visa, NOT a non-immigrant visa.

This probably wont have much impact on most members, but it is worth mentioning. A strategy worth considering might be to get non-o or o-a first, then open a couple of bank accts, buy a vehicle or at last get a yellow book, then switch to TE.

I could be overreacting a bit.

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

Where do you see it said that it is a long stay tourist visa ?

[Mattd]

38 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

Where do you see it said that it is a long stay tourist visa ?

Although it perhaps doesn't state it, the PE (I believe they are not longer referred to as TE) visa is in reality a long stay tourist visa, as, apart from the year long entries and extensions, it is the same as a tourist visa, i.e. it isn't a non-immigrant type, so you cannot work here whilst holding this visa for example.

Although, it should still be perfectly possible to get a yellow book, open a bank account, buy a vehicle and get a 2 year driving license as a PE visa holder.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Mattd

[wordchild]

12 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Although it perhaps doesn't state it, the PE (I believe they are not longer referred to as TE) visa is in reality a long stay tourist visa, as, apart from the year long entries and extensions, it is the same as a tourist visa, i.e. it isn't a non-immigrant type, so you cannot work here whilst holding this visa for example.

Although, it should still be perfectly possible to get a yellow book, open a bank account, buy a vehicle and get a 2 year driving license as a PE visa holder.

you can do all the above and get a standard 5 year driving  license, Thai Elite will even send someone along with you to sort everything out, and speed everything up; as I remember first time this service is free but 2nd time have to pay,

[pearciderman]

51 minutes ago, Mattd said:

Although it perhaps doesn't state it, the PE (I believe they are not longer referred to as TE) visa is in reality a long stay tourist visa, as, apart from the year long entries and extensions, it is the same as a tourist visa, i.e. it isn't a non-immigrant type, so you cannot work here whilst holding this visa for example.

Although, it should still be perfectly possible to get a yellow book, open a bank account, buy a vehicle and get a 2 year driving license as a PE visa holder.

 

Your argument falls down when you mention work and Non-Imm visas. You can't work on a Non-O for being over 50, You can't work on a Non-OA either.

[Mattd]

2 minutes ago, pearciderman said:

 

Your argument falls down when you mention work and Non-Imm visas. You can't work on a Non-O for being over 50, You can't work on a Non-OA either.

I don't recall saying that it was possible on those categories of non 0 visas, though there is no reason whatsoever why you cannot work on a non o over the age of 50 unless you have extended for retirement, for example, a 55 year old entering on a non o and extending for marriage is perfectly entitled to work.

My point was that the PE visa is in effect a long term tourist visa.

[bkk6060]

3 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

It is convenience.  It is not about money.  The Elite people will handle the paperwork, even most of the 90 day reporting.  You get it, and except for the yearly extension that you still have to pay for, (1900 baht still I think), things are done.   If they really do help or handle most if not all of the 90 day reporting process, well, that alone makes it pretty good in my mind.  And you don't have to tie up 800K baht in a Thai bank account.  You don't have to deal with retirement monthly income verification from your home embassy. 

Its not about the money?  Then why try to boast about what you are paying for?

I hope some are not being steered in the wrong direction based on comments about this Visa.

 

The 90 day reporting you still have to do it is so simple and has never taken me more then 20 minutes.  So that is 80 minutes a year and you say elite assisting with this makes it worth it?  So 100,000 b a year for 80 minutes worth of your time?? Where is the convenience?

My recent year extension took me all of an hour. 

The 800 k that yes is in the bank.  But lets see, you are giving them 500,000 you will never see again so.....

The income verification again took me 30 minutes at my embassy.

 

Good luck with it but seriously, I hope those thinking about jumping at this Visa seek some sound sensible financial guidance.

[Mattd]

A PE visa is really more for those that are reasonably well off and are under 50 (ideally 40), not married to a Thai, have no Thai dependencies, not working or in education here, perhaps retired young, working offshore and based here etc. and want to have some stability in being able to live here.

Most over 50's would nearly always opt for the extension based on retirement, for obvious reasons.