TR to non O to Retirement. How long?

[dallen52]

Must have been asked many times.

But I'm  new to all this.

 

Have a TR visa and have been directed through a friend to use company X in Pattaya here.

 

The flow is....

TR convert to Non immigration O.

Non immigration O to one year retirement visa. Im 65.

Pay the money up front. 

Obviously.

Guaranteed to get...

 

What is the usual timeframe?

 

What would be the indicative costs for each step.

Im hearing 15000 for  O + 7000 for retirement + agent fees + bank deposit fee.  27,000 all up.

(I was also told its better to do it all in one step).

 

They need my passport with my TR and entry stamp.

Bank book and plastic access card.

 

Im hoping to travel prior to Christmas. 

Plus my TR needs extending day 15/12.

 

They say the new visa will replace the TR and all will be ok.

(Famous last words)

 

Appreciate any offerings.

 

 

[BritTim]

If you extend your tourist entry immediately, and then apply for the conversion/extension, a good agent might be able to have it done before Christmas, but it will be tight. You must have at least 15 days left on your permission to stay when you apply for the conversion. The whole process can be completed by a good agent within 10-15 days.

 

I get the impression that the agent you propose engaging is using a relationship with immigration to cut a few corners. It is up to you whether to go with a process that may only be borderline legal. One piece of advice: do not use any agent service for this that does not involve a trip to immigration (which can be very quick). If you do, you risk fake stamps. Your agent will probably want to hold on to your passport while everything is being done. If you handle everything yourself, apart from saving agent fees, you also hold onto your passport, though you will end up visiting immigration at least three times, and it may be time consuming.

[Lite Beer]

Convert to a Non Imm Visa. 2,000 Baht.

Cost of the extension application fee is 1,900 Baht.

 You do not need an agent unless you are taking the illegal route.

It is so easy to do yourself.

 

There would usually be a gap of 60 days between Non Imm application and Extension application but they sometimes do it at the same time.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Lite Beer

[buick]

i did a conversion in bangkok w/o using an agent.  but i believe there have been reports on pattaya immigration (jomtien) refusing to do the conversions unless an agent is involved.  maybe i'm getting the immigration offices confused and/or someone else can clarify.

[dallen52]

You are hearing what i was also told.

Jomtien will not do for Joe public. 

You have to use an agent.

And Bangkok do the type O.

From TR or waiver.

But will stand corrected on this.

[JackThompson]

19 minutes ago, dallen52 said:

You are hearing what i was also told.

Jomtien will not do for Joe public. 

You have to use an agent.

And Bangkok do the type O.

From TR or waiver.

But will stand corrected on this.

Jomtien will do a conversion for retirement with seasoned money (in a Thai bank for 2+ months), even though seasoning is Not Required for conversions, according to the official rules.  They will not do a conversion with an income-letter, though this Is Permitted in the official rules.  The rules could change again without notice.  They seem to be allowed (through lack of oversight, or some sort of "arrangement") to invent their own rules, to force people to agents. 

 

OTOH, the desk that handles annual retirement extensions at Jomtien has a good reputation.  For this step, it is a completely different group of people.

 

5 hours ago, dallen52 said:

What would be the indicative costs for each step.

Im hearing 15000 for  O + 7000 for retirement + agent fees + bank deposit fee.  27,000 all up.

(I was also told its better to do it all in one step).

The "real cost" is 2000 Baht + 1900 Baht.  The rest of the money is going to the agent, and to "lubricate / grease" things on the official side (the only logical reason that doing it by yourself is blocked).

 

To get the Non-O and Extension both done at the same time is not legal.  The money must be in the bank 60-days for the annual extension (your first extension), and the extension can only be applied for in the last 30-days of the Non-O (which is 90-days from time of application).   Whether using an agent or not, I would absolutely do the Non-O Conversion separately from the annual extension, and follow the official timeline:  Get Non-O, wait 60-days with money seasoning in the bank during that time, then apply for extension.

 

If you need to travel after getting the Non-O, you can get a re-entry permit, which will keep your permission-of-stay active, so you can continue with the annual-extension application when you return.

 

The agent asking for bank-book + access-card is a bit odd, unless they are planning to "fake the money" by putting the needed funds in your account, then quickly withdrawing it.  You should use your own money, or your own income-statement (from your embassy) to qualify.   This is especially important for the annual-extension, where seasoning of the funds for 2 mo is required.  If the agent is somehow skipping the seasoning for the annual extension, this is illegal and corrupt, and you should find an honest agent (likely at a better price), or do it yourself.  Bank records with these "in/out" transfers could be found and used for prosecutions in the future.  No reason to have a "??" hanging over your head forever.

[ubonjoe]

A personal attack on a member has been removed.

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Edited December 10, 2017 by ubonjoe

[onera1961]

18 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

here would usually be a gap of 60 days between Non Imm application and Extension application but they sometimes do it at the same time.

When they do it at the same time, do we have to apply in two different forms, e.g. TM 7 for TV visa extension and TM86 for change of visa type on the same day? What is the logistics of the process?

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

When they do it at the same time, do we have to apply in two different forms, e.g. TM 7 for TV visa extension and TM86 for change of visa type on the same day? What is the logistics of the process?

They seldom do them at the same time now.

If they did it you would first do the change of visa status (TM86) application and then in about 15 days return to immigration to have the visa and 90 day entry stamp done. Then if using the 800k baht option and it had been in the bank for at least 60 days or using the 65k baht income option they would accept the one year extension of stay application.

[buick]

another thing to consider is what you will do for your next extension.  say you go ahead with the agent on this one, get the 90 day non imm O and the 12 month extension.  then after about 15 months, it will be time to obtain another 12 month extension of stay.  you might be 'locked in' to using an agent for that also (and the next one, etc...).  although the agent fee will likely be lower than what was required for the first transaction.  i say this as the immigration officer may be able to tell that an agent was used for the first one and will not process the second one w/o an agent involved.  you should definitely ask the agent about the process for the next one just to be sure.

 

 

 

 

[roobaa01]

in jomtien the op will not be successfully implement the tr conversion to non-o by himself, he will be requested to use a specific agent for thb 15.000. we had several stories here on thai visa.

 

wbr

roobaa01

[Lite Beer]

41 minutes ago, roobaa01 said:

in jomtien the op will not be successfully implement the tr conversion to non-o by himself, he will be requested to use a specific agent for thb 15.000. we had several stories here on thai visa.

 

wbr

roobaa01

In that case it would be cheaper to go to Laos and get a Non Imm O Visa.

[dallen52]

3 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

In that case it would be cheaper to go to Laos and get a Non Imm O Visa.

Its all about lessons learned.

I did the tourist visa for my partner to Australia and 4700 all up.

Plus a Bangkok visit and 7 days.

Not the 30,000 agents asked.

Plus visa costs on top. 

 

The retirement age extension/permission is new to me so obviously I will be asking repeat questions and possibly dumb ones to the long time members.

 

So the O conversion should be my starting point. 

Followed by the retirement extension. 

And legally/technically i should be going to do it myself.

 

The agents/bottom payment people certainly take thier cut out of all this.

 

Interestingly.

A German friend has a colleague at Jomtien, who can do the retirement extension. 

But cannot do the O conversion from TR. 

(Maybe stepping on someone else's income stream?)

 

The Greeks have a word. 

Fakalaki.

= Brown paper envelope with money. 

 

So its been going on for thousands of years.

What i probably missed in all this is what the actual cost of the retirement extension/grant of stay is?. Or should be at the counter.?

 

[BritTim]

46 minutes ago, dallen52 said:

What i probably missed in all this is what the actual cost of the retirement extension/grant of stay is?. Or should be at the counter.?

The conversion is really an application for a single entry Non Imm O visa, and costs 2,000 baht (unusually allowed from within the country without visiting a consulate outside Thailand).

The one-year extension of stay costs 1,900 baht.

Obviously, satisfying all the preconditions before you can apply for the conversion/extension is likely to involve some expense. However, doing it yourself, without the use of an agent, does save money.

[steve187]

if it works out at 27,000 baht i would go do a 30 day extension, get xmas out the way, go get the non 'O' in Jan, in the last month get the year extension, will cost 10,000/12,000 baht max.

[Suradit69]

16 hours ago, BritTim said:

The conversion is really an application for a single entry Non Imm O visa,

Really ends up being for a non-imm O entry stamp since the visa is never usable for anything other than the legal fiction that you used a non-imm O visa to enter Thailand.

[Oztruckie]

For your next 1 year extension,you obviously hold OZ pp,just go OZ embassy bkk,fill out stat dec form declaring you have the minimum funds to support yr stay for the next 12 months in Thailand,have it stamped signed by embassy staff,cost 1800 thb,then there's no need for bank or other income statements or letters,have now done 2 extensions with this method,first time cost 550 thb,OZ government so broke they gotta raise funds anyway they can,maybe to pay for their new taj mahal building.

[dallen52]

2 hours ago, Oztruckie said:

For your next 1 year extension,you obviously hold OZ pp,just go OZ embassy bkk,fill out stat dec form declaring you have the minimum funds to support yr stay for the next 12 months in Thailand,have it stamped signed by embassy staff,cost 1800 thb,then there's no need for bank or other income statements or letters,have now done 2 extensions with this method,first time cost 550 thb,OZ government so broke they gotta raise funds anyway they can,maybe to pay for their new taj mahal building.

That would be a bonus for me. 

Just hitting the pension age plus the extra 6 month's to 65 1/2.

On January 7th. 

Woo hoo.Haha. 

 

I've had to hold my funds in an Australian account. ANZ.

Which does return a degree of interest earnings.

(Nothing like the 3.5% deemed rate the government says i can get lol)

 

But reluctant to transfer any more than needed to Kasikorn Bank account. 

 

I will certainly take your advice.

Plus that of other learned members and do it myself.

 

My goo*ies shrink to the size of peanuts when i see all the exorbitant buckets of money that get demanded to grease the wheels to obviously back door the systems here.

 

Someone could write a book on the way to do this and save money.

 

The Idiot's guide to obtaining Thai visas....

[DogNo1]

If you can schedule your travel on or before the date that your tourist visa expires, you can get your money in the bank or get your affidavit of income straightened away now, leave and return on a visa waiver then begin your "O" conversion immediately. After 60 days you can then begin your extension for retirement.  

If, on the other hand, you extend your tourist visa now, you will need to pay the extension fee plus BUY A RE-ENTRY PERMIT.  It is not difficult to do all of the work on your own.  It becomes easier each time that you do it and you save a lot of money.  Of course, if you have money to burn, the agent fees are no problem.

 

Whatever you do, don't forget to get a re-entry permit before you leave the country!

[roobaa01]

@dallen52  you should read the reports on thai visa about the expats trying in vain to have their tourist visa converted into a non-o status tm 86, tm 87  in  pattaya. the guys were running around in circles for the immi officer kept asking every time for new documents. the immi officer wanted the guys to use a specific agent. save yourself headaches for you are not going to succeed in pattaya doing it yourself. the second step non-o status to 12 months extension of stay easy goin.. no problem at all u are doin it yourself.

 

wbr

roobaa01