Staying legally for 4 months...advice please

[Flyfish]

I would be grateful for informed accurate advice re type of visa to apply for a 4 month stay. I have been in Thailand for 10 years,firstly with a work permit and latterly a retirement extension.

i now intend to reverse the current scenario,and spend 8 months back in the UK and 4 months here. A retirement extension does not seem appropriate...

should I apply for an O visa when I am in UK?

whatis the difference between an O visa,and an OA VISA?

How do I extend 90 days to 120 days.

Can I specify the start date of the Visa?

my thanks for your assistance.

[ubonjoe]

Nothing wrong with having an extension and only staying here for 4 months out of the year. Just be sure you can apply for a new extension while your are here for the 4 months.

You would have to be on a state pension to get a single entry non-o visa at the embassy in London. If on a state pension you could get a multiple entry non-o visa that allows unlimited 90 day entries for a year from the date of issue.

If you only get a single entry non-o visa you could leave and re-enter the country to get a 30 day visa exempt entry and extends it for 30 days at immigration.

A OA visa is allows unlimited one year entries for a year from the the date of issue. You need to show financial proof, a medical certificate and police background check to apply for it.

You cannot specify when the validity of visa starts. I will start from the date it is issued. A single entry non-o visa is valid for 3 months. The 90 day entry starts on the day you enter the country. 

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, Flyfish said:

should I apply for an O visa when I am in UK?

You would have to apply at the Thai Embassy London.

They will only issue a single entry (90 day) Non Imm O if you are 65 and in receipt of a state pension.

 

1 hour ago, Flyfish said:

what is the difference between an O visa, and an OA VISA?

Apart from cost, an O-A requires a medical and Police clearance.

A single entry Non Imm O Visa. Valid 3 months. Can be issued to those who are over 65 and in receipt of the 'state pension', or married to a Thai and intend to retire permanently in Thailand. On entry this Visa is ‘used’. Under the Immigration law you have permission to stay for 90 days. You cannot extend the ‘permission to stay’ beyond 90 days with this Visa type, unless married to a Thai.

A multi entry Non Imm O-A Visa. (Long stay). Valid 1 year. Can be issued to those who are over 50 who intend to remain in Thailand for long periods. This Visa allows unlimited 1 year entries before the ‘enter before’ date of the Visa, at which point this Visa is ‘used’.

If you leave and re-enter just before the ‘enter before’ date of this Visa type you are granted another 1 year permission to stay. You will however require a re-entry permit if you intend to leave and re-enter Thailand during this 2^nd year permission to stay period.

This is because when the Visa expires on the ‘enter before’ date, so does the ME facility which is only valid until the ‘enter before’ date of the Visa.

If used correctly, you can stay in Thailand for almost 24 months with this Visa type.

 

1 hour ago, Flyfish said:

How do I extend 90 days to 120 days.

A single entry Non Imm O Visa cannot be extended beyond 90 days.

You would have to leave the Country on the 90th day of 'permitted to stay until' stamp, then re-enter and you'll be given a 30 day Visa exempt entry stamp.

 

1 hour ago, Flyfish said:

Can I specify the start date of the Visa?

No. The Visa is valid to enter Thailand within 3 months of the issue date.

Your 90 day 'permission to stay' starts on the actual day you enter Thailand.

The validity of a Visa and the validity of your permission to stay are separate issues.

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Tanoshi

[ubonjoe]

19 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

A single entry Non Imm O Visa. Valid 3 months. Can be issued to those who are over 65 and in receipt of the 'state pension', or married to a Thai and intend to retire permanently in Thailand. On entry this Visa is ‘used’. Under the Immigration law you have permission to stay for 90 days. You cannot extend the ‘permission to stay’ beyond 90 days with this Visa type, unless married to a Thai.

Where did you copy that from. The embassy in London will issue a multiple entry non-o visa.

It states this on embassy website "For pensioner : A copy of pension statement if the applicant is a pensioner or a copy of 1 month bank statement showing your income from pension."

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Where did you copy that from. The embassy in London will issue a multiple entry non-o visa.

It states this on embassy website "For pensioner : A copy of pension statement if the applicant is a pensioner or a copy of 1 month bank statement showing your income from pension."

They will only issue a single Non Imm O if 65 and in receipt of a Pension.

Have a friend regularly visits on a Non Imm O. Last year he applied for the ME (68, state pension), they said ME was only issued for Thai wife or child. It was in writing from the Embassy.

 

If it's changed, I'd like to know.

[jackdd]

The easiest way to cover 4 months (if it's ok for you to make a trip to another country after 2 months) is to just use visa exempts and extend them

[Tanoshi]

It also states;

for purposes of business, study, conference, seminar, film production, journalism, and job volunteer / for person accompanying Thai spouse / for persons over 50 years of age and pensioners over 60 - 65 years

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/page-2.html

 

They won't issue the Non Imm O to those between 60-65 on private pensions anymore either.

 

[ubonjoe]

18 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Have a friend regularly visits on a Non Imm O. Last year he applied for the ME (68, state pension), they said ME was only issued for Thai wife or child. It was in writing from the Embassy.

It must of been a one off error, There have been many reports of the embassy issuing multiple entry visas.

Are you sure he was not confusing a consulate with an embassy?

[Tanoshi]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It must of been a one off error, There have been many reports of the embassy issuing multiple entry visas.

Are you sure he was not confusing a consulate with an embassy?

No, he lives in London. Goes in person.

Been coming for years, 3 months in, 3 months out.

Since reaching the age of 65 and receiving his state pension, they have only been prepared to issue him a single entry every time.

Here now for 7 weeks on his latest single entry Non Imm O.

He occasionally has to hop the border to get another 30 days.

 

I've e-mailed the Embassy, will post their reply.

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, Tanoshi said:

A single entry Non Imm O Visa. Valid 3 months. Can be issued to those who are over 65 and in receipt of the 'state pension', or married to a Thai and intend to retire permanently in Thailand. On entry this Visa is ‘used’. Under the Immigration law you have permission to stay for 90 days. You cannot extend the ‘permission to stay’ beyond 90 days with this Visa type, unless married to a Thai.

That should read you cannot apply for a 30 day extension on this Visa type.

You can apply for a 60 day extension if married to a Thai, or the parent a Thai child.

You can also apply for annual extensions based on marriage or retirement from this Visa type provided you meet the financial requirements.

[tgeezer]

If flyfish is still reading this lot maybe I can be of help.
In eleven years of staying only five months in Thailand for retirement my short visits have never been remarked.
You say that you are on a retirement extension, so don't change anything. Get a re-entry permit and return before your extension expires in order to extend during your four months in Thailand. Of course if your planned four months stay does not span your extension anniversary then let the extensions expire and get a new visa.
I entered with a new visa at the end of October last year was given 90 days and two months later was given a one year extension starting on the expiry of my ninety days. This gives me flexibilty of travel because I usually enter in October and leave in March with the anniversary of the extension falling in January.
You might also want to consider the anniversary date when you plan your first trip.



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[crazydrummerpauly]

Hi all - so is there a neat answer to the different takes on the Non-immigrant Cat O 1-year Multi Entry for UK pensioners ?  Until today i did think that us old brits had lost that great visa which i had used for over 5 years.  Ubonjoe pls.

[crazydrummerpauly]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It must of been a one off error, There have been many reports of the embassy issuing multiple entry visas.

Are you sure he was not confusing a consulate with an embassy?

Hi ubonjoe - so is there a difference between applying at the Thai embassy in person, and having a local consulate (eg Hull) sending one's papers into the London embassy ?

Edited May 2, 2018 by crazydrummerpauly

[CMBob]

If the OP plans on being here during the time period his current extension based on retirement expires, I'd think the easiest and cheapest method is to simply keep extending that (presuming he has either the requisite funds in the bank here or can get the annual verification from his embassy).  Will cost him 1900 baht plus possible embassy/bank fee plus cost for single or multiple re-entry permit).  If OP doesn't plan on being here for that time period (within 30 days of expiration for all provinces or within 45 days of expiration for a few provinces), then I'd suggest he follow UbonJoe's advice (90-day Non-O from embassy in England and then leave and return to get another 30 days free).  

 

If the OP's time period to be spent in Thailand fits in with renewing his extension based on retirement, then he can simply stay as long as he wants and not worry about shorter time limits, border hopping, or whatever.

[Suradit69]

8 hours ago, Flyfish said:

A retirement extension does not seem appropriate...

Continuing to extend your permission to stay each year and using a re-entry permit are totally appropriate and probably the easiest route to take.

 

There's no minimum stay required. Just be in Thailand before the current permission expires and renew for another year ... and remember to get a new re-entry permit.

[Elkski]

I guess someday soon I will have to sit down and allocate some brain cells to all these nonsensical Visa rules and the terminology.  

 

Why isn't there just a simple flowchart somewhere.  Answer a few questions and it suggests best visa. 

 

If under or over  50?

Married to Thai national or Thai child

How long is planned stay

On state pension or 65,000/ income

Can out 400,000 if married or 800,000 in Thai bank. 

But some Visa it ok if in your home country bank.  

First time it needs to be in Thai bank for 2 months future visa money needs to be in bank 3 months. 

What are some examples if state pensions?  Not a common term in USA unless you were a state employee.  I assume Social Security counts?

 

[visaruna]

the simplest n easiest way to get 4 months here is...

 

fly in and get 30 days free [1 month]

extend that at immigration 1900 thb [1 month]

fly out and back on a cheap return day trip [~2500 thb] and get another 30 days free [1 month]

extend that at immigration 1900 thb [1 month]

 

4 months in total

[LoVeFuN]

Would a copy of my yearly increase in UK pension be sufficient to prove I am a pensioner when applying for the single entry Non imm O visa. My bank statement details are paid electronically from the Uk and only show monthly payments followed by BP to signify my Uk pension.

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[ubonjoe]

9 hours ago, LoVeFuN said:

Would a copy of my yearly increase in UK pension be sufficient to prove I am a pensioner when applying for the single entry Non imm O visa. My bank statement details are paid electronically from the Uk and only show monthly payments followed by BP to signify my Uk pension.

If applying for the non-o visa at the embassy in London that should be enough to prove you are on a state pension. A bank statement showing the payments going into the account would also help.

[LoVeFuN]

If applying for the non-o visa at the embassy in London that should be enough to prove you are on a state pension. A bank statement showing the payments going into the account would also help.

Thanks very much Joe.

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