Extended stays in Thailand

[sdweller]

My wife and I are retiring, (I'm 54 and she is 49), and we want to spend a year or maybe a bit more in Thailand.  I know this question is a bit broad, but what would be the best way of staying longer in Thailand than the tourist Visa time limit w/extensions past the 90 days?   

[EricTh]

Just wait one more year for your wife to reach 50 and you can apply for retirement visa.

 

However, if you look at other threads, don't retire in Chiang Mai because the retirement queue is very long and you have to queue in the wee hours of the morning.

 

You can retire in other provinces.

[ubonjoe]

Moved to here.

You could apply for a one year extension of stay based upon retirement. You would need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days (first extension and then 3 months) or proof of 65k bath income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.. Then your wife could get an extension for being your spouse based upon your extension.

Or you could apply for a OA long stay visa at a embassy or official Thai consulate in your home country or country of legal residence. The visa allows unlimited one year entries for a year from the date of issue and can allow almost 2 years of total stay by getting a new entry prior to it expiring. Your wife then could get a extension based upon the entry from your visa. Genral requirements are here. http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O-A"-(Long-Stay).html

[ubonjoe]

2 hours ago, EricTh said:

Just wait one more year for your wife to reach 50 and you can apply for retirement visa.

Why?

He does not have to wait until his wife is 50 years old. She can get an extension based upon his extension of stay or his entry from a OA long stay visa.

[EricTh]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Why?

He does not have to wait until his wife is 50 years old. She can get an extension based upon his extension of stay or his entry from a OA long stay visa.

I thought I read some document saying that both husband and wife needs 160k baht together?

 

Can the wife piggy-back on the husband's visa? and don't need a separate 80k visa and age requirement?

 

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, EricTh said:

I thought I read some document saying that both husband and wife needs 160k baht together?

Only he is using the 800k baht option and they have a joint bank account (if allowed by the local immigration office).

7 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Can the wife piggy-back on the husband's visa? and don't need a separate 80k visa and age requirement?

There is no age limit for the wife to get an extension based upon his extension. Even children up to the age of 20 can get the same extension.

[sdweller]

ubonjoe...thank you for the great info... can I get some of your knowledge about a work visa?  Are they more difficult to get these days in Thailand? Age limits?

[sdweller]

...and also...is it more difficult to get retirement visa for Chang Mai?

 

[stud858]

I recommend METV first to settle in. Gives you 8 months. No need for anything fancy. No large deposits required.

After that, you'd have got a feel for everything,

Come as a tourist first.

Then go on the retirement visa later.

 

 

[JulieM]

I think the original post has been misunderstood. Although he is retiring, he only wants to spend a year (maybe a bit more) in Thailand with his wife.  This post was originally posted to the Chiang Mai forum, so I am guessing that's where they want to stay. If he is willing to travel a bit, here is what I would do:

 

1.  Get a 60-day tourist visa in your country before you leave.

2. Extend for 30 days at Chiang Mai Immigration = 90 days.

3. Take a bus to Mae Sai and cross at the land border = an additional 30 days (I think it's 30 but I may be wrong.) Once this visa expires you have now been in Thailand for 120 days (4 months.)

4. Go to Laos (Vientienne) to get a new 60-day tourist visa and repeat steps 2 and 3. Once these visas and extensions expire you have now been in Thailand for 8 months.

5. Return to Laos for your final tourist visa and repeat step 2. Do not return to Mae Sai since you already have two land crossing extensions. You have now been in Thailand for 11 months.

6. Return to your home country for a while.

 

Going to Vientienne is very easy from Chiang Mai. Fly to Udon Thai (Thailand) and take the airport bus to the border. Cheap and easy.

 

I hope this helps. I only posted this advice since I thought there was too much emphasis on getting a retirement visa. That seems overkill if the original poster only wants to spend about a year in Thailand. Please let me know if I have something wrong since this will also help me next time I travel to Thailand.

 

The METV (multiple entry tourist visa) might be a better option. I need to study that option.

 

 

[Laza 45]

21 hours ago, EricTh said:

Just wait one more year for your wife to reach 50 and you can apply for retirement visa.

 

However, if you look at other threads, don't retire in Chiang Mai because the retirement queue is very long and you have to queue in the wee hours of the morning.

 

You can retire in other provinces.

Come and spend some time traveling around .. 2 or 3 months at a time.. find where you are comfortable.  There are many different 'Thailands'.. each region  has its pros and cons..   lots of cons and pros in Pataya for example..  

[ubonjoe]

7 hours ago, JulieM said:

I think the original post has been misunderstood. Although he is retiring, he only wants to spend a year (maybe a bit more) in Thailand with his wife. 

He also wrote this,

On 8/19/2018 at 2:57 AM, sdweller said:

I know this question is a bit broad, but what would be the best way of staying longer in Thailand than the tourist Visa time limit w/extensions past the 90 days?   

Perhaps they don't to chase after visas and get new entries every few months to stay here.

With a OA visa he would not have to deal with immigration for a extension. His wife would get her non-o visa when he obtains the OA visa and then a extension equal to the remainder of his one year entry from the OA visa.

[Suradit69]

19 hours ago, EricTh said:

I thought I read some document saying that both husband and wife needs 160k baht together?

 

Can the wife piggy-back on the husband's visa? and don't need a separate 80k visa and age requirement?

 

Where are you getting these numbers?  160k  80 K

 

A single extension based on retirement would require either 800 K in the bank or a verified income of 65k monthly or a combination of the two.

 

As pointed out, there's no need for them to get individual extensions based on retirement or to wait for the wife to reach 50.

 

 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

Where are you getting these numbers?  160k  80 K

I think he left some zeros out and miswrote the 160k number. We know it is 800k baht and 1.6 million baht (for a joint account) if using the money in the bank option.

[JulieM]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

He also wrote this,

Perhaps they don't to chase after visas and get new entries every few months to stay here.

With a OA visa he would not have to deal with immigration for a extension. His wife would get her non-o visa when he obtains the OA visa and then a extension equal to the remainder of his one year entry from the OA visa.

Perhaps. Getting an OA is a bit of a drag when you consider three of the requirements:

 

1.  Medical certificate showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No.14(B.E. 2535) certificate shall be valid for not more than three months 

2.  Letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record (verification have to valid for not more than three months and must be issued from a state or Federal Bureau of Investigation only. Online criminal record without authorizer’s signature is unacceptable )

3.  Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht or an income certificate (an original copy) with a monthly income of not less than 65,000 Baht, or a deposit account plus a monthly income totaling not less than 800,000 Baht In the case of submitting a bank statement, a letter of guarantee from the bank (an original copy) is required

 

 

The next time I'm at my bank I will ask if they will provide a "letter of guarantee." I suppose they might. 

 

The OA comes with another disadvantage:

 

Recommendations for foreigners with Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (Long Stay) while staying in the Kingdom:
Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry. During the one-year period, if he or she wishes to leave and re-enter the country, he or she is required to apply at the Immigration office for re-entry permit (single or multiple) before departure. In the case of leaving the country without a re-entry permit, the permit to stay for 1 year shall be considered void.

At the end of the 90-day stay , the foreigner must report to the immigration officer in his or her residence area and report again every 90 days during his or her stay in Thailand . The foreigner may report to the police station if there is no immigration office in his or her residence area.

 

I got this info from here and I don't know if this source is correct:  http://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-oa/

 

[ubonjoe]

30 minutes ago, JulieM said:

Perhaps. Getting an OA is a bit of a drag when you consider three of the requirements:

Not that bad and it depends upon where it is applied for. Many people have gotten them without a problem. Some people have been getting new ones back to back since they do want to deal with immigration or prefer to keep their money back home.

The "letter of guarantee." is a really a misnomer. It is letter confirming the account and the balance in the account.

 

30 minutes ago, JulieM said:

Upon arrival, holder of this type of visa will be permitted to stay in Thailand for 1 year from the date of first entry. During the one-year period, if he or she wishes to leave and re-enter the country, he or she is required to apply at the Immigration office for re-entry permit (single or multiple) before departure.

That was info for when they still issued single entry OA visas. They are only issued as multiple entry visa that are valid for one year from the date of issue. No need for a re-entry permit until after the visa expires to keep the last one year entry valid if a person wants to travel.

30 minutes ago, JulieM said:

At the end of the 90-day stay , the foreigner must report to the immigration officer in his or her residence area and report again every 90 days during his or her stay in Thailand . The foreigner may report to the police station if there is no immigration office in his or her residence area.

That is for reports of staying longer than 90 days in the country that is not really that big of a problem. The can be done in person, online or by mail.

Also more outdated info. A police station would not accept the report.

[Laza 45]

1 hour ago, Suradit69 said:

Where are you getting these numbers?  160k  80 K

 

A single extension based on retirement would require either 800 K in the bank or a verified income of 65k monthly or a combination of the two.

 

As pointed out, there's no need for them to get individual extensions based on retirement or to wait for the wife to reach 50.

If they get their OA in their home country they don't need any money in Thailand..   

[EricTh]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I think he left some zeros out and miswrote the 160k number. We know it is 800k baht and 1.6 million baht (for a joint account) if using the money in the bank option.

Yes, I left one zero out.