Non Immigrant "o" Visas

[lem]

Has anyone knowledge of what an applicant states on the Non "O" form at a Thai Consulate abroad when the Non "O" visa was an 'dependent' status (I've had this for 6 years) and needs to be changed to a 'retirement' status.

Or does this not matter at the Thai Consulate stage? i.e. is it that an umbrella Non "O" visa is approved and then the particular sub-status of - others, including dependents and retired persons - added later in Bangkok?

confused just a bit...

[Maestro]

On the consulate’s visa application form there is a field “Purpose of visit”. If you are visiting relatives in Thailand you write “visit family”. If you have no relatives in Thailand, write “explore retirement possibility”

In Thailand, if you wish to apply for an annual extension of stay, on the application form there is a field “Reason for extension”. Seeing that you want to retire in Thailand, write “retirement” here.

You say that you have had a non-O visa with dependent status for the past 6 years. If you mean that you are currently in Thailand and already have an annual extension, for the reason of being a dependent, then you do not have to travel abroad to get a new non-O visa. On your next application for extension, simply indicate “retirement” as the reason for extension. In other words, you visa status non-O remains unchanged, only the reason for extension changes.

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Maestro

[astral]

Just apply for an extension based on retirement.

As long as you have the appropriate paper work

I do not think anyone will check your original stated reason.

If they do, just say you have changed your plans and love LOS.

[lem]

Thanks very much for that useful info Maestro.

I am still in Thailand and my Non "O" visa (dependent) expires on 1 March. However I just happen to be doing a two week trip to Cambodia this Sunday and hope to apply for a Non "O" visa (retirement) while I am passing through Phnom Penh. My family will be back together in Bangkok at the same time I am in Cambodia (and it would be very difficult for me to break my journey and return to Bangkok to apply with them as a group. Also the MFA insist on communal application) and this is why I hope to get the Non "O" visa independent of their applications. In any case, my eventual aim is in any case to get a retirement visa, so I thought this could be an appropriate opportunity.

On the consulate's visa application form there is a field "Purpose of visit". If you are visiting relatives in Thailand you write "visit family". If you have no relatives in Thailand, write "explore retirement possibility"

In Thailand, if you wish to apply for an annual extension of stay, on the application form there is a field "Reason for extension". Seeing that you want to retire in Thailand, write "retirement" here.

You say that you have had a non-O visa with dependent status for the past 6 years. If you mean that you are currently in Thailand and already have an annual extension, for the reason of being a dependent, then you do not have to travel abroad to get a new non-O visa. On your next application for extension, simply indicate "retirement" as the reason for extension. In other words, you visa status non-O remains unchanged, only the reason for extension changes.

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Maestro

[Maestro]

just happen to be doing a two week trip to Cambodia this Sunday and hope to apply for a Non "O" visa (retirement) while I am passing through Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh may not be a good place to apply. I have seen many reports here where applicants were told by the staff at that embassy in no uncertain terms that they give visas only to residents of Cambodia.

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Maestro

[mopenyang]

On the consulate’s visa application form there is a field “Purpose of visit”. If you are visiting relatives in Thailand you write “visit family”. If you have no relatives in Thailand, write “explore retirement possibility”

In Thailand, if you wish to apply for an annual extension of stay, on the application form there is a field “Reason for extension”. Seeing that you want to retire in Thailand, write “retirement” here.

You say that you have had a non-O visa with dependent status for the past 6 years. If you mean that you are currently in Thailand and already have an annual extension, for the reason of being a dependent, then you do not have to travel abroad to get a new non-O visa. On your next application for extension, simply indicate “retirement” as the reason for extension. In other words, you visa status non-O remains unchanged, only the reason for extension changes.

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Maestro

Would it be possible to change a Non-Imm B (at the end of a contract) to a Non-Imm O without leaving Thailand showing "explore retirement possibility?" If so, how much time will I be given on the "O?" Thanks.

[Crossy]

Would it be possible to change a Non-Imm B (at the end of a contract) to a Non-Imm O without leaving Thailand showing "explore retirement possibility?" If so, how much time will I be given on the "O?" Thanks.

NO, immigration have much tighter rules when changing visa status. You could go direct for a retiement extension when your job ends, gives you a full 12 months

[maccaroni man]

what is the advantage of going from an O to a retirement visa?

[astral]

what is the advantage of going from an O to a retirement visa?

Unless you do the entire application in your home country and get the O-A visa

the retirement visa is an O..............

Just a different reason and paperwork.

[Maestro]

what is the advantage of going from an O to a retirement visa?

To avoid any possible confusion: you do not change from an O to a retirement visa.

If you are in Thailand on a non-O visa and you do not apply for an annual extension of stay, you leave Thailand before your permission to stay expires, go to a Thai consulate and get a new non-O visa.

The alternative, if you are in Thailand at the moment, is to go to Immigration and apply for an annual extension of stay for the reason of retirement.

There are various reasons for which one can apply for an annual extension of stay, depending on whether one is qualified to apply for a particular reason. It can happen that a person qualifies for more than one reason, for example a man who is married to a Thai woman, is at least 50 years old, and is the father of a child of Thai nationality. The criteria for all types of extension of stay are listed in Police Order No. 606/2006, which you can find in the topic “Thai Immigration Laws, Regulations, Police Orders” pinned at the top of this forum.

What one person may consider an advantage for a particular type of extension, another person my consider a disadvantage. It is all relative.

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Maestro