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New in Thailand, seeks info on Retirement Visas

Dolmance
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Dolmance Apprentice Member

Dolmance

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I'm a 66 year old American living in Chiang Mai on a Tourist Visa, with the ultimate goal of getting a Non Immigrant O Retirement Visa.  It seems the rules are constantly changing, so I need some up to date information about what my next moves need to be to obtain this Retirement Visa.  Should I leave the country and apply in Cambodia or someplace like that, or can I do it from here?  What do I need to do?  Thanks.

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ubonjoe Legendary Member

ubonjoe

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The first step to apply for a extension of stay (not a visa) at immigration is to get a non immigrant visa entry.

You can apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration. At Chiang Mai immigration will need at least 21 days remaining on your current entry or the 30 day extension of it to apply for a change of visa status (rules state 15). General requirements are here (click Eng at top right of the page for English). https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80  Note that the 800k baht only has to be in bank on the date you apply.

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 days you can apply for the extension of stay. You will need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 to obtain a total of 800k baht.

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DrJack54 Star Member

DrJack54

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As usual ubon has given you the best track for your non o based on retirement. This added stuff is more by the way comment. Keep in mind if for some reason you happen to be exiting Thailand you could just obtain a new visa non o then when back in Thailand obtain your 12 month permission of stay. Maybe consider with all the current "stuff" about embassy letter, it may be best go down the 800k in the Thai bank line. If you do not have a Thai bank ac it would be good time now to open one (plenty advice on TV how to do). Good luck

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Dolmance Apprentice Member

Dolmance

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3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The first step to apply for a extension of stay (not a visa) at immigration is to get a non immigrant visa entry.

You can apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration. At Chiang Mai immigration will need at least 21 days remaining on your current entry or the 30 day extension of it to apply for a change of visa status (rules state 15). General requirements are here (click Eng at top right of the page for English). https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80  Note that the 800k baht only has to be in bank on the date you apply.

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 days you can apply for the extension of stay. You will need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 to obtain a total of 800k baht.

Thanks for everyone's advice -- Would it be easier and not have to show money if I get a 90 day Non Immigrant O visa from outside the country?  Someplace like Phnom Penh or Vientiane?   

Edited by Dolmance
Forgot to say thanks.
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ubonjoe Legendary Member

ubonjoe

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5 minutes ago, Dolmance said:

Thanks for everyone's advice -- Would it be easier and not have to show money if I get a 90 day Non Immigrant O visa from outside the country?  Someplace like Phnom Penh or Vientiane?   

The money does not have to be in bank for any longer than the day you apply for the visa at immigration.

They all want financial proof to get a non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

Phnom can make it difficult to get one. Vientiane want a police and medical certificate. Savannakhet and Penang want proof you are retired if showing money in the bank.

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fforest1 Silver Member

fforest1

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3 hours ago, glegolo said:

Nope there is no "constantly changing" in rules here, you are just unaware of these rules. You will soon have an answer..

 

glegolo

Are you joking? The visa rules here are constantly changing all the time...

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jacko45k Star Member

jacko45k

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12 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Are you joking? The visa rules here are constantly changing all the time...

There have been quite a few changes around multiple tourist visas a and some new long term visa offered that didn't seem too appealing. Most of what is discussed here is in relation to extensions of permission to stay, often wrongly referred to as a retirement visa or marriage visa. For those terms and conditions have remained pretty much the same. 

Edited by jacko45k
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NoshowJones Star Member

NoshowJones

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23 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Are you joking? The visa rules here are constantly changing all the time...

I see where you are coming from, but the problem really is, some immigration office use their own interpretations of the rules, also, there is the case of some will allow this, and some won't, mentality.

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NoshowJones Star Member

NoshowJones

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10 hours ago, notamember said:

bearing in mind the recent income letter support was a declaration by the embassies not immigration, what visa rules have changed ?

Ask any regular tourist who is under fifty and wants to stay in Thailand long time, say round about six months.

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OJAS Ruby Member

OJAS

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23 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Are you joking? The visa rules here are constantly changing all the time...

It's not the visa rules thenselves that are constantly changing, but more the manner in which they are being applied - both at the national (as e.g. in the instance of Embassy income verification) and local (when it comes to inconsistency of application between individual offices, individual officers within the same office and even the same officer on a day-to-day basis depending on which side of the bed he or she had got out of that morning) levels.

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dave s Senior Member

dave s

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I did what u

On 11/24/2018 at 2:03 PM, ubonjoe said:

You can apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration. At Chiang Mai immigration will need at least 21 days remaining on your current entry or the 30 day extension of it to apply for a change of visa status (rules state 15). General requirements are here (click Eng at top right of the page for English). https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80  Note that the 800k baht only has to be in bank on the date you apply.

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 days you can apply for the extension of stay. You will need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 to obtain a total of 800k baht.

I also am new at this. I went to the Phuket immigration office to change a tourist into a non-immigrant O for retirement. I had TM86, embassy and bank letters for combination of US SSA pension income and bank deposit, passport copies, photo, address info. They said they would send all this to Had Yai for approval, and told me to come back in 30 days (not 15 or 21?). What, if anything more, do I need to bring to this next visit? For example, the US embassy is visiting Phuket on Thursday, so if I needed a fresh embassy letter, I could just get it there instead of having to go to Bangkok again. Will they just stamp my passport a week from now, and then have me wait 60 days for a retirement extension of stay (the FFT deposit money part has already been in Bangkok Bank for more than 2 months)?

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ubonjoe Legendary Member

ubonjoe

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10 minutes ago, dave s said:

I did what u

I also am new at this. I went to the Phuket immigration office to change a tourist into a non-immigrant O for retirement. I had TM86, embassy and bank letters for combination of US SSA pension income and bank deposit, passport copies, photo, address info. They said they would send all this to Had Yai for approval, and told me to come back in 30 days (not 15 or 21?). What, if anything more, do I need to bring to this next visit? For example, the US embassy is visiting Phuket on Thursday, so if I needed a fresh embassy letter, I could just get it there instead of having to go to Bangkok again. Will they just stamp my passport a week from now, and then have me wait 60 days for a retirement extension of stay (the FFT deposit money part has already been in Bangkok Bank for more than 2 months)?

When you back they will do a visa stamp and a 90 entry stamp your passport dated the date you applied for the change of visa status.

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry you can apply for the extension. They should pull your original income affidavit out of the file for the application you did before. You will need a new bank letter and a statement showing the money has been in the bank for 60 days on the date you apply.

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overherebc Diamond Member

overherebc

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To the OP.

If you do or have plans to return to USA anytime soon you have the option of what is called an OA long stay visa issued in the USA.

Used the right way it would mean only 90 day reports for two years. No need for a list of requirements at your local Imm' office or seasoning money/proving income in Thailand but you will need to do that stateside, show money that is.

Others can advise what you need to do in USA to get the visa.

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Suradit69 Diamond Member

Suradit69

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On November 24, 2561 BE at 5:50 PM, fforest1 said:

Are you joking? The visa rules here are constantly changing all the time...

The o/p's aim is to get an extension of stay, not a visa. 

 

I've done more than 10 annual extensions and there have been no substantive changes for completing the renewal process. There may be a significant change in future for people who have used embassy verified income to support their applications, but the situation so far has not resulted from an official change in immigration rules ... It was precipitated by some embassies announcing they couldn't comply with existing immigrations requirements for those wishing to use the income method.

 

 As far as " visa rules " are concerned, those have mostly been to do with ensuring that different categories of visas are used for the purpose for which they were intended, e.g. someone living here full time should not be doing so on a series of tourist or Ed visas or on visa exempt entries.

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Suradit69 Diamond Member

Suradit69

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5 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I see where you are coming from, but the problem really is, some immigration office use their own interpretations of the rules, also, there is the case of some will allow this, and some won't, mentality.

So do you think every US or UK  or Australian embassy around the world dishes out visas by the exact same interpretation of the rules?  Likewise every immigration officer manning the borders of those countries treats everyone exactly the same and strictly by the rule book? 

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dave s Senior Member

dave s

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21 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

When you back they will do a visa stamp and a 90 entry stamp your passport dated the date you applied for the change of visa status.

Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry you can apply for the extension. They should pull your original income affidavit out of the file for the application you did before. You will need a new bank letter and a statement showing the money has been in the bank for 60 days on the date you apply.

So a week from now I just need to take my passport with me? As I understand it, will be as if I entered Thailand on November 2 with a non-immigrant O visa and got permission to stay for 90 days, November, December and January. Then around January 1 I can apply for a 1 year retirement extension of stay, for February 2019 through January 2020, 3+12=15 months. I do not need a new embassy letter then for the income part of the combined method, but the deposit method part requires the same balance and foreign origin letters from Bangkok bank, newly minted on dead trees. Passport sized photo, passport page copies, proof of address? Then relax until I need a whole fresh stack of paper to apply for another annual extension around 1/1/2020? This all sound good? Well, except the tree-killing part.

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ubonjoe Legendary Member

ubonjoe

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10 minutes ago, dave s said:

So a week from now I just need to take my passport with me? As I understand it, will be as if I entered Thailand on November 2 with a non-immigrant O visa and got permission to stay for 90 days, November, December and January. Then around January 1 I can apply for a 1 year retirement extension of stay, for February 2019 through January 2020, 3+12=15 months. I do not need a new embassy letter then for the income part of the combined method, but the deposit method part requires the same balance and foreign origin letters from Bangkok bank, newly minted on dead trees. Passport sized photo, passport page copies, proof of address? Then relax until I need a whole fresh stack of paper to apply for another annual extension around 1/1/2020? This all sound good? Well, except the tree-killing part.

If you applied on November 2nd you will get a admitted until date of January 30th when they do the visa/entry stamps. Your extension will be valid until January 30th 2020.

Correct except the proof the money came from abroad will not be needed.

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