It is unclear to me from what I have read is there now a seasoning requirement for money on deposit in USA or UK banks to get a O-A visa and what happens if you have a bank like USAA?

Not required at the Thai embassy in the US.

Quote

6. 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

Source: https://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-oa/

No problem to use a USAA account as far as I know.

It is now shown on the embassy in London website.

I recently applied for and successfully received an O-A Visa from the Thai Consulate in Hong Kong (my home country is HK).

They required 3 months of bank statements. I interpreted this to be a seasoning requirement. I luckily had the required funds in the account for the three months.

This 3 months appears to be a common trend.

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Each Embassy/Consulate could have different requirements as to how an applicant proves money in the bank but I have never a “Seasoning” requirement for an OA.  

Interesting. It's a while ago (2011) that I got my Non-O A in Berlin.
So I just checked back and indeed:

either monthly pension of 1500 Euro up. proof with original document

or proof of funds of 20000 Euro, 2 copies of account statements of the last 3 months.

Sounds much like "seasoning".

I can't tell/remember whether this is new.

I completely agree that there is no explicit documented seasoning requirement for an O-A Visa application.

But I would seriously doubt that my O-A Visa application at the HK Thai consulate would have been as successful had my three bank statements shown the equivalent of:
Month 1: 10 baht
Month 2: 10 baht
Month 3: 800,000 baht

Why would they be asking for 3 months of statements?



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The London Thai Embassy explains it better. The £20,000 or 800,000 baht needs to of been in the bank for 3 months shown with 3 months of bank accounts

Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance for the past 3 months showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht (approximately £20,000.00) or an income certificate for the past 6 months with monthly income of not less than 65,000 Baht (approximately £1,625.00), or a deposit account plus a monthly income totalling not less than 800,000 Baht.
 

I think the 3 months seasoning with bank statements may also be a new addition for the spouse Non O visa. There also appears to some other changes for other categories of the Non O. The London Thai Embassy website was updated Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning London time. I don't have a copy of the previous requirements so cannot remember exactly what changed other than requirements for the 0-A visa

 

Non-Immigrant Type O 

 

• For dependent child (age below 20 years): A copy of birth certificate, a copy each of employment letter, passport and visa of the parent who is going to work in Thailand, and a copy of registration of the company or organisation where the parent will work 
• For accompanying spouse : A copy of marriage certificate, a copy each of employment letter, passport and visa of the  leading spouse, and a copy of registration of the company or organisation where the spouse will work
• For accompanying a Thai spouse : A copy of marriage certificate, a copy of Thai passport/a copy of Thai ID of spouse, and (3 months bank statement showing monthly income of more than £1,500.)
• For accompanying a Thai child : A copy of Thai birth certificate, a copy of the Thai child's passport/Thai ID, a copy of marriage certificate to a Thai spouse or divorce paper/child custody paper (in case of divorce), and (3 months bank statement showing monthly income of more than £1,500.)
• For working at an NGO/volunteer work : An official recommendation letter or employment letter from NGO or organisation which undertakes volunteer work in Thailand, registration document of NGO or volunteer organisation
• For pensioner (aged 50 or over) : A copy of pension statement if the applicant is a pensioner, or a copy of 1-month bank statement showing your income from pension, or 3-month bank statement of at least £10,000 

 

Those who wish to stay longer must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau (http://www.immigration.go.th). The extension of stay as well as the change of certain type of visa is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

 

I intend to keep reapplying for non oa visas every two years at my home country, oz. Is there anyone who has been forced on the extension method route?

17 minutes ago, stud858 said:

I intend to keep reapplying for non oa visas every two years at my home country, oz. Is there anyone who has been forced on the extension method route?

No one is "forced" into making application for an extension of stay but the cost of an extension(1900Bht/year) is cheaper than buying long haul flights + the costs of an O-A visa.

11 hours ago, Lovethailandelite said:

The London Thai Embassy explains it better. The £20,000 or 800,000 baht needs to of been in the bank for 3 months shown with 3 months of bank accounts

Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance for the past 3 months showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht (approximately £20,000.00) or an income certificate for the past 6 months with monthly income of not less than 65,000 Baht (approximately £1,625.00), or a deposit account plus a monthly income totalling not less than 800,000 Baht.

Pretty sure they just mean a single statement (perhaps up to three months old) regarding the 800000 equivalent. Certainly two years ago this was the case, seasoning has never previously been needed in an application for a Non O/A. 

8 hours ago, stud858 said:

I intend to keep reapplying for non oa visas every two years at my home country, oz. Is there anyone who has been forced on the extension method route?

No one could be forced to do extensions, rather the opposite since it's so easy to fail to qualify for them. Many applicants for new Non O's or O/A's are likely to be people who were unable to meet the extension requirements for one reason or another. Even something as mundane as flying out of the country without remembering to get a re-entry permit first would set someone back to square one in terms of needing a new visa. 

9 hours ago, KarlS said:

No one is "forced" into making application for an extension of stay but the cost of an extension(1900Bht/year) is cheaper than buying long haul flights + the costs of an O-A visa.

What is the cost of keeping the money in a Thai bank that one does not have to do with an O-A.  For example if you have a heart attack and spend 800k at the doctor in Thailand you might be kicked out because you didn't have the money in a Thai bank when you got an extension (90 day check).  If you couldn't leave I guess they'd put you in a detention cell to recover from heart attack and you'd probably die.  See what I'm saying?  I wonder if BJ thought about stuff like this?

3 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Pretty sure they just mean a single statement (perhaps up to three months old) regarding the 800000 equivalent. Certainly two years ago this was the case, seasoning has never previously been needed in an application for a Non O/A. 

They are asking for a recent bank statement that shows £20,000 has been in the account for at least 3 months prior too your application. Much the same as you would take to immigration here for an extension. I am not sure a 3 month old statement would work. The Embassy's have started to align themselves with immigration in Thailand. I guess that was to be expected.

4 hours ago, Lovethailandelite said:

They are asking for a recent bank statement that shows £20,000 has been in the account for at least 3 months prior too your application. Much the same as you would take to immigration here for an extension. I am not sure a 3 month old statement would work. The Embassy's have started to align themselves with immigration in Thailand. I guess that was to be expected.

"Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance for the past 3 months showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht (approximately £20,000.00)" 

 

How is this possible with a single bank statement? The wording here doesn't really make sense. "Bank statement" is only referred to in the singular, and it's not clear what they mean by "evidence of adequate finance". I'm wondering if it's a syntax error and rather than "for" the past three months, they meant "from"? Otherwise they've sneaked in a significant overhaul of the rules here.

 

In the past it's been required for this money to be in a current account, which means pulling it out of savings long enough to produce a statement, since even easy access savings accounts tend not to generate monthly statements like a current account does. If they're expecting people to park £20000 in a non interest bearing current account for up to four months in order to produce three months of statements they're going to catch many people out. This incidentally is an unrealistic demand, few people would leave that amount of money in their current account for that length of time and it would require planning several months ahead of time. 

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not required at the Thai embassy in the US.

Source: https://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-oa/

No problem to use a USAA account as far as I know.

It is now shown on the embassy in London website.

Thai Embassy Canberra clearly states 3 months of 800,000bht or equivalent, I submitted from one of my Australian accounts

14 minutes ago, lamyai3 said:

"Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance for the past 3 months showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht (approximately £20,000.00)" 

 

How is this possible with a single bank statement? The wording here doesn't really make sense. "Bank statement" is only referred to in the singular, and it's not clear what they mean by "evidence of adequate finance". I'm wondering if it's a syntax error and rather than "for" the past three months, they meant "from"? Otherwise they've sneaked in a significant overhaul of the rules here.

 

In the past it's been required for this money to be in a current account, which means pulling it out of savings long enough to produce a statement, since even easy access savings accounts tend not to generate monthly statements like a current account does. If they're expecting people to park £20000 in a non interest bearing current account for up to four months in order to produce three months of statements they're going to catch many people out. This incidentally is an unrealistic demand, few people would leave that amount of money in their current account for that length of time and it would require planning several months ahead of time. 

I submitted statements dating back to more than 3 months, from memory I think I gave them 6 months of statements, which I had notarised along with all other documents 

22 hours ago, peterbkk2 said:

I recently applied for and successfully received an O-A Visa from the Thai Consulate in Hong Kong (my home country is HK).

They required 3 months of bank statements. I interpreted this to be a seasoning requirement. I luckily had the required funds in the account for the three months.

This 3 months appears to be a common trend.

Sent from my SM-C7000 using Tapatalk
 

The three month requirement has been on the Thai Embassy Canberra website for several years now 

5 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Thai Embassy Canberra clearly states 3 months of 800,000bht or equivalent, I submitted from one of my Australian accounts

Just looked and it now states.

"A bank statement showing a deposit at the amount equal to no less than 800,000 Baht, or an income statement (an original copy) with a monthly salary of no less than 65,000 Baht, or a deposit account plus monthly income of no less than 800,000 Baht a year;"

Source: http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/Home/visa

21 hours ago, peterbkk2 said:

I completely agree that there is no explicit documented seasoning requirement for an O-A Visa application.

But I would seriously doubt that my O-A Visa application at the HK Thai consulate would have been as successful had my three bank statements shown the equivalent of:
Month 1: 10 baht
Month 2: 10 baht
Month 3: 800,000 baht

Why would they be asking for 3 months of statements?



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What are the requirements for a retirement visa in Thailand?

The client must be at least 50 years of age or over during the time of the application. The client must meet the financial requirement which could be any of the following: Security deposit of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank; or. A monthly income or pension of 65,000 baht; or.

Thai Retirement Visa | Thai Immigration

 

https://www.thaiimmigration.net/thai-retirement-visa.html

 

Documents Required: (1 original and 2 copies)
 Your actual Passport or Travel Document.
(Passport or Travel Document must not expire within 18 months);
 Three completed and signed application
 Three passport-size photographs (3.5 x 4.5 cm.) taken within 6 months with a full-face view
without hat or glasses. (Photocopy not accepted);
 A completed PERSONAL DATA FORM;
 A bank statement showing a deposit at the amount equal to no less than 800,000 Baht, or an
income statement (an original copy) with a monthly salary of no less than 65,000 Baht, or a
deposit account plus monthly income of no less than 800,000 Baht a year;
 A police name check certificate issued no longer than 3 months prior to submitting the
application;
 A MEDICAL CERTIFICATE indicating that the applicant has no prohibitive diseases as
indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No. 14 B.E. 2535 (1993) issued no longer than 3 months
prior to submitting the application with a rubber stamp of the concerned doctor or hospital on the
certificate confirming its authenticity.
In case where the accompanying spouse is not eligible to apply for a retirement visa, he or she will be
considered for temporary stay under a Non-Immigrant Category “O” visa. A marriage certificate
must be provided as evidence.
Instruction:

4 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

The three month requirement has been on the Thai Embassy Canberra website for several years now 

All I see is

Quote

a deposit account of at least THB 800,000 (approximately AUD 32,000), or

On the form PDF. 

1 minute ago, RJRS1301 said:

The client must be at least 50 years of age or over during the time of the application. The client must meet the financial requirement which could be any of the following: Security deposit of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank; or. A monthly income or pension of 65,000 baht; or.

Thai Retirement Visa | Thai Immigration

https://www.thaiimmigration.net/thai-retirement-visa.html

That is a website setup by a law firm. See this at the bottom of the page.

THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE THAI IMMIGRATION NOR CONNECTED TO ANY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not required at the Thai embassy in the US.

Source: https://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-oa/

No problem to use a USAA account as far as I know.

It is now shown on the embassy in London website.

Original copy???Oxymoron

Do they mean "certified" copy??

8 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Pretty sure they just mean a single statement (perhaps up to three months old) regarding the 800000 equivalent. Certainly two years ago this was the case, seasoning has never previously been needed in an application for a Non O/A. 

I submitted several pages of bank statements with my application to Canberra

22 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Interesting. It's a while ago (2011) that I got my Non-O A in Berlin.
So I just checked back and indeed:

either monthly pension of 1500 Euro up. proof with original document

or proof of funds of 20000 Euro, 2 copies of account statements of the last 3 months.

Sounds much like "seasoning".

I can't tell/remember whether this is new.

this is a curiosity euro 1500 monthly = approx. thb 53850 not thb 65000, euro 20000 = thb 718000 not 800k

 

wbr

roobaa01

19 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

I submitted statements dating back to more than 3 months, from memory I think I gave them 6 months of statements, which I had notarised along with all other documents 

Regarding monthly income of 65,000, or showing 800,000? Until very recently in London, only a single statement has always been required for the latter. This is why I'm not sure if there's a change in what they're now accepting, or if it's just an updated wording that isn't clear. 

And I am wondering if I get a bank letter here (seasoned 800k 3 months), get a medical certificate here, and other relevant paperwork here before I fly home and use them to apply for an OA.  Will the embassy except these doco especially they are all in Thai?  My purpose is to reduce the time spent back home running around gathering info.

 

1 hour ago, farangx said:

And I am wondering if I get a bank letter here (seasoned 800k 3 months), get a medical certificate here, and other relevant paperwork here before I fly home and use them to apply for an OA.  Will the embassy except these doco especially they are all in Thai?  My purpose is to reduce the time spent back home running around gathering info.

 

I sent an email to embassy Washington DC a few days ago asking those same questions.  No word back yet.

6 hours ago, roobaa01 said:

this is a curiosity euro 1500 monthly = approx. thb 53850 not thb 65000, euro 20000 = thb 718000 not 800k

 

wbr

roobaa01

They do not update the requirements on a day to day basis and the numbers are stated in Euro,

Also a chance that their website has not been updated.

Don't shout too loud. Anytime soon the next adjustment might be due.

 

7 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

"Bank statement or evidence of adequate finance for the past 3 months showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht (approximately £20,000.00)" 

 

How is this possible with a single bank statement? The wording here doesn't really make sense. "Bank statement" is only referred to in the singular, and it's not clear what they mean by "evidence of adequate finance". I'm wondering if it's a syntax error and rather than "for" the past three months, they meant "from"? Otherwise they've sneaked in a significant overhaul of the rules here.

 

In the past it's been required for this money to be in a current account, which means pulling it out of savings long enough to produce a statement, since even easy access savings accounts tend not to generate monthly statements like a current account does. If they're expecting people to park £20000 in a non interest bearing current account for up to four months in order to produce three months of statements they're going to catch many people out. This incidentally is an unrealistic demand, few people would leave that amount of money in their current account for that length of time and it would require planning several months ahead of time. 

I am not sure what the problem is regarding getting a bank statement that shows more than one months transactions?
They expect the money to of been in an account for more than 3 months, nothing less. The same way as they expect 6 months of bank statements showing a balance of £5000 for 6 months (Original bank statement of the applicant showing a balance of at least £5,000 for 6 months) in regard too issuing a METV and £1500 minimum income per month for 3 months to issue a Non O for a trailing spouse. 

• For accompanying a Thai spouse : A copy of marriage certificate, a copy of Thai passport/a copy of Thai ID of spouse, and (3 months bank statement showing monthly income of more than £1,500.)

I would hazard a guess and particularly with online application, if you cannot supply the documents, they wouldn't issue the visa.They have no interest in where you decide or not too park your money. It is simply just being brought inline with Thai immigration issuing extensions. I am not sure why people are surprised

10 hours ago, Lovethailandelite said:

They expect the money to of been in an account for more than 3 months, nothing less.

Seems like they're all over the map with this. Reply from London embassy just posted in another current thread: