What are my options?

[brianj1964]

Hey guys, can someone give me some advice please, it's been my Thai wife and my plans to live in Thailand when I became 55 which is this year. 

I've already resigned from my work and will  finish on May 31st, but on reading the requirements for the O/A visa I've noticed I have to show  £20,000.00 in my bank account for 3 months (if reading it correctly ) I have  £91000.00 in a 3 year fixed ISA, which still has 2 year's to go, I also have  £51000.00 in fixed rate bonds which don't mature until next January. 

Would the Thai Embassy in London accept the ISA statement as financial evidence or not? 

I will also get about  £30000.00 as 50% of sale proceeds from the sale of our house but don't want to wait for 3 months for it to sit in my bank account.

What options do I have?  We want to relocate as soon as the house is sold.

I thought the 800,000.00 baht or equivalent was only for extensions and not original application 

Edited April 2, 2019 by brianj1964

[ubonjoe]

You would have to contact the embassy to find out if they would accept your accounts.

A OA long stay visa allows unlimited one year entries for a year from the date of issue and it is possible to get a total stay of almost 2 years by getting a new one year entry just before it expires. No need to apply for an extension at immigration here for nearly 2 years

 

Since you are a married to a Thai you could apply for a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai. No financial proof would be need for it. Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you could apply for a extension of stay based upon retirement or marriage at immigration here.

[brianj1964]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You would have to contact the embassy to find out if they would accept your accounts.

A OA long stay visa allows unlimited one year entries for a year from the date of issue and it is possible to get a total stay of almost 2 years by getting a new one year entry just before it expires. No need to apply for an extension at immigration here for nearly 2 years

 

Since you are a married to a Thai you could apply for a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai. No financial proof would be need for it. Then during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry from the visa you could apply for a extension of stay based upon retirement or marriage at immigration here.

I will have to apply for the non-O at the embassy in London Joe?  And all the other requirements except financial are the same?  Police clearance, medical certificate? 

[ubonjoe]

4 minutes ago, brianj1964 said:

I will have to apply for the non-O at the embassy in London Joe?  And all the other requirements except financial are the same?  Police clearance, medical certificate? 

No medical or police clearance or financial proof is needed for a single entry non-o based upon marriage.

You would only need copies of your marriage certificate and a copy of you wifes ID card (and maybe her house book registry).

You could apply for it at the embassy or one of the consulates.

[phil2407]

Would love to know what interest rate ypu got in a ISA as only so much tax free 

[GBK]

19 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

No medical or police clearance or financial proof is needed for a single entry non-o based upon marriage.

You would only need copies of your marriage certificate and a copy of you wifes ID card (and maybe her house book registry).

You could apply for it at the embassy or one of the consulates.

Is financial proof required for a multi-entry O based on marriage to a Thai/parent of Thai children?

[JackThompson]

19 minutes ago, GBK said:

Is financial proof required for a multi-entry O based on marriage to a Thai/parent of Thai children?

The policy varies by Thai embassy/consulate.  Reports from London are that the website says you need it, but an application submitted without financials still results in obtaining the multi-entry Visa.

Nearby, the Thai embassy/consulates in Malaysia require financials for the Visa, but those in Vietnam and Laos do not.

[Johnthplumb]

Hi Brian,

I have just collected my multi entry "O-A" visa from the London Thai Embassy, ( well on March the 20th ).

 

I found the staff at the London Embassy very helpful and it took two days, submit the application and collect the Visa the following day.

But now they are only doing applications for Visa's on line, that is why I applied to renew mine before April the 1st when the started doing it ion line, the old one did not expire until May 2019. No problem renewing early.

They would not accept from me proof of funds in my savings or Isa. They wanted to see it in a cash account.

I always have about a thousand plus in my flex account, so I transfered £20,000 to my flex account, asked the branch to print out a statement ON THERE HEADED PAPER, ( they will not accept a downloaded one ) they say it could be altered. I then returned the money back in to my Isa, it was only out for three days.

I then took my completed application forms, total three forms, ( down loaded from there web site ). Plus 4 photos.

Please remember to get your police check done and your medical clearance certificate, also down loaded from there web site, take photo copies as they kept the originals. My doctor charged me £25-00 for the medical certificate.

 

So in a nutshell, I placed £20.000 in my cash bank account, and got a official bank statement from my bank showing the money in my cash account,

I applied for and got my police check, use the one on there web site, ( Remember to photo copy )

I down loaded there Medical certificate for my doctor to fill in and sign.

Down loaded two copies of the Visa application form. Remember to tick the multi entry.

Down loaded one copy of the Additional Application Form, for Non-Immigrant Visa ‘O-A’ (Long Stay)

Got 4 passport photos.

Also last but not least £125-00 cash, they only accept cash. ( I belive the fee is now £150-00 ) 

I then took them to the London Embassy on the Tuesday the 19th March, they checked that they were filled in correctly and took them, I was issued with a ticket to collect them the following day.

So on Wednesday the 20th March I collected my multi entry "O-A" visa. 

Again I repeat the staff at the embassy were very helpful also on the phone answering my queries before I arrived.

Total time in the Embassy about 10 minutes on the first visit and about 5 minutes for collection.

As was pointed out in an other thread, if you leave Thailand towards the end of your Visa and return before it expires you are granted another one year visa.

The best part of this visa you do not have to show any money  in a Thai bank account for the first Two years,

I opened my Thai bank account with Bangkok Bank in Buriram, very quick and simple took about 20 minutes with my lady, ( that does help ).

I wish you well in obtaining your Visa.

I can clarify anything if I have not explained anything correctly.

Kind regards 

John

 

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Johnthplumb
Time in the Embassy on each visit.

[Neeranam]

It's only £10,000 for the marriage visa, or £1000 a month going into a Thai bank.

[Happyhippo]

If I am reading this correctly ( and it was written very clearly , so I believe I am )  , you do not  need to have 800k in a thai bank account for an O-A visa?   Having the GBP equivalent in a UK account is acceptable to the embassy in London ?

 

Thanks for any assistance with this !

 

 

[JackThompson]

48 minutes ago, Happyhippo said:

If I am reading this correctly ( and it was written very clearly , so I believe I am )  , you do not  need to have 800k in a thai bank account for an O-A visa?   Having the GBP equivalent in a UK account is acceptable to the embassy in London ?

 

Thanks for any assistance with this !

Correct - one advantage of the Non-OA Visa, is not having to put/xfer your qualifying-funds into Thailand to get it. 

Check to see if there is a seasoning requirement (for the funds in your non-Thai bank account) for the London consulate, though - read about this being added recently. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by JackThompson

[Johnthplumb]

2 hours ago, Happyhippo said:

If I am reading this correctly ( and it was written very clearly , so I believe I am )  , you do not  need to have 800k in a thai bank account for an O-A visa?   Having the GBP equivalent in a UK account is acceptable to the embassy in London ?

 

Thanks for any assistance with this !

 

 

As I said, I placed £20,000 in my cash account, I then asked for a bank statement ( they insist it is a official statement ) not down loaded and printed at home or a copy. The money was returned back to the Isa in three days.

That bank statement, was the only one I took with me, to the embassy showing proof of funds, with my application for the "O-A" visa, and was accepted as proof of the equivalent funds of Baht 800,000.  

[Happyhippo]

Thanks for the confirmation.  I had read the rules on the Thai London Embassy website several times re 800k baht and had thought it meant in a Thai bank.  I can now see that it makes no such stipulation , which make things a great deal simpler.

 

 

[ExpatNP]

On 4/2/2019 at 4:08 PM, ubonjoe said:

No medical or police clearance or financial proof is needed for a single entry non-o based upon marriage.

You would only need copies of your marriage certificate and a copy of you wifes ID card (and maybe her house book registry).

You could apply for it at the embassy or one of the consulates.

Sounds good Joe.

 

What happens once you are in Thailand and want to (for example) visit Singapore?  Are re-entry stamps needed and if they are, where do I get them?

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, ExpatNP said:

What happens once you are in Thailand and want to (for example) visit Singapore?  Are re-entry stamps needed and if they are, where do I get them?

You would need a re-entry permit to the 90 day entry from the non-o visa or the one year extension valid when you travel.

You can apply for it at your local immigration office or either airport in Bangkok on departure from the country.

[brianj1964]

On 4/3/2019 at 2:49 AM, phil2407 said:

Would love to know what interest rate ypu got in a ISA as only so much tax free 

1.85%, it was the best rate I could get at the time, as I am a low risk type of person, I could probably do better but cant gamble with my retirement funds, potentially losing out

[ExpatNP]

On 4/8/2019 at 1:48 PM, ubonjoe said:

You would need a re-entry permit to the 90 day entry from the non-o visa or the one year extension valid when you travel.

You can apply for it at your local immigration office or either airport in Bangkok on departure from the country.

 

Thanks Joe, what documentation needs to go in with the re-entry permit application?

[ubonjoe]

25 minutes ago, ExpatNP said:

 

Thanks Joe, what documentation needs to go in with the re-entry permit application?

A completed TM8 form with a 4 X 6 cm photo attached. Fillable TM8 re-entry permit form.pdf

Copies of your passport photo page, visa, extension stamp if any, most recent entry stamp and TM6 departure card.

[ExpatNP]

27 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

A completed TM8 form with a 4 X 6 cm photo attached. Fillable TM8 re-entry permit form.pdf

Copies of your passport photo page, visa, extension stamp if any, most recent entry stamp and TM6 departure card.

Thanks Joe.

 

That gets me re-entry up to the date of the original entry, but not an extension?

Edited May 7, 2019 by ExpatNP

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, ExpatNP said:

That gets mea re-entry up to the date of the original entry, but not an extension?

The re-entry permit would only be valid to the day your 90 day entry ends. You would need a new one for the extension when it is completed.

[ExpatNP]

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The re-entry permit would only be valid to the day your 90 day entry ends. You would need a new one for the extension when it is completed.

Thanks again Joe.

 

Are financials needed for the extension application?

[Mike Teavee]

On 4/3/2019 at 10:43 PM, Johnthplumb said:

As I said, I placed £20,000 in my cash account, I then asked for a bank statement ( they insist it is a official statement ) not down loaded and printed at home or a copy. The money was returned back to the Isa in three days.

That bank statement, was the only one I took with me, to the embassy showing proof of funds, with my application for the "O-A" visa, and was accepted as proof of the equivalent funds of Baht 800,000.  

The only way you could put the money back in your ISA is if you haven't used the ISA allowance for that year, people who have already utilized their ISA allowance would need to wait for the following tax year to be able to put the money back

 

[Tanoshi]

On ‎4‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 3:13 PM, brianj1964 said:

What options do I have?  We want to relocate as soon as the house is sold.

I thought the 800,000.00 baht or equivalent was only for extensions and not original application 

At some point you'll need to withdraw funds from your ISA and put them in a standard account.

£30K from the sale of your house won't last you 2 years in Thailand for living expenses.

 

I doubt the Thai Embassy London would accept an ISA or Savings account, unless the funds were immediately accessible.

The 0-A requires the equivalent of 800K THB in any bank for 3 months.

Apart from the single entry Non Imm O Visa already mentioned, an alternative is the Non Imm O multi entry Visa. Valid 1 year, each entry 90 days. You would have to cross a local border every 90 days to obtain a new 90 day entry. You cannot make 90 day reports at local Immigration offices.

No financial requirements for the single or multiple Non Imm O Visas.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Tanoshi