Question About My Retirement Extention of Stay

[NCC1701A]

I have a multi reentry Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

It is due for renewal this June. I just got back from a short trip from the USA (the first time I have left the country on this "visa") and I was expecting them to renew me for another full year when I got stamped in a BKK.

 

I am sure they did this in the past for me.

 

Am I remembering this wrong? Or did the immigration man just not want to deal with me? Thanks

 

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2019 by NCC1701A

[Sheryl]

Sounds like you are confusing entry on an O-A visa with entry on an extension of stay.

 

On an extension of stay (assuming you have a re-entry permit) they stamp you in with permission to stay same as your current permission to stay, which date is shown on the re-entry permit.

 

On an O-A visa you get stamped in with a new 1 year permission to stay.

[DrJack54]

I think you have an extension of stay based on retirement. You must also have a reentry permit (multi). The until date on both will be the same. 

[Martyp]

If you have a non-Immigrant O-A visa purchased outside of Thailand then starting from 1 year from when the visa was issued you will be stamped in for an additional year each time you enter Thailand. This O-A visa is a multiple entry visa. If you exit and re-enter before the end of the first year you can get almost 2 years of stay on this visa. However, after the first year of the original visa you no longer have a multiple entry permit. You have to purchase a new one if that is what you want to do. 

 

A 1 year extension of stay based on being retired is purchased inside Thailand. When you apply for and get a 1 year extension based on being retired you do not get the 1 year additional time each time you enter Thailand. In addition the 1 year extension of stay is not multiple entry. You have to purchase a new multiply entry stamp if this is what you want to do.

[Bert Jones]

So providing you leave Thailand once a year, does the Non O-A last forever ? probably a stupid question...sorry,

[Olmate]

5 minutes ago, Bert Jones said:

So providing you leave Thailand once a year, does the Non O-A last forever ? probably a stupid question...sorry,

No,after your second or extra year on the original visa you must apply for an extension here at Immigration,only good for one year

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Bert Jones said:

So providing you leave Thailand once a year, does the Non O-A last forever ? probably a stupid question...sorry,

A OA visa is only valid for one year from the date it is issued. After the date it expires there would be no more one year entries.

[Martyp]

1 minute ago, Bert Jones said:

So providing you leave Thailand once a year, does the Non O-A last forever ? probably a stupid question...sorry,

No. If your visa is issued in the US on January 1 and is valid until December 31 then if you leave and then return to Thailand on December 30th you will be stamped in until, say December 30 of the following year. After you first year your visa is expired. You are now permitted to stay based on the ink stamp in your passport on your visa. After December 31st you no longer have a visa. Later, around December 30th (2nd year) you apply for and get a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement. It is also an inked stamp, not a visa. The expiration of your visa is evident in that you no longer have multiple-entry permission. You have two buy this and it is also an inked stamp in your passport

 

Visa are issued outside Thailand by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One year extensions of stay are issued inside Thailand by the Immigration Department. They have slightly different rule and you have to look at their websites to know what they are.

 

Example: my experience

I got my non-immigrant O-A visa in Los Angelos on Feb 24th, 2017. I entered Thailand several days later. During that first year I made several trips outside Thailand. The last trip was to Cambodia in November 2017. I was stamped in (inked stamp) until November 2018. When my visa expired in Feb 2018 I purchased a new multiple entry stamp which was also dated until November 2018. Not even a full year! 

 

I applied for a 1 year extension in November 2018 and I now have an inked stamp in my passport permitting me to stay in Thailand until November 2019. I will apply of another 1 year extension this November

[Bert Jones]

Thank you Joe, thank you Marty. 

 

Sorry to be so dim (low IQ). Once the O-A visa has expired and you applied and were granted an 'extension of stay' based on the said O-A visa, how many 1 year extension are you allowed ? Can you apply for an extension of stay' indefinitely? based on the original O-A visa.

[fishtank]

You can apply for a new 12 month extension indefinitely based on retirement.

The O-A Visa is dead and has nothing to do with it.

[Martyp]

9 minutes ago, Bert Jones said:

Thank you Joe, thank you Marty. 

 

Sorry to be so dim (low IQ). Once the O-A visa has expired and you applied and were granted an 'extension of stay' based on the said O-A visa, how many 1 year extension are you allowed ? Can you apply for an extension of stay' indefinitely? based on the original O-A visa.

You can stay indefinitely on back to back yearly extensions of stay as long as you meet the requirements. It is an extension of stay not a visa. However, some people actually return to their home country and get another O-A visa. From what I understand you can continue to get these over and over again though I've never heard of anyone doing that so I'm not sure how true this is. In any case, one argument for getting another O-A visa is that your money to meet the financial requirements can be in banks in your home country.

[Bert Jones]

Thank you fish tank...sorry to be a pain. My mind only works in binary mode.

[Bert Jones]

That was my next question Marty, thanks for answering. I was wondering what the advantages/disadvantages were. If my embassy stops the affidavit letter, then I will apply for the O-A visa based on retirement. Thanks again guys. 

[Martyp]

5 minutes ago, Bert Jones said:

That was my next question Marty, thanks for answering. I was wondering what the advantages/disadvantages were. If my embassy stops the affidavit letter, then I will apply for the O-A visa based on retirement. Thanks again guys. 

The disadvantage, it seems to me, is that there is an expense to going back to your home country to get a new O-A visa. If you already have a trip "home" planned then I guess you could do it while you are there. 

 

For me "home" is the San Francisco Bay Area but I would have to get my O-A visa in Los Angeles. That means a flight to LA, car rental, hotel one night. It adds up. You can do it by mail but I don't really want to put my passport in the mail and it could take up to 2 weeks to process. That means the expense of being in your home country two weeks at least.

[Bert Jones]

Time, costs and stress are always an issue...thanks Marty.

[phuketrichard]

24 minutes ago, Martyp said:

The disadvantage, it seems to me, is that there is an expense to going back to your home country to get a new O-A visa. If you already have a trip "home" planned then I guess you could do it while you are there. 

 

For me "home" is the San Francisco Bay Area but I would have to get my O-A visa in Los Angeles. That means a flight to LA, car rental, hotel one night. It adds up. You can do it by mail but I don't really want to put my passport in the mail and it could take up to 2 weeks to process. That means the expense of being in your home country two weeks at least.

PLUS dont you need submit a new medical and police report everytime you get a New O-A visa, (which are NOT required for an extension)
those cost as well

[Martyp]

18 minutes ago, phuketrichard said:

PLUS dont you need submit a new medical and police report everytime you get a New O-A visa, (which are NOT required for an extension)
those cost as well

I forgot to mention that. The police report is easy but the medical may be hard. I bought Thai health insurance this year and no longer have my US insurance so I no longer have access to my regular doctor who previously signed off on my medical form no questions asked. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

40 minutes ago, Martyp said:

The disadvantage, it seems to me, is that there is an expense to going back to your home country to get a new O-A visa. If you already have a trip "home" planned then I guess you could do it while you are there. 

 

For me "home" is the San Francisco Bay Area but I would have to get my O-A visa in Los Angeles. That means a flight to LA, car rental, hotel one night. It adds up. You can do it by mail but I don't really want to put my passport in the mail and it could take up to 2 weeks to process. That means the expense of being in your home country two weeks at least.

 

The main differences between a retirement extension vs an O-A visa:

 

Retirement Extension:

1 year at a time

Renewable annually inside Thailand

Doesn't require criminal background or medical check

Bank deposit funds must be kept in a Thai account, and at least half of the 800K amount can't be used anytime during the year.

No medical insurance requirement at present.

Doesn't require any international travel. You can never leave Thailand, if you wish.

You're dealing with the Thai Immigration Office for where you stay.

 

O-A visa:

1 Year validity, with up to one extra year by leaving and returning to Thailand just before the initial 1 year visa term expires.

Requires traveling back to your home country to apply for each new visa.

Does require criminal background and medical checks

Bank deposit funds can be kept in your home country account, and once the visa is issued, you can do whatever you want with the funds.

Thai government planning in coming months to impose a medical insurance requirement.

Does require international travel and the expenses associated with that. You must travel back to your home country every time you need a new O-A visa.

You're dealing with the Thai Embassy or Consulate in your home country.