Obtaining a Thai visa in the UK. Urgent advise needed

[soloseaview]

For several years I have lived in Pattaya, each year obtaining an Extension of Stay (Based on Retirement) from Jomtien Immigration.

I returned to the UK in May this year, intending to return to Thailand before my extension of stay (based on retirement) and my re-entry permit both expired in early October 2019.

Unfortunately I was taken ill in the UK and have had to receive urgent medical attention here. I am currently still in the UK and have not yet been able to return to Thailand to obtain a new Extension of Stay.

I now need to return to Thailand ASAP and want to obtain, whilst still here in the UK, a valid Thai visa (preferably one lasting 90 days although 60 days would do).  As I am in the south east of England, visiting Hull in person to obtain a visa would be a last resort. However, I would have to undertake that journey if I cannot obtain a visa from the Thai Embassy in London (which would be much easier for me).

Can any UK citizen who has recently managed to obtain a visa from the Thai Embassy in London please answer some of my below questions and perhaps give me some advice on how to go about this. I am over 65 and am receiving a UK government pension of approximately 7,800 GBP per annum.

QUESTIONS:

a/ What would be the best visa for me to apply for and what documentation would I need to produce to obtain it?

b/ Can an application be made by post only (so that a visit to London in person is not required) or would I have to make a personal visit to the embassy at some stage?

c/ Do I have to register on line to submit an application and to make payment for the visa?

d/ Does the visa application forms ask for the date of arriving in Thailand and the date of leaving?  (this information would not be available until the flight tickets had been paid for and I would be loath to purchase a ticket until I knew that I was guaranteed to be granted visa).

Any answers to the above, and any other pertinent advice, would be very gratefully received.

[UKresonant]

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84508-Non-Immigrant-visas.html

 

"Non-Immigrant Type O (Retirement (pensioner aged 50 or above with a state pension who wants to stay in Thailand for no longer than 90 days) - single entry only)
 
Financial evidence e.g. 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"

Do you have the DWP state pension letter (and perhaps a recent bank statement of the account it's paid into?)

If you don't have the DWP letter phone tomorrow and ask for one ( could take weeks unfortunately).

To Extend the non-O in Thailand a few monthly transfers of 65k THB to a Thai bank account?

Edited October 24, 2019 by UKresonant

[roamer]

Have to apply online and you can then submit documents by post. There is a decent thread here about the application process including what to do about the flight tickets.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1118112-my-guide-to-online-e-visa-applications-via-london-thai-embassy-60-day-setv-by-post/

 

A 60 day tourist visa may be your only option. Do a search here for all the very recent changes on retirement visa and you may find you will have difficulty meeting the financial requirements as well as the new insurance rules which may/may not have come into force.

 

 

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, roamer said:

A 60 day tourist visa may be your only option. Do a search here for all the very recent changes on retirement visa and you may find you will have difficulty meeting the financial requirements as well as the new insurance rules which may/may not have come into force.

There are no changes for getting a single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

You confusing it with a NON-OA visa that requires higher financial proof and insurance (after the 30st of October).

[Genericnic]

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84508-Non-Immigrant-visas.html
 
"Non-Immigrant Type O (Retirement (pensioner aged 50 or above with a state pension who wants to stay in Thailand for no longer than 90 days) - single entry only)
 
Financial evidence e.g. 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"
Do you have the DWP state pension letter (and perhaps a recent bank statement of the account it's paid into?)
If you don't have the DWP letter phone tomorrow and ask for one ( could take weeks unfortunately).
To Extend the non-O in Thailand a few monthly transfers of 65k THB to a Thai bank account?

I have or will have all the required documents and information listed on the London embassy link for a non-O based on retirement (not a non-O-A). Unlike the London embassy page, the RTE page for Washington, DC only lists Thai family visits and volunteering as categories for non-O visas. Does anyone know if a non-O based on retirement is available at the Washington RTE. Has anyone actually done one recently?

David

Sent from my SM-G973F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, Genericnic said:

Does anyone know if a non-O based on retirement is available at the Washington RTE.

You cannot get one anywhere in the states.

I don't don't recall the embassy or any of the official consulates ever doing one and a few years ago they ordered the honorary consulates not to do them.

[Genericnic]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You cannot get one anywhere in the states.

I don't don't recall the embassy or any of the official consulates ever doing one and a few years ago they ordered the honorary consulates not to do them.

Thanks @ubonjoe I was pretty sure that was the answer but wanted to confirm before I went down that rabbit hole.

 

David

 

[Tanoshi]

9 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

There are no changes for getting a single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

Actually, the purpose of retirement and the supporting documents list has been removed from the online website for the Non O Visa. https://thaievisa.go.th/Home/Family

 

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Actually, the purpose of retirement and the supporting documents list has been removed from the online website for the Non O Visa. https://thaievisa.go.th/Home/Family

 

Been that way for awhile but it appears during the online application process according to posts I have seen.

[Just Weird]

10 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Actually, the purpose of retirement and the supporting documents list has been removed from the online website for the Non O Visa. https://thaievisa.go.th/Home/Family

 

"...the online website for the Non O Visa".

That is not the "online website for the non-O visa", it's just a website, independent and nothing official.

 

Same with this one that someone else quoted...

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84508-Non-Immigrant-visas.html

 

I'm not saying that the information is necessarily incorrect but those private websites are not officially representative of the Thai IB requirements.  Just something that should be borne in mind.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Just Weird

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

That is not the "online website for the non-O visa", it's just a website, independent and nothing official.

It's the 'online' E-Visa application website for the Non O category.

 

From 15 June 2019, visa applicants in the UK and Ireland have to apply online.

Click to follow easy step-by-step Guideline to Thailand e-visa

Click to watch VDO https://thaievisa.go.th/Images/sliders/e-visa.mp4

 

14 June 2019 will be the last day the Embassy will process visa application by post, submitted with the old visa application forms. Any old visa applications received after 14 June 2019 will be returned to the applicants.

In order to access online visa application, please go to https://thaievisa.go.th/Home

 

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84394-Who-needs-visa?.html

[Just Weird]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

It's the 'online' E-Visa application website for the Non O category.

 

From 15 June 2019, visa applicants in the UK and Ireland have to apply online.

Click to follow easy step-by-step Guideline to Thailand e-visa

Click to watch VDO https://thaievisa.go.th/Images/sliders/e-visa.mp4

 

14 June 2019 will be the last day the Embassy will process visa application by post, submitted with the old visa application forms. Any old visa applications received after 14 June 2019 will be returned to the applicants.

In order to access online visa application, please go to https://thaievisa.go.th/Home

 

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84394-Who-needs-visa?.html

I stand corrected.

[Tanoshi]

15 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Been that way for awhile but it appears during the online application process according to posts I have seen.

I just logged in and can confirm that.

 

[Tim16]

On 10/24/2019 at 11:24 AM, soloseaview said:

As I am in the south east of England, visiting Hull in person to obtain a visa would be a last resort.

Would Cardiff Consulate be nearer?

Book appointment, they will make visa while you wait.

[faraday]

As above. Go to Cardiff, less traffic & there's a decent car park just 10 minutes walk away.

[Tanoshi]

On 10/24/2019 at 5:24 PM, soloseaview said:

a/ What would be the best visa for me to apply for and what documentation would I need to produce to obtain it?

Non Imm O single entry.

• Printout of visa application form submitted online, with bar code
• Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months and at least 2 blank pages. Applicants must fill in online visa application with their given name(s) and surname as appear in their passports.
• Financial evidence e.g. 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
• Confirmation of legal residence in the UK or Ireland

 

On 10/24/2019 at 5:24 PM, soloseaview said:

b/ Can an application be made by post only (so that a visit to London in person is not required) or would I have to make a personal visit to the embassy at some stage?

The application and documents must be submitted online.

After approval the documents and Passport can be posted to receive the Visa.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84397-How-to-apply-visa-by-post.html

 

On 10/24/2019 at 5:24 PM, soloseaview said:

c/ Do I have to register on line to submit an application and to make payment for the visa?

Yes.

https://thaievisa.go.th/Home/Family

 

On 10/24/2019 at 5:24 PM, soloseaview said:

d/ Does the visa application forms ask for the date of arriving in Thailand and the date of leaving?  (this information would not be available until the flight tickets had been paid for and I would be loath to purchase a ticket until I knew that I was guaranteed to be granted visa).

It asks for the intended dates of arrival and departure and place of stay.

 

 

 

[Tanoshi]

25 minutes ago, Tim16 said:

Would Cardiff Consulate be nearer?

Book appointment, they will make visa while you wait.

Only for a Tourist Visa, not a Non O.

[Tim16]

Cardiff will issue Non O single entry

[faraday]

As above.

 

http://www.thaiconsulatewales.org.uk/visas.htm

 

Non 'O'.

[Tanoshi]

3 hours ago, Tim16 said:

Cardiff will issue Non O single entry

 

3 hours ago, faraday said:

As above.

 

http://www.thaiconsulatewales.org.uk/visas.htm

 

Non 'O'.

They need authority from London, same as Hull.

They certainly can't get it approved and issued same day as Tim16 states.

 

From the same site:

Quote

Please note that consulates are not authorised to issue all the above Non-Immigrant visa's, some may be submitted to the Thai Embassy in London, please contact us for further information.

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Tanoshi

[helloagain]

Phone them up in uk then not difficult 

[sandyf]

A friend of mine has just done a Non O in the UK. He phoned me up and said how difficult it was, mainly due to system issues and he had to go to Hull to collect the visa personally. At the time they were coming from all over the UK to collect visas.

I am not sure how many of the consulates have the online facility but it sounded like Hull was the only one working and they have to forward to London for approval.

He said never again, in future he would come on visa exempt and get visa nearby, well for as long as that is available.

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, sandyf said:

I am not sure how many of the consulates have the online facility but it sounded like Hull was the only one working and they have to forward to London for approval.

None of the consulates in the UK are part of the online application system. Only applications at the embassy in London has to be done online.

[steve187]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

A friend of mine has just done a Non O in the UK. He phoned me up and said how difficult it was, mainly due to system issues and he had to go to Hull to collect the visa personally. At the time they were coming from all over the UK to collect visas.

I am not sure how many of the consulates have the online facility but it sounded like Hull was the only one working and they have to forward to London for approval.

He said never again, in future he would come on visa exempt and get visa nearby, well for as long as that is available.

i just sent an email to Hull with copies of the required docs, 2 days later approved, if an email is too difficult then a few days in Hull and all can be done face to face.

[Letseng]

On 10/25/2019 at 3:25 AM, ubonjoe said:

There are no changes for getting a single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

You confusing it with a NON-OA visa that requires higher financial proof and insurance (after the 30st of October).

For non-O visa (ME) I had to show 20.000€ in a bank or 2000€/month income 2 weeks ago in Austria. Was told that these are new requirements, however not yet officially published. Will come soon. Beware.

[sandyf]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

None of the consulates in the UK are part of the online application system. Only applications at the embassy in London has to be done online.

You are wrong on that. My friend could not submit online to London and he submitted online to Hull.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

i just sent an email to Hull with copies of the required docs, 2 days later approved, if an email is too difficult then a few days in Hull and all can be done face to face.

What type of visa was that for. My friend did a Non O based on marriage and it had to be forwarded to London for approval, took about a week and then he had to go to Hull himself and collect it. No postal option available.

The system is obviously in a mess and probably different scenarios emerging.

[ubonjoe]

32 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You are wrong on that. My friend could not submit online to London and he submitted online to Hull.

I think there is a bit of confusion between sending the supporting documents by email to Hull to get approval from London for the visa application not the actual e visa application that has to be done when applying at London.

The other honorary consulates can do the same thing that Hull did.

 

 

[steve187]

32 minutes ago, sandyf said:

What type of visa was that for. My friend did a Non O based on marriage and it had to be forwarded to London for approval, took about a week and then he had to go to Hull himself and collect it. No postal option available.

The system is obviously in a mess and probably different scenarios emerging.

non O single married, 2 days for approval

[sandyf]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

I think there is a bit of confusion between sending the supporting document by email to Hull to get approval from London for the visa application actual e visa application that has to be done when applying at London.

 

The only one that is confused is you, I specifically said he applied online. I never mentioned any email so where did that come from.

When I spoke to him he said he had selected London during the online process but it kept stalling so he then selected Hull, still during the online process, and the application then went through.

Unless you were watching the screen when he did it you are not in a position to disagree.