Canadian Pardon needed for Non-Imm O-A Visa?

[mushroomdave]

This may be for Canadian forum members that can help me out?  I am looking at retiring and living permanently in Thailand in the future.  I would be wanting to apply for a Non-Imm O-A Visa (retire) and fully understand everything I need and what I must do.  The problem is, I do have a couple driving while impaired convictions going back almost 38 years.  I see you must not have a criminal record from your country of nationality or residence and was wondering if that would hinder me?  I see for free, I can apply to the Parole Board of Canada for a pardon(s) of which they do issue numerous ones annually. So, I  guess I am wondering if there are any Canadians in Thailand now that had this situation ever before and what you did?  Or anyone else that could help in this matter (UbonJoe)?

Thank you in advance.  

Edited October 28, 2019 by mushroomdave

[CharlieH]

Just curious, but what is so attractive or necessary that you have an O-A and be subject to those regulations ?

[mushroomdave]

1 minute ago, CharlieH said:

Just curious, but what is so attractive or necessary that you have an O-A and be subject to those regulations ?

Thanks.  So what other type of Visa would you suggest?  I don't really want to be going in and out every 3 months or whatever it would require.

[ubonjoe]

Those old offences for driving while impaired will not affect you application and may not even show up on a criminal background check.

 

[lopburi3]

As said much easier for most people to just arrive on a tourist visa - open bank account - apply for change to non immigrant O entry and then extend yearly.  No need for the O-A requirements.

Edited October 28, 2019 by lopburi3

[DrJack54]

OP, bit off topic, because you state looking to obtain O-A. However you also state live los long term. IMHO obtain a non o and living here on annual permission of stay based on retirement, could be option. 

Edit. OP I typed my post as the ones above were being posted at same time. Perhaps tells you something

Edited October 28, 2019 by DrJack54

[CharlieH]

Just now, mushroomdave said:

Thanks.  So what other type of Visa would you suggest?  I don't really want to be going in and out every 3 months or whatever it would require.

Just as an example, an non-O visa, with an extension annually based on retiement does not require leaving the country, merely reporting every 90 days, as does eveyone. Does not need the police report nor medical etc.

[mushroomdave]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Those old offences for driving while impaired will not affect you application and may not even show up on a criminal background check.

 

Thanks  ubonjoe but when I worked in Taiwan, my RCMP criminal record was submitted showing those offenses.  I still got my permanent residency but they were showing.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, mushroomdave said:

So what other type of Visa would you suggest?

Perhaps getting a single entry non-o visa and then applying for a one year extension of stay at immigration here.

You would need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.

[Ninafarm]

Yes I had this problem and had to get a pardon. Mine was assaulting a police officer 40 years ago,, I thought it had long ago disappeared ,,, but no, the RCMP said I must apply for a pardon, which I did. This was 10 years ago so I can't remember all the details, but eventually got it and applied for my Non-Imm O-A visa and have lived in Thailand ever since. So you can do it if you really want to, just jump through all the Canadian hoops and then come and jump through all the Thai hoops. I am very happy retired in Thailand and will never return to Canada. 

[mushroomdave]

3 minutes ago, Ninafarm said:

Yes I had this problem and had to get a pardon. Mine was assaulting a police officer 40 years ago,, I thought it had long ago disappeared ,,, but no, the RCMP said I must apply for a pardon, which I did. This was 10 years ago so I can't remember all the details, but eventually got it and applied for my Non-Imm O-A visa and have lived in Thailand ever since. So you can do it if you really want to, just jump through all the Canadian hoops and then come and jump through all the Thai hoops. I am very happy retired in Thailand and will never return to Canada. 

Thank you very much!  Makes me feel a bit better!!  

 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, mushroomdave said:

Thanks  ubonjoe but when I worked in Taiwan, my RCMP criminal record was submitted showing those offenses.  I still got my permanent residency but they were showing.

Even if they do show up they will not affect your application. They are mostly only concerned for offenses that resulted in you spending some time in prison.

[Old Croc]

The advice about getting the O retirement extension in country, is even more sound with the possibility that O-A visa holders may now have a flawed local health insurance policy forced on you.

[Peter Denis]

16 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

As said much easier for most people to just arrive on a tourist visa - open bank account - apply for change to non immigrant O entry and then extend yearly.  No need for the O-A requirements.

When you meet the Non Imm OA (retirement / multiple entry) Visa requirements, it was preferable to apply for that Visa in your home country, rather than having to deal with the Thai Immigration hoops to get a Non Imm O and extension of stay.

Benefits of applying for a Non Imm OA Visa in your home country: 

During the 1st year of the Non Imm OA Visa validity you can then enter/leave Thailand as much and as often as you like.  And the only IO admin requirement is that you need to do your 90-day reporting when you have stayed 90 consecutive days in Thailand (when leaving and re-entering the teller starts on 0 again).  When leaving/re-entering at the end of the 1 year Visa validity, you will then be stamped in for another year.  Same 90 day-reporting applies, but during that 2nd year you need to apply for a re-entry permit to keep your permit to stay alive when leaving Thailand. 

So with a Non Imm OA Visa you have in fact a 2 year entry-ticket with minimum admin IO hassle.

At the end of the 2nd year you can either return to your home-country and re-apply for an Non Imm OA, or stay in Thailand and apply for an extension of stay, but that implies that you need to meet the financial requirements (400K/800K on a Thai bank-account or proof of monthly income-transfers of +65.000 THB).

Note: If you meet the Non Imm OA Visa requirements it was by far the best option to start your New Life in Thailand.  However, in 3 days - October 31 - an additional requirement will be added when applying for a Non Imm OA Visa, and that is that you need to have thai-approved health insurance coverage.  Not sure at this moment whether it will be easy, hard or near-impossible to meet that additional requirement.

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When you meet the Non Imm OA (retirement / multiple entry) Visa requirements, it was preferable to apply for that Visa in your home country, rather than having to deal with the Thai Immigration hoops to get a Non Imm O and extension of stay.

I am well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.  For the O-A the police report (extra cost), medical report (extra cost) and now insurance makes it less than ideal for many.  For those that indeed like to travel a lot or can obtain medical without excessive tests the O-A may be a good fit but for those able to put 800k into a local bank account it is not a very hard process to convert to one year extensions of stay within Thailand.  For OP that would solve his police report issues.

[Peter Denis]

5 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

I am well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.  For the O-A the police report (extra cost), medical report (extra cost) and now insurance makes it less than ideal for many.  For those that indeed like to travel a lot or can obtain medical without excessive tests the O-A may be a good fit but for those able to put 800k into a local bank account it is not a very hard process to convert to one year extensions of stay within Thailand.  For OP that would solve his police report issues.

Agree that for US and Canadian citizens it might be harder to meet the Non Imm OA Visa requirements. 
FYI > In Europe - I am from Belgium - the police report is just a statement from your local municipality that you have no criminal record and is provided in less than 1 minute at no cost.  For the medical a signed statement from your doctor suffices, and you can get that for free when you visit your doctor (or ask him to mail you one).

 

[DrJack54]

56 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Agree that for US and Canadian citizens it might be harder to meet the Non Imm OA Visa requirements. 
FYI > In Europe - I am from Belgium - the police report is just a statement from your local municipality that you have no criminal record and is provided in less than 1 minute at no cost.  For the medical a signed statement from your doctor suffices, and you can get that for free when you visit your doctor (or ask him to mail you one).

 

Point is he ain't from Belgium. Its difficult to obtain the medical in USA. 

I'm oz and yes not so difficult but many reports (including my own) where needed to visit few quacks prepared to stamp the ridiculous Thai medical. The police check needs to be  national but that can be done online. Also as mentioned the big one is the stupid insurance. Also in au all the docs need to be signed by notary. The big advantage for some is you money can remain in home country. Still requires trip home every every 2 years. One member above posted that the O-A was far better option than non o followed by extensions. That does not fly anymore..

Edited October 28, 2019 by DrJack54

[sqwakvfr]

I do not know about the Canadian Justice System but in the US certain criminal convictions can be Expunged.  This would be simpler then requesting a Pardon.  

[Lacessit]

Traffic infringements showing up as a criminal record? They must have been fairly serious.

Be that as it may, the OP should be able to get them expunged if they were long ago. Except if it was something like vehicular manslaughter.

[DrJack54]

10 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I do not know about the Canadian Justice System but in the US certain criminal convictions can be Expunged.  This would be simpler then requesting a Pardon.  

Off topic I realize but just interesting to note that not all countries regard DUI as a criminal offense. Oz refers to it as driving over limit. Which is 0.05

Just about every driver pulled over for random licence check is given alcohol drug test. For folk like the OP to have "criminal record" for drink driving is a joke. imo

[soisanuk]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Perhaps getting a single entry non-o visa and then applying for a one year extension of stay at immigration here.

You would need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.

Not sure about Thai Embassy/Consulate in Canada, but in US, they generally will not issue a Non-Immigrant O Visa if your purpose is for retirement, they will insist you apply for a Non-Immigrant O-A.

 

Although the O-A category (long stay visa often identified as a "retirement" visa since it is for that purpose) used to be a good deal where its multiple entry feature could get you a one year permission to stay on each entry during the validity period of the Visa and if entering just before the Visa expires get you almost another full year, it appears that will no longer be the case as the new health insurance rules for getting the O-A Visa go into effect on 31 October this year.   As I interpret the new rules regarding entry into Thailand using an O-A Visa no longer automatically gets you a another one year permission to stay.  Instead, the permission to stay on subsequent entries will be until the expiration date of the health insurance coverage.

 

If it was me, I would go to another (perhaps neighboring) country and apply for a Non-Immigrant O Visa on the basis of planning to retire in Thailand (you would need to check the documentation requirements for Embassy/Consulate where you plan to apply - but no police report or medical certificate is needed), receive your Non-O Visa and get a 90 day permission to stay on entry. After 60 days have elapsed, you can apply for a one-year extension at the Thai Immigration Office serving your residence area for the purpose of retirement.  To meet the financial requirements, you would need to put 800k baht in a Thai bank at least 2 months before application, keep it there for the next 3 months, and never let it fall below 400k and top it back up 2 months before renewal date OR obtain a certification letter from your Canadian Embassy in Bangkok that you receive at least the equivalent of 65k baht per month in income [a combination method using income & bank deposit is also available so long as it adds up to the 800k baht). Again, no police report or medical certificate is required.  No health insurance requirement for a Non-O Visa.

 

Another option is to enter Thailand using a Tourist Visa (60 day permission to stay) or Visa Exempt (30 day permission to stay), either permission of stay can be extended one time at Thai Immigration for another 30 days.  Apply at Thai Immigration for a Non-Immigrant O Visa showing you will meet the financial requirements for retirement extension, receive the Visa with 90 days from issue date as permitted stay and after 60 days elapse, apply for the one year extension as mentioned above. Again, no health insurance requirement for this extension.

[ubonjoe]

46 minutes ago, soisanuk said:

Not sure about Thai Embassy/Consulate in Canada, but in US, they generally will not issue a Non-Immigrant O Visa if your purpose is for retirement, they will insist you apply for a Non-Immigrant O-A.

 

In Canada the honorary consulates can still issue a non-o visa for being 50 or over. The embassy in DC took that away from them in the states a few years.

[gk10002000]

22 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Just as an example, an non-O visa, with an extension annually based on retiement does not require leaving the country, merely reporting every 90 days, as does eveyone. Does not need the police report nor medical etc.

If a person leaves the country every 88 days to visit Cambodia or whatever, then he was not in the country for 90 days and would not have to file a 90 day report.  If you re-enter and the the 90 day clock presumably starts again?  Could one they again repeat the process, leave the country after 88 days, then a few days later come back?  Just a way to eliminate paperwork and nothing wrong with scheduling some side trips that one may want to do anyway.  Just schedule those out of country visits appropriately?

[CharlieH]

5 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

If a person leaves the country every 88 days to visit Cambodia or whatever, then he was not in the country for 90 days and would not have to file a 90 day report.  If you re-enter and the the 90 day clock presumably starts again?  Could one they again repeat the process, leave the country after 88 days, then a few days later come back?  Just a way to eliminate paperwork and nothing wrong with scheduling some side trips that one may want to do anyway.  Just schedule those out of country visits appropriately?

Off topic really, the OP specifically stated about NOT having to leave each 90 days.

[Thomas J]

mushroomdave
 

You could apply for the pardon and if granted apply for the Visa in Canada.  Another alternative is to come to Thailand on a tourist visa, open a bank account ( probably Bangkok Bank) would be the only bank allowing to you open without a retirement visa. Deposit 800,000 THB and wait for 3 months and apply here in Thailand.  The retirement visa here does not require a criminal background check. One way or another I doubt that driving while impaired charges that are almost 4 decades old would preclude you. 

 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Thomas J

[VocalNeal]

On 10/28/2019 at 12:56 PM, mushroomdave said:

Thanks.  So what other type of Visa would you suggest?  I don't really want to be going in and out every 3 months or whatever it would require.

Can you apply for a police background check remotely? If it comes back clean...

[lopburi3]

56 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

mushroomdave
 

You could apply for the pardon and if granted apply for the Visa in Canada.  Another alternative is to come to Thailand on a tourist visa, open a bank account ( probably Bangkok Bank) would be the only bank allowing to you open without a retirement visa. Deposit 800,000 THB and wait for 3 months and apply here in Thailand.  The retirement visa here does not require a criminal background check. One way or another I doubt that driving while impaired charges that are almost 4 decades old would preclude you. 

 

This procedure from tourist or visa exempt is apply for change to non immigrant O visa entry after money in bank (can be same day) and this costs 2,000 baht - then after money in account 2 months extension for one year at cost of 1,900 baht.  

[Thomas J]

27 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

This procedure from tourist or visa exempt is apply for change to non immigrant O visa entry after money in bank (can be same day) and this costs 2,000 baht - then after money in account 2 months extension for one year at cost of 1,900 baht.  

lopburi3 

You are correct.  I forgot that I used the income verification from the USA embassy which are no longer available.  I believe this person is Canadian and to the best of my knowledge Canada still issues income verification.  If that is true, he could go to the Canadian Embassy and get a verification letter in lieu of putting 800,000 THB in the bank.  If that is true, I would tell him to get two letters at the same time to avoid having to make an appointment at the embassy twice.  The verification are good for six months and he would need the second verification in 60 days when he applies for the 1 year 0 Visa 

[SoonOh]

Just pay $55 for criminal background check and you will know if it is still on record. 

 

Why retire to Thailand? 

[Bigstef]

I suggest you get the pardon,you don't know the future requirement can change and Thailand is good for that...