Non-O-Retirement elapsed. How to restart?

[inasia]

Last year I was on a non-immigrant - o visa for retirement.  Unfortunately, I had to stay in the UK longer than expected due to a medical crisis in the family.  I left Thailand at the end of March, and intended to visit for 2 months (I even had a re-entry visa) - but as things turned out - I've had to stay in the UK for 7 months.  I've booked a flight to return to Thailand next month.

 

Both my re-entry visa and my non-imm visa expired in August.  I guess I will need to start from scratch with the 90 bridging visa - and then re-apply for a new non-imm o visa?  Any tips regarding my situation?

(I will enter Thailand on a 30 day stamp - and likely possess a cheap outbound ticket just to satisfy the entry rules)

[Crossy]

Yeah, sadly you have to start again.

 

Do you have / can you get the necessary paperwork / funding to apply for a non O-A (retirement) visa in the UK? It's good for 1 year stay on entry (plus another year if you do a border hop just before it expires). Do check the requirement for health insurance.

 

 

[elviajero]

You can get a Non O visa before you travel if you can meet the financial requirements. That gives you 90 days on entry and you can apply for the 1 year extension in the last 30 days of the 90.

 

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

 

 

If you enter using visa exemption you will need to apply for the Non O at immigration. It will take a couple of visits. You must apply with at least 15 (21 maybe) days left of the 30 day entry stamp OR the 30 day extension of the initial 30 day entry.

 

Visits to immigration

1. Apply for the Non O visa. You need 800K in the bank or proof of a 65K pm income.

2. Approx 2 weeks later. Return to have the Non O visa stamped in your passport and the 90 day stay permit.

 

[inasia]

@elviajero  & @Crossy

Thanks for the quick responses.  If I arranged something in the UK - I only have a couple of weeks - and I don't want to get into health insurance, or more stringent requirements of O-A.
 

For the non-O visa - I always thought that my 800K had to be in a THAI bank, and I set that up ready for August, when I assumed I was returning sooner.  It's impossible for me to get the letters and pass-book update outside of Thailand.  I have another bank accounts with sufficient funds that I can access here - but I'm not sure that helps.

[Crossy]

You should be able to get the "O" with a UK account with 10 grand in it for the last 3 months.

 

Otherwise I think your existing plan is the way to go.

[elviajero]

8 hours ago, inasia said:

@elviajero  & @Crossy

Thanks for the quick responses.  If I arranged something in the UK - I only have a couple of weeks - and I don't want to get into health insurance, or more stringent requirements of O-A.
 

For the non-O visa - I always thought that my 800K had to be in a THAI bank, and I set that up ready for August, when I assumed I was returning sooner.  It's impossible for me to get the letters and pass-book update outside of Thailand.  I have another bank accounts with sufficient funds that I can access here - but I'm not sure that helps.

Yes that helps.

 

The 800K has to be in your Thai bank when applying for the Non O in Thailand or the extension of stay.

 

But if you apply for the Non O in the UK you could use £10K in a UK bank, OR the THB 800K in your Thai account. 

[BLACKJACK2]

9 hours ago, elviajero said:

You can get a Non O visa before you travel if you can meet the financial requirements. That gives you 90 days on entry and you can apply for the 1 year extension in the last 30 days of the 90.

 

 

Do you have to wait until the last 30 days or could you apply as soon as you enter the country.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

Do you have to wait until the last 30 days or could you apply as soon as you enter the country.

You cannot apply for the extension of stay any earlier than 30 days or 45 days at some offices before your 90 day entry ends.

[WorriedNoodle]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

But if you apply for the Non O in the UK you could use £10K in a UK bank, OR the THB 800K in your Thai account. 

This is interesting to know. Any idea what proof would be needed of 800K in a Thai bank account whilst applying in another country for Non O like the UK? An online bank account statement only I suppose?

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

This is interesting to know. Any idea what proof would be needed of 800K in a Thai bank account whilst applying in another country for Non O like the UK? An online bank account statement only I suppose?

I don’t see why they wouldn’t accept copies of a Thai bank book. 

[wpcoe]

Do embassies/consulates (overseas) still issue Non-Immigrant O visas for retirement?  I thought they only processed for Non-Immigrant O-A if you were going to be a retiree in Thailand.  Or, was that only some backwater country or two where that's the case?  

[khunPer]

On 10/28/2019 at 10:47 PM, inasia said:

I guess I will need to start from scratch with the 90 bridging visa - and then re-apply for a new non-imm o visa?  Any tips regarding my situation?

Yes.

If you don't arrive on a non-O you might be able to change to non-O within the country (I have no experience), or relative easily get a non-O from one of the neighboring countries (kind of visa run trip). For the latter you can use an existing 800k baht bank deposit.

 

Within the last 30 days of your non-O period you can apply for extension of stay based on retirement, same procedure as every year.

 

I've tried re-start myself, some years back, it's not that difficult, apart from the hassle with the non-O...????

 

 

[elviajero]

57 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

Do embassies/consulates (overseas) still issue Non-Immigrant O visas for retirement?  I thought they only processed for Non-Immigrant O-A if you were going to be a retiree in Thailand.  Or, was that only some backwater country or two where that's the case?  

Yes some still do, but they are getting harder to get. There appears to be a definite push towards the O-A.

[thinktoomuch]

1 hour ago, wpcoe said:

Do embassies/consulates (overseas) still issue Non-Immigrant O visas for retirement?  I thought they only processed for Non-Immigrant O-A if you were going to be a retiree in Thailand.  Or, was that only some backwater country or two where that's the case?  

Yes. The UK does, for one. However, with the introduction of the online visa application system they stopped doing one year multi-entry Non-O's and switched to single entry only.

 

[retayl]

If applying for a non O visa in UK you now have to do it online, postal or embassy visit in person are no longer acceptable unless you have first completed the online application and it is a minefield! You need the facility to scan and upload all supporting documents - proof of residency in UK, income confirmation, bank account, bio data page of passport + recent mugshot. These must be in JPEG’s/JPG format and each one has to be resized to below 0.5mb file size. If you’re relatively savvy with a pc and you own a scanning printer it’s time consuming but doable, good luck. I’ve just completed mine and am waiting for the response from the embassy.

[WorriedNoodle]

21 hours ago, elviajero said:

I don’t see why they wouldn’t accept copies of a Thai bank book. 

But if applying overseas with this the bank books could be completely out of date and no way to update? I was wondering if an online statement was the way?

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

But if applying overseas with this the bank books could be completely out of date and no way to update? I was wondering if an online statement was the way?

Yes, IMO they would accept an online statement.

 

A passbook wouldn't need to be updated as recently as needed for an extension, but I would assume it would need to be updated to at least the end of the month prior to applying for a visa.

[Exploring Thailand]

4 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

But if applying overseas with this the bank books could be completely out of date and no way to update? I was wondering if an online statement was the way?

If you're with Bangkok Bank, they have a branch in London, where I guess you'd be able to get the book updated. I don't know about the other banks. I have a feeling Kasikorn doesn't have one.

[Mike Teavee]

14 minutes ago, Exploring Thailand said:

If you're with Bangkok Bank, they have a branch in London, where I guess you'd be able to get the book updated. I don't know about the other banks. I have a feeling Kasikorn doesn't have one.

I believe the Bangkok Branch in London is a Commercial Bank so doubt they would/could update your passbook.

 

[DaRoadrunner]

I had a similar situation. Came in on a Tourist Visa, which I got in the post from Thai Embassy London and converted to Non O Retirement once in Thailand. Easiest and cheapest way.

 

At Swampy the IO asked where my return ticket was? I showed him previous Retirement Visa in passport and explained as above, he let me in no problem.

 

Note that at least 21 days must still be on your Tourist Visa when you apply for Non O Retirement. 800K must have been in the bank for minimum of 2 months.

 

(I would guess that Visa on Arrival could also work in the same way but have no experience of this..... Has anyone tried this?)

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

(I would guess that Visa on Arrival could also work in the same way but have no experience of this..... Has anyone tried this?)

A 15 day visa on arrival would not be accepted. But a 30 day visa exempt entry is accepted or the 30 day extension of it as well.

The written requirement is at least 15 days remaining on the entry. Some offices do want 21 days or more.

[thinktoomuch]

5 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Note that at least 21 days must still be on your Tourist Visa when you apply for Non O Retirement. 800K must have been in the bank for minimum of 2 months.

 

 

I thought that the 800k had to be in the bank for a minimum of 2 months before you apply for the extension based on retirement, which I understand you can apply for during the last 30 days of the Non-O.

 

I've read of a number of people using the Non-O issued for the purposes of applying for an extension based on  retirement to open the bank account necessary to season the 800k.

 

[elviajero]

28 minutes ago, thinktoomuch said:

I thought that the 800k had to be in the bank for a minimum of 2 months before you apply for the extension based on retirement, which I understand you can apply for during the last 30 days of the Non-O.

Yes that’s correct. If using the bank method to meet the financials.

[Mike Teavee]

9 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

Note that at least 21 days must still be on your Tourist Visa when you apply for Non O Retirement. 800K must have been in the bank for minimum of 2 months.

That's not correct.

 

1) When converting from a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa you just need to prove the 800K came from overseas, no seeding required.

 

2) You just need 15 days left on the VE/TV 

[Mike Teavee]

4 hours ago, thinktoomuch said:

 

I thought that the 800k had to be in the bank for a minimum of 2 months before you apply for the extension based on retirement, which I understand you can apply for during the last 30 days of the Non-O.

 

I've read of a number of people using the Non-O issued for the purposes of applying for an extension based on  retirement to open the bank account necessary to season the 800k.

 

That's correct for extending an existing Non-O but if you're converting from a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa, there is no minimum period that the money has to be in the Bank, you just need to be able to show that it came from overseas. 

 

 

 

 

[elviajero]

28 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

2) You just need 15 days left on the VE/TV 

It's 21 days at some offices.

[thinktoomuch]

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

That's correct for extending an existing Non-O but if you're converting from a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa, there is no minimum period that the money has to be in the Bank, you just need to be able to show that it came from overseas. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks. Seems a little strange that this is the least onerous way to do it.

 

If you already have a Non-O then does it matter where the money comes from?

[Mike Teavee]

19 minutes ago, thinktoomuch said:

Thanks. Seems a little strange that this is the least onerous way to do it.

 

If you already have a Non-O then does it matter where the money comes from?

No, if you already have the Non-O (e.g. Picked one up from one of the neighbouring countries) then you just need to "seed" it in the Bank for 2 months before applying for an  Extension.  Process goes something like.. Enter Thailand, get a 90 day stamp, open a bank account, deposit 800K, 2 months later go to Immigration for a 1 year extension (Which will apply from the end of the 90 Days not the day you apply it doesn't hurt to do it 3-4 weeks early).

 

If you enter on a Visa Exempt/Tourist Visa then the Process will go something like.  Open bank Account, deposit 800K, 21 or 15 Days (depending on office) before your permission to stay ends apply for a conversion to a Non-O showing 800K in the Bank, go back a couple of weeks later to get your 90 day Non-O, then within 30 days of it expiring go through the same process as above to get your 1 year extension.

 

In summary...

• Non-O -> (Yearly) Extension - Need 800K in the bank for the previous 2 months, no need to prove where it came from
• Visa Exempt/Tourist Visa -> Non O, Need 800k in the Bank, no seeding (it could have been added that day for all they care) but have to prove it came from Overseas

 

There is also the Income option where you would need to prove that at least 65K is deposited into your account from overseas every month (Cannot miss a month & pay double the next etc...) & a Combo method of money in the bank & income , but if you have the 800K it's much easier to go down that route. 

 

FWIW I got my Non-O in Penang and it was very straight forward at that time, not sure where the recommended place is nowadays (I'm sure UbonJoe can advise).

 

 

 

 

[thinktoomuch]

4 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

No, if you already have the Non-O (e.g. Picked one up from one of the neighbouring countries) then you just need to "seed" it in the Bank for 2 months before applying for an  Extension.  Process goes something like..

[...]

Thanks for that reply. Very clear and thorough. 

[retayl]

On 10/30/2019 at 7:43 AM, retayl said:

If applying for a non O visa in UK you now have to do it online, postal or embassy visit in person are no longer acceptable unless you have first completed the online application and it is a minefield! You need the facility to scan and upload all supporting documents - proof of residency in UK, income confirmation, bank account, bio data page of passport + recent mugshot. These must be in JPEG’s/JPG format and each one has to be resized to below 0.5mb file size. If you’re relatively savvy with a pc and you own a scanning printer it’s time consuming but doable, good luck. I’ve just completed mine and am waiting for the response from the embassy.

Update. Application submitted online & passports posted to Thai Embassy on Monday. Passports with visa received back on Thursday. Job done! Have to say, I’ve always found the Thai Embassy London super efficient.