How to change from OA visa to O?

[Grusa]

I am here on an O visa, and have, for now at least, no necessity for a medical insurance.

 

My neighbours, however, do! He is 88 ish, she is 81, and are here on retirement extensions to OA visas. They have plenty of money, but medical insurance is impossible, they both have long lists of medical problems including cancer, supposedly in remission.

 

Is it possible to convert from OA to O, and if so, how does one go about it? Is it necessary to leave the country and re-enter, or can it be done at the local (Jomtien) Immigration office?

 

If it is not possible, can a Visa Agent work around the problem, what would it cost, and how terminally illegal would it be? 

 

 

And if all else fails, how fat does the brown envelope need to be?

[glegolo]

You can not change an existing VISA to another VISA inside or outside Thailand. What is to be done is that they need to go outside Thailand and buy a NEW VISA (non Immigrant "O"....

 

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by glegolo

[ubonjoe]

14 minutes ago, glegolo said:

What is to be done is that they need to go outside Thailand and buy a NEW VISA (non Immigrant "O"....

How do you buy a visa? As far as I know you have to apply for it and meet the requirements to get one then pay a fee for it.

[ubonjoe]

It is not possible to change non immigrant visa categories while in the country.

They would have to leave the country to get a single entry non-o visa and then apply for a new extension of stay. Or they could leave the country to get a 30 day visa exempt entry and apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration.

[Andrew Dwyer]

20 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not possible to change non immigrant visa categories while in the country.

They would have to leave the country to get a single entry non-o visa and then apply for a new extension of stay. Or they could leave the country to get a 30 day visa exempt entry and apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration.

Joe, if in this scenario they have a ME re-entry permit would it still be possible or would they have to somehow cancel the re-entry permit ??

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Joe, if in this scenario they have a ME re-entry permit would it still be possible or would they have to somehow cancel the re-entry permit ??

It would not be possible to cancel the re-entry permit. They could leave the country on the last day of their extension and re-enter the country the next day.

[john terry1001]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not possible to change non immigrant visa categories while in the country.

They would have to leave the country to get a single entry non-o visa and then apply for a new extension of stay. Or they could leave the country to get a 30 day visa exempt entry and apply for a 90 day non immigrant visa (category O) entry at immigration.

When I first started coming to Thailand  (almost) anybody could get a ME non O visa. Over recent years the ability to get a non O visa from your home country has been severely restricted and is now only available to a minority. The O-A visa is now the main visa available to the vast majority. 

 

If people using these options to change to a non O within Thailand increase in the immediate future, how long do you think it will be before the loophole is closed and the same/similar restrictions will also apply to people converting their VE within Thailand will come into force? How long before people find it very difficult to obtain even a SE non O visa based on marriage from a nearby Embassy/consulate?

Edited November 8, 2019 by john terry1001