Rules about visas and extensions based on retirement (most extensive text?)

[JimGant]

13 hours ago, Isaanlawyers said:

Health check up is necessary for NON-OA visa, not for extension.

If you mean health insurance, all retirement extensions emanating from a Non Imm O-A visa now require Thai issued health insurance -- this may not be from all Immigration offices (tho' I've yet to see an exception), but from most. (See your related para 7 quote, below, which conflicts with your above quote related to extensions.)

 

Quote

Following your first extension, you can apply for an extension annually according to the same procedure using the Non-Immigrant O-A visa procedure below.

That quote was from your Non Imm O section. The following quote is from the Non Imm O-A section:

Quote

7) Purchase a health insurance policy to cover your extension of stay for up to one year from one of the participating companies via the website:

But that's not true, at least for the time being. Retirement extensions emanating from Non Imm O visas do NOT require a health insurance policy.

[Peter Denis]

5 minutes ago, DennisE said:

Yeah I figured that was what they meant because apparently there’s a way that people on retirement visas over 50 years old who are apparently not married to a Thai citizen and who don’t even have any Thai family can somehow switch from a NON OA to a basic NON O like I’m on based on marriage. 

The Thai Visa jungle has many options:

• You can apply for a 1 year Non Imm OA (long stay) Visa, but only at a thai embassy in your home-country
• Once in Thailand you can extend that Non Imm OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT, or - when married to a thai national - for reason of MARRIAGE.  
• In most countries you can also apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa, either at the thai embassy or a thai consulate.  That can be done for many reasons (e.g. spouse).  In several countries application for a Non Imm O - retirement Visa is not possible anymore.
• But you can also apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa at your local IO in Thailand.  And dependent on the reason of your application (retirement / marriage / etc..) the requirements are different.

[DennisE]

6 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

The Thai Visa jungle has many options:

• You can apply for a 1 year Non Imm OA (long stay) Visa, but only at a thai embassy in your home-country
• Once in Thailand you can extend that Non Imm OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT, or - when married to a thai national - for reason of MARRIAGE.  
• In most countries you can also apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa, either at the thai embassy or a thai consulate.  That can be done for many reasons (e.g. spouse).  In several countries application for a Non Imm O - retirement Visa is not possible anymore.
• But you can also apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa at your local IO in Thailand.  And dependent on the reason of your application (retirement / marriage / etc..) the requirements are different.

Yeah the NON O covers more situations than just marriage and family visas. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[Martyp]

10 minutes ago, DennisE said:

I was thinking about switching to a retirement visa when I turn 50 because I am retired here but I’m not going to get all of my insurance paperwork for that so I’ll stay on my NON O marriage extension unless I upgrade to the 5 year visa possibly I’m gonna think about it. Regardless we are considering going back to the states in the next 5 to 10 years anyway. My wife and I married in the states almost 21 years ago now and she is a United States Permanent Resident but we’re liking it here too much for now at least. Plus I’ve seen most of the world and most of the United States but there are still things I want to see in the States especially in my home state of Arizona which is also a very beautiful place to live. But for the time being we’re happy here. 

You don't need any insurance to switch from an extension based on marriage to an extension based on retirement (starting from a non-O). You will need to meet the different financial requirements which is basically more money in the bank. If you are already here on an extension based on marriage there is no particular advantage to switching.  

[Peter Denis]

6 minutes ago, JimGant said:

If you mean health insurance, all retirement extensions emanating from a Non Imm O-A visa now require Thai issued health insurance -- this may not be from all Immigration offices (tho' I've yet to see an exception), but from most.

This is not correct.  Health insurance is ONLY required when applying for an extension of stay based on your original OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT.  When you are married to a thai national, and the extension of your permission to stay based on your original OA Visa is due, you can apply for reason of MARRIAGE and then NO health-insurance is required.  The requirements for both extensions are different, and the extension for reason of marriage has the additional bonus that the financials required are approximately halved.

[DennisE]

11 minutes ago, JimGant said:

If you mean health insurance, all retirement extensions emanating from a Non Imm O-A visa now require Thai issued health insurance -- this may not be from all Immigration offices (tho' I've yet to see an exception), but from most. (See your related para 7 quote, below, which conflicts with your above quote related to extensions.)

 

That quote was from your Non Imm O section. The following quote is from the Non Imm O-A section:

But that's not true, at least for the time being. Retirement extensions emanating from Non Imm O visas do NOT require a health insurance policy.

I think you might have misunderstood the first paragraph I’m not exactly sure but most of what they wrote was accurate except for a few minor details that actually might be true at SOME immigration offices but for the most part it was extremely accurate and detailed information. I’m glad they took the time to write this. Overall it’s pretty darn good information!! Happy New Year. ???? 

[DennisE]

6 minutes ago, Martyp said:

You don't need any insurance to switch from an extension based on marriage to an extension based on retirement (starting from a non-O). You will need to meet the different financial requirements which is basically more money in the bank. If you are already here on an extension based on marriage there is no particular advantage to switching.  

Oh yeah the money is not an issue but I was pretty much thinking exactly what you said. Although the 5 year visa sounds pretty good since I actually do qualify for it so I may look into that possibly. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, DennisE said:

I think you might have misunderstood the first paragraph I’m not exactly sure but most of what they wrote was accurate except for a few minor details that actually might be true at SOME immigration offices but for the most part it was extremely accurate and detailed information. I’m glad they took the time to write this. Overall it’s pretty darn good information!! Happy New Year. ???? 

Yes, it's a laudable effort, and I agree it's a good introduction to the different options.  But for sure it is not fully correct, accurate or complete.  I already promised them to review the text and provide suggestions, corrections and amendments where necessary.  So be on the look-out for the updated version.

Happy New Year to you too. ???? 

 

[DennisE]

6 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

This is not correct.  Health insurance is ONLY required when applying for an extension of stay based on your original OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT.  When you are married to a thai national, and the extension of your permission to stay based on your original OA Visa is due, you can apply for reason of MARRIAGE and then NO health-insurance is required.  The requirements for both extensions are different, and the extension for reason of marriage has the additional bonus that the financials required are approximately halved.

“Health insurance is ONLY required when applying for an extension of stay based on your original OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT“. Oh ah ha that makes sense based on the retirement visa, that statement actually fills in a missing blank in my mind as far as how that works. But like I said I’m on a NON O so it doesn’t matter but I’ve been watching that issue just in case. It doesn’t effect me. 

[DennisE]

2 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, it's a laudable effort, and I agree it's a good introduction to the different options.  But for sure it is not fully correct, accurate or complete.  I already promised them to review the text and provide suggestions, corrections and amendments where necessary.  So be on the look-out for the updated version.

Happy New Year to you too. ???? 

 

Thanks and I noticed that as well but overall it’s pretty informative and mostly accurate and someone took the time to write this for us for free from the attorney’s office which was actually really nice ???? of them. 

[Alotoftravel]

It would be great if This could be shown to the Thai immigration to show them what we have to go through and how inconsistent it is between immigration offices. This is Open to suggestions for improvement!

[Peter Denis]

33 minutes ago, DennisE said:

I was thinking about switching to a retirement visa when I turn 50 because I am retired here but I’m not going to get all of my insurance paperwork for that so I’ll stay on my NON O marriage extension ...

Why on earth would you switch from a Non Imm O or OA Visa based on MARRIAGE, to one based on RETIREMENT?

For the OA - retirement extension you would have to meet the expensive and worthless thai-approved health-insurance requirement (which most OA - retirement Visa holders are seeking to get rid off).

And the financial requirements for both an O or OA - retirement Visa extension are way higher than for an O or OA Visa based on marriage.

The only advantage would be less paperwork when doing your extension, but since you already are on an O - marriage extension, that is hardly an issue.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Peter Denis

[DennisE]

2 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Why on earth would you switch from a Non Imm O or OA Visa based on MARRIAGE, to one based on RETIREMENT?

For the OA - retirement extension you would have to meet the expensive and worthless thai-approved health-insurance requirement (which most OA - retirement holders are seeking to get rid off).

And the financial requirements for both an O or OA - retirement Visa extension are way higher than for an O or OA Visa based on marriage.

The only advantage would be less paperwork when doing your extension, but since you already are on an O - marriage extension, that is hardly an issue.

Oh yeah I know I was thinking about it a long time ago but that’s exactly why I’m not going to do that I totally understand that. The only thing good about the NON OA compared to the NON O is that it gets approved faster for extensions other than that you’re exactly right. I might consider upgrading to the 5 year visa but aside from that I’m perfectly satisfied with my NON O extension based on marriage. 

[Alotoftravel]

Oh yeah the money is not an issue but I was pretty much thinking exactly what you said. Although the 5 year visa sounds pretty good since I actually do qualify for it so I may look into that possibly. 

Edited 12 minutes ago by Dennis
 

i believe o x can only be obtained outside the country.

i do not think you can go in to get an o x I Thailand. Correct me if I am wrong 

[DennisE]

Actually I’m more than happy with my NON O extension based on marriage but I might look into the 5 year visa since apparently I actually am qualified for it. I’ve heard it is expensive just to apply for it so I don’t know yet if it’s worth it but I am qualified. For now I am fine on my NON O most definitely. 

[DennisE]

3 minutes ago, Alotoftravel said:

Oh yeah the money is not an issue but I was pretty much thinking exactly what you said. Although the 5 year visa sounds pretty good since I actually do qualify for it so I may look into that possibly. 

Edited 12 minutes ago by Dennis
 

i believe o x can only be obtained outside the country.

i do not think you can go in to get an o x I Thailand. Correct me if I am wrong 

Yeah I know you have to find out first which Thai embassies actually issue it. I’ve read about it before. 

[DennisE]

I mean I make well over in excess of 100K baht a month and I also have my TSP account and US bank accounts in the states as well as my SCB account here. I’d definitely want to research it a little more but I am qualified for the 5 year visa but for now I’m perfectly happy with my NON O extension based on marriage. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, DennisE said:

Yeah I know you have to find out first which Thai embassies actually issue it. I’ve read about it before. 

On the embassy in Washington or of one of the 3 official consulates would issue it. It has to applied for in your home country.

[DennisE]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

On the embassy in Washington or of one of the 3 official consulates would issue it. It has to applied for in your home country.

Oh in your home country ok yeah I’ll just stay on my NON O based on marriage then I’m cool with that. Thanks Joe. I might still look into it but we’re probably going back to the states in like the next 5 to 10 years anyway maybe I don’t know yet. Happy New Year @ubonjoe. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[DennisE]

Well thanks this was extremely informative I’m definitely gonna save this information! Happy New Year. This is why ThaiVisa is still a good place to get local information especially posted in English overall. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[NoshowJones]

I honestly don't think there is any point in studying all this, with the greatest respect to the OP, Thailands immigration rules change all the time, different offices and officers have different interpretations of the rules.

 

There is really only one way, if you want to know about anything, get in touch with your local IO, personally if possible, and ask them what you want to know, but be aware that any answer you get can change anytime in the near or distant future.

[Pattaya46]

24 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

// Thailands immigration rules change all the time, different offices and officers have different interpretations of the rules

A rumour largely exaggerated on this forum. Not so many change of rules in the last 10 years if your really look at them. An all officers seems to follow the same rules in my Immigration Office (Jomtien).

[pennine]

I don't know if I missed something, but in the extension section it reads that the SECOND non-O extension is the same as for non-OA, i.e. needs medical insurance. Surely that's not correct?

pennine

[NoshowJones]

47 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

A rumour largely exaggerated on this forum. Not so many change of rules in the last 10 years if your really look at them. An all officers seems to follow the same rules in my Immigration Office (Jomtien).

Jomtien is only one office, and the interpretation of the rules of IOs all over the country certainly differs.

It is not a rumour on this forum being largely exaggerated I can assure you, and I am certain the

immigration experts on this forum will back me up on this.

[JimGant]

2 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

This is not correct.  Health insurance is ONLY required when applying for an extension of stay based on your original OA Visa for reason of RETIREMENT.  When you are married to a thai national, and the extension of your permission to stay based on your original OA Visa is due, you can apply for reason of MARRIAGE and then NO health-insurance is required.

Right. Go back and re-read what I said -- I guess I should have darkened the word "retirement," which I'll now do.

 

"If you mean health insurance, all retirement extensions ...."

 

I'm well on my way to getting my US marriage certificate blessed by the Amphur, in order to go the marriage extension route the next time. This is being discussed in another thread -- which is easy to overlook, as we have so many interrelated threads on this insurance subject ongoing. Hopefully, as things solidify, we can have a 'go to' thread for the latest nitty gritty. I applaud Isaanlawyers for a step in this direction.

[Pattaya46]

4 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

// the interpretation of the rules of IOs all over the country certainly differs.

It is not a rumour on this forum being largely exaggerated //

It's not what I was talking about. The exaggerated part is on :

- the number of rules changes in the last 10 or 20 years. Very few in fact.

- different officers having different rules in a same Immigration Office.

 

Yes rules are not exactly the same between different offices, but how is it a real problem when we usually use only one office. We just need to know the rules that apply to our office. We don't really need to care (or even know) about rules in other offices.

[NoshowJones]

4 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

It's not what I was talking about. The exaggerated part is on :

- the number of rules changes in the last 10 or 20 years. Very few in fact.

- different officers having different rules in a same Immigration Office.

 

Yes rules are not exactly the same between different offices, but how is it a real problem when we usually use only one office. We just need to know the rules that apply to our office. We don't really need to care (or even know) about rules in other offices.

You are only thinking of yourself, probably only living a baht bus ride from your office, but what about others? According to Thaivisa members, Jomtein office does have a good reputation, but there are others who do not.

[DennisE]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I honestly don't think there is any point in studying all this, with the greatest respect to the OP, Thailands immigration rules change all the time, different offices and officers have different interpretations of the rules.

 

There is really only one way, if you want to know about anything, get in touch with your local IO, personally if possible, and ask them what you want to know, but be aware that any answer you get can change anytime in the near or distant future.

Uhm immigration has only changed once like a year ago for the first time in decades it’s not that bad. Aside from that there was the insurance thing for NON OAs other than that nothing since last year has changed. This is a little bit of what I was talking about earlier about people always over exaggerating online about immigration. 

Edited December 27, 2019 by DennisE

[DennisE]

1 hour ago, Pattaya46 said:

A rumour largely exaggerated on this forum. Not so many change of rules in the last 10 years if your really look at them. An all officers seems to follow the same rules in my Immigration Office (Jomtien).

I don’t know about Jomtein but yes you’re exactly right and I’ve been saying that for 5 years since I first moved here there’s a lot of exaggerating on here and sometimes false information which is why it is really good to see this original post from the attorneys. This REALLY killed all of the rumors and false information once and for all at least for a while anyway. So again thanks so much to the OP for posting this information this is really helpful and great ???? information!! 

[DennisE]

1 hour ago, pennine said:

I don't know if I missed something, but in the extension section it reads that the SECOND non-O extension is the same as for non-OA, i.e. needs medical insurance. Surely that's not correct?

pennine

???? ha ha nope I’ve been living here for 5 years now on a NON O and I’ve absolutely confirmed with my immigration office that it’s only required for new NON OA visas issued at the embassies only. No way anyone can continue to sprinkle doubt on the system now even the attorneys have confirmed it. I’ve had 5 NON O extensions and I can assure you that you’re misunderstanding.