OA Visa Expiring While Abroad

[suzannegoh]

I have a Non-OA visa that I've extended annually for several years and it needs to be extended again in April of this year.  If I was going to be in-country at the time I’d be able to meet all the requirements to get it extended on the basis or either retirement or marriage.  However I have a need to be in Europe from February to May and it won’t be possible to return to Thailand to do the visa extension.  It occurred to me to just let the OA visa expire while I’m in Europe and then re-enter Thailand as a tourist and then within 2 weeks apply for a Non-O visa at a local immigration office.  Should that work?  I’m thinking that it might solve both the problem of not being in-country to extend the OA and relieve me of the need to buy a Thai Health Insurance Policy.  I need to stay in Thailand at least through the end of 2020 before repatriating to my home country.

[jacko45k]

Should work fine. 

Obviously the Non-Imm O will only take you through to August or so. So perhaps you will get another 12 month extension of it. 

Edited January 15, 2020 by jacko45k

[DrJack54]

OP, good idea. In fact some people doing extensions who previously had O-A are changing to non o for the very reason you mention. Rubbish insurance. 

In their case they need leave Thailand to "kill off" the OA. Your lucky. BTW you could reenter May on visa exempt and do conversion to non o at immigration.

[KhunBENQ]

21 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

BTW you could reenter May on visa exempt and do conversion to non o at immigration.

Or - if possible/convenient - get an ordinary/single Non O visa in your home country from which you can directly apply for one year extension about 2 months after entry.

As far as I know you can get the Non 0 also at another country where you stay (not only in home country).

Edited January 15, 2020 by KhunBENQ

[elviajero]

As you’re married the best option would be to get a Single Entry O visa while in Europe. That should be easier than getting one in-country when you return.

[oldcpu]

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

As you’re married the best option would be to get a Single Entry O visa while in Europe. That should be easier than getting one in-country when you return.

I am not convinced that is the OP's best option.

 

My understanding is if married to a Thai, then there is no need to prove health insurance (although I happen to believe health insurance a good idea). 

 

A single Entry O will not go for 1 year (one will need an extension).  However a Type-OA based on marriage, will give one almost 2 years, if one times a short departure/re-entry to Thailand just around the Type-OA visa expiry date.  Again, this is a Type-OA based on marriage (and where any subsequent extension will be based on marriage) and not based on retirement.

[elviajero]

6 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

As you’re married the best option would be to get a Single Entry O visa while in Europe. That should be easier than getting one in-country when you return.

I am not convinced that is the OP's best option.

 

My understanding is if married to a Thai, then there is no need to prove health insurance (although I happen to believe health insurance a good idea). 

 

A single Entry O will not go for 1 year (one will need an extension).  However a Type-OA based on marriage, will give one almost 2 years, if one times a short departure/re-entry to Thailand just around the Type-OA visa expiry date.  Again, this is a Type-OA based on marriage (and where any subsequent extension will be based on marriage) and not based on retirement.

My advice was based on the OP's idea to apply for the Non O in Thailand. It is much easier (usually) to get the visa before entering the country.

 

You can't get a Non O-A based on marriage. It's for over 50's and now requires insurance. If the OP can meet the O-A financials and is happy to pay for insurance, I agree that it's a good option.

[oldcpu]

32 minutes ago, elviajero said:

You can't get a Non O-A based on marriage. It's for over 50's and now requires insurance. If the OP can meet the O-A financials and is happy to pay for insurance, I agree that it's a good option.

Indeed I stand corrected. 

 

I just now (after reading yuor post) checked the website for the German consulate where I obtained my Type-OA based on retirement in March-2019, and its been updated.  When I applied in March-2019 they suggested then I go for a Visa based on Marriage (as I have a Thai wife, and money requirements were less), but money was not an issue so I stayed with the Type-OA based on 'retirement', which I obtained (I am over 50).  Also, my marriage was not then, registered in Thailand, and that presented a complication for me (wrt a Visa based on marriage).

 

But checking their website now (  https://thaigeneralkonsulat.de/de/visaangelegenheiten.html ), its been updated, and I see they only list "retirement" as the rationale for a Type-OA visa (which has the insurance proof requirements), and if one wishes to use 'marriage'  as a rationale, then one must go for the Type-O. 

 

Ergo as you point out, Type-O is the approach to adopt, if one does not wish to be forced to select an insurance company from the rather restricted Thai 'approved' insurance company list.  My experience is few International Insurance companies will agree to fill in the Thai Foreign Insurance Certificate form.

.

Edited January 15, 2020 by oldcpu

[statman78]

As a US citizen it was easier for me to get a SETV, enter Thailand then apply for my non-imm-O visa while in Thailand.  If I applied for the O Visa in the US I needed bank statements, security cheek, health certificate and a few other things.  When applying for the O visa within Thailand all I needed was to show the money in the bank.  The O is good for 90 days.  During the last 30 days I applied for an extension bases on retirement.

[jimn]

Your visa expired years ago. Now if you are refering to an extension of your permission to stay thats something else.

[suzannegoh]

19 hours ago, elviajero said:

My advice was based on the OP's idea to apply for the Non O in Thailand. It is much easier (usually) to get the visa before entering the country.

 

You can't get a Non O-A based on marriage. It's for over 50's and now requires insurance. If the OP can meet the O-A financials and is happy to pay for insurance, I agree that it's a good option.

The insurance issue is secondary - more of an irritant than an actual problem.  I have an excellent health insurance policy underwritten outside of Thailand.  It has high limits and is good worldwide.  It's irritating that the Thais might force me to buy a crappy locally underwritten policy on top of that but if I really had to I would.

The main issue to me is just to be able to stay legally in Thailand after my OA expires.

Edited January 16, 2020 by suzannegoh

[suzannegoh]

1 hour ago, jimn said:

Your visa expired years ago. Now if you are refering to an extension of your permission to stay thats something else.

I'm aware of that distinction and I apologize if I used the wrong word in parts of my original post. 

[wahpiangeh56]

no apologies needed suzannegoh. We are all in the same <deleted>....

[lamyai3]

On 1/16/2020 at 12:50 PM, suzannegoh said:

The insurance issue is secondary - more of an irritant than an actual problem.  I have an excellent health insurance policy underwritten outside of Thailand.  It has high limits and is good worldwide.  It's irritating that the Thais might force me to buy a crappy locally underwritten policy on top of that but if I really had to I would.

The main issue to me is just to be able to stay legally in Thailand after my OA expires.

Since you won't be in country to extend, you'll be back at square one with visa options. But given that you have the finances here already allowing you to convert a Non O to an extension, it should be fairly straightforward. Better to forget the Non O-A as an option, this is now best suited to those who choose to purchase the insurance in order to avoid the need to bring in the 400 or 800k.