3 minutes ago, david_je said:

You mean if we make the trip for purpose of O-A to O conversion and return visa exempt by air, we should purchase air ticket out of country within 30 days just to show in case it's asked for, and then get the ticket refunded?

Most airlines will insist you have a ticket out of the country within 30 days. You could buy a low cost one way ticket to any nearby country from any airport here to show them.

11 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

I did this because people keep referring to visa's and that's why I did visa/extension and it it doesn't take much to realise what I meant but I did state it was only approval to apply which looks like it's going through as he had the imm home visit as my wife went round to their house as witness again. And the reason I didn't mention him going out of the country was because he didn't need to, Ubon Joe didn't correct me so he obviously understood what I was trying to convey ...........

OK. Sorry if I came across a bit testy in the post to which you responded, but Rayong are also my immigration office, and marriage would also be available to me as an alternative to retirement as the reason for future annual extensions. But relieved to learn from your "100% correct" comment that they wouldn't force me to exit the country for a fresh non-O visa as a prerequisite to making such a switch!

 

@flexomike - this might also be of interest to you.

 

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If your visa had already expired and you had a re-entry permit for a entry from it you would have to wait for it to expire or have less than 30 days remaining or immigration would insist on using it instead of doing a 30 day visa exempt entry.

If you still had valid OA visa you would have to use it for entry.

So if my O-A stay/re-entry permit is still valid when I return by air, but there's less than 30 days remaining, do I tell the IO, "I would like to enter visa exempt instead"? And if IO asks me why, do I say, "So I can apply for non-O"?

18 minutes ago, david_je said:

So if my O-A stay/re-entry permit is still valid when I return by air, but there's less than 30 days remaining, do I tell the IO, "I would like to enter visa exempt instead"? And if IO asks me why, do I say, "So I can apply for non-O"?

They may not ask you why. But applying for a new visa might be a good answer if asked.

I just received a message from for a person that left the country with 7 days remaining on his extension, re-entered the country visa exempt at a land border crossing, applied for the visa and  got his 90 day visa stamp yesterday.

On 2/5/2020 at 2:04 PM, flexomike said:

just got back from there, it was packed today

I went there today and it was packed but for family extensions (ie marriage) it was quiet and we were out within 1.5 hours after queuing but my wife had picked their brains 2 weeks before going there as a witness and we presented our paperwork (in duplicate) in the correct order.

On 2/8/2020 at 10:12 AM, david_je said:

I noted that as well. So it would good to hear from anyone with actual recent experience who held O-A based on retirement and left country, came back before O-A stay expired and chose to enter visa exempt instead, with purpose of converting to Non-O at CW.

Come to think of it, even if you returned after O-A had already expired, could you be questioned about entering visa exempt (as tourist) and would need that ticket and funds on hand?

I used the following advice written by a knowledgeable person and it worked.

 

Seeing as there is NO way to change from an O-A visa/extension to an O visa/extension inside the country (without leaving once); he has 3 choices

 

IF he wants to get a yearly extension from his original O-A visa he gets thai insurance,

 

OR

 

He can go back to the US (where he can use his american insurance to get NEW O-A visa from the thai consulate he used before,

 

OR

 

he can exit the country just before his O-A visa/extension expires, re-enter the country on a 30 day visa exempt entry and immediately go to the CM immigration office and apply for a 90 day Non-O visa in country. The application goes under consideration for 20 days then he goes back and gets the Non-O visa and a new 90 day stamp inked in. He waits until there are 45 days or less left on that and then applies for a year extension. AND he will *not* need insurance

 

Question: Will Immigration say anything about him bouncing out when this O-A visa entry expires and getting a 30 day visa exempt entry in order to transition into an O?

 

Answer: believe me, Immigration knows that people are switching off those OA visas to non-O's

 

Question: So switching to an O won’t be a problem with Immigration, right?

 

Answer:  a LOT of people do it.  Keep in mind he will need 21 days left on his 30 day visa exempt entry stamp to apply for the Non-O in country meaning when he bounces out and in and gets that new 30 day visa exempt entry he needs to hurry up and get on over to the immigration office ASAP and apply for the 90 day Non-O.   Have him stop by the immigration office BEFORE he bounces out and get the hand out that lists the requirements he needs to meet so he knows what he's doing OR send him back to the US to get a new O-A using his US insurance. That will get him another 2 years of stay here

 

Question: Ok so then just apply for O based on RETIREMENT.  Just be upfront about the Retirement part, right? Just write that on the application, right?

  

Answer: Yep It will go under review for 20 days then he will go back and get the no o Visa stamped in his passport along with a new 90-day stamp It cost 2000 baht.

 

Thai immigration website lists the papers you need for an O visa.  But in Feb 2020 at Chiang Mai Immigration they want things that are not on the website list.  Here are the additional things they tell you in person that you need but only after you’ve waited for hours and hours with your queue number to speak to an employee whom you thought would be processing your visa packet but who is now telling you to go home, to the bank and to the Land Office and get *all these other things*.

If you are showing 800,000 baht in a Thai bank CM Immigration wants not only the letter from your Thai bank stating your balance but they also want

a)      a letter from the bank stating the specific deposits labeled ‘FTT’ (foreign transfers) in your bank book are actually in your bank passbook (even though you and they can see them in your passbook).  They want to know for sure where your money is coming from.  Even if it has been there months and months, or even a year.

b)      A printout of your Thai bank *statement* (in addition to copies of your passbook pages (get your bank to do it cause the bank will put their seal on it)

c)       A printout of your foreign bank account *statement* showing the money coming out of your foreign bank account which time and amounts should ‘coincide’ with the deposit/transfer into your Thai bank acct.

d)      A letter from you saying “This is to confirm I want an O visa to live in Thailand (retire) and that the source of my income is from my (fill in the blank) savings in (fill in the blank: America, Europe, etc)

e)      Your Thai bank passbook must show the *very same date* on it as the date when you hand in your application.  If you haven’t done a recent transaction your passbook may show the previous days date on it.  To make it current for Immigration purposes, you need to withdraw, say, a hundred baht, then reinsert your passbook in the update machine.  And you must make a photocopy of that.  If Immigration makes you come back the next day you must do this ritual all over again.  Note if you are planning on going to Immigration first thing in the  morning that most banks are not open then and you may have a hard time finding an outdoor ‘update passbook’ machine.  Have one staked out already.  And a copy machine or shop that can make a copy—you’ll need that, too, before you go into CM Immigration.  The copy shop across the street from CM Immigration may not be open that early, but it may not matter as whatever queue number you are given will probably give you enough time to get the passbook photocopied after the copy shop has already opened.

Before I only needed TM 30 and leases from my condo to show I live at x condo.  Now, however, CM Immigration sent me home (after waiting all day to speak to an agent) so I could spend part of the next day chasing down the

f)       Chanote ‘certified’ copy which must be obtained recently from the Land Office. To get that I had to get an old photocopy from my condo and take that old copy to the Land Office to get the ‘certified’ copy.

g)      ID of the (in my case) Thai person who owns the condo.  His name must also be in the lease.

 

h)      Lease needs to have the condo owners name as person who receives the money from your rental and that name must match the chanote and the ID you are providing.  (Good luck getting the chanote and the ID if the owner lives out of the country.)

i)        Lease needed more than a couple months or so (not sure of time) left on it before CM Immigration would accept it, so I had to get a new lease written. Mine was up in April and I was in Immigration in February so go figure.

 

Also note that the sign in CM Immigration says ‘we take a break from 12-1 PM for lunch’ which may lead you to think you can go out for an hour. But it turns out that sign is only for the people who hand out the queue numbers.  The employees who actually work on processing your visa do not take a break.  If you leave to go out and come back you may find your number has already been called. Good luck on their letting you back in line. They will argue with you saying they can’t do it.  You will need to show them the sign that says ‘break for lunch’ etc.  But they still may not let you back in line.  They will tell you to come back the next day.   If you have a queue number relatively close to the current number on the screen, then do not go away for a long time during the so-called ‘lunch break’.

 

31 minutes ago, KrishnaCameb4Buddha said:

I used the following advice written by a knowledgeable person and it worked.

 

Seeing as there is NO way to change from an O-A visa/extension to an O visa/extension inside the country (without leaving once); he has 3 choices

 

IF he wants to get a yearly extension from his original O-A visa he gets thai insurance,

 

OR

 

He can go back to the US (where he can use his american insurance to get NEW O-A visa from the thai consulate he used before,

 

OR

 

he can exit the country just before his O-A visa/extension expires, re-enter the country on a 30 day visa exempt entry and immediately go to the CM immigration office and apply for a 90 day Non-O visa in country. The application goes under consideration for 20 days then he goes back and gets the Non-O visa and a new 90 day stamp inked in. He waits until there are 45 days or less left on that and then applies for a year extension. AND he will *not* need insurance

 

Question: Will Immigration say anything about him bouncing out when this O-A visa entry expires and getting a 30 day visa exempt entry in order to transition into an O?

 

Answer: believe me, Immigration knows that people are switching off those OA visas to non-O's

 

Question: So switching to an O won’t be a problem with Immigration, right?

 

Answer:  a LOT of people do it.  Keep in mind he will need 21 days left on his 30 day visa exempt entry stamp to apply for the Non-O in country meaning when he bounces out and in and gets that new 30 day visa exempt entry he needs to hurry up and get on over to the immigration office ASAP and apply for the 90 day Non-O.   Have him stop by the immigration office BEFORE he bounces out and get the hand out that lists the requirements he needs to meet so he knows what he's doing OR send him back to the US to get a new O-A using his US insurance. That will get him another 2 years of stay here

 

Question: Ok so then just apply for O based on RETIREMENT.  Just be upfront about the Retirement part, right? Just write that on the application, right?

  

Answer: Yep It will go under review for 20 days then he will go back and get the no o Visa stamped in his passport along with a new 90-day stamp It cost 2000 baht.

 

Useful and correct info.

But two comments >

1. IF he wants to get a yearly extension from his original O-A visa he gets thai insurance,

>>> That is correct when he is only eligible for an extension of stay for reason of RETIREMENT.

When eligible for another reason (e.g. married to a thai national or having a dependant thai child or another reason for which he meets the requirements), he could apply for his OA-extension for that reason and health-insurance would not be required.

2. He can go back to the US (where he can use his american insurance to get NEW O-A visa from the thai consulate he used before.

>>> That is correct PROVIDING he can get his foreign insurance company to fill-in and sign the Foreign Insurance Certificate required when applying for the OA Visa at the US thai embassy.

That is less evident than it sounds > see attached link

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1148315-should-i-switch-from-non-immigrant-retirement-o-to-o-a-visa/?do=findComment&comment=15062952

 

@Peter Denis Hi Peter, can you kindly PM me the roadmap for converting from a Non-OA to a Non-O. 

 

Also, in respect of converting based on Retirement, are you aware of any of the "extra" document requirements for Chaing Mai Immigration such as a) - i) (as outlined by KrishnaCameb4Buddha in Post#97 above) being needed for Chaeng Wattana Immigration as well?

 

Many thanks.

6 minutes ago, yamadajr said:

@Peter Denis Hi Peter, can you kindly PM me the roadmap for converting from a Non-OA to a Non-O. 

 

Also, in respect of converting based on Retirement, are you aware of any of the "extra" document requirements for Chaing Mai Immigration such as a) - i) (as outlined by KrishnaCameb4Buddha in Post#97 above) being needed for Chaeng Wattana Immigration as well?

 

Many thanks.

Hi Yamadajr,

As requested, I just PM-ed you the Roadmap to convert from a Non Imm OA to a Non Imm O - retirement Visa.

 

The ChiangMai IO requirements list as provided by @KrishnaCameb4Buddha for a 1-year extension of stay for a Non Imm O - retirement Visa, is very useful for CM-applicants as indeed it contains several new - not yet officially announced - requirements.

As you undoubtedly know, every IO has the power and discretion to interpret, amend or add to the requirements, and it is well possible and even highly likely that when applying at CW or another IO you would be confronted with other requirements. 

So it's wise to check the Forum for any posts pertaining to your local IO.

And - if not too much trouble - either enquire personally at your local IO or ensure that you meet the 'additional' requirements imposed at other offices, when applying at yours.