UK online visa application No option for O-A visa

[Tim16]

The London Embassy will now issue Certificate of Entry for holders of Non-Immigrant O-A visas so I have been trying to apply on -https://thaievisa.go.th/Home

Have registered ok but on step2 Purpose Of Visit the only option from drop down menu is Non- Immigrant visa Visiting or staying with applicant’s family

And from the visa type menu only Non-Immigrant visa (O) shows , no option for O-A visa !

Where am I going wrong? I can not apply directly to the Embassy only on line.

[DrJack54]

OP, This is a reply from poster in another thread. I was basically saying that COE not available from non O-A retirement.

He pointed out that he indeed had already obtained one. UK.. Below is his reply.

 

 I am in the UK and have an O-A visa based on retirement (no Thai wife or kids).  I applied and received a Certificate of Entry last week.  It was surprisingly easy.  The system is very efficient although the instructions have clearly been written by someone who does not have English as a first language and at times they are a little ambiguous but no real problems.  

 

Stage 1

To get the pre-clearance you need to upload scans of your passport, visa and in my case re-entry permit.  You also need to upload your insurance.  I simply used my UK travel insurance policy.  It was reject first time as my policy did not specifically say that it covered Covid medical expenses up to $100,000.  My Insurance Company kindly re-issued my policy with a line saying that it covered Covid emergency health expenses up to £6M and that application went through in under 24 hrs with no problem. 

 

Stage 2

To get the Certificate of Entry the London Embassy accepts hotel and flight reservations i.e. you do not have to pay for everything before you get the Certificate of Entry.   Many hotels insist that you pay the full price upfront (which I did for expediency reasons).  I am flying from Gatwick with Qatar.  When I was booking the flight and came to the payment section they give you two options 1) pay the full price or 2) reserve the flight which I did - it cost me £15 to hold the reservation for 72 hrs (not offset against the cost of the actual flight if you subsequently book.  I scanned in my hotel booking and flight reservation and again within 24hrs I was able to print out my Certificate of Entry.

 

Be aware that the Certificate of Entry states very clearly: the date of travel; the flight number and the hotel that you will be staying in.  So I doubt if you would be able to change any of these without going through the whole process again.  I have a Covid test due next week and assuming that it's negative I am booked to fly back to Thailand 16 October barring any disasters.  Apologies for the length of this post but I had to cover a lot of ground.  I hope some of you find it helpful. 

 

All the very best of luck to all of you who are also trying to go home.  I really hope that the authorities also allow the retirees with "O" vistas to return very soon.  

[Max69xl]

The O-A Visa is in the list under category Non-immigrant. I just logged in and checked. Look at the screenshot.

Edited October 9, 2020 by Max69xl

[Upnotover]

1 hour ago, Tim16 said:

Have registered ok but on step2 Purpose Of Visit the only option from drop down menu is Non- Immigrant visa Visiting or staying with applicant’s family

Wrong purpose of visit.  See below;

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Upnotover

[howerde]

Try, log into site delete any previous attempts/applications even if you did not finish application you might also have to amend dates to go back a few years

it seems as if the site retains info on previous attempts, if this fails then try setting up a new account with a different email address

Edited October 9, 2020 by howerde
edit

[Tim16]

18 hours ago, howerde said:

Try, log into site delete any previous attempts/applications even if you did not finish application you might also have to amend dates to go back a few years

it seems as if the site retains info on previous attempts, if this fails then try setting up a new account with a different email address

Thanks, that worked forgotten that I had tried to apply quite a while ago, deleted previous attempts and now O-A visa application shows in menu.