Schedule for entry to Thailand :)

[ThaIrish Sean]

With my business going belly up in the pandemic and minimal help from UK government I have had enough of busting my town halls i am moving to Thailand.

My Thai wife wants to stay in UK in her job for now.  My ThaIrish daughter wants to come with me.

 

1) Do I need to renew my O-A based on marriage before anything else?

2) Pacific Cross for Covid-19 Health Insurance.

3) Apply for COE based on marriage (presuming my wife doesn't have to be in Thailand or travel with us?)

4) Book ASQ (Do they offer free cancellations, should anything go wrong)

5) Book flexible flight

6) Book fit to fly and Covid-19 test 72 hours before flying.

 

Is this the correct order?

 

Please reorder if necessary.  Many thanks for your time.

 

[steve187]

you don't have a non imm 'O''A' visa based on marriage, 

look at the Thai London embassy web site for details

[tonray]

Presuming you get an O Visa based on Marriage, isn't that good for only 90 days ? What do you plan to do for extending that in Thailand if your wife stays in the UK ?

[ubonjoe]

If you get a single entry non-o visa based upon marriage the only insurance you would be required to have is 90 days of coved 19 insurance.

[ThaIrish Sean]

Thank you for your replies.

Still confused as to what visa is best.

Marriage, retirement, anything else?  I have had multi-entry NON-IMM O-visas a few times from Thai Embassy London.

My wife prefers UK to the heat of Thailand so not sure if she will return anytime soon so I guess I cannot rely on a marriage visa then.

Please give me your thoughts.

[ubonjoe]

29 minutes ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Marriage, retirement, anything else? 

A extension of stay based upon being the parent of a Thai. How old is your daughter?

[ThaIrish Sean]

She is 10 and I will enroll her in Tara Pattana School, Pattaya.

She was born in UK but holds a Thai passport.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

She was born in UK but holds a Thai passport.

Is she registered in house book? Does she have a Thai ID card?

[ThaIrish Sean]

Not sure, she may be in the yellow book but no Thai ID card as yet.  i can find out in the morning.  Wife has an early start for work.

Are these options more advantageous than a retirement visa?  I'm 55 and have over 800,000 THB in the bank in Thailand.

Would this be the easiest route?

[jacko45k]

13 minutes ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Not sure, she may be in the yellow book but no Thai ID card as yet.  i can find out in the morning.  Wife has an early start for work.

Are these options more advantageous than a retirement visa?  I'm 55 and have over 800,000 THB in the bank in Thailand.

Would this be the easiest route?

Deleted, subject Visa not Extension....

[ubonjoe]

You could get a single entry non-o based upon marriage or being the parent of a Thai and get a certificate of entry.

Then you could apply for a one year extension based upon retirement at immigration.

[ThaIrish Sean]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Newer requirements mean a retirement extension will tie up your money, you must retain 800k in the bank for 3 months after application, then 400k can be utilized (having to keep 400k for a further 7 months) then back up to 800k to qualify for the next retirement extension. A retirement extension, if it is based on an original O-A Visa entry, also has a medical insurance obligation. Other than that it is easy to obtain..... you will hear varying opinions as to which is easiest. I think the marriage extension is onerous with home visits etc. 

Just worked out how to quote ????  Thanks Jack, I like this idea and having the 800k tied up does not bother me.  It is earning a little interest each month.

I want to have medical insurance anyway, so this is not a deal breaker either.

[ThaIrish Sean]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You could get a single entry non-o based upon marriage or being the parent of a Thai and get a certificate of entry.

Then you could apply for a one year extension based upon retirement at immigration.

This seems to be the way to go.

So to clarify, I have to get the non-o first and then my long list in OP kicks in.  COE etc.

Apart from my daughter needing the fit to fly and Covid test, is there anything else she has to do?

Does she need the Covid insurance as a Thai passport holder?

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

I want to have medical insurance anyway, so this is not a deal breaker either.

Forget about the OA visa since you are bound to using listed TGIA insurance companies. You can have a wider choice by entering on the non-o via and the applying for a extension of stay at immigration.

[ThaIrish Sean]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

Forget about the OA visa since you are bound to using listed TGIA insurance companies. You can have a wider choice by entering on the non-o via and the applying for a extension of stay at immigration.

Thanks Joe, I will get the ball rolling tomorrow. Sleep for me  ????  look forward to any other posts.

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Apart from my daughter needing the fit to fly and Covid test, is there anything else she has to do?

Does she need the Covid insurance as a Thai passport holder?

if she travels with you on a normal flight she will need a covid 19 test and a fit to fly certificate to stay in a ASQ hotel. No need for the insurance as a Thai national.

[Tounge Thaied]

Having just gone through the Non-Immigrant O based upon Marriage to re-enter in September, the Thai embassy Los Angeles was very accommodating and paperwork requirements and flow were very doable... seemingly this is the preferred VISA right now, meaning the requirements are less arduous. I did the entire process start to arrival BKK in two months. You clearly have three different options, wife, child and retirement. Like Ubonjoe points out, the retirement route is the most onerous. Once here, just need to show the 400,000 or 800,000 in the bank two months ahead of the application for the respective extensions of the 90 day visa. 

[CanadaSam]

I don't know if this will apply, but it would be advisable to get your wife to sign a "no objection" letter to her daughter traveling with you to Thailand.

 

Have a safe journey!

[khunPer]

15 hours ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Not sure, she may be in the yellow book but no Thai ID card as yet.  i can find out in the morning.  Wife has an early start for work.

Are these options more advantageous than a retirement visa?  I'm 55 and have over 800,000 THB in the bank in Thailand.

Would this be the easiest route?

You don't need to choose condition for extension of stay upon entry, as @ubonjoesays. In my opinion and experience, extension of stay based on retirement – when having 800k baht in a bank deposit, and even better if you can afford to just leave them in a 12-month fixed bank account – is the most convenient way to stay here, with lowest amount of paperwork.

 

You cannot enter at the moment on a non-immigrant "O-A" visa, which is a special long-stay visa for retirees, you'll need a normal non-immigrant "O" visa based on marriage, or being parent to Thai child. That gives you 90 days of stay upon arrival. 30 days before expiry of stay, you can apply for a 1-year extension of stay based on retirement.

 

You only need the Covid-19 insurance upon entry – you can find approved online insurance HERE – and the "normal" permission for entry under Covid-19 conditions, including ASQ.

 

For a health insurance you are free to shop around, the special 400k+40k baht insurances for O-A visas might not be the best bargains. You might be able to use a travel insurance for the first short period, but travel insurance will repatriate to you home country, i.e. UK, but it gives you other benefits while travelling. Health insurance is often debated, so you might find some helpful answers searching in Thaivisa forum.

 

Wish you good luck...????

[tonray]

4 minutes ago, khunPer said:

You cannot enter at the moment on a non-immigrant "O-A" visa, which is a special long-stay visa for retirees,

O-A visas are currently allowed to apply via COE process as are O-X holders

[ThaIrish Sean]

Thank you so much guys, all your valued advice is much appreciated.

I will apply for a non-imm o based on marriage and change it to an OA in Thailand.

Sad to say the UK/Europe is in a mess and the economic fallout will last a few years  ;( 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, ThaIrish Sean said:

Thank you so much guys, all your valued advice is much appreciated.

I will apply for a non-imm o based on marriage and change it to an OA in Thailand.

Sad to say the UK/Europe is in a mess and the economic fallout will last a few years  ;( 

Just a clarification on terminology (as it can avoid confusion in the future).

The "visa" has classes (Non O, Non O-A, Non O-X, Non B etic) 

When you extend your permission to stay in Thailand, you are not changing the visa class of the visa you used to enter the country. You extend your permission to stay based on a "reason" or "necessity".

Thus, you are getting a Non O visa based on marriage to a Thai to be used to enter Thailand and provide an initial 90-day stay. You are subsequently going to extend your permission to stay based on the reason "retirement". This has nothing to do with changing visa classes.

[jomtienisgood]

On 11/2/2020 at 7:11 AM, tonray said:

Presuming you get an O Visa based on Marriage, isn't that good for only 90 days ? What do you plan to do for extending that in Thailand if your wife stays in the UK ?

What a question; Find a new one, sorry , bad joke.....but couldn't resist

[jomtienisgood]

14 hours ago, khunPer said:

You don't need to choose condition for extension of stay upon entry, as @ubonjoesays. In my opinion and experience, extension of stay based on retirement – when having 800k baht in a bank deposit, and even better if you can afford to just leave them in a 12-month fixed bank account – is the most convenient way to stay here, with lowest amount of paperwork.

 

You cannot enter at the moment on a non-immigrant "O-A" visa, which is a special long-stay visa for retirees, you'll need a normal non-immigrant "O" visa based on marriage, or being parent to Thai child. That gives you 90 days of stay upon arrival. 30 days before expiry of stay, you can apply for a 1-year extension of stay based on retirement.

 

You only need the Covid-19 insurance upon entry – you can find approved online insurance HERE – and the "normal" permission for entry under Covid-19 conditions, including ASQ.

 

For a health insurance you are free to shop around, the special 400k+40k baht insurances for O-A visas might not be the best bargains. You might be able to use a travel insurance for the first short period, but travel insurance will repatriate to you home country, i.e. UK, but it gives you other benefits while travelling. Health insurance is often debated, so you might find some helpful answers searching in Thaivisa forum.

 

Wish you good luck...????

Please correct me if I'm wrong,as far as I always understood the xxxxdeposit cannot be in a "fixed deposit account"; 

[ubonjoe]

28 minutes ago, jomtienisgood said:

Please correct me if I'm wrong,as far as I always understood the xxxxdeposit cannot be in a "fixed deposit account"; 

You are wrong. They are allowed as long as the funds are immediately available without any penalty other than loss of interest.

[jomtienisgood]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You are wrong. They are allowed as long as the funds are immediately available without any penalty other than loss of interest.

AHHHHH, forgot about that little note; Thanks for update.

[ThaIrish Sean]

My gazillions were in a fixed no access account but it has matured so I can now withdraw it at any time.......so the girl told me in Bangkok Bank