UK Passport Retiree with valid O visa

[Sheryl]

I wonder if the various people who had to get other visas to obtain a COE, but also have a valid re-entry permit based on extension of stay for retirement, could once they reach Thailand enter on the re-entry permit rather than the new visa? Might be worth someone trying.  If refused then show the new visa.

[TerraplaneGuy]

4 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Hi, you can ONLY apply for a new Non Imm O-A Visa at a Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country (or in the country where you have legal permanent residency).

But re the issue you mention about applying for a new Visa at the Thai Embassy when the permission to stay (protected by a Re-Entry Permit) of your current Visa is still valid, there have been mixed reports on that issue.

Some applicants were successful doing that, and others have been denied a new Visa because of their present one still valid (although not clear whether they applied with a still valid Visa or with a still valid permission to stay from an extension of their original Visa).

So in order to avoid any problems, it would be recommended to enquire beforehand at the Embassy whether it would create any issues.  And if so, you also have of course the option to first apply for a new passport (which would cover your tracks re that still valid permission to stay).

About your last point, does the Thai Immigration Bureau not keep track of issued visas/extensions by the holder’s name as well as passport number?  I’m a bit surprised that one could “cover one’s tracks” simply by getting a new passport (although I know their systems are not exactly state of the art).  

[radjag]

I very much doubt that acquiring a fresh passport with the same name and other details will "cover your tracks".

 

It is quite hard for me to meet all of the requirements for an O-A or O-X here in USA. I am a UK passport older and because of COVID have become a "documented illegal" so asking a Federal Bureau to give me documentation is problematic.

 

So, I will submit an application for a TR visa as soon as I get my ALQ hotel confirmation, I've now got everything else in hand. Fingers crossed.

 

I will try to renew/replace my Retirement Extension as soon as I clear Quarantine. If that turns out to be impossible, so be it, I will extend as long as I can beyond 90 days then, hopefully, return to USA. Once I am "legal" again in USA I could then apply for an O-X in due course.

[Peter Denis]

4 hours ago, radjag said:

...

I will try to renew/replace my Retirement Extension as soon as I clear Quarantine. If that turns out to be impossible, so be it, I will extend as long as I can beyond 90 days then, hopefully, return to USA. Once I am "legal" again in USA I could then apply for an O-X in due course.

When you re-enter Thailand on the 60-day Tourist Visa you plan to apply for, you will not be able to renew/replace your current Retirement Extension.

You would have to apply at the local IO of the province where you intend to stay in Thailand for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.  This has to be done when you still have at least 15 days (some IOs require 23 days) left on the permission to stay stamped in your passport when you entered Thailand on that 60-day Tourist Visa.

You would also need to meet the financial requirements for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.  The easiest way for US, UK and Australian passport-holders is to park +800.000 THB on a Thai personal bank-account (a joint one is not accepted by IO), and you would need to show a bank-statement and account-balance of those +800K at the moment of application for that 90-day Non Imm O Visa.  

At the end of the 90-days permission to stay that 90-day Visa provides you, you could then apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on that Non Imm O Visa.  The 800K must have been seasoned for at least 2 months when applying for that 1-year extension of stay.  And you would need to keep those 800K for 3 months after permission to stay arrival, after which the amount can be lowered to 400K for 7 months, and you would need to top up again to 800K for the two months preceding your NEXT 1-year extension of stay application.

So you need NOT return to USA, you can simply keep on applying annually for 1-year extension of stay based on that Non Imm O Visa

>> I did PM you a comprehensive guideline document outlining the process on how to apply/convert to a Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Peter Denis

[Peter Denis]

12 hours ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

About your last point, does the Thai Immigration Bureau not keep track of issued visas/extensions by the holder’s name as well as passport number?  I’m a bit surprised that one could “cover one’s tracks” simply by getting a new passport (although I know their systems are not exactly state of the art).  

I should have used other words than 'cover one's tracks', because it sounds as if you are doing something illegal and of course that is not the case.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, NORMALLY a still valid permission to stay (protected by a ReEntry Permit) will NOT be an obstacle to apply for a new Visa at a Thai Embassy/Consulate.

However I remember at least one report where a poster mentioned that the Thai Embassy in the Hague (Netherlands) refused to accept his application for a new Visa as his current one was still valid.  It was not clear from his post whether indeed that denial was based on a not yet expired Visa validity date, or on the still valid permission to stay (protected by a Re-Entry Permit) of his already expired current Visa.

The Embassy based their decision on what they saw in his passport, so hence my suggestion to apply first for a new passport when confronted with what is basically an administrative issue, but it can of course be quite annoying if the Re-Entry Permit you bought would be blocking you from applying for a new Visa.