Non immigrant OA vs Non immigrant O - Which one and why?

[PhilV]

Hello everyone,

I had been living in Thailand with retirement extensions on a non-O visa for more than 10 years (not married). I went to France to celebrate my dad’s 90^th birthday in early March and got stuck there when my return flight got cancelled. My last extension expired in September, and I need a new visa to come back to Thailand.

I have started to gather everything needed to apply for a non immigrant OA with the Thai embassy in Paris as this was, until a few days ago, the only option available for me. But now, the non immigrant O visa is also an option, and I am a little confused about which one I should apply for.

I think I will have no problem meeting the requirements for either one, but I don’t really understand the advantages or disadvantages of one compared to the other.

Can you please help me understand which one  to choose?

 

Thanks in advance for your help, and special thanks to Peter Denis for his help with the insurance requirements.

 

[DrJack54]

I think that the non o also  requires the same insurance that the non O-A has as a requirement.

I would obtain an non O-A. You can always obtain a non o after couple of years you obtain from the O-A. 

 

[jacko45k]

As I have mentioned before, a future Retirement Extension on an O-A Visa Entry, will have to be supported by Thai medical insurance, whereas a Non-Imm-O Extension, would not.

As to the Visas, a Non-Imm-O-A will require 12 month insurances to match the usual Permission of Stay, a Non-Imm-O, the insurances only need 90  days, to match its permission.

[PhilV]

Thanks DrJack54 and jacko45k for your replies.

 

If I understand correctly, I can get a one year extension of stay based on retirement for both visas, but would need insurance to get the extension on the OA and not on the Non-Imm-O.

The insurance is required to get both the initial visas, and would have to be for 12 months for OA and only 90 days for Non-Imm-O.

It seems it would be less costly to use the Non-Imm-O and then do yearly extensions after the first 90 days like I was doing before.

Is there something I am missing about the Non-Imm-OA that would make it a better option?

Quote

 

 

[DrJack54]

19 minutes ago, PhilV said:

Is there something I am missing about the Non-Imm-OA that would make it a better option?

Nup think you have it covered.

I overlooked the insurance only required for 90 days with the non O (jacko45 points that out).

The choice also depends on personal lifestyle etc. @Peter Denis This guy has listed few benefits re non O-A. 

An obvious one is no requirement for money to be kept in Thai bank. The non O-A is good option for guys that return to home country every couple of years.

 

[Seeall]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I think that the non o also  requires the same insurance that the non O-A has as a requirement.

I would obtain an non O-A. You can always obtain a non o after couple of years you obtain from the O-A. 

 

Looks incorrect!

[Seeall]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

As I have mentioned before, a future Retirement Extension on an O-A Visa Entry, will have to be supported by Thai medical insurance, whereas a Non-Imm-O Extension, would not.

As to the Visas, a Non-Imm-O-A will require 12 month insurances to match the usual Permission of Stay, a Non-Imm-O, the insurances only need 90  days, to match its permission.

I red Non O has NO insurance needs!

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, Seeall said:

Looks incorrect!

The incorrect part is that the insurance for non o is only required for 90 days whereas insurance for non O-A is one year. I referred to that error above.

Do existing extension to non o with reentry permit does not require insurance. A new non o RT visa will require insurance but only for length of permission of stay. 90 days.

[Misab]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I think that the non o also  requires the same insurance that the non O-A has as a requirement.

I would obtain an non O-A. You can always obtain a non o after couple of years you obtain from the O-A. 

 

You should not comment on something you do not know

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, Misab said:

You should not comment on something you do not know

Are you a moderator. I overlooked fact that the insurance for non o only needed 90 day validity. Small oversight. The rest is correct. I made the correction earlier. Read whole thread.

What's your contribution? Zip

[TerraplaneGuy]

I thought the non-Imm O is available only in Thailand and the non-Imm OA is only available outside Thailand.  Since when can you get an O from outside Thailand?

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

I thought the non-Imm O is available only in Thailand and the non-Imm OA is only available outside Thailand.  Since when can you get an O from outside Thailand?

Some embassies and consulates have issued non-o visas for being 50 or over for many years. Some will issue a multiple entry non-o visa on the same basis.

Perhaps you are thinking of extension of stay issued by immigration based upon retirement with non-o visas that can be applied for here in the country.

[DrJack54]

16 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

  Since when can you get an O from outside Thailand?

You can obtain non O in many countries. Nearby examples Loas, Vietnam etc.

Some countries such as AU , USA etc do not offer non o retirement. Other countries do eg UK.

[TerraplaneGuy]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Some embassies and consulates have issued non-o visas for being 50 or over for many years. Some will issue a multiple entry non-o visa on the same basis.

Perhaps you are thinking of extension of stay issued by immigration based upon retirement with non-o visas that can be applied for here in the country.

Thanks Ubonjoe, yes I was thinking of extensions (and so I think I got confused about the actual O visa) but I think the non-OA is still only available outside Thailand.  So both are available outside but only the O is available in Thailand.  Correct?  

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

So both are available outside but only the O is available in Thailand.  Correct?  

A extension of stay based upon retirement is only available here to extend a 90 day entry from a non-o visa.

You can apply for the non-o visa at some embassies and consulates. You can also enter visa exempt or on a tourist visa and apply for a 90 day non-o visa entry at immigration.

[Pattaya46]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

// This guy has listed few benefits re non O-A. 

An obvious one is no requirement for money to be kept in Thai bank. The non O-A is good option for guys that return to home country every couple of years.

 

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The incorrect part is that the insurance for non o is only required for 90 days whereas insurance for non O-A is one year. I referred to that error above.

 

The second incorrect part is that for a Non O-A in France you DO need 800k in a Thai bank, from your second O-A. So no benefits. Yes, probably specific to Paris/France, but the OP is from France...

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

 

 

The second incorrect part is that for a Non O-A in France you DO need 800k in a Thai bank, from your second O-A. So no benefits. Yes, probably specific to Paris/France, but the OP is from France...

The world does not evolve around France.

Did not notice he was currently in France.

I'm shocked by what the requirements are for second non O-A in France. 

Can you confirm that. 

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

// I'm shocked by what the requirements are for second non O-A in France. 

Can you confirm that. 

 

Yes, I can.

On this page:  (in French)

https://www.thaiembassy.fr/fr/visa-rdv/les-types-de-visa-et-les-documents-necessaires/visa-o-long-stay/

Quote

Attention : à partir de la 2e demande de ce type de visa auprès de l’Ambassade, un dépôt bancaire de 800 000 bahts dans une banque en Thaïlande est obligatoire, et à présenter sous forme d’une attestation récente ou d’un carnet bancaire bien actualisé (moins de 1 mois) 

 

Google translate:

Quote

Please note: from the 2nd request for this type of visa from the Embassy, a bank deposit of 800,000 baht in a bank in Thailand is mandatory, and to be presented in the form of a recent certificate or a bank book. well updated (less than 1 month)

 

Thai Embassy in Paris many times had more difficult requirements than other Thai Embassy 

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

Thai Embassy in Paris many times had more difficult requirements than other Thai Embassy 

I'm happy to read that there is a country more difficult to mine. Jingjoe.

[gzu88bv]

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I think that the non o also  requires the same insurance that the non O-A has as a requirement.

 

 

5 hours ago, Seeall said:

I red Non O has NO insurance needs!

Insurance might also depend on requirements of the Thai embassy you apply from

 

Thai Embassy Berne Switzerland.pdf

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, Seeall said:

I red Non O has NO insurance needs!

At the moment a Non-Imm-O Visa based on retirement has a 400k/40k insurance requirement (plus Covid cover) at quite a few Embassies. It is not available at some others too. 

 

If your visa has expired, you have to apply for a new visa. You must meet the requirements for non-O visa, with the additional requirement that applicants have health insurance for outpatient not less than 40,000 Baht and for inpatient not less than 400,000 Baht. Please check < http://longstay.tgia.org> for more information regarding the insurance requirement.

Source.

[Mops59]

Non O is issued originally by the consulate. Non OA only by embassy. To return on Non O you need a valid visa with re-entry or multiple entry. Non O is not issued now. So you have to apply for Non OA with all the requirements. First apply for visa. After that apply online for COE https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/

[Peter Denis]

12 hours ago, Pattaya46 said:

...

Thai Embassy in Paris many times had more difficult requirements than other Thai Embassy 

Yes, you are correct. 

At the Paris Thai Embassy you can only apply ONCE for the Non Imm O-A Visa using funds on your foreign bank-account to meet the financial requirements.  From then on any new applications for the Non Imm O-A Visa require +800K on a Thai Bank-account.

I can see the logic in that since extending the Non Imm O-A Visa in Thailand has a similar requirement, but sincerely hope that this practice will not be an inspiration for other Thai Embassies to take over that add-on.

Note: Wonder how that would work if you applied for your 2nd Non Imm O-A Visa using a NEW passport that does not contain the previous Non Imm O-A Visa sticker...

[Pattaya46]

3 hours ago, Mops59 said:

Non O is issued originally by the consulate. Non OA only by embassy. To return on Non O you need a valid visa with re-entry or multiple entry. Non O is not issued now. So you have to apply for Non OA with all the requirements. First apply for visa. After that apply online for COE https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/

 

Please...  Better to not reply when you don't know the answer for sure 

The OP can get a Non-O in Paris now,

and it's his best option

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

I thought the non-Imm O is available only in Thailand and the non-Imm OA is only available outside Thailand.  Since when can you get an O from outside Thailand?

I got all my non O visas outside Thailand, but they had to be based on marriage. For retirement I'd have had to get a non OA.

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I got all my non O visas outside Thailand, but they had to be based on marriage. For retirement I'd have had to get a non OA.

Sounds your perhaps from one of the countries that does not offer non o (retirement). 

AU, USA are 2 examples. 

You can obtain non O retirement at many consulates such as Saigon etc

[Brayka]

In times of COVID things are not the same as before, as from now on only OA can enter Thailand with the specified airlines, and of course the quarantine and money plus insurance.Visa O they give in the consulate, and OA in the embassy. You don’t need financial requirements for O, and no insurance. As for OA you need for One year insurance and 800.000 on the bank, or statement of income.

[fakser]

On 11/15/2020 at 11:37 AM, DrJack54 said:

Nup think you have it covered.

I overlooked the insurance only required for 90 days with the non O (jacko45 points that out).

The choice also depends on personal lifestyle etc. @Peter Denis This guy has listed few benefits re non O-A. 

An obvious one is no requirement for money to be kept in Thai bank. The non O-A is good option for guys that return to home country every couple of years.

 

Today, insurance companies provide a one year health insurance, paid quarterly. so if you leave Thailand to go home for some time, you just cancel the insurance and save a lot of money.

 

[Tye Critchlow]

Hello all,

 

I  need to return to Thailand asap due to my fiance' is pregnant and alone. 

Got stuck in Los Angeles CA.  after attending a wedding and trying to return.

I have an extension of stay with multiple entry stamp.. Non imm O doesn't expire until April next year.

Need to get the COE from the consulate in LA.

My main question is since I have the multiple entry stamp, and valid extension of stay,

am I able to get the COE after obtaining the additional insurance , Covid test and getting the flight and ASQ 

for ( quarantine)? 

Also,  since I have the valid extension of stay do I need to dump 800K

into my Thai account? I don't really want to have to apply for another visa (Non imm O/A)

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

 

Tye Critchlow

 

 

[ubonjoe]

7 hours ago, Tye Critchlow said:

My main question is since I have the multiple entry stamp, and valid extension of stay,

am I able to get the COE after obtaining the additional insurance , Covid test and getting the flight and ASQ 

for ( quarantine)? 

No need to apply for a OA visa if you have a valid extension of stay and a re-entry permit for it.

You will need covid 19 insurance up to the day your extension expires.

I just checked the LA consulate and embassy websites and they still have not updated it to show a extension based upon retirement. Same for their certificate of entry online form. Hopefully they will soon get them updated.