Initial OA Visa - where should the money be?

[FLhawk]

I just received an OA Visa, my first, from the Washington DC embassy.  A friend and frequent visitor to Thailand from Canada asked where I had kept the 800,000 TBH.  I said it was in my regular US bank and that was in accordance with the instructions provided by the embassy.  I had to supply 3 months of statements showing 800,000 TBH or its’ equivalent, which I did, and I got the visa.  He said it needed to be a Thai account.  I reviewed the embassy instructions and it said a US bank was fine. 

 

But I have looked at some other places online where it says the fund must be in a Thai account however, though it seems I may only need to start doing that for a visa renewal.  I am confused!

 

Anyway, my plan is to arrive in Thailand on March 16 for 15 days of quarantine and to leave on or around April 26.  I would like to return for a longer stay mid-year, after those with the vaccine can enter without quarantine.  This makes me wonder if I need to open a Thai account, which I believe I can do with an OA visa, and park 800,000 baht there. 

 

It would seem strange that the IO would expect me to haul a year’s worth of Thai bank accounts when I have not been in Thailand for over a year, and always visa exempt with never an overstay.  But my friend has the horror story of entering under a brand new visa and the IO didn’t like something and escorted him back to the plane to Singapore.   As discussed here many times, IO’s don’t have to accept what the embassies approve. 

 

So what is the story?  Should I be ok entering under a brand new, first time OA visa where I can bring a few months of my US bank statements but nothing from a Thai account, or enter with an STV or visa exempt or whatever?  Thanks guys! 

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, FLhawk said:

He said it needed to be a Thai account.

 

He's wrong, you already have the visa, a US account is fine.

[DrJack54]

OP, you have correct answer above.

Just an added note as you seem bit new to your non O-A. Be aware that prior to it's expiry if you exit and reenter Thailand you will be stamped in for a second year. 

This guy has made advice "roadmap" for non O-A. @Peter Denis

[onebir]

19 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

He's wrong, you already have the visa, a US account is fine.

Does anyone know if it has to be in the country you're applying from?

[Tanoshi]

3 minutes ago, onebir said:

Does anyone know if it has to be in the country you're applying from?

You can only apply for the Non O-A Visa in the Country where you have permanent residency status.

The funds can be any in an account in any Country.

[Salerno]

3 minutes ago, onebir said:

Does anyone know if it has to be in the country you're applying from?

 

Can't say I've ever seen that question asked before, I would say the account location is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is it's yours.

[Jingthing]

For annual retirement extension applications in Thailand based on 800k in a Thai bank the funds will need to be in a Thai bank. Its normal for the initial application for OA when done in your home country for the funds to be in your home country then. You are making assumptions about future Thailand covid 19 policies without any basis in fact. You also don't seem to know current Covid 19.travel policies. In my opinion you should have waited until you were really moving here permanently before applying for your OA. 

[Peter Denis]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

For annual retirement extension applications in Thailand based on 800k in a Thai bank the funds will need to be in a Thai bank. Its normal for the initial application for OA when done in your home country for the funds to be in your home country then.

...

It is correct that for annual retirement extensions the +800K funds need to be on a personal Thai bank-account to meet Immigration requirements.

But when applying for the Non Imm O-A in your home-country or country of permanent residence, the funds can be both on your home-country bank-account or on a Thai bank-account.

[Peter Denis]

9 hours ago, FLhawk said:

...

Anyway, my plan is to arrive in Thailand on March 16 for 15 days of quarantine and to leave on or around April 26.  I would like to return for a longer stay mid-year, after those with the vaccine can enter without quarantine.  This makes me wonder if I need to open a Thai account, which I believe I can do with an OA visa, and park 800,000 baht there. 

 

It would seem strange that the IO would expect me to haul a year’s worth of Thai bank accounts when I have not been in Thailand for over a year, and always visa exempt with never an overstay.  But my friend has the horror story of entering under a brand new visa and the IO didn’t like something and escorted him back to the plane to Singapore.   As discussed here many times, IO’s don’t have to accept what the embassies approve. 

 

So what is the story?  Should I be ok entering under a brand new, first time OA visa where I can bring a few months of my US bank statements but nothing from a Thai account, or enter with an STV or visa exempt or whatever?  Thanks guys! 

1 - Why on earth did you apply already for the Non Imm O-A Visa, when you will be only staying for 41 days (arrival March 16 and leave again on April 26).

For doing that you do not even need a visa, as a VisaExempt entry will provide you with a 45-days permission to stay, which - if you decide to stay longer - can easily be extended for 30 days.

 

2 - You would only need to park +800K on a personal Thai bank-account in the following two cases:

a) When after having entered Thailand VisaExempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa (or extensions of those), you decide to stay long-term in Thailand.  In that case you can apply for the Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement at your local IO, and that would require +800K on a personal Thai bank-account at the moment of application.

b) When having entered Thailand with a Non Imm O Visa applied for in your home-country (or in a neighboring country to Thailand), and deciding to stay longer than the 90-day permission to stay such entry will provide you.  In that case you can apply for a 1-year extension for reason of retirement based on that original the Non Imm O Visa at your local IO, and that would require +800K on a personal Thai bank-account already seasoned for at least two months at the moment of application.

 

3 - Since you now already have the Non Imm O-A Visa, you would not be confronted with any of the above outlined in #2.  This because the Non Imm O-A Visa can provide you with almost two years of Immigration hassle-free stay in Thailand with

- NO need to visit an Immigration Office to apply for a Visa or for a 1-year extension during those 2 years;

- NO need to park/transfer funds to a personal Thai bank-account to meet Immigration financial requirements during those 2 years.

Also during its 1-year validity the Non Imm O-A Visa is MultipleEntry, which means that every time you exit and then re-enter Thailand during that 1-year validity you will be stamped in again for a 12 month permission to stay.  So by re-entering Thailand just before that 1-year Visa validity expires you can effectively secure almost two years of stay in Thailand.

Note: Be aware that the 12 month permission to stay you will receive on (re)-entry will be CAPPED to the expiry date of the mandatory 400K/40K health-insurance policy you have to subscribe to when applying for the Non Imm O-A Visa.  So it is a matter of renewing that insurance policy for another year prior to re-entering Thailand when your 1-year Visa validity is due to expire.

 

>> Since you seem unfamiliar with Thai immigration requirements, I did PM you a Guideline document on how to stay long-term in Thailand when over +50 years which outlines all your options.

To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum. 

[UncleMhee]

@Peter Denis As the OP already has his O-A, my question is, how would he approach his mandatory O-A health insurance; or is that already covered with the Covid entry insurance requirements..... 

[tonray]

4 minutes ago, UncleMhee said:

@Peter Denis As the OP already has his O-A, my question is, how would he approach his mandatory O-A health insurance; or is that already covered with the Covid entry insurance requirements..... 

He would have provided proof to the Embassy / Consulate already or they would not have issued the visa. 

[UncleMhee]

17 hours ago, FLhawk said:

But my friend has the horror story of entering under a brand new visa and the IO didn’t like something and escorted him back to the plane to Singapore

Sorry @Peter Denis My initial concern arose because of the above statement by the OP and him having no mention of mandatory insurance.

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, UncleMhee said:

@Peter Denis As the OP already has his O-A, my question is, how would he approach his mandatory O-A health insurance; or is that already covered with the Covid entry insurance requirements..... 

Hi UncleMhee,

The only way he could have gotten his Non Imm O-A Visa is by providing evidence to the Thai Embassy in his home-country (or country of permanent residence) that he subscribed to that mandatory 400K/40K Non Imm O-A compliant insurance.  

That mandatory 400K/40K Non Imm O-A compliant insurance is NOT part of the CoE requirements.  And to satisfy those he would also have to provide evidence of a 100.000 US $ covid-19 treatment insurance covering the period of the permission to stay he would receive on entering Thailand.

[UncleMhee]

Time for my nana nap.....duh!!

[FLhawk]

Thanks for the responses guys.  It did not make sense that it had to be in Thailand for an initial application, but I saw some other online places where they say the funds HAD to be in a Thai bank without me seeing any word about that being for extensions only.  Thanks for confirming what I thought to be true.  

 

And I was not addressing other things like insurance, health matters, COE and issues related to it, etc.   I do, of course, greatly appreciate the concerns those omissions raised and, to Peter, thanks so much for the detailed reply.  

 

The simplest answer for why I applied for the OA visa is that I thought I would be staying longer.  Things changed as my application was being processed, reducing my trip to about 41 days.  I still plan on that longer trip later in the year so why terminate the application and go through the process again?  

 

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, FLhawk said:

...

The simplest answer for why I applied for the OA visa is that I thought I would be staying longer.  Things changed as my application was being processed, reducing my trip to about 41 days.  I still plan on that longer trip later in the year so why terminate the application and go through the process again? 

Yes, I understand your reasoning and if your Visa application was already in process before your circumstances changed cutting your initial trip to only 41 days, there was No Going Back...

On hindsight it would of course have been far easier and a lot cheaper, if you had NOT applied for the Non Imm O-A Visa already, and for this first trip simply entered Thailand without a Visa (which would provide you with a 45-day permission to stay, which can be easily extended with an additional 30 days).

By applying 'early' for the Non Imm O-A Visa you did lose approx 1/2 year of the almost 2 year that Visa can provide you, and you paid the premium for both mandatory insurance policies during that 1/2 year (while a 45-day covid-insurance for that first trip would have been sufficient).

[FLhawk]

12 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

Yes, I understand your reasoning and if your Visa application was already in process before your circumstances changed cutting your initial trip to only 41 days, there was No Going Back...

On hindsight it would of course have been far easier and a lot cheaper, if you had NOT applied for the Non Imm O-A Visa already, and for this first trip simply entered Thailand without a Visa (which would provide you with a 45-day permission to stay, which can be easily extended with an additional 30 days).

By applying 'early' for the Non Imm O-A Visa you did lose approx 1/2 year of the almost 2 year that Visa can provide you, and you paid the premium for both mandatory insurance policies during that 1/2 year (while a 45-day covid-insurance for that first trip would have been sufficient).

True enough, but the visa was dated last week, so using it within 3 weeks of arrival is not too bad.  It is the more expensive OA insurance that I will lose a few months of, unless it happens to not activate until I am tell them I am on my to Thailand.....