Retirement visa - is it a good time to apply?

[LisuLover]

I have retired during lockdown and have been isolating in London with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Double jabbed with Pfizer since start of April.  Ive had the pleasure of visiting Thailand some 15 times in the last 10 years and found the warm climate is good for my joints and a condition called 'Raynaud's' (blue fingers).  I have a reasonable bank balance to show as required.  Question is, is it a good time to apply for a retirement visa and what hurdles will be placed in my way?

[scubascuba3]

Only quarantine hurdles if you want to come now

[Salerno]

16 minutes ago, LisuLover said:

Question is, is it a good time to apply for a retirement visa and what hurdles will be placed in my way?

 

Any time is a good time to retire if you can afford to IMO. As scuba mentioned, quarantine in one form or another for the foreseeable future but what's 14 days out of your retirement.

 

Least paperwork - just turn up visa exempt and progress through to extension based on retirement in-country.

 

One less trip to immigration - arrive on a Non-O issued prior to leaving UK.

 

Not 100% sure if it's the right move - arrive on a Non-OA, keep your money in the UK and get basically 2 years to decide (extra insurance required).

 

 

[ubonjoe]

You have more than one choice to get a visa and then a extension of stay based upon retirement at the Thai embassy in London.

There is a Non-OA visa that allows a unlimited one year entries for a year from the date it is  issued. You will need the equivalent of 800k in a bank in the UK or proof of 65k baht income to apply.

There is also the option to apply for Non-O visa that allows one 90 day entry that can be extended for one year at immigration. 

Requirements for both visas are near the end of the page. https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/84508-non-immigrant-visas?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562

You can also enter visa exempt that allows a 45 day day entry that can be extended for 30 days and then apply for a 90 day non-o visa at immigration. You will need 800k baht in Thai bank on the day you apply.

Requirements for the visa> https://bangkokimmigration.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/08-edit_NON-O.pdf

Then during the last 30 day of the 90 days from the visa you can apply for a one year extension of stay based upon retirement at immigration. At that time the 800k baht will need to be in the bank for 2 months.

Info for getting a certificate of entry from the embassy starts on this page of the embassy website.

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/application-for-certificate-of-entry-to-thailand-for-non-thai-nationa?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562

 

[jonwilly]

Many years back an old friend came to live in Thailand. previously as an outdoor worker he had had problems with stiffness and pain in his bone joints.

He told me that after six months residence here this problem went away.

I also found that my joints behaved better after I moved to Thailand.

 

john

[DrJack54]

OP, your options are covered above. 

Do you have a Thai bank account in your name? 

If you choose to enter visa exempt or with a tourist visa or even a non O (retirement) for you 12 month extension you will require money in the bank OR monthly income.

What method are you planning to use?

BTW the is no such thing as a retirement visa however that term is often used referring to Non O-A.

It's an option but requires ongoing insurance and in my thinking not the best option. It can only be issued in your home country or country where your a legal resident.

Edited June 20, 2021 by DrJack54

[LisuLover]

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, your options are covered above. 

Do you have a Thai bank account in your name? 

If you choose to enter visa exempt or with a tourist visa or even a non O (retirement) for you 12 month extension you will require money in the bank OR monthly income.

What method are you planning to use?

BTW the is no such thing as a retirement visa however that term is often used referring to Non O-A.

It's an option but requires ongoing insurance and in my thinking not the best option. It can only be issued in your home country or country where your a legal resident.

 

No Sir, no Thai bank account in my name.  My instinct subject to advice here, is to commit gradually in case things change.  Salerno mentioned turning up visa exempt and building on that.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, LisuLover said:

 

No Sir, no Thai bank account in my name.  My instinct subject to advice here, is to commit gradually in case things change.  Salerno mentioned turning up visa exempt and building on that.

I also mentioned visa exempt entry.

That is only the first step to obtaining a non O (retirement). You will need to have 800k in Thai bank account in your name only on the day you apply for the non O.

You would need show those funds came from overseas. The non O gives you 90 day permit of stay. In the last month you could apply for annual extension with the 800k having been in the bank for 2 months on day you apply.

You can use agent for bank account. 

Siam Legal just one example.

[whiteman]

just asking with the renewal of ones retirement visa when one is living in Thailand today does one have to have a med cert along with your other paper work eg bank book letter from bank and other stuff I am just interested in the question re medical cert needed or not??

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, whiteman said:

just asking with the renewal of ones retirement visa when one is living in Thailand today does one have to have a med cert along with your other paper work eg bank book letter from bank and other stuff I am just interested in the question re medical cert needed or not??

A medical certificate is not required according to the rules. But there are few odd immigration offices that want one.

[elliss]

43 minutes ago, LisuLover said:

 

  My instinct subject to advice here, is to commit gradually in case things change. 

 

         Things change , including Health situations ...

[skatewash]

My advice is to wait for a couple weeks and you may thereby be able to come as part of the Phuket Sandbox which doesn't require a quarantine.  There should be an official announcement within a week or so.  Better and cheaper than ASQ that is required now.  Spend your first 14 days in Phuket at a SHA Plus hotel and roam around Phuket and then after passing a covid test you can roam about Thailand wherever you want to go (subject to local restrictions, if any).  It's a great way to take advantage of the fact that you're fully vaccinated.  Pay little attention to the rumor-mongering going on at present and wait for the official announcement made after the proposal is approved and published in the Royal Gazette.  Believe very little of what you hear before that happens.

I don't like the Non-OA because of its additional insurance requirements so would suggest instead coming on a visa-exempt or Tourist Visa and applying for a Non-O for purpose of retirement inside Thailand.

Edited June 20, 2021 by skatewash

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, LisuLover said:

 

No Sir, no Thai bank account in my name.  My instinct subject to advice here, is to commit gradually in case things change.  Salerno mentioned turning up visa exempt and building on that.

 

Are you in receipt of the UK State Pension? If you are then you should be able to apply for a 90-day single-entry non-O visa for that reason from the Royal Thai Embassy in London without the need for an approved health insurance policy providing 400k THB inpatient cover and 40k THB outpatient cover as you would if you were applying for a non-OA visa. However, as things stand, you would still need an approved COVID-19 insurance policy providing 100k USD cover for the duration of your initial permission to stay in Thailand - there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand.

 

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Are you in receipt of the UK State Pension?

That is not required now. There is a option to show 10k pounds in the bank for 3 month instead of a pension.

[OJAS]

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That is not required now. There is a option to show 10k pounds in the bank for 3 month instead of a pension.

A bit of a no-brainer these days, then, when it comes to a toss-up between the non-OA and non-O visas when deciding which visa to apply for on retirement grounds at the RTE in London!

[Tanoshi]

49 minutes ago, OJAS said:

A bit of a no-brainer these days, then, when it comes to a toss-up between the non-OA and non-O visas when deciding which visa to apply for on retirement grounds at the RTE in London!

Still a significant difference.

For the Non O it's either a 3 month bank statement of £10,000, or a bank statement showing pension payment.

No criminal record check required.

 

For the Non O-A it's either proof of monthly income of £1,625, or having a current balance of £20,000.

Criminal record check required.

 

The 400/40K Health Insurance is also compulsory for extensions from an O-A entry.

[BusyB]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That is not required now. There is a option to show 10k pounds in the bank for 3 month instead of a pension.

 

Joe, is UK pension statement really enough?

State pension works out @ THB 34k/month

In Germany the embassy wants to see THB 44k/month .. (for Non-O)

[Tanoshi]

17 minutes ago, BusyB said:

Joe, is UK pension statement really enough?

State pension works out @ THB 34k/month

A DWP pension statement will get you a Non O single entry Visa.

[BusyB]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

A DWP pension statement will get you a Non O single entry Visa.

Yeah, they only want a statement here too ... they just want to see a lot more dosh.

I was kinda surprised, because the difference is quite great, yet the 800k is the same for everyone.

Whatever.

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, BusyB said:

Yeah, they only want a statement here too ... they just want to see a lot more dosh.

I was kinda surprised, because the difference is quite great, yet the 800k is the same for everyone.

Whatever.

It's proving sufficient funds for a 90 day stay that a Non O will give you. That's all the Embassy is concerned about.

 

What you do in Thailand is based on a different criteria by internal Immigration.

Edited June 20, 2021 by Tanoshi

[murraynz]

23 hours ago, jonwilly said:

Many years back an old friend came to live in Thailand. previously as an outdoor worker he had had problems with stiffness and pain in his bone joints.

He told me that after six months residence here this problem went away.

I also found that my joints behaved better after I moved to Thailand.

 

john

I'm from Nz, we're getting increasingly pains in my knees,  arthritis in my hands in winter. 

I used to do trips to Thailand regularly and found after being here a few days, my knee pains disappeared. 

Now, are living here 4+ plus years, I very seldom ever get any pains. 

I take fish oil tablets, that's all. 

To me... I have proven that the warmer climate, helps my joints. 

[OJAS]

10 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Still a significant difference.

For the Non O it's either a 3 month bank statement of £10,000, or a bank statement showing pension payment.

No criminal record check required.

 

For the Non O-A it's either proof of monthly income of £1,625, or having a current balance of £20,000.

Criminal record check required.

 

The 400/40K Health Insurance is also compulsory for extensions from an O-A entry.

 

You didn't include the medical certificate requirement in your non-OA list!

 

What I was driving at is that the disadvantages of the non-OA visa now outweigh its advantages when compared to the non-O (which, of course, is only obtainable for retirement at the RTE in London as far as Western countries are concerned) by a considerable margin. The principal advantage of the non-OA, namely the ability to use it just before its expiry in order to gain a further 12-month permission to stay through a border run, is, of course, not available at the present time thanks to COVID-related border closures. And, even when borders eventually re-open, who knows whether they might still be subject to temporary closures at short notice under the so-called New Normal, at potentially awkward times for individuals needing to make border runs for whatever reason?

 

A particular advantage of the non-OA visa which I can see for the OP is that it would give him more time to open a Thai bank account when compared to both the direct non-O and visa exemption/non-O conversion initial entry methods. As has been pointed out in numerous threads on the Banking Forum, this can turn out to be a far-from-straightforward process in the case of retirees, given, in particular, the working permit requirement insisted on by a number of individual bank branches. But whether this would justify the extra hoops the OP would need to jump through is, of course, a matter for his individual consideration and judgement.

 

[thoengthaied]

Applying now is a good idea for another reason....when it comes to renewal in future years you will be in low season and there will be less people at Immigration.

[NoshowJones]

On 6/20/2021 at 5:26 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Only quarantine hurdles if you want to come now

Only quarantine? Nothing else? 

[NoshowJones]

15 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

Are you in receipt of the UK State Pension? If you are then you should be able to apply for a 90-day single-entry non-O visa for that reason from the Royal Thai Embassy in London without the need for an approved health insurance policy providing 400k THB inpatient cover and 40k THB outpatient cover as you would if you were applying for a non-OA visa. However, as things stand, you would still need an approved COVID-19 insurance policy providing 100k USD cover for the duration of your initial permission to stay in Thailand - there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand.

 

"there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand."

I think I would question that. As Salerno says, just enter visa exempt and take it from there. It is the most simple.

 

[DrJack54]

3 hours ago, OJAS said:

As has been pointed out in numerous threads on the Banking Forum, this can turn out to be a far-from-straightforward process in the case of retirees, given, in particular, the working permit requirement insisted on by a number of individual bank branches

For anyone entering visa exempt and planning path to non O, I recommend using an agent to obtain bank account. Cheap quick process and can be in place while in quarantine.

Edited June 21, 2021 by DrJack54

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

"there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand."

I think I would question that. As Salerno says, just enter visa exempt and take it from there. It is the most simple.

 

 

the 40/400k baht medical insurance only has to valid for 90 days when applying for a non-o visa or certificate of entry.

There are travel insurance companies that are offering policies that would cover both insurance requirement.

[LisuLover]

On 6/20/2021 at 2:19 PM, OJAS said:

 

Are you in receipt of the UK State Pension? If you are then you should be able to apply for a 90-day single-entry non-O visa for that reason from the Royal Thai Embassy in London without the need for an approved health insurance policy providing 400k THB inpatient cover and 40k THB outpatient cover as you would if you were applying for a non-OA visa. However, as things stand, you would still need an approved COVID-19 insurance policy providing 100k USD cover for the duration of your initial permission to stay in Thailand - there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand.

 

No. My UK State Pension starts from October 2022 when I will be 66.  Additionally, from an insurance point of view, I am not a straightforward case, due to the presence of some lung and heart disease that tend to come with long term Rheumatoid Arthritis.

[BusyB]

On 6/20/2021 at 6:43 PM, Tanoshi said:

It's proving sufficient funds for a 90 day stay that a Non O will give you. That's all the Embassy is concerned about.

 

What you do in Thailand is based on a different criteria by internal Immigration.

 

Course it makes me think 'are Brits cheaper Charlies than the rest?' ;D

[OJAS]

On 6/21/2021 at 11:49 AM, possum1931 said:

"there's no getting away from that particular requirement whatever route you choose for entering Thailand."

I think I would question that. As Salerno says, just enter visa exempt and take it from there. It is the most simple.

 

 

Every non-Thai national planning to travel from the UK to Thailand is required to have obtained COVID-19 insurance cover of 100k USD (which is what my comment you were questioning refers to), including those intending to enter Thailand visa-exempt.