How to get 10 year visa for Thailand

[timoti]

Hi,

 

I was in Thailand during covid until the beginning of this year then had to leave due to work, and my contract is about to finish.

 

When you visit Thailand, is one still eligible for Covid extensions? I assume that only applies to people who arrived before.

 

In any case, is there a way to get 10 year visa for Thailand so I dont have to worry about visas for a while? My condo agent told me that her bf got this for 500K. So I was wondering how to apply for this and where I can find the procedure?

 

Thanks a lot in advance.

[JayClay]

Google "Elite visa"

 

Last I heard it's 600,000 for a 5 year visa (which in theory can allow you to stay for up to 6 years with a well-timed border hop) or 1million bt for 10 (11) years.

[Pib]

Maybe the condo agent was talking the Elite Visa program....but there is no 10 year for Bt500K visa.  But there is are two 10 year visa versions for either Bt1M or Bt800K.  See the Elite Visas described/compared at below Thailand Elite website

https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/membership-packages-comparison/

[ubonjoe]

Not sure what visa he got for 500k baht. It could be a 5 year Thai Elite visa he got before the increased the cost to 600k baht.

Info for the Thai Elite visas is here. https://www.thailandelite.com/#/

If 50 or or over you could get the 10 year non-ox visa. Info is here. https://consular.mfa.go.th/th/content/80938-non-–-immigrant-visa-“o-x”-(long-stay-10-years)?page=5d68c88b15e39c160c0081e2&menu=5d68c88d15e39c160c00827f

 

[Virt]

https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/membership-overview/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiY6MBhBqEiwARFSCPqVXGBw2ykGOweB6ytpwdvGeI4LwjoJY4ty72y6ucDNl7CQoafuCuhoCUk4QAvD_BwE

 

Approx 8333 baht pr month if you choose a 10 year elite visa.

Not that cheap, but if money if no problem, i can see why people buy those to avoid the hassle.

[DrJack54]

Non O-X. 

Buy a PE instead.

 

"In any case, is there a way to get 10 year visa for Thailand so I dont have to worry about visas for a while?"

 

I don't worry about visas. This week obtained my 12 month extension. Money in bank method.

Absolute breeze.

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by DrJack54

[Pmbkk]

 

Marry an Immigration officer - preferably a senior one as many threads say they can overrule anything.... ????

Edited November 4, 2021 by Pmbkk

[LoeiI]

2 hours ago, Pmbkk said:

 

Marry an Immigration officer - preferably a senior one as many threads say they can overrule anything.... ????

Most of them look pretty serious especially the men ????????

[timoti]

Thanks a lot guys but the websites you linked, are they from government official website? Because it looks like 3rd party company? So then this elite visa is a 3rd party operated business or is it the businesses handling the applications for this?

 

[Salerno]

4 minutes ago, timoti said:

So then this elite visa is a 3rd party operated business or is it the businesses handling the applications for this?

It's a government sanctioned 3rd party. There is no government website where you can acquire it.

[ukrules]

26 minutes ago, timoti said:

Thanks a lot guys but the websites you linked, are they from government official website? Because it looks like 3rd party company? So then this elite visa is a 3rd party operated business or is it the businesses handling the applications for this?

 

The official website is https://www.thailandelite.com - I have one of these visas which I obtained through them, it's a government owned company and I can confirm it's legit.

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by ukrules

[timoti]

Also this 5 year elite visa, how does the duration work? If you get it on Jan 1 2022 for example, will it expire after 5 years to this date or does it depend on how much you stay in the country.

 

For example if you only stay in Thailand for 6 months in 2022, then you will still have 4.5 years?

[Salerno]

2 minutes ago, timoti said:

Also this 5 year elite visa, how does the duration work? If you get it on Jan 1 2022 for example, will it expire after 5 years to this date or does it depend on how much you stay in the country.

 

For example if you only stay in Thailand for 6 months in 2022, then you will still have 4.5 years?

Nice try but no; 1 Jan 2022 = expires 1 Jan 2027 (although if you return December 2026 you'll get stamped in for another year).

[timoti]

Thanks a lot.

 

Is that a loop hole to get another year by visiting before expiry? I assume each visit gets you a year visa, and if you visit before the 5 year expires, you get an additional one? If so that's pretty good gain.

[Salerno]

9 minutes ago, timoti said:

Thanks a lot.

 

Is that a loop hole to get another year by visiting before expiry? I assume each visit gets you a year visa, and if you visit before the 5 year expires, you get an additional one? If so that's pretty good gain.

Yes, stamped in for a year each time. Elite say it can't be done (as they would given they sell them) but reports on here and other places confirm (same deal with the one year O-A visa that people stretch to 2 years). No guarantee though, could that loophole be closed in the future, who knows.

[JayClay]

It's not a "loophole" it's standard practice with all visa types.

 

You allowed to enter at any time before the "valid until" date on the visa.

 

You are then given a permission to stay according to your visa type, which is 1 year for Elite visas.

 

OP it's important to understand the difference between a visa (permission to enter the country) and the stamp you receive in your passport (permission to stay in the country).

[ukrules]

6 hours ago, Salerno said:

Yes, stamped in for a year each time. Elite say it can't be done (as they would given they sell them) but reports on here and other places confirm (same deal with the one year O-A visa that people stretch to 2 years). No guarantee though, could that loophole be closed in the future, who knows.

Yes, the sixth year thing is a little controversial for reasons that are not 100% clear.

 

I will elaborate....

 

I'm on my second 5 year visa and I used the extra year thing for a partial extra year between the first membership and the second one as I didn't have the spare cash available to stump up the at the time for the second 500k Baht membership, so I used the extra year method and waited a few months until this money became available at which point I renewed it. this was all back in 2019.

 

Emails were put out and circulated about people having problems and supposedly being considered to be on overstay if they use the sixth year option - this was about 2 years ago during 2019 - I suspect it might have been overzealous sales agents trying to sell renewals who put this information out instead of any official announcement.

 

But - I do remember reading that someone had a lot of hassle and was told to leave the country when he went to Chaeng Wattana to get a new second membership after using only a small portion of a second year - that was reported on this forum and circulated in emails - strongly discouraging anyone from using the sixth year method.

 

I did it anyway but I avoided Chaeng Wattana when getting my second visa inserted, I left the country and had my second visa inserted when I returned to Bangkok from an overnight trip to Cambodia - I did this to avoid any potential issues at Chaeng Wattana - we all know that immigration officers make it up as they go here and there's a particularly grumpy one at Chaeng Wattana who seems to hate foreigners using the sixth year method - so be aware of this.

 

 

[Salerno]

4 minutes ago, ukrules said:

But - I do remember reading that someone had a lot of hassle and was told to leave the country when he went to Chaeng Wattana to get a new second membership after using only a small portion of a second year - that was reported on this forum and circulated in emails - strongly discouraging anyone from using the sixth year method.

I missed that one, he must've been seriously <deleted> off. Do you know if he actually had to leave or did he circumvent the issue?

 

I remember the "overstay" discussions and the Elite people saying you couldn't get the 6th year (IMO because they wanted the money).

[timoti]

Is it ok to get 5 year visa multiple times? Because in the website limited here i saw it's not renewable?

[Salerno]

13 minutes ago, timoti said:

Is it ok to get 5 year visa multiple times? Because in the website limited here i saw it's not renewable?

As long as you have the money they'll be happy to take it. But if you're certain you'll want to stay/visit for that long could be worth looking at the longer packages.

[BritTim]

It is worth remembering that, if currently on a five-year Elite visa, and planning to renew, you have the option of an upgrade to the 20-year membership instead. If you want the Elite membership purely for the visa benefits, this is currently cheaper and gives you 15 years instead of five.

 

Yes, absurd, but TIT.

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, timoti said:

Is it ok to get 5 year visa multiple times? Because in the website limited here i saw it's not renewable?

You can apply for for new visa when the current one is near to expiring. You have to go through the same application process.

[timoti]

3 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It is worth remembering that, if currently on a five-year Elite visa, and planning to renew, you have the option of an upgrade to the 20-year membership instead. If you want the Elite membership purely for the visa benefits, this is currently cheaper and gives you 15 years instead of five.

 

Yes, absurd, but TIT.

You mean upgrading to 20 year is cheaper than getting another 5 years? If so that's pretty good.

[Misty]

On 11/4/2021 at 7:09 PM, timoti said:

In any case, is there a way to get 10 year visa for Thailand so I dont have to worry about visas for a while?

This proposed new program has been discussed in the press.  Anyone heard any updates on it?

 

https://tripbauger.com/thailand-approves-proposal-for-10-year-visa-for-investors-digital-nomads-and-remote-workers/

 

[JustAnotherHun]

O/X visa might be another option instead of a EV, if available in your country.

You get 5 years on it and can extend another 5 years. 3 million THB required i a Thai bank.

[timoti]

3 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

O/X visa might be another option instead of a EV, if available in your country.

You get 5 years on it and can extend another 5 years. 3 million THB required i a Thai bank.

I can't coz of age.

[ukrules]

5 hours ago, timoti said:

Is it ok to get 5 year visa multiple times? Because in the website limited here i saw it's not renewable?

Yes, you can just get another one.

 

Months after mine expired while I was freeloading on the sixth year I got another one.

 

It was approved in record time as well, it took about 3 days for the approval of the second membership to come in - I suspect they simply had it approved based on the first approval. I'm 2 years into my second membership now.

 

It might be worth considering the 1 million Baht 20 year option, that's something I'm going to consider when my current membership expires in a few years time assuming I still live here, which I might.

[timoti]

That 20 year option is only available as an upgrade? Or can you just get that directly?

[Mike Teavee]

25 minutes ago, timoti said:

That 20 year option is only available as an upgrade? Or can you just get that directly?

Can get it directly for 1Million Baht or as @BritTimhas mentioned, you can get a 5 year visa for 600K then pay the additional 400K to upgrade to the 20 year option. 

 

[BritTim]

28 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Can get it directly for 1Million Baht or as @BritTimhas mentioned, you can get a 5 year visa for 600K then pay the additional 400K to upgrade to the 20 year option. 

 

Of course, Thailand Elite might come to their senses at any time, and either withdraw the upgrade option entirely, or at least raise the upgrade cost. The current situation makes no sense (except for the well informed applicant).