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Changes to "Long Term" Non-IMM Visas - 5 Year "Non-OA" Retirement Visa? (PURE SPECULATION).


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I was at CW a few months ago to renew my O-X visa, i was told by one of the supervisors, just to wait, as the retirement visa system was being changed and will be made simpler in  early 2025, she also suggested that i would not be able to get health insurance for the visa, i have no doubt that this particular visa will no longer be available

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1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

When the changes to Visa Exempt and the new DTV were announced in June, they also said that they would announce changes to the "Long Term" & Non Immigration Visas in September

They announced changes to the Non Imm O-A visa, known as the 'long stay retirement' visa.

The change was to reduce the mandatory Health Insurance from the current 3M BHT requirement, to 400K inpatient, 40K outpatient between September - December.

 

If it's not from an official Immigration website, treat it with a pinch of salt.

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8 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Only 9 different types of Non Imm visas listed on the Thai Embassy DC site.
I suspect for each type of visa, there will still remain multiple options for the purposes of your visit.
https://washingtondc.thaiembassy.org/en/page/visa-fees-validity?menu=64ef5ba41986b07d37326263

 

I knew I'd read somewhere that they were reducing from 17 to 7 & a quick Google suggests that they've already made the announcement...

 

8 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

I'll stick with my annual extensions @1,900 BHT per annum, thanks.

 

I've no choice this year as I've recently done my annual extension (am good to 25/12/25) but would happily pay more to only have to jump through the hoops once every 5 years...

 

1,900 for extension, 3,800 for multi re-entry then add on another 300 in bank letters, travel to immigration etc... & you're at 25K for the 5 years, in my case I pay an agent 12K to do the extension/Multi Re-Entry permit so am at > 60K for the 5 years & would be happy to pay that).

Edited by Mike Teavee
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It can be interesting to speculate on such. 

 

I believe both immigration and the foreigners would appreciate not having to process/do yearly extensions, with the required time and paperwork.  

 

I am a bit skeptical thou such would come to pass with only a demonstrated monthly income of 50,000 THB/month.  That is a big drop over the current 80,000 THB for only 1 year for reason of retirement (for a current Type-O/OA).  Also, in addition to the proof of monthly income, there is no amount written in that link as to what qualifies as "proof of funds".  

 

I also don't believe such until it appears in the Gazette, ... I do though also believe it would be nice to see such. 

 

Further I suspect if it comes to pass, the eligibility criteria will be larger than that in the noted OPs link.

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7 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

....in my case I pay an agent 12K to do the extension/Multi Re-Entry permit so am at > 60K for the 5 years & would be happy to pay that).

Guessing 8k extension using your own financials + 4k multi reentry permit.

Had interesting chat yesterday with agent regarding DTV.

Big bucks but 5 yr, requires trip to Savannakhet. 

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13 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

It can be interesting to speculate on such. 

 

I believe both immigration and the foreigners would appreciate not having to process/do yearly extensions, with the required time and paperwork.  

 

I am a bit skeptical thou such would come to pass with only a demonstrated monthly income of 50,000 THB/month.  That is a big drop over the current 80,000 THB for only 1 year for reason of retirement (for a current Type-O/OA).  Also, in addition to the proof of monthly income, there is no amount written in that link as to what qualifies as "proof of funds".  

 

I also don't believe such until it appears in the Gazette, ... I do though also believe it would be nice to see such. 

 

Further I suspect if it comes to pass, the eligibility criteria will be larger than that in the noted OPs link.

 

Pure speculation but I could see a requirement to have 50K pm income & maintain a minimum balance in your Account (E.g. 800K but cannot go below this). 

Edited by Mike Teavee
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3 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

so whilst doing a search for news on any changes I came across this website which claims to offer a 5 year Non-IMM "O-A" Retirement Visa..

 

This site claims this OA visa already exists, and apparently has been in place long enough to become popular.

 

Thailand 5-Year Retirement Visa, officially known as the O-A Visa, has become a popular choice for retirees

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6 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

Thailand 5-Year Retirement Visa, officially known as the O-A Visa, has become a popular choice for retirees

That is of course rubbish. Mixing up 2 different things.

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4 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

That is of course rubbish. Mixing up 2 different things.

 

Really?  Another agent also has similar information but different financials.

 

The Thai government offers several visa options for retirees, among which the 5-Year Retirement Visa (also known as the Non-Immigrant OA Visa) stands out for its convenience and extended duration.

 

https://www.thaiimmigration.net/5-year-retirement-visa-thailand.html

 

 

 

Edited by NoDisplayName
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5 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

Really?  Another agent also has similar information.

 

The Thai government offers several visa options for retirees, among which the 5-Year Retirement Visa (also known as the Non-Immigrant OA Visa) stands out for its convenience and extended duration.

No official announcement from a credible source, and no mention on any of the Thai Embassy websites I just perused through.

Edited by Liquorice
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2 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Really?  Another agent also has similar information but different financials.

 

The Thai government offers several visa options for retirees, among which the 5-Year Retirement Visa (also known as the Non-Immigrant OA Visa) stands out for its convenience and extended duration.

 

https://www.thaiimmigration.net/5-year-retirement-visa-thailand.html

 

 

 

Well, unless that represents a major change in the setup for long-term stays? No announcement that I've seen.

 

My O/A retirement visa hasn't changed in the 8 years I've had it and there's nothing there about '5 years'! Just an annual renewal (for me next month), involving trudging around from bank to medical office and on & on. And, in my case, minimum 65K฿ imported every month.

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2 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

My O/A retirement visa hasn't changed in the 8 years I've had it and there's nothing there about '5 years'! Just an annual renewal (for me next month), involving trudging around from bank to medical office and on & on. And, in my case, minimum 65K฿ imported every month.

Your Non Imm O-A visa expired a year after it was issued.

You extend your permission of stay each year, not the visa.

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12 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Really?  Another agent also has similar information but different financials.

 

The Thai government offers several visa options for retirees, among which the 5-Year Retirement Visa (also known as the Non-Immigrant OA Visa) stands out for its convenience and extended duration.

 

https://www.thaiimmigration.net/5-year-retirement-visa-thailand.html

 

 

 

I agree that there is already a 5 year Non-Imm O-A visa for retirement in existence. The main differences that I can see between the 5 year visa and the 1 year visa is the funds. The 5 year visa requires 3 million THB in the bank compared to 800kTHB for the 1 year visa OR a monthly income of 100kTHB compared to 65KTHB and the mandatory health insurance is at the 400k/40k level.

 

The question I'd be asking Immigration, if you have the 3 million, is would be possible to transfer from the annual extensions to the 5 year extensions and if so can it be done at the next annual extension?

Edited by TigerandDog
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5 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

I agree that there is already a 5 year Non-Imm O-A visa for retirement in existence. The main differences that II can see between the 5 year visa and the 1 year visa is the funds. The 5 year visa requires 3 million THB in the bank compared to 800kTHB for the 1 year visa and a monthly income of 100kTHB compared to 65KTHB and mandatory health insurance is at the 400k/40k level.

 

The question I'd be asking Immigration, if you have the 3 million, would be is it possible to transfer from the annual extensions to the 5 year extensions and if so can it be done at the next annual extension?

The 3 million in the bank is what is required for an O-X visa, and it is not available inside Thailand

Edited by howerde
wrong text
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2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

 

I knew I'd read somewhere that they were reducing from 17 to 7 & a quick Google suggests that they've already made the announcement...

 

 

I've no choice this year as I've recently done my annual extension (am good to 25/12/25) but would happily pay more to only have to jump through the hoops once every 5 years...

 

1,900 for extension, 3,800 for multi re-entry then add on another 300 in bank letters, travel to immigration etc... & you're at 25K for the 5 years, in my case I pay an agent 12K to do the extension/Multi Re-Entry permit so am at > 60K for the 5 years & would be happy to pay that).

 

I need a bit of information from you if you do not mind.

 

You said, "I've no choice this year as I've recently done my annual extension (am good to 25/12/25) but would happily pay more to only have to jump through the hoops once every 5 years..."

 

Just a question, it is now September 2024, how did you manage to extend your visa to December 2025.

 

I have the visa extension based on retirement plus 800k baht in the bank, my next visa extension is due on the 22nd Feb 2025.

 

So is there a way to extend the visa a few months in advance or do you have a different type of visa?

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13 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

So is there a way to extend the visa a few months in advance or do you have a different type of visa?

You can extend up to 45 days in advance at most Immigration offices (certainly Bangkok & Pattaya) and a good agent can get your extension up to 3 months in advance. 

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42 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Just a question, it is now September 2024, how did you manage to extend your visa to December 2025.

 

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

Sorry brain fart.... 25/09/25 (25th September 2025)... 

 

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2 hours ago, howerde said:

The 3 million in the bank is what is required for an O-X visa, and it is not available inside Thailand

According to Siam legal it's also what is required for a 5 year O-A visa based on retirement.

 

see this link from Siam legal.  5-Year Retirement Visa Thailand | Thai Immigration.

 

However, after doing some more in depth research it would appear that Siam Legal are incorrect with their post with regards to the O-A based on retirement also being available for 5 years as the Thai Immigration website only makes mention of the O-A for retirement being for 1 year.

 

Although I also telephoned my local IO with regards to this and they did say when doing my next annual extension that I could change from O-A to O-X as long as I had the insurance and 3 million in the bank. I'm not entirely convinced that this is correct though.

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