Everyone seems to forget...

[pub2022]

that, for some countries, it is still possible to get a letter from your embassy certifying that you have 800,000 baht or equivalent deposited in a bank in your country.

Therefore it is not necessary to transfer the money to Thailand to get the  NON O visa and the retirement extension.

Why does no one ever mention this option?

I think this is very important for people to know.

 

[Upnotover]

3 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

Why does no one ever mention this option?

Because I'm pretty sure it isn't one.

[KhunBENQ]

9 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

you have 800,000 baht or equivalent deposited in a bank in your country.

Clearly against the written rules for extension of stay.

 

Valid only for Non O-A visa issue from what I know.

Other Non O have much lower requirements.

And indeed no transfer needed.

Completely different story for extension of stay.

And for the visa application at your home country you need bank statements or the like to proof equivalent of 800k.

Nothing to do with your consulate or the like.

 

Source?

Edited 2 hours ago by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

8 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

for some countries, it is still possible to get a letter from your embassy certifying

All I know are certificates of INCOME provided.

And that is/was indeed sufficient for extension of stay.

[Hummin]

I use it, and so do many others who have an embassy who do income letters. 

[NoDisplayName]

19 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

Therefore it is not necessary to transfer the money to Thailand to get the  NON O visa and the retirement extension.

 

Yes and no.

 

O visa in country needs money in a Thai bank, same with extension.

 

O-A visa in home country (you don't have a Thai bank account yet) needs equivalent money in a foreign bank.  Upon extension, you need money in a Thai bank, same as with O visa extension.

[DrJack54]

37 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

Why does no one ever mention this option?

I think this is very important for people to know.

Hard to tell but guessing you are referring to a non O-A.

That visa is valid for one year and granted you can obtain a 2 year stay in Thailand.

After that you would need to obtain a new non O-A or obtain 12 month extension.

The requirement to obtain extension are exactly the same as extension from a non O with the added burden of health insurance.

Also a non O-A can only be obtained in home country or  country where you have permanent residence.

 

Are you perhaps referring to Multi Entry non O retirement which is not widely available.

Not even sure if Savannakhet issuing them .

Previously they did.

Non O with extensions is best option for ongoing living in Thailand and even moreso if your embassy provides income letter.

UK, USA, AU do not and that makes up significant number of expats in Thailand 

 

Edit: cut/paste from @Tod Daniels from recent thread..

"Neither Savannakhet nor Vientiane offer year-long, multi-entry Non-O visas based on being over 50 (retirement) nor do they offer a year long, multi-entry Non-O based on having thai children."

[Upnotover]

22 minutes ago, Hummin said:

I use it, and so do many others who have an embassy who do income letters. 

He's talking about a letter certifying a balance of 800k,  Not income.

[pub2022]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm not talking about NON OA nor NON O multiple entry visa.

I'm just saying that some countries other than USA, UK, AU etc can still get the letter from their embassy and use it to get an extension of stay based on retirement, without the need of transferring 800k baht to a Thai bank (you keep the money in your country).

And this option is never mentioned when people are asking for advice about getting a "retirement visa".

I can understand the majority of ex-pats comes from those three countries but that's not a good reason to ignore the possibility for someone else.

 

[DrJack54]

35 minutes ago, pub2022 said:

I'm just saying that some countries other than USA, UK, AU etc can still get the letter from their embassy and use it to get an extension of stay based on retirement, without the need of transferring 800k baht to a Thai bank (you keep the money in your country).

There are two methods to satisfy financial requirements for extensions from a non O based on retirement and marriage.

 

One is "funds in bank method" 

The other is "income method"

 

Income method can be used both with embassy letter and without..

The only issue for folk without embassy letter you need to show 12 months of transfers already in bank account to do extension based on retirement (or marriage) 

UK, USA, AU citizens used income method.

This is discussed often.

 

In fact I'm currently changing from funds in bank to income..

In November I will show immigration that I  BOTH satisfied money in bank method and ALSO 12 monthly transfers.

Ongoing will be using income method.

Meaning to maintain funds in Thai bank account.

My reason (off topic) is to have zero funds tied up in Thailand to avoid providing WILL to make things easy for long term partner.