I've used an agent for 3 extensions. It's clear that this method is coming to an end very soon. I'm considering letting this extension lapse and applying for a Non O-A from my home country.  

 

- would the Non O-A be sullied by having used agents in the past? 

- is it possible to have a Non O-A without a Thai bank account?  I've got an account now, but that would be shut down as soon as the Non O expires.  I'm not keen on opening another bank account until the institutions here get their act together.  

 

My faith in the Thai banking system diminishes every time I visit this board and read about the number of expats who are having problems with the banking system.  My belief is that it's about something other than 'Chinese mule accounts' but that's a discussion for a different thread. 

 

 

Specifically addressing your two questions:

 

a.  Doubtful.  As far as I can tell, the Thai embassy system is not wired into the Thai Immigration system (as weird as that may sound.)

 

b.  Yes.  My first non-OA was obtained without a Thai bank account.

 

What I liked about the non-OA was that it was essentially good for two years as you get stamped in for a year with each entry until the visa expiration date.  So you exit the country just prior to the visa expiration and get stamped in for another year.

 

What you didn't ask:

 

c.  You need specific Thai health insurance from a specific list of Thai insurance companies to obtain the visa (or a Foreign Insurance Certificate Form, which is reputed to be difficult to obtain.)  Here is a list of those companies:

 

https://longstay.tgia.org/companiesoa

Well yeah it's normal to get the OA in your home country with no need of a Thai bank account.

But for eventual later annual extensions you need a Thai bank account for the 800K method or if you're doing income based and your embassy doesn't supply affadavits.

But if you'd be doing income based and can get an embassy affadavit then not sure why you would need a Thai bank account unless for some reason your Thai immigration office wants to see that anyway. That detail I don't know about. I can imagine why they might but have no idea if they typically would. 

13 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

I've got an account now, but that would be shut down as soon as the Non O expires.  I'm not keen on opening another bank account until the institutions here get their act together.  

 

Why would your bank account be shutdown down when Type-O expires?

 

I left Thailand once on a Type-OA visa, with no re-entry permit. That immediately invalidated my Type-OA visa. I had multiple Bank Accounts with Krungsri bank and multiple Bank Accounts with Bangkok Bank.

 

Two months later I re-entered Thailand visa exempt.  I still had my bank accounts.

 

I applied for a Type-O visa and obtained it.  

 

With the new-Type-O, I went to the banks, and they made copies of the new visa (with associated permission to stay).  

 

There was no need to shut down my bank account.

 

With regard to switching from Type-O to OA, did you get that backward?   Type-O, if one plans to reside in Thailand, is IMHO a superior visa.

 

3 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

Specifically addressing your two questions:

 

a.  Doubtful.  As far as I can tell, the Thai embassy system is not wired into the Thai Immigration system (as weird as that may sound.)

 

b.  Yes.  My first non-OA was obtained without a Thai bank account.

 

What I liked about the non-OA was that it was essentially good for two years as you get stamped in for a year with each entry until the visa expiration date.  So you exit the country just prior to the visa expiration and get stamped in for another year.

 

What you didn't ask:

 

c.  You need specific Thai health insurance from a specific list of Thai insurance companies to obtain the visa (or a Foreign Insurance Certificate Form, which is reputed to be difficult to obtain.)  Here is a list of those companies:

 

https://longstay.tgia.org/companiesoa

 

Thanks for the well thought out reply. I checked the health insurance and found prices to be comparable  to the agent's fees, with the added bonus of actually getting something for the money and starving the corrupt officials. 

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Well yeah it's normal to get the OA in your home country with no need of a Thai bank account.

But you need a Thai bank account for the 800K method or if you're doing income based and your embassy doesn't supply affadavits.

But if you're doing income based and can get an embassy affadavit then not sure why you would need a Thai bank account unless for some reason your Thai immigration office wants to see that anyway. That detail I don't know about. I can imagine why they might but have no idea if they typically would. 

 

JT, non-OA doesn't require 800K or income method if one simply continues to obtain consecutive non-OAs (once every two years.)

 

I did this for four years until the insurance requirement was added and in those four years never had to visit an Immigration office in Thailand.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Well yeah it's normal to get the OA in your home country with no need of a Thai bank account.

But for eventual later annual extensions you need a Thai bank account for the 800K method or if you're doing income based and your embassy doesn't supply affadavits.

But if you'd be doing income based and can get an embassy affadavit then not sure why you would need a Thai bank account unless for some reason your Thai immigration office wants to see that anyway. That detail I don't know about. I can imagine why they might but have no idea if they typically would. 

 

Jomtien refused to accept my affidavit.  My embassy still does them.  I wanted to do things by the book when I first arrived and that was one of my first interactions with the 'system' here.  

2 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

 

Jomtien refused to accept my affidavit.  My embassy still does them.  I wanted to do things by the book when I first arrived and that was one of my first interactions with the 'system' here.  

Wow. That's interesting. I've never heard of a case like that.

Kindly state your nationality.

4 minutes ago, TheAppletons said:

 

JT, non-OA doesn't require 800K or income method if one simply continues to obtain consecutive non-OAs (once every two years.)

 

I did this for four years until the insurance requirement was added and in those four years never had to visit an Immigration office in Thailand.

That's true of course.

I hadn't considered that as I think transitioning to annual extensions is much miore common. 

7 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

Jomtien refused to accept my affidavit.  My embassy still does them.

Which embassy

2 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Which embassy

 

Canadian 

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Wow. That's interesting. I've never heard of a case like that.

Kindly state your nationality.

 

Canadian.  The agent said the Immigration office sets those policies to drive people like me into the arms of agents.  I hope this hits the IOs hard and they'll have to pay for their inflated lifestyles on their 20k baht salaries. 

8 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

 

Canadian 

Canadian embassy no longer provides income letters. 

 

Finding your posts contain lot of misunderstanding and misinformation. 

 

 

6 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

  I hope this hits the IOs hard and they'll have to pay for their inflated lifestyles on their 20k baht salaries

Statements such as this are just rants. 

If you seek information ask. 

6 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

 

Canadian.  The agent said the Immigration office sets those policies to drive people like me into the arms of agents.  I hope this hits the IOs hard and they'll have to pay for their inflated lifestyles on their 20k baht salaries. 

Aha.

Anyway, the Canadian embassy stopped issuing such affidavits April 1 of this year.

 

 

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Canadian embassy no longer provides income letters. 

 

Finding your posts contain lot of misunderstanding and misinformation. 

 

 

They do, unless it has changed very, very recently.  

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Aha.

Anyway, the Canadian embassy stopped issuing such affidavits April 1 of this year.

 

 

 

Thanks. That is recent.  They didn't issue the document, just notarized the income letters from our pension plans. 

OK, I found a thread on the income affadavit subject. Thanks, investment account transfer it is. 

3 minutes ago, flaming dragon said:

OK, I found a thread on the income affadavit subject. Thanks, investment account transfer it is. 

If you are doing monthly transfers (65k) you would need to show 12 previous transfers. 

 

Just now, DrJack54 said:

If you are doing monthly transfers (65k) you would need to show 12 previous transfers. 

 

 

I'm only here for half of the year.  No transfers when I'm away.  I arrive with cash and supplement with transfers when required.   A Non O-A appears to be the best route for me. Wealthsimple just came out with a card that refunds ATM charges (a la Schwab for Americans) so I'll save on Wise fees as well. 

 

Thanks for the help and pointing out that our embassy no longer does the letters.  I've got pension income that qualifies me to be here, so it was merely a case of downloading the letter and having it notarized by our embassy.  The process was never an attestation as other embassies used. 

7 hours ago, flaming dragon said:

 

Thanks. That is recent.  They didn't issue the document, just notarized the income letters from our pension plans. 

This is not and has never been accepted by immigration.  Notarizing a document is not the same as embassy certified income.  Anyone can notarize anything.  Notarization is just attesting that you were the one who signed it.  That is not verification of anything and was properly rejected by immigration.

 

But I can assure you, agent extensions will not be going anywhere.

On 10/2/2025 at 2:40 PM, flaming dragon said:

Jomtien refused to accept my affidavit.  My embassy still does them.  I wanted to do things by the book when I first arrived and that was one of my first interactions with the 'system' here.  

That was probably when you tried to go from a Tourist-entry to a Non-O 90-day stamp - the first step in the process - correct? 

I had the same thing happen, because that IO / desk is horribly corrupt.  I even had the MFA stamp on my affidavit. She offered a 15K bribe option to give me the visa I 100% qualified for.  Reports indicate this has been going on for 15+ years.

 

Given how their corrupt system works here, I don't blame you for being willing to deal with the hassle of O-A visas from Thai consulates (criminal history check, etc), to avoid it.