donshows Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Hi! I'm a 55 year old man in Seattle, Washington USA. I'm coming to Thailand and will begin with a Tourist visa. Can a tourist visa be renewed? If so, how and where. I've decided to start with a tourist visa to make sure I like Thailand as much as I think I do. After 6 months or so, I should know if I want to retire there permanently. Thanks for you advice and help. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Apply for a Multiple entry Non-Immigrant O Visa in the US. Your purpose of visit is to retire. The visa is valid for a year and enables stays of up to 90 days on each entry. If you decide to stay, that visa can be extended for year at a time if you open a bank account in Thailand with 800,000 Baht. If you use the tourist visa way, you will have to ultimately get an O visa to be able to be able to apply to stay, and periods of stay are longer. There is no compulsion for you to stay in THailand using that visa. It seems to me to be a superior class of visa for your purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donshows Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 Thank you for your reply. For a Multiple entry Non-Immigrant O Visa, do I need to open an account in a Thai bank? I didn't want to do this until I was certain that I want to stay in Thailand for sure. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks, Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 You might have to convince the Consulate that you have sufficient $ to transfer. Unless you seek the long stay visa there is no need to transfer money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRimmler Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 You can apply in your home country for a double entry tourist vias ($30). Each entry is good for 60 days and each entry may be extended at Thai Imagrations in Bangkok for an extra 30 days at a cost of 500 baht. After your first 90 days you can take a bus to the Thai border at Aranyaprathet and go across the border to Poipet Cambodia. Have the second entry of your visa activated and take the bus back to Bangkok. This can be done in about 10 or 12 hours, including the bus rides. The bus fares are under 200 baht each and you can get a Cambodia visa at the border for 1000 baht. Your second entry may also be extended another 30 days. This will give you 6 months with only minor inconvience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donshows Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 Thanks for the info....if is much appreciated. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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