I am 71 years old . My wife is 70.

We arrived here with "O" Visas in July "07.

We indicated to the Consulate in Australia that we had at least 800,000 Baht in bank savings in Australia as well as a monthly pension income.

My understanding was that at renwal time , in 12 months, we would have to produce the same evidence to Thai authorities but would have to indicate that the savings were in a Thai Bank Account.

Will we now have to open another 800,000 Baht saings account in a Thai bank ?

Yes.

If you have pension income that can be used to offset the 800k requirement. You will need two x 800k total but anything earned as pension and that you can obtain a letter for from your Embassy will reduce the amount required in bank deposit(s).

We indicated to the Consulate in Australia that we had at least 800,000 Baht in bank savings in Australia as well as a monthly pension income.

My understanding was that at renwal time , in 12 months, we would have to produce the same evidence to Thai authorities but would have to indicate that the savings were in a Thai Bank Account.

Will we now have to open another 800,000 Baht saings account in a Thai bank ?

I suggest you read the other threads on the forum re the new rules introduced yesterday whereby for a married couple EACH one has to apply for their own extension of stay with their own income which means for the two of you, you will need to show 1.600.000 baht in a Thai bank three months prior to renewal!

You also do not mention if the consulate gave you a one year visa or a 90 day O single/multiple entry, if the latter you will need to extend sometime in October.

p.s. whilst I was writing this Lopburi posted the definitive reply and he is our resident expert.

Edited September 2, 200718 yr by JohnC

Is there not a can of worms buried herein? Tokolosh says that he has indicated to the consulate in Australia that he has the necessary funds, on a recent thread I quoted the Hull consulate as saying that for an initial application for a retirement visa the funds did not need to be in Thailand. This was contradicted by one of the visa gurus who stated that even for an initial application the funds must be in a Thai bank and therefore Tokolosh would need his funds in Thailand now, ready for his first application for an extension in about one months time.

The poster appears to be here on an non immigrant O-A visa one year entry per "My understanding was that at renwal time , in 12 months".

As for Hull that statement is correct if you obtain a non immigrant O-A visa. But if you just obtain the O visa that Hull issues to check on retirement options and then want to extend for one year in Thailand the money has to be here (if using money) - and it would have to have been here for 3 months.

I looked up the previous thread, if you look at Maestro's first reply, he appears to think there is no difference in the requirements between a non-O and a non-O-A.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=139314

There is no difference for extensions from Immigration. But with the O-A you don't have to have an extension for a year or two as each entry allows a one year stay.

I am 71 years old . My wife is 70.

We arrived here with "O" Visas in July "07.

We indicated to the Consulate in Australia that we had at least 800,000 Baht in bank savings in Australia as well as a monthly pension income.

My understanding was that at renwal time , in 12 months, we would have to produce the same evidence to Thai authorities but would have to indicate that the savings were in a Thai Bank Account.

Will we now have to open another 800,000 Baht saings account in a Thai bank ?

THANKS ALL !

Appreciate your input.

Cheers.

Can they not get a second year out of the O-A visa, assuming that's what they have?

Since each entry on the O-A is stamped for a 12-month permission to stay, can't they obtain a re-entry permit to keep their final entry's permission to stay alive? That's the way I thought I understood it to work: That they can keep from bringing in funds to Thailand for (almost) two years from their original visa issue date.

i.e. Sometime between their final entry on the current O-A visa and the expiration date of that visa, pay B3800 for a multiple-entry reentry permit and effectively the original stays ineffect for another year.

If it is a multi entry type yes - they can get almost two years out of it but will require re-entry permit for any travel after the visa expiration date on Consulate stamp.