Identifying The Visa Stamp - Is This Really The 1-year Retirement Extension?

[tablewater]

The photo clearly show two "retirement" extensions of stay. They are not visas.

Maybe this makes it clear enough

[lopburi3]

That photo is a multi entry non immigrant O visa. It is not a retirement (or long stay) visa (which is a non immigrant O-A visa). It could have been issued to visit someone in Thailand, to check on retirement option or "other" reasons (the letter O stands for "other").

You have since stayed here on one year extensions of stay based on retirement criteria (as the "retirement" stamp indicates).

edit: I suspect what you mean is the stamps you show in your original post are how the extension of stay stamps should appear when you get a one year extension for retirement and that is correct. But the only text was "retirement visas" which is not correct.

[gingco]

This is a bit off-topic, but I am curious to know . . . have the regulations requiring that one get a "90-day non-immigrant O" visa only in the "home country" been recently changed?

Apparently this lady was able to change her status from a 30-day tourist visa to a "90-day non-immigrant O".

I expect lopburi3 knows for sure the answer to this question!

[albymush]

I got a 1 year retirement visa last year, but still have to do 90 day reporting, no hassle, just do form show passport, they stamp it, 1000bht i think it was,

After a year, apply for a new retirment visa, im pretty sure this is all it is, hope im right for your mums sake, Cheers Lickey.

Yes, no and no.

Yes you must do 90-day reports if you stay here for 90 days continuously.

No, you don't pay anything, (Form TM47)

No, you don't apply for a new one next year - you "extend your stay" based on retirement. (Form TM7)

are you sure about that jetsetbkk? My 1 year retirement runs out on the 18th Sept and I was going to do the whole application thing again but if it's correct and I only have to extend - as I did 90 days ago - I'm very happy

[wpcoe]

No, you don't apply for a new one next year - you "extend your stay" based on retirement. (Form TM7)

are you sure about that jetsetbkk? My 1 year retirement runs out on the 18th Sept and I was going to do the whole application thing again but if it's correct and I only have to extend - as I did 90 days ago - I'm very happy

It's true you don't apply for a new visa, but when you apply for a new one-year extension, you must meet and document the income/savings requirements just like you did initially. (You need passport picture and copies of your relevant passport pages as well.)

If you are currently on a one-year retirement visa or extension, what did you extend 90 days ago? Once you have the retirement visa/extension the only thing you do at 90 day intervals is report your address if you've been in the country for 90 consecutive days.

[lopburi3]

It appears you have a multi entry non immigrant O visa rather than a retirement visa if you are required to make 90 day visa runs. For that you will need to visit a Consulate or meet the 65k/800k requirements for an extension of stay from Immigration.

((gringo)) There has never been any requirement that you obtain a non immigrant O visa in your home country. They can also be issued by Immigration on a tourist visa or visa free entry if you meet retirement qualifications.

[phuketrichard]

I got a 1 year retirement visa last year, but still have to do 90 day reporting, no hassle, just do form show passport, they stamp it, 1000bht i think it was,

After a year, apply for a new retirment visa, im pretty sure this is all it is, hope im right for your mums sake, Cheers Lickey.

they are cheating you>>>> the 90 day reporting is FREE. always has been.

They have given her a non "o" good for 90 days, then she goes back before it expires and applies for the 1 year retirement extension.

piece of cake if all the paper work is in order.

1 year extensions need to be applied for EACH year. 800,000 in the bank for 3 months or the equivlent of 65,000 baht PENSION/month.

OR

combination of the 2

It amazes me some of you all that post here. Many seem to have just gotten out of the crib and are clueless yet you all say you live here.

NOTE to ALL:

Tablewater

IT is RETIREMENT EXTENSION valid for 1 year

NOT a VISA!!

[JetsetBkk]

If you are currently on a one-year retirement visa or extension, what did you extend 90 days ago? Once you have the retirement visa/extension the only thing you do at 90 day intervals is report your address if you've been in the country for 90 consecutive days.

My thoughts exactly, wpcoe.

1. Extend your permission to stay (form TM7: http://www.phuketimmigration.go.th/en/imag...ownload/tm7.doc + 1,900 baht)

2. What did you 90 days ago - was it a "90 day report"? (Form TM47: http://www.phuketimmigration.go.th/en/imag...wnload/tm47.doc - free)

[sexy man]

i am on my 11th one year extension and this year is the first time they actually stamped retirement on my extension

[TaoNow]

Some posters like to emphasize the point that an extension of stay for purposes of retirement is *not* the same as a retirement visa. Why is this distinction important? Isn't the crucial issue the time period which a person is allowed to stay in Thailand before having to renew that permission? Does it matter what we call it? Or is there some important procedural difference that we should note?

[phuketrichard]

yes it matters

a 1 year extension to stay is NOT a visa.

the extension to stay is issued IN COUNTRY byt the local immigration

a Visa is issued outside via the consulate or Embassy.

[Priceless]

Some posters like to emphasize the point that an extension of stay for purposes of retirement is *not* the same as a retirement visa. Why is this distinction important? Isn't the crucial issue the time period which a person is allowed to stay in Thailand before having to renew that permission? Does it matter what we call it? Or is there some important procedural difference that we should note?

My "Retirement Visa" (Non-Immigrant O-A) allowed multiple entries without any further documents/actions. On each entry I would get permission to stay for one year, starting from the date of entry. An extension of stay is just that, i.e. you must obtain a re-entry permit if you want to leave the country and come back without having to obtain a new visa. Furthermore, the extension has set starting and ending dates, these do not change if you leave and re-enter the country. (BTW, these dates depend on the date of your last entry under the original visa.)

To put it differently: A "visa" is a permission to enter the country, a "permission to stay", or an extension of such, is what the words say it is.

/ Priceless

[Maestro]

Some posters like to emphasize the point that an extension of stay for purposes of retirement is *not* the same as a retirement visa. Why is this distinction important?

TaoNow, quite often the distinction is important when formulating a question in order to get an appropriate answer. Take for example this question: “My retirement visa expires on October 10, 2007. What can I do to stay in Thailand longer than that?”

There are different possibilities of an answer here, depending on what the poster currently has.

– Does he have a non-immigrant visa category O-A valid for a single entry?

– Does he have a non-immigrant visa category O-A valid for multiple entries?

– Does he have an annual extension of permission to stay for the reason of retirement?

--

Maestro

[albymush]

No, you don't apply for a new one next year - you "extend your stay" based on retirement. (Form TM7)

are you sure about that jetsetbkk? My 1 year retirement runs out on the 18th Sept and I was going to do the whole application thing again but if it's correct and I only have to extend - as I did 90 days ago - I'm very happy

It's true you don't apply for a new visa, but when you apply for a new one-year extension, you must meet and document the income/savings requirements just like you did initially. (You need passport picture and copies of your relevant passport pages as well.)

If you are currently on a one-year retirement visa or extension, what did you extend 90 days ago? Once you have the retirement visa/extension the only thing you do at 90 day intervals is report your address if you've been in the country for 90 consecutive days.

90 days ago I used form TM47 to confirm that I was at the same address.

Now at my 1 years end I must use form TM47 to re-apply for my 2nd retirement visa --- not quite what your post implied

[lopburi3]

I am not sure what you are doing but it is not an application for a retirement visa (which is done at a Consulate outside Thailand) and it is not an extension of stay for retirement which is done at Immigration with a TM.7. The TM.47 is used to report your current address every 90 days when you are in Thailand - that is all it is used for.

[albymush]

yes it matters

a 1 year extension to stay is NOT a visa.

the extension to stay is issued IN COUNTRY byt the local immigration

a Visa is issued outside via the consulate or Embassy.

Actually that is incorrect! As per the Immigration Bureau website it is a "Visa extension"

[phuketrichard]

look i have gotten 6 years of EXTENSIONS TO stay not visa extensions.

5 years on a retirement EXTENSION which was gotten after i showed them my multiple entry type "o"visa

and in July i got one based n the new rulling

that i am over 50 and living with my thai child

Right on the stamp is says application of stay is permited up to 18 july 2008......

[Maestro]

Actually that is incorrect! As per the Immigration Bureau website it is a "Visa extension"

Believe it or not, their website got it wrong, too. As the title of the application form says, it is an “extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom”

The temporary stay you are extending is not the visa, which you got from a Thai consulate, but the permission to stay, which is the entry stamp you got when you arrived in Thailand or the last extension stamp you got.

--

Maestro

[stickyb]

the extension to stay is issued IN COUNTRY byt the local immigration

a Visa is issued outside via the consulate or Embassy.

Actually, if you want to criticise people so much for getting it wrong, please make sure you get it right. The statement that a visa is issued outside the country is not always true. When i went from a 30 visa free entry stamp (not visa on arrival) the first step in the process at Pattaya Immigration bureau was to issue me with a Non Immigrant Visa.

[phuketrichard]

."...When i went from a 30 visa free entry stamp (not visa on arrival) "

visa on arrival is good for 30 days, ( not really a visa but really just entry stamp good for a 30 day stay

toursit visa is good for 60 days

what is a 30 visa free entry?

[Maestro]

what is a 30 visa free entry?

I am quite sure he meant “a 30-day visa-exempt entry”

...and a visa on arrival, which is not the same as a visa-exempt entry stamp, will lead to a permission of stay for 15 days, not 30 days. Nationals of certain countries who are not entitled to visa-exempt entry can get a visa on arrival: upon arrival at the airport, first get the visa, then proceed to the immigration counter for the entry stamp.

--

Maestro