Retirement Visa Renewal

[boxig]

Hi,

I need to renew my Retirement visa which ends on 30 March 2008 and I have two questions.

1. How many days before expire date I can do it ?

2. Is it ok if I bring a certificate for the 800k from my bank abroad or do I have to show the money in a Thai bank ?

Thank you

box

[lopburi3]

1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).

2. 800k will have to be in bank located in Thailand for 3 months prior to application.

[boxig]

Thank you Lopburi3

Is there any exception to the requirment that the 800k will be in Thai bank ?

Thanks

box

[portlandmike]

Hi,

How much does a Renewal for a Retirement Visa cost?

What form do I need to fill out at the Thai Embassy?

Thanks a lot,

Portland Mike

[lopburi3]

Thank you Lopburi3

Is there any exception to the requirment that the 800k will be in Thai bank ?

Thanks

box

No. The money must be in Thailand if you use the 800k method for extension of stay.

You can obtain non immigrant O-A visas in home country with the funds in that country but have the added costs of medical and police check.

[lopburi3]

Hi,

How much does a Renewal for a Retirement Visa cost?

What form do I need to fill out at the Thai Embassy?

Thanks a lot,

Portland Mike

There is no "renewal". A new one year extension is done at an immigration office inside Thailand and costs 1,900 baht for the TM.7 form filling.

Your home country can issue a long stay (retirement) non immigrant O-A visa (single or multi entry) for entry of one year on arrival - the costs vary by consulate and all require police check/medical paperwork.

There is also a multi entry non immigrant O visa valid for one year that allows 90 day stays which you obtain from an Embassy and that cost will vary (always in local currency).

[Langsuan Man]

lopburi3 Posted 2007-10-02 14:02:13

1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).

I hate to be such a dummy when it comes to this extension thing. I have a Non-Immigrant O-A, M (Multiple Entry) Visa which we all call a Retirement Visa. It was issued by the Thai Embassy in Washington on 1 Dec 2006 and says ENTER BEFORE 30 Nov 2007. Which is what I did and have the entry stamp which shows 12 Dec 2006. I did my 90 day reporting at Jomtien . At that time I informed the immigration officer that I would be leaving Thailand in May to return to the US and asked did I need to apply for a re entry permit. He said "No, since you have a M Visa".

I left Thailand on 15 May 2007 and am getting ready to return to LOS and will arrive on 17 November 2007. Obviously my first task will be to apply for an extension immediately, which I understand will require a trip to the US Embassy in Bangkok to obtain the letter verifying my income of 65K per month and thankfully not have to go to the MFA for a signature verification as was rumored in this forum several months ago.

My question is will Jomtien Immigration give me a hard time since I did not follow the 30 day requirement that lopburi3 speaks about above ?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Hope I get the quote format right

[jayenram]

My question is will Jomtien Immigration give me a hard time since I did not follow the 30 day requirement that lopburi3 speaks about above ?

The requirement is not 30 days before expiry but "up to 30 days before expiry". However, it is not advisable to leave it until the last minute (e.g. you may have inadvertently missed a document).

[lopburi3]

Good news. You will receive a stay until November 2008 when you enter Thailand next month - just make sure entry is before the 30th. Your visa provides a one year permitted to stay stam on any entry. So you will not have to extend your stay at immigration for another year.

What you will need to do, after 30 November 2007, is have a re-entry permit prior to any travel to keep your permitted to stay stamp alive. And if you stay here more than 90 days at a time you will have to do the address reporting.

[Langsuan Man]

Thanks and will post after I get through Immigration at the Airport and see what they stamp in my Passport.

LSM

Edited October 20, 2007 by Langsuan Man

[GuyDow]

1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).

2. 800k will have to be in bank located in Thailand for 3 months prior to application.

The requirement that the 800K has to be in the bank for 3 months prior to application is a new thing, is it not? Last year I transfered the money in from abroad around 2 weeks prior to applying and receiving a one year extension. Obviously it is an additional complication if I have to top up my account 3 months in advance .

[lopburi3]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

[Jingthing]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

[GuyDow]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

Thanks guys, I last renewed in September 2006 which explains why I haven't come across this before.

I'm going to have an interesting visit to Soi Suan Plu in January. I've just come back from selling my house. It took longer than I expected and when I returned to Thailand I didn't have the funds in the bank to apply for an extension. I had to go to Penang and get a new 90 day visa. The week after I got back from Penang I transfered the necessary dosh into my bank account here. Shortly afterwards I went to Suan Plu and was told to go away and come back when my 90 day visa was about to expire.

By now the sharper ones among you will realise where this is going. When my 90 day visa expires I will be 10 days short of the three months money in the bank rule. I wonder how this will turn out? Any chance of an extension for a couple of weeks do you think?

[GuyDow]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

The people at Suan Plu did say that if the money had been in the bank in time for me to extend, then that would have been acceptable. In other words, the 3 month requirement would not have applied since it was not my first extension of that visa. However I ran out of visa before I could transfer the money into Thailand and now, it appears, we have to start all over again.

[begsaresponse]

Just to add my 2 baht worth..we have just renewed our retirement visa. Nothing was said about money but this was our 3rd renewal.

Yes you do have to have 800,000 baht or 65,000 baht per month. If you chose the latter with a letter from your embassy you do not have to get it stamped in Bangkok.

However the other thing is you must show them that you have a Thai bank account. They also ask you to supply them with a letter from your Thai bank. This letter confirms who you are and what finance you hold in the bank. I suspect, and it is only my opinion, that they want to see that you are living of the money in your account rather than "working" on the "fly"!

I have also been told by the British Consulate in Pataya that they want to have a photocopy of a bank/credit card in your name to support your claim that you are able to support yourself financially.

The first renewal of your Retirement Visa is the most thorough in my opinion. So go prepared with all the photocopies of all the documents you need.

begsaresponse

[chiang mai]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

That's the first time I've heard that Jingthing, I'm going to renew for the fifth time next May and was told in no uncertain times last May that the 800k would be needed three months in advance, next time around. You seem to imply that the 3 month rule is discretionary or uncertain. Can you add anything to what you have said?

[Jingthing]

There have been some reports especially from Jomtien that the three month seasoning is not required after the first extension. I have no direct experience of this but all those with info, please report. It is also true if you are using a pension letter for part of the requirment, you are totally exempt from the three month money seasoning requirement.

I will give my opinion though, at least for Jomtien. If using the 800K to qualify and the money was not in 3 months before and it was a subsequent extension and you could show an "ideal" bank book showing steady spending down of the account over the year, I would be very surprised if you would be denied an extension. Alternatively, if something looked fishy such as large ups and downs timed for immigration visits, I think they would ask some hard questions, or worse.

Edited October 20, 2007 by Jingthing

[Langsuan Man]

I would like to add my 2 Baht here about transfer of the 800K into a Thai Bank. I was told by my bank (SCB) that any wire transfers into Thailand in excess of $20,000 US would be subject to the 30% withholding requirement that was instituted last year. For those of you who are not familiar with it the BOT (Bank of Thailand) had this hair brained idea that limiting currency inflows into Thailand would stem the rapid appreciation of the Baht. For the poor Thai investor this scheme resulted in one of the largest drops in the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) in history. Fortunately the market rebounded in the next couple of days so hopefully not many Thai investors were jumping off ledges.

I was able to get around this limit when I wired in a large amount to pay for a condo by having my bank include a statement with the wire that it was for a condo purchase.

I pose the question to the experts on the board: How would those that have to use the 800K in the bank method of showing sufficient funds get around this requirement ? (other than the obvious one of making two transfers and keeping under the $20,000 per transfer policy).

And before you start flaming me I am going to assume that this 30% withholding applies to an equivalent amount in other off shore currencies. I am just familiar with US dollars. (800,000 THB divided by 34 Baht = $23,529.41)

LSM

[lopburi3]

For 800k money it is easy - just do two transactions. For condo or if under 20k is not an option just sign paper at your bank and they will not withhold/transfer the 30%. Most banks seems to hold funds until you tell them - but if already transferred it will be returned but will require a paper chase. Best to just keep transfers below the 20k USD level.

[Rooo]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

Jingthing,

My wife just had her 3rd renewal here in Samui & was told beforehand that she had to have the money in the bank. YES they do enforce it here on Samui.May I also add that the immigration officer,indicated in no uncertain terms that she has to have the money a long time.My interpretation of this is do not just borrow the money & put it in & then withdraw it straight after visa renewal.

[begsaresponse]

It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.

And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.

Jingthing,

My wife just had her 3rd renewal here in Samui & was told beforehand that she had to have the money in the bank. YES they do enforce it here on Samui.May I also add that the immigration officer,indicated in no uncertain terms that she has to have the money a long time.My interpretation of this is do not just borrow the money & put it in & then withdraw it straight after visa renewal.

The view that some Foreigners have just borrowed the 800,000 baht paid it into their bank account and withdrew it after their extension is the very thing that Immigration is trying to stamp out.

Because if people do not have money in their bank accounts how are the financing their stay in Thailand, they are probably working without the proper visa and not paying taxes etc etc.

The important thing about having a Thai bank account is being able to show a history of money from overseas going in and a history of money being withdrawn to prove the account is being used to support the cost of living in Thailand.

begsaresponse

[GuyDow]

1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).

2. 800k will have to be in bank located in Thailand for 3 months prior to application.

Does anyone know if the requirement is 3 calendar months or is it 90 days? It makes quite a difference to me.

[lopburi3]

3 calendar months.

[Jingthing]

3 calendar months.

Could you clarify that? Do you mean if you transferred the end of one month, three months before, and renewed at the beginning of your renewal month, you would be on time? In other words, that could be something like 62 days rather than 90?

[lopburi3]

That would be two calendar months - April 12 to July 12 would the three.