Converting Non Immigrant "o" To "o-a" Retirement

[moe666]

Why is a oa visa hard to get? A friend using my advice went to the Washington D.C. Thai Embassy Web site down loaded all the info and documents filled them out for himself and wife, got the medical, police and finacial reports he needed and sent the package off to the Embassy. Two days later he recieved the package back with oa visa for himself and wife.

It seems to me that people want to make this process hard when it really isn't, it just takes a bit of effort on the part of the applicant to put togethere their application package.

Go to the website of the Embassy or Consulate you plan on submitting your package to and see what they require, if you are unsure give them a call and ask questions. It is beyond me why this process is precieved as being so diffcult.

[lopburi3]

If you are in Thailand on a non immigrant visa you can extend your stay for retirement if over age 50 and have 800k in bank account three months or 65k monthly income as listed in a letter from your Embassy or a combination of the two. This is called an extension of stay for retirement and lasts for one year and you do the same routine each year to renew it. There is no police report or medical normally required for this.

I have been obtaining a new O Visa each year in Brisbane Australia, so this is welcome advice for me. My income is not a pension however and I understood that was a necessary condition of the monthly income requirement. I draw a salary from a private company in Australia.

Lopburi3, do I understand from your advice that I could ask the Australian Embassy to confirm my salary in writing and take this letter to the Thai immigration together with my current non O visa to request an extension of that visa? I am over age 50.

Many thanks for the information already provided.

Yes.

[fishhooks]

Question to enigma;

May I ask if you need to show (in Brisbane) the reason you are obtaining an "0" Visa each year?

[fishhooks]

Sorry; Regarding my ? above; If a standard "0" Visa is a "Spouse Visa" my question does not require an answer!

[Jingthing]

Why is a oa visa hard to get?

Hard is relative. More requirements, without a doubt.

With the O you don't need a medical report or a police report. For an OA, you do.

For Americans, they could possibly need to pay thousands of dollars to get a doctor to sign the medical report because some of them will insist to actually perform all of the lab tests implied on the form to credibly deny the stated banned diseases. Personally that was the main reason I didn't bother with the OA, I didn't have a relationship with an American doctor that would sign the form without great expense. The police report would be more trivial to get but still a hassle.

On the other hand, getting an O just involved filling out one form, showing a small amount of money in a US bank account, and handing over the cash. Now that is easy.

Edited November 5, 2007 by Jingthing

[fishhooks]

Looking at the Royal Thai Consulate site for Sydney Australia, in their list of documents needed for an 0-A application, they have 8 different requirements.

Number 3. Personal Data Form. Within this form they ask for your "monthly income", "amount of saving" and in "which

banks"

Number 4. A copy of a bank statement showing the 800,000 deposit or income certificate of monthly 65,000 if you are

going that route.

Thus they are not only asking of the normal 800,000 total or 65,000 Baht monthly requirement, in this "Personal Data Form" they are asking in affect your total financial status

[Jingthing]

Looking at the Royal Thai Consulate site for Sydney Australia, in their list of documents needed for an 0-A application, they have 8 different requirements.

Number 3. Personal Data Form. Within this form they ask for your "monthly income", "amount of saving" and in "which

banks"

Number 4. A copy of a bank statement showing the 800,000 deposit or income certificate of monthly 65,000 if you are

going that route.

Thus they are not only asking of the normal 800,000 total or 65,000 Baht monthly requirement, in this "Personal Data Form" they are asking in affect your total financial status

Another good point. With an O, none of that rot. And easy to extend in Thailand. Again, why bother with the OA? I don't get why people do.

[ProThaiExpat]

The mention of the consulate in Sydney always pushes my buttons. Five years ago, after leaving Thailand after a couple of months on a tourist visa, I tried to get a non-imm-OA from the Sydney Consulate and wow was I knocked on my you know what by the attitude and the requirements.

After telling me I would need a police report from my home country five thousand miles away, along with a laundry list of financial documents, I questioned if they ever issued such a visa. I was told that it would be next to impossible for me to get one from them. When I showed them requirements posted at other Consulates, I was told all Consulates have their own requirements, as I have previously posted, and the Sydney Consul General was particularly strict in his requirements.

I returned to Thailand and obtained my non-imm-O here and then extended it with little difficulty. Why anyone would want to go through the hassles at home country Embassies and Consulates when it is so easy to do in Thailand is beyond me. Yes, occasionally, there are posts of easy efforts in home countries, but when one gets into the hoops that were required, they are much more cumbersome than in Thailand. Of course, one feels more comfortable within one own country but you are dealing with a Thai governmental agency nonetheless.

[ignoramus]

To Pro, re your post at 5pm today about the Sydney consulate pushing your buttons, thanks heaps for that, as I'm in Sydney. Now I'll have to scroll up and find Lopburi3's reply to my list of questions and have ANOTHER think, as, as Jinghthing and one or 2 others have said/implied: O is beginning to sound much better than OA. Especially when one is a crotchety old croaker with canes, oxygen mask and private nurse (for the final injection).

[ignoramus]

Sorry Jingthing, I know how to spell, really. 'Old' is the operative word in my case.

[JimGant]

The one advantage that I can see about an O-A is that, if you're not yet totally committed about living on mangoes and fried rice for the next eternity, you can sample the climate for nearly two years without ever visiting Immigration (mail in those 90-day reports), nor sending 800K baht to a savings account that pays .75% interest, and only having to leave the country once (for another one-year stamp). This, of course, would be if you could get the multi-entry variety of the Non Imm O-A -- which is still possible, but not everywhere.

Yes, if you want to travel your second year here (after your Non Imm O-A has expired -- and you have gotten that last one-year permitted to stay stamp with a quick out and in near its expiration) you will have to visit Immigration for a re entry stamp -- probably the easiest thing you'll ever do with Immigration.

So, assuming you can find an Embassy/Consulate that will issue you a multi entry Non Imm O-A without too much hassle (and they exist), an O-A may just be your huckleberry -- requiring no money sent to Thailand and no border runs for two years (except the one right before visa expiration).

Has worked for many. It could work for you.

For Moe666: How did your friend deal with the "notarization" requirement? And did he get a mult-entry variety of the Non Imm O-A visa?

[ProThaiExpat]

Thanks JimGant for a lucid post on the advantages of obtaining a non-imm visa in your home country. I always wondered if there more advantages than "state of mind" and clearly they are.

[fishhooks]

Thanks also to all the posters over the last few days.

I'm tending to agree also that "IF" the 0-A is not too much of a hassle to get in advance in your own country and "IF" in the case of Aus. members you don't mind answering all the requirements that Sydney throws up, why not get it over and done with 'before' you leave home.

JimGant sums up some advantages pretty well.

[JimGant]

The original gist of this thread, namely, that the Honoray Consulate at Hull is providing misinformation about the Non Imm O-A visa, needs, I think, to be explored further.

First, Hull, by all reports, has always been a first-class operation. I've never seen anything less than praiseworthy about this consulate. And their attention to detail on their website -- compared to most every other website, MFA and honorary alike -- show they go the extra mile.

But the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has recently cracked down on honorary consulates (too lenient; drain to MFA coffers?). Apparently, O-A visas are only to be issued now by MFA consulates and embassies. (Several honorary consulates in the US [Alabama, Colorado] no longer issue O-A's. However, some still do. Probably each consulate was contacted by a different MFA official -- and got a different proclamation. Imagine!)

Hull, in its interest to being helpful after losing its O-A issuing license, posted on its website what we see at the beginning of this thread -- misinformation. And this misinformation was a product of assuming MFA and the Immigration Police had the same criteria for letting in retirees for one year stays. Wrong, of course, as anyone whose been on this forum for any length of time knows, as being on the same sheet of music within Immigration itself is unlikely. For Immigration and MFA to be on the same sheet? Well.....

If you look at the Hull website, their guidance for an O-A visa leads one to get -- just a Non Imm 'O' visa, which per their site, only requires a retiree to show proof of pension (again, they're no longer allowed to issue O-A visas). All that other crap related to an O-A is their way of trying to prepare you for what they think Immigration will demand in Thailand. In their effort to be helpful, they've gotten wrapped around the axle, equating Immigration's extension of stays with MFA's Non Imm O-A visas. Same result, yes. Different animals, however. Hull's igorance is interesting. And it's certainly easy to see why the OP -- and others -- might be confused.

The following misinformation from the Hull website is, to me, the most interesting.

Having made the decision to retire in Thailand and having obtained/completed all the necessary documents, it is necessary to apply to the Royal Thai Consulate for a Non-Immigrant Category “O” Visa - see pages 3/10 to 6/10. This visa will enable the person to gain entry to Thailand so they can go through the process of applying for the retirement status. Furthermore, because the “O-A” Retirement Visa allows a continuous stay of up to twelve months but does not allow that person to (having exited) re-enter Thailand we advise obtaining the Non-Immigrant Category “O” Multiple Entry Visa. This visa entitles the holder to exit and re-enter Thailand at will, incurring no extra fees.

Page 1

Here they impose their old knowledge of how things used to happen when Hull issued a multi entry Non Imm O-A visa. And because they confuse Immigration's issue of a 'one year extension' permit with an 'O-A' visa, they somehow think this 'one year extension' issued by Immigration -- and the multi entry Non Imm 'O' issued by Hull -- somehow become magically entwined, allowing a one year stay, plus multiple entries.

Wrong, of course. (But I won't belabor the point, as there are enough threads why Immigration's one-year extensions *always* require getting a re entry permit from Immigration, as multi entry features of visas don't cover existing 'permitted to stay' permissions.)

Anyway, I'm sure the OP is still scratching his head. I know I would be. But Hull is a proven 'good guy' in this hunt for a fair and efficient method of dealing with Thai immigration. Most honorary consulates are -- being staffed by our fellow countrymen. So, I'm sure Hull's webpage will be corrected shortly.

[tartempion]

Most of us find it easier to come here with a regular O, not an O-A, and then convert to retirement extension in Thailand. I got this by saying I was "exploring retirement in Thailand" as my reason and this is common. Some embassies will not grant an O for that, and will demand an O-A application, last I checked Washington DC is like that.

Funny: to my knowledge the Thai embassy in Belgium never has granted O-A's to anyone, but is providing O's and telling people to get retirement extension in Thailand. Maybe it's less work for them ?

[fishhooks]

Anyone in Aus land had experience in obtaining the 'police report' for a non imm 0-A visa.

Who do you approach first up? Is there a standard form / cost?

I'd enquire from the consulate normally, but they are now closed until Friday.

[fishhooks]

Geez, one day later, I think I may have crashed the thread!

Anyway not to worry, it's Friday morning in about 15 hours when the Melbourne Consulate opens so I'll pursue the matter there.

It's just good to get an answer sometimes from an actual case history.

I went to the local Police Station and they gave me the standard form to fill-in, but they said I need to enquire from the consulate if they require the full police check including fingerprints, which is quite a bit more expensive and I would imagine a longer turn-around time.

So again, just as a favour, if any Aussie on thread has had experience in getting the Police Report (fingerprints / turn-around time?) I would appreciate it muchly.

[Jingthing]

Most of us find it easier to come here with a regular O, not an O-A, and then convert to retirement extension in Thailand. I got this by saying I was "exploring retirement in Thailand" as my reason and this is common. Some embassies will not grant an O for that, and will demand an O-A application, last I checked Washington DC is like that.

Funny: to my knowledge the Thai embassy in Belgium never has granted O-A's to anyone, but is providing O's and telling people to get retirement extension in Thailand. Maybe it's less work for them ?

Not surprising at all. The OA is not offered in all countries.

[johngooding]

Maybe useful for me to post my experience, having entered Thailand today with my new O-A issued by RTE in London (The Thai Embassy).

The embassy is in Queens Gate, near the Natural History museum, a short walk from Gloucester road underground. It is open Mon - Fri, from 9.30 to 12.30. I went with the required paperwork and lots of back up stuff, just in case.

Arriving at 9.20, waited in queue of about 12 people, outside until gate open. No cover, so need umbrella if raining. Visa section in basement and enough room and chairs, to seat about 40 people, (also toilets)

On entering 2 ticket machines, one for visa application (blue) and one for collection (green). Half the people had queued for collection so only a few in front of me. I waited about 20 minutes and watching those applying, found the embassy lady was polite, excellent English and helpful, one man had no money with him, and was told where nearest ATM was and agreed he could come back to front of queue on return.

I submitted docs, which have been well detailed in this thread, 3 copies of main form with photo on each and 3 copies of supplementary O A form are required. I mention this because the numbers stated on each form are contradictory to other info on website.

I had the required forms signed by a solicitor who signed as a Commisioner of Oaths, copying the wording done by a solicitor local to the embassy, seen on a friends forms. I can list the docs and the wording if anyone requires.

I had the solicitor sign and copy a pension payslip, and a letter detailing a second small AVC pension, and a letter from my offshore bank, obtained free on request from the bank. There seemed no problem with the bank letter being 3 weeks old, (had to be because the bank would only send to my Thai address and I wanted to be sure I got it). Also no problem that this sent to Thai address, and CRO record sent to UK address, as was pension letter. Seemed no problem that I had lived in Thailand for 11 months and I still had a valid Non Imm O. This was not cancelled.

I also took, my yellow tabien bahn, copies of UK bank account which pension paid into, copies of my Thai bank books, and the original books, a personal data form as mentioned on THai MFA site, and a written reference from MD of a Thai company. Also a printout of total income from interest, pension etc. Non of these documents of interest to embassy. Would not accept additional docs unless certified by solicitor, but did not need them anyway. Seemed to be a case of a lot of preparation not being neccessary, but who knows when the document not taken is the one they want to see.

This was Thursday 1st Nov, passport ready from Monday on, so on 3rd working day.

Fee is £100, same as multi, non O. Took cash, no credit cards, not sure if cheque OK, take cash to be safe. Time for application, 35 minutes, time to pick up, 10 minutes. I found the embassy staff, clear, polite and helpful, even returned a wai on leaving.

My logic was simple, for same cost as Non O, plus £10 for CRO, and doctors report, (for me free), plus £5 for Brecon solicitor to sign 5 documents, I now only have to leave Thailand once in 1 years time to have 2 years entry. Just need to fill in TM 47 and report address every 90 days. That saves me a lot of passport pages and fees for Laos visa etc. I also can leave my money in offshore bank earning 6.8% for nearly 2 years.

One problem then averted at the airport. As I had 2 visas; I as Lopburi 3 suggested entered the new O -A number on the arrival card, and put the card in the passport next to it. Very short queue at immigration, I checked passport handed back to me by immigration officer, and had 90 day stamp. I went straight back, said Khor Thot Khrap, and he saw me straight away, The Thai embassy had typed O-A on the visa, but had overstamped with a little Thai emblem and had written, 'long stay' over it. It was not very clear. The man consulted with his colleague, apologised to me and then had to manually alter his date stamp, to stamp the right date, (he had a stamp with 30 days and another one for 90 days set up), he crossed out with biro the 90 day stamp (4 Feb 2008), stamped 07 Nov 2008, initialled it and wrote Long stay on it.

He then picked up the wrong arrival card and was about to alter the date on it. I had to speak again, lean over and pick up my arrival card and offer it to him, he apologised again. He was very gracious about it, I tried to deal with him in a pleasant way, so face not lost. ( Luggage arrived within 10 minutes, so thumbs up for the new airport on this arrival)

So for me, as I was in London anyway for a week, it seemed a no brainer to go for this visa. If I had not been going, I would have extended my Non O instead in Thailand. I expect I will be doing that in 2 years.

Edited November 8, 2007 by johngooding

[Patriciachas]

Maybe useful for me to post my experience, having entered Thailand today with my new O-A issued by RTE in London (The Thai Embassy).

The embassy is in Queens Gate, near the Natural History museum, a short walk from Gloucester road underground. It is open Mon - Fri, from 9.30 to 12.30. I went with the required paperwork and lots of back up stuff, just in case.

Arriving at 9.20, waited in queue of about 12 people, outside until gate open. No cover, so need umbrella if raining. Visa section in basement and enough room and chairs, to seat about 40 people, (also toilets)

On entering 2 ticket machines, one for visa application (blue) and one for collection (green). Half the people had queued for collection so only a few in front of me. I waited about 20 minutes and watching those applying, found the embassy lady was polite, excellent English and helpful, one man had no money with him, and was told where nearest ATM was and agreed he could come back to front of queue on return.

I submitted docs, which have been well detailed in this thread, 3 copies of main form with photo on each and 3 copies of supplementary O A form are required. I mention this because the numbers stated on each form are contradictory to other info on website.

I had the required forms signed by a solicitor who signed as a Commisioner of Oaths, copying the wording done by a solicitor local to the embassy, seen on a friends forms. I can list the docs and the wording if anyone requires.

I had the solicitor sign and copy a pension payslip, and a letter detailing a second small AVC pension, and a letter from my offshore bank, obtained free on request from the bank. There seemed no problem with the bank letter being 3 weeks old, (had to be because the bank would only send to my Thai address and I wanted to be sure I got it). Also no problem that this sent to Thai address, and CRO record sent to UK address, as was pension letter. Seemed no problem that I had lived in Thailand for 11 months and I still had a valid Non Imm O. This was not cancelled.

I also took, my yellow tabien bahn, copies of UK bank account which pension paid into, copies of my Thai bank books, and the original books, a personal data form as mentioned on THai MFA site, and a written reference from MD of a Thai company. Also a printout of total income from interest, pension etc. Non of these documents of interest to embassy. Would not accept additional docs unless certified by solicitor, but did not need them anyway. Seemed to be a case of a lot of preparation not being neccessary, but who knows when the document not taken is the one they want to see.

This was Thursday 1st Nov, passport ready from Monday on, so on 3rd working day.

Fee is £100, same as multi, non O. Took cash, no credit cards, not sure if cheque OK, take cash to be safe. Time for application, 35 minutes, time to pick up, 10 minutes. I found the embassy staff, clear, polite and helpful, even returned a wai on leaving.

My logic was simple, for same cost as Non O, plus £10 for CRO, and doctors report, (for me free), plus £5 for Brecon solicitor to sign 5 documents, I now only have to leave Thailand once in 1 years time to have 2 years entry. Just need to fill in TM 47 and report address every 90 days. That saves me a lot of passport pages and fees for Laos visa etc. I also can leave my money in offshore bank earning 6.8% for nearly 2 years.

One problem then averted at the airport. As I had 2 visas; I as Lopburi 3 suggested entered the new O -A number on the arrival card, and put the card in the passport next to it. Very short queue at immigration, I checked passport handed back to me by immigration officer, and had 90 day stamp. I went straight back, said Khor Thot Khrap, and he saw me straight away, The Thai embassy had typed O-A on the visa, but had overstamped with a little Thai emblem and had written, 'long stay' over it. It was not very clear. The man consulted with his colleague, apologised to me and then had to manually alter his date stamp, to stamp the right date, (he had a stamp with 30 days and another one for 90 days set up), he crossed out with biro the 90 day stamp (4 Feb 2008), stamped 07 Nov 2008, initialled it and wrote Long stay on it.

He then picked up the wrong arrival card and was about to alter the date on it. I had to speak again, lean over and pick up my arrival card and offer it to him, he apologised again. He was very gracious about it, I tried to deal with him in a pleasant way, so face not lost. ( Luggage arrived within 10 minutes, so thumbs up for the new airport on this arrival)

So for me, as I was in London anyway for a week, it seemed a no brainer to go for this visa. If I had not been going, I would have extended my Non O instead in Thailand. I expect I will be doing that in 2 years.

Johngooding, can you clarify one point for us we are going to RTE in London in december can i go to my solicitor to get him to sign the documentation that we have or do we need to go to a public notary of which their is only one in our town ,i can not get a answer from the RTE much appreciated if you can clear this point up for me.

[Patriciachas]

Maybe useful for me to post my experience, having entered Thailand today with my new O-A issued by RTE in London (The Thai Embassy).

The embassy is in Queens Gate, near the Natural History museum, a short walk from Gloucester road underground. It is open Mon - Fri, from 9.30 to 12.30. I went with the required paperwork and lots of back up stuff, just in case.

Arriving at 9.20, waited in queue of about 12 people, outside until gate open. No cover, so need umbrella if raining. Visa section in basement and enough room and chairs, to seat about 40 people, (also toilets)

On entering 2 ticket machines, one for visa application (blue) and one for collection (green). Half the people had queued for collection so only a few in front of me. I waited about 20 minutes and watching those applying, found the embassy lady was polite, excellent English and helpful, one man had no money with him, and was told where nearest ATM was and agreed he could come back to front of queue on return.

I submitted docs, which have been well detailed in this thread, 3 copies of main form with photo on each and 3 copies of supplementary O A form are required. I mention this because the numbers stated on each form are contradictory to other info on website.

I had the required forms signed by a solicitor who signed as a Commisioner of Oaths, copying the wording done by a solicitor local to the embassy, seen on a friends forms. I can list the docs and the wording if anyone requires.

I had the solicitor sign and copy a pension payslip, and a letter detailing a second small AVC pension, and a letter from my offshore bank, obtained free on request from the bank. There seemed no problem with the bank letter being 3 weeks old, (had to be because the bank would only send to my Thai address and I wanted to be sure I got it). Also no problem that this sent to Thai address, and CRO record sent to UK address, as was pension letter. Seemed no problem that I had lived in Thailand for 11 months and I still had a valid Non Imm O. This was not cancelled.

I also took, my yellow tabien bahn, copies of UK bank account which pension paid into, copies of my Thai bank books, and the original books, a personal data form as mentioned on THai MFA site, and a written reference from MD of a Thai company. Also a printout of total income from interest, pension etc. Non of these documents of interest to embassy. Would not accept additional docs unless certified by solicitor, but did not need them anyway. Seemed to be a case of a lot of preparation not being neccessary, but who knows when the document not taken is the one they want to see.

This was Thursday 1st Nov, passport ready from Monday on, so on 3rd working day.

Fee is £100, same as multi, non O. Took cash, no credit cards, not sure if cheque OK, take cash to be safe. Time for application, 35 minutes, time to pick up, 10 minutes. I found the embassy staff, clear, polite and helpful, even returned a wai on leaving.

My logic was simple, for same cost as Non O, plus £10 for CRO, and doctors report, (for me free), plus £5 for Brecon solicitor to sign 5 documents, I now only have to leave Thailand once in 1 years time to have 2 years entry. Just need to fill in TM 47 and report address every 90 days. That saves me a lot of passport pages and fees for Laos visa etc. I also can leave my money in offshore bank earning 6.8% for nearly 2 years.

One problem then averted at the airport. As I had 2 visas; I as Lopburi 3 suggested entered the new O -A number on the arrival card, and put the card in the passport next to it. Very short queue at immigration, I checked passport handed back to me by immigration officer, and had 90 day stamp. I went straight back, said Khor Thot Khrap, and he saw me straight away, The Thai embassy had typed O-A on the visa, but had overstamped with a little Thai emblem and had written, 'long stay' over it. It was not very clear. The man consulted with his colleague, apologised to me and then had to manually alter his date stamp, to stamp the right date, (he had a stamp with 30 days and another one for 90 days set up), he crossed out with biro the 90 day stamp (4 Feb 2008), stamped 07 Nov 2008, initialled it and wrote Long stay on it.

He then picked up the wrong arrival card and was about to alter the date on it. I had to speak again, lean over and pick up my arrival card and offer it to him, he apologised again. He was very gracious about it, I tried to deal with him in a pleasant way, so face not lost. ( Luggage arrived within 10 minutes, so thumbs up for the new airport on this arrival)

So for me, as I was in London anyway for a week, it seemed a no brainer to go for this visa. If I had not been going, I would have extended my Non O instead in Thailand. I expect I will be doing that in 2 years.

Forgot to ask can you list docs and wording from solicitos thanks

[johngooding]

Docs taken were,

3 copies with photos attached, application form

3 copies supplementary O A form

Passport

Following docs cert, by solicitor

Medical cert

Subject Access form (commonly known as criminal record form, (or hopefully, lack of record)

Proof of income, (bank statement showing monthly credit, or pension letter or pension payslip etc)

If above not at least 65K a month, (RTE website actually says £14K a year, so they must use miserable exchange rate), then need bank deposit proof. I wrote to Anglo Irish bank and they wrote to me listing accounts, date opened and current balance. None of the income or savings needs to be in Thailand.

The solicitor, who was a commisioner of oaths, but not a notary public, stamped the solicitors name address and the wrote the following, copied from a friends form certified by a solicitor recommended by RTE:

I certify this document was seen at my office this 30th October 2007 and signed and added, Commisioner for oaths. THis was on the original docs. My pension payslip, which showed pay to date for this tax year etc, was copied and a separate statement, I certify this is a true copy of the original was added.

I repeat the solicitor wrote what had worked for someone else, my solicitor was suprised at the wording, because all they certified was that they had seen the document,

At the embassy, I was asked if this was a solicitor and I had brought a compliments slip from the practice, which satisfied them.

Hope the above helps.

JG

[fishhooks]

Thanks johngooding for the detailed post.

Helpful advice even though I will be applying in Australia.

What is a "Supplementary 0-A form" It doesn't seem a requirement here.

[lopburi3]

I suspect it may be what you call Personal Data Form

[fishhooks]

Ah, thanks lopburi3.

The Personal Data Form is the one which wants to not 'only' know if you have the 800,000 Baht.It also asks your total bank holdings

[johngooding]

The form is downloaded from RTE site. It is called oaform. It asks additional questions about income etc. Maybe it is what MFA call personal data form, but it is not named this by RTE. I did not realise this and also drew up a sort of small CV, this was not wanted by RTE.

[lopburi3]

It is what the RTE calls it in Oz. It appears to be a locally produced form (especially the UK one) but asking the same things.

[davehowden]

RESPONSE TO ME (OP) FROM ROYAL THAI CONSULATE (HULL) re applying for "O-A" Visa in Thailand.

I have looked through various comments on the link you provided and my comment is that someone has become confused between the "O" visa

and the "O-A" visa. Every foreigner who wishes to enter Thailand legally for a purpose other than tourism needs to obtain a non-immigrant visa of

some sort. The requirement of a category "O" non-immigrant visa is necessary in a number of situations including people who are entering Thailand

because they wish to apply for retirement status. Information on the website of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Non-Immigrant

Visa "O-A" Long Stay states that whilst applicants may apply at the Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate-General in their home country

(there are no Consulate-Generals in the UK) they can also apply at the Thai Immigration Bureau in Bangkok. Additionally we know it is possible to

apply at Thai Immigration Bureaux in main Thai cities/towns. However, if applying in Thailand, it is not possible to be able to enter Thailand without

first being in possession of a non-immigrant category "O" visa. I can assure you that many UK passport holders have entered Thailand with the

"O" visa and have subsequently successfully applied for the "O-A" (long term) visa.

I hope this helps.

Regards

Alan Taylor

Hon Consul

Royal Thai Consulate

Priory Court

Saxon Way

Priory Park West

Hessle

HULL HU13 9PB

United Kingdom

[lopburi3]

Immigration is an office that is authorized to issue visas - but they do so only for very specific reasons and this does not include the non immigrant O-A visa. There are 3 things you can do in Thailand:

1. You can obtain a visa (non immigrant O single entry) from a visa exempt entry stamp and then extend your stay one year at a time for retirement.

2. You can convert a tourist visa entry to non immigrant O single entry to extend your stay one year at a time for retirement.

3. You can obtain a one year extension of stay for retirement after entry using a non immigrant visa.

[Lite Beer]

O-A Visa cannot be obtained in Thailand. Has to be your home country.