15 Month Retirement Visa?

[cheshiremusicman]

I am due to renew my 'Retirement Visa' in the New Year - this will be my first renewal and I have heard recently that it is now possible to obtain an RV that last for 15 months, which seems an odd length of issue. Does anybody have an knowledge or experience of this?

Maybe this a local thing as I live in Hua-Hin, as they seem to have different rules/laws for different areas!

[lopburi3]

You are not supposed to "renew" a retirement visa (non immigrant OA long stay visa). What you are expected to do is visit an immigration office inside Thailand to extend your stay for one year at a time. You have to show proof of pension/income of 65k per month by Embassy letter or have 800k in local bank account for 3 months or a combination. You then receive a one year extension of your stay.

Long stay visas (non immigrant OA) are only available for one year periods of stay - but if you obtained a multi entry it allows one year entry each time - so if you enter the day before it expires you have almost two years stay (but second year you must obtain re-entry permit to travel).

15 months would be what you can obtain using a normal multi entry non immigrant O visa and making 90 day border runs. It is not a retirement visa and only allows 90 day stays. If you enter just before that expires you would be a new 90 day stay so in effect almost 15 months use.

[klikster]

Long stay visas (non immigrant OA) are only available for one year periods of stay - but if you obtained a multi entry it allows one year entry each time - so if you enter the day before it expires you have almost two years stay (but second year you must obtain re-entry permit to travel).

Are you sure about this? Or is this a theoretical visa?

If these visas are available, why would anyone opt for a 1-year and then extend it for 1 year?

What am I missing here?

[lopburi3]

I am very sure. The multi entry non immigrant OA visa provides a one year permitted to stay stamp on any entry into Thailand during the one year validity of the visa.

[abdulrahman]

Long stay visas (non immigrant OA) are only available for one year periods of stay - but if you obtained a multi entry it allows one year entry each time - so if you enter the day before it expires you have almost two years stay (but second year you must obtain re-entry permit to travel).

Are you sure about this? Or is this a theoretical visa?

If these visas are available, why would anyone opt for a 1-year and then extend it for 1 year?

What am I missing here?

Lop is the authority on visas.Most retirees don't want to make a border run every three months.

[denboy]

I have an OA retirement visa with a multu re-entry stamp. My one year retirement runs from December 26 on a yearly basis.

I re-entered Thailand in July, the airport immigration entry stamp is up till the expiration of my yearly renewal the 26th od December

I would have thought that if you recieved a further year every time you entered on a multi re-entry it would have been stamped to the following July.

Where can I find that in writing in the immigration docs.

[lopburi3]

As I said above - you can use the multi entry non immigrant OA visa for a one year permitted to stay entry during the year that it is valid. In the second year you use a re-entry permit to keep the current permitted to stay time alive and receive an entry until that date only.

If you are using a re-entry permit that only allows a stamp until your current permitted to stay stamp (and it is listed on the re-entry permit itself).

[klikster]

Long stay visas (non immigrant OA) are only available for one year periods of stay - but if you obtained a multi entry it allows one year entry each time - so if you enter the day before it expires you have almost two years stay (but second year you must obtain re-entry permit to travel).

Are you sure about this? Or is this a theoretical visa?

If these visas are available, why would anyone opt for a 1-year and then extend it for 1 year?

What am I missing here?

Lop is the authority on visas.Most retirees don't want to make a border run every three months.

Okay, what's throwing me is the "period of stay" and "one year entry each time".

This makes it sound like you do not need to make a border run every 3 months.

[klikster]

I have an OA retirement visa with a multu re-entry stamp. My one year retirement runs from December 26 on a yearly basis.

I re-entered Thailand in July, the airport immigration entry stamp is up till the expiration of my yearly renewal the 26th od December

I would have thought that if you recieved a further year every time you entered on a multi re-entry it would have been stamped to the following July.

Where can I find that in writing in the immigration docs.

Yes, I'm just as confused about this as you are. I have had "retirement visa" extensions since June 21, '97. I have also had re-entry visas and yet each time I get my extension of stay, it tells me I must leave the country on June 21.

I think we are talking apples and marshmallows here.

Edited December 28, 2007 by klikster

[Lite Beer]

I think Mangos and Papaya

[Sojourner]

I think the readers are overlooking the difference between a Non O-A multi-entry visa and a Non O multi-entry.

If you start out by obtaining a Non O-A multi-entry visa at the Thai embassy in your home country you are allowed to stay in Thailand for one full year without having to leave. However if you do leave and return you will be allowed to stay for twelve months from the new date of entry. As Lop says, if you leave Thailand and return just before the Non O-A multi-entry visa expires you will get another twelve months stay. Since the visa will have now expired, you will have to buy a multi re-entry permit from your local Immigration office in order to keep your one year "extension" in effect if you decide to do a little traveling out of Thailand. After the twelve month extension you must start with a new visa or request a one year extension based on marriage, retirement, etc.

The Non O multi-entry only gives you a stay of ninety days before you must leave and return at which time you will get another ninety days. This you can do until the visa expires. In theory you can squeeze about fifteen months out of a non O multi.

Edited December 29, 2007 by Sojourner

[lopburi3]

I hope the post above explains it - if you have an OA (long stay/retirement) visa you do not make 90 day border runs - you are stamped in for one year stay.

It appears you "kilkster" are talking about a normal multi entry non immigrant O visa (other) entry. With that you need to make 90 day border runs.

Both methods can be used at the start for annual extensions of stay from Immigration. With the OA you can wait almost two years before starting the process - with the O only about 15 months. With the OA you must make 90 day address reports if you do not travel - with the O you have to travel.

To qualify for the OA requires extra paperwork in home country that includes a police report and medical report and it is likely only issued by the Thai Embassy rather than local Consulates.

[klikster]

I hope the post above explains it - if you have an OA (long stay/retirement) visa you do not make 90 day border runs - you are stamped in for one year stay.

It appears you "kilkster" are talking about a normal multi entry non immigrant O visa (other) entry. With that you need to make 90 day border runs.

I've already stated that I have a retirement visa, first extended in '96. I have a Non-O visa, not an OA. My existing TM card is dated 9/9/1996. I do not make border runs at all.

[lopburi3]

And what you have is a one year extension of stay from Immigration for the purpose of retirement. We were talking about visas and entry into Thailand - not extensions of stay; which do not allow any entry into Thailand by themselves.

[Maestro]

I've already stated that I have a retirement visa, first extended in '96. I have a Non-O visa, not an OA. My existing TM card is dated 9/9/1996. I do not make border runs at all.

The non-immigrant visa category O-A is commonly referred to as “retirement visa”

You seem to have an annual extension of stay for the reason of retirement, commonly referred to as “retirement extension”, and a re-entry permit.

--

Maestro

[mahjongguy]

How often are non-imm OA w/ multiple re-entry actually issued? It is the practice of the consulate in Los Angeles to issue these with only a single entry.

I arrived three years ago with my non-imm OA single-entry. Since then, have I been "extending" or "renewing"?

[Sojourner]

Not to be confused with Non O-A multi entry and Non O multi entry, Non O-A single entry and Non O single entry visas do not by themselves allow extensions of either the one year stay or ninety day stay respectively. Therefore you must act and apply for an extension before either the year is up or the ninety days are up.

[klikster]

I've already stated that I have a retirement visa, first extended in '96. I have a Non-O visa, not an OA. My existing TM card is dated 9/9/1996. I do not make border runs at all.

The non-immigrant visa category O-A is commonly referred to as “retirement visa”

You seem to have an annual extension of stay for the reason of retirement, commonly referred to as “retirement extension”, and a re-entry permit.

--

Maestro

Well, the "O" is also commonly referred to as a "retirement visa" by people who use them .. and was the only game around in '96. And "RETIREMENT" is currently either stamped or written beside each of the extension stamps in my passport.

[lopburi3]

That be as it may - it should not be called that because it is not a retirement visa and is most often issued for those who are married (and they mistakenly call it a marriage visa). The one visa that is sometimes officially called retirement is the long stay OA visa and should be what we refer to here if we do not specify extension of stay.

Nobody is saying you are wrong it that the name is often misused - but without proper use we can not provide accurate information (when we can actually do so).

As for how often multi entry OA visas are issued believe most coming out of the US the last several years have been multi entry because when they first started the program travelers would enter Thailand and then travel without getting a re-entry permit (not having any idea it was required) and the multi entry took care of that problem.

[klikster]

The one visa that is sometimes officially called retirement is the long stay OA visa and should be what we refer to here if we do not specify extension of stay.

And sometimes the "O" is referred to as a retirement visa .. by those folks in immigration at Saan Plu. I've heard them say it numerous times with my own oversized ears.

When the O-A was first introduced I believe it was called a "long stay", which is not necessarily "retirement". It was, I believe, supposed to benefit people who wanted to come here for various reasons and stay for extended periods of time, (medical and health recuperation was one example) then return to their home country.

But what I really wonder is what visa the OP was speaking of. Too many times here, OPs' questions are ignored in a mad rush to tout one's visa knowledge .. not saying anyone here has done that in this thread, of course.

[Lite Beer]

But what I really wonder is what visa the OP was speaking of. Too many times here, OPs' questions are ignored in a mad rush to tout one's visa knowledge .. not saying anyone here has done that in this thread, of course.

As the op has not come back with a response we will probably never know.

If anyone obtains a Multi Entry Non O Visa using Retirement as the reason , he or she can stretch this out to 15 months.

This would need border runs at least every 90 days.

I cannot think of anything else.

[cheshiremusicman]

You are not supposed to "renew" a retirement visa (non immigrant OA long stay visa). What you are expected to do is visit an immigration office inside Thailand to extend your stay for one year at a time. You have to show proof of pension/income of 65k per month by Embassy letter or have 800k in local bank account for 3 months or a combination. You then receive a one year extension of your stay.

Long stay visas (non immigrant OA) are only available for one year periods of stay - but if you obtained a multi entry it allows one year entry each time - so if you enter the day before it expires you have almost two years stay (but second year you must obtain re-entry permit to travel).

15 months would be what you can obtain using a normal multi entry non immigrant O visa and making 90 day border runs. It is not a retirement visa and only allows 90 day stays. If you enter just before that expires you would be a new 90 day stay so in effect almost 15 months use.

Thanks 'lopburi3' for the info. I have just returned to read the comments on this thread and thanks to everybody for their inputs.

Just to clear things up for everybody. I (we) obtained what I refered to as a RV after being resident in Thailand for some 60 days on a 'Non Immigrant Visa Category O, specified as 'good for Multiple jounerys to Thailand' this being issued from the Thai Embassy in Hull in the UK. We arrived on 22 Jan 07 and as stated before we had to wait the 60 days before we applied to the Immigration office her in Hua-Hin for what we call the 'Retirement Visa'. I was given to understand that you had to be over 50 years old and be able to show proof of the required income per month or have the necessary 800k B deposited in a Thai bank account and we met these conditions when we applied for what I am refering to as the 'RV'. As you correctly said there is NO reference to the word 'Retirement' on any of the slips that they clip into your passport when you go to obtain the renewal every 90 days, it ( the renewal slip) has a stamped notification at the bottom which says and I quote -

'Note -Residence notification is not an extension of Visa

Must keep this document on your passport

and come for the next renewal on ----/----/---

We were due to report on the 29 Dec 2007 and as this was Saturday we decided to go a day early on the 28th. We arrived in the Immigration office and when they looked at our papers etc they said come back on the 4th Jan and we will renew the Visa and they did not put a new slip in either passport to cover the remaining days between the 29th Dec and the 4th Jan.

The senior Lady Immigration officer just told us to go back to herself on the 4th Jan, along with the usual copies of the required documentation - namely 'Marriage certificate , Copy of Bank book pages and a letter from the bank stating the amount on deposit the day before, plus the usual copies of the pages of the passports etc.

Just for the record, we are only required to have had 800kB in the bank for 3 months prior to the renewal date to cover BOTH of us. I mention this as I have seen people asking in the past if both of you have to have 800kB each.

We understand that the 'renewal' will be dated again from the 22 January - which was our 'original date of entry' NOT the date on which we first obtained our so called RV, which all seems a bit confusing at first, but that appears to be the way that it is done!

We have always found the HH Immigration people to be most obliging and helpful whenever we have had dealings with them.

I must confess that I did NOT realise the implications of having a 'Multi Re-Entry' stamp along with the RV - VERY interesting and thanks again for the information.

I hope that the above clears up any misunderstanding as to what I was asking about in the original question and thanks again to everybody for their responses.

[Lite Beer]

So you have got an Extension of Stay for one year. Not a Retirement Visa.

[cheshiremusicman]

So you have got an Extension of Stay for one year. Not a Retirement Visa.

Yes that will be correct. I only refered to it as an RV because that was the term that we HAD understood it was and now we know better, but for the sake of the thread I continued to use it.

[Lite Beer]

So you have got an Extension of Stay for one year. Not a Retirement Visa.

Yes that will be correct. I only refered to it as an RV because that was the term that we HAD understood it was and now we know better, but for the sake of the thread I continued to use it.

Sorry. I was not having a dig at you. It is just amazing how many people do not understand what kind of Visas and Extensions etc. they actually do have.

Off topic, but thanks for the Lawn info.

[cheshiremusicman]

So you have got an Extension of Stay for one year. Not a Retirement Visa.

Yes that will be correct. I only refered to it as an RV because that was the term that we HAD understood it was and now we know better, but for the sake of the thread I continued to use it.

Sorry. I was not having a dig at you. It is just amazing how many people do not understand what kind of Visas and Extensions etc. they actually do have.

Off topic, but thanks for the Lawn info.

No problem, it's nice to get decent, reliable info and at least I now know what it really should be called.

Best of luck with the lawn.

[lopburi3]

One other thing - only one of you have a retirement extension of stay I suspect. The other would be a matching extension of stay but as dependent (wife or husband). That way there is no bank deposit required. That is why the marriage information is required.