I currently have a retirement (O-A) visa which expires in August but I will be coming back to Thailand in late July so I know I can get by without a new visa if I use re-entry permits. I leave Thailand for leisure travel in Asia about every 60 days.

1) Do I need to go to Immigration office to get a fresh re-entry permit each time I leave the country ?

2) What is the current cost of a re-entry permit ?

3) If Immigration moves to new location (far from me) do you think Suan Phlu (nearby) will be completely closed ?

I currently have a retirement (O-A) visa which expires in August but I will be coming back to Thailand in late July so I know I can get by without a new visa if I use re-entry permits. I leave Thailand for leisure travel in Asia about every 60 days.

1) Do I need to go to Immigration office to get a fresh re-entry permit each time I leave the country ?

2) What is the current cost of a re-entry permit ?

3) If Immigration moves to new location (far from me) do you think Suan Phlu (nearby) will be completely closed ?

A single Re Entry Permit costs 1,000 Baht.

A Multi Entry costs 3,000 Baht.

Application form

First we need to be sure what you have. If you have an OA visa issued by a Consulate and it is a normal multi entry you do not need re-entry permits for travel during the first year of validity - you receive a one year permitted to stay stamp on any entry.

If your OA visa has passed its validity or you are here on a one year extension of stay for retirement issued by Immigration you will require the re-entry permit prior to travel.

1. Single or multi entry available - all would have the same (current) permitted to stay until as there validity.

2. 1k or 3.8k

3. Likely to remain open. They are also available at airport after checking in for flights.

Read right column below for email/collect re-entry permit service.

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php

First we need to be sure what you have. If you have an OA visa issued by a Consulate and it is a normal multi entry you do not need re-entry permits for travel during the first year of validity - you receive a one year permitted to stay stamp on any entry.

If your OA visa has passed its validity or you are here on a one year extension of stay for retirement issued by Immigration you will require the re-entry permit prior to travel.

1. Single or multi entry available - all would have the same (current) permitted to stay until as there validity.

2. 1k or 3.8k

3. Likely to remain open. They are also available at airport after checking in for flights.

Read right column below for email/collect re-entry permit service.

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php

Thanks for this very helpful information. I have O-A issued by consulate in New York. Since I would return to Thailand before visa expiration date it would seem that I could obtain a mutil entry re-entry permit and travel freely with the immigration stamp always showing 1 year from date of last entry while Visa was still valid.

So if this is true I would not need to apply for an extension of my visa ??

Thanks

Any entry on the multi OA prior to expiration will receive a one year permitted to stay stamp. Once the visa expires (one year from date of issue) you must obtain a re-entry permit prior to leaving the country to keep the current permitted to stay stamp in your passport alive.

So basically, if your visa expires on August 30th, you would make a border run on August 29th. That would give you a permission to stay stamp until Aug 28th 2009. You then apply for a multiple re-entry permit to keep that stamp valid. That way for the next year you can come and go as often as you want, and will using your re-entry permit to keep using the last entry you made on your visa. Then come next year, you could apply for an extension of stay based on retirement, and would have to meet the requirements for the extension of stay. You then get another multiple re-entry permit, which would allow you to come and go for the next year. Then again in August 2010, you would file for another extension of stay, meeting requirements, get a re-entry permit.... and so on, and so on...