Retirement visa

[Gammy]

Hi

I'm new to this forum

Can someone help by answering a few queries?

I'm a 64 year old guy from the UK.

I'm going to Thailand in November and intend to apply for a 12 month retirement visa.

Do I have to show that my pension is being payed into a Thai bank or will proof from my UK bank suffice? How rigid are immigration regarding the 65,000 Bht per month income?

Would it be better to tansfer money in UK currency and have it exchanged by a Thai bank or vice versa? The UK exchange rate is about Bht 61 to GBP.

Can I get medical insurance out there or would it be better to get it for 12 months in the UK?

And finally. If I was granted a 12 month retirement visa, would I be able to leave Thailand and re-enter during the 12 months on the same visa?

Many thanks for your time guys.

Hope someone can help.  

[lopburi3]

You should probably start your visa process in one of the consulates in the UK as you will want to have a non immigrant visa when you enter Thailand.  You may be able to have a reasonable amount in a bank account here and less income than the required 65k as long as the total amounts to 800k.  For now you need to show the money in a UK bank I would suspect, with the understanding you will transfer it to a Thai bank before you extension request.

Money transfer is best if done in your home currency and change done at this end AFAIK.

Medical insurance may be a problem here because of your age.  Only knowledge I have is that BUPA does not seem to publish any rates after age 65.

The retirement visa is really an extension and you can obtain, at extra cost, re entry permits that will allow you to travel in/out and maintain the same ending date.

[jonwilly]

You need to hold a non immigrant visa which can only be issed outside thailand before you apply for retirement non immigrant visa.

You must show either

800,000 B in Thai bank. Bangkok Bank is suggested. or a monthly income of 65,000 B/ month as verified by the Brit embassy or Consulate in Chiang Mai. or

A sum made up of 800,000 b minus the verified monthly income.

A basic medical cert, no blood test, is required and bank book plus photo copies of all pages of bank book and passport.

Smart dress, in Thailand this means clean and a polite respectful attitude counts for much when dealing with Thai immigration, who are police officers.

jon

[redwood13]

In my conversations with Kuhn Pallop at Suan Plu Immigration in Bangkok earlier this year, he will only issue a retirement visa with 800K baht in a Thai bank.  He will not allow the use of any part of a pension in the process.  On the other hand he was allowing application using a 60 day tourist visa and then changing that to an O visa without the applicant having to leave Thailand to obtain an O visa.

As "jonwilly" indicates the authorities in Chiang Mai have a differing approach to the financial requirements.

-redwood

[Roger13]

Hi Gammy,

PENSION

Your Pension does NOT need to be paid to a Bank in Thailand.

When Applying for your Retirement Extension in Bangkok

it is the usual proceedure to produce a Simple Letter from the

British Embassy in Bangkok detailing your Pension & your Address. The Embassy will require to see a letter from the

Institution paying your Pension.

(I do not know what the Thai Consulate in UK will require to see as proof of your Pension - but you can phone them - the Consulate in HULL has received many good Reports on this Forum - put HULL in the Search box)

HULL  

Royal Thai Consulate

James Bell House, Connaught Road, Kingswood, Hull HU7 3AQ

Tel 01482 581668

Fax 01482 224225

Website http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com

(I cannot get their e-mail address to work - maybe you could test this and if you also have a problem mention this to them)

They specialise in Postal Service (you have to pay extra fee for a personal appointment)

Regarding sending your Pension to Thailand, I would instead recommend having it paid to your UK Bank - withdrawing it as and when required from an ATM in Thailand - there are many here and it is much cheaper than paying for Bank Transfers every month. Does your Bank issue a VISA Debit Card for example?

DEPOSIT ACCOUNT

The regulations say this must be in a Thai Bank

I have taken this to mean a Bank in Thailand.

There are several Foreign Banks in Thailand.

British ones are HSBC(Midland) and Standard Chartered Bank,

Standard Chartered has a Local Subsidiary

Standard Chartered Nakathorn Bank that has many Branches.

Immigration accept Letters from these Banks.

You would have to open an account here then arrange to

Transfer Funds to it from your UK Bank.

Before you leave, you should discuss with your UK Bank the best way to do this . Does your UK Bank have an on line facility which includes your being able to effect transfers from any computer ? Or maybe you could Bring a Bank Draft payable to yourself. Do ask your UK Bank - which Bank is their Correspondent Bank in Bangkok - it would be worth considering

Banking with them.

Have you read the Retirement Details by clicking on

HOME - Go to Main Site - Thaivisa.com  

-  at the Top of this screen?

RE-ENTRY

You can leave the Kingdom at any time but as has been pointed out - you MUST get a Re-Entry Permit stamped in your passport which will expire on the same date as your 12 month extension - and you must quote its number on

Form T6 - the Card you complete for Immigration when you Re-Enter. Currently Re-Entry Permits cost Bht500 for Single; Bht 1,000 for Multiple. But these are due to increase on 26th August

Roger

[Nakhon1]

I strongly advise you obtain the retirement (o-a) visa in the UK. If you meet the criteria you will have no problems.

Although Thai immigration have discretion to convert  tourist visa to o-a long stay the probabilty is you will encounter hassles particularly if you do not have 800k in Thai bank. You can see from this site people do get lucky, but I wouldn't chance it.

Do NOT arrive without visa. They cannot convert a 30 day arrival stamp to o-a.

I have obtained o-a visa on 2 seperate occasions through Thai embassy in London without any hassle. Last time was 3 weeks ago (am now back in Thailand). Took 2 mins each time for agreement (although you have to return to pick up passport 2 days later). You must travel to Thailand within 3 months of issue. Bangkok airport immigration will give you 12 months stay from date of arrival.

If you travel to Thailand on a tourist visa immigration have discretion to convert to an o-a visa but you could very well face difficulties.

To obtain in UK you will need equivalent of 800k baht in

UK savings account. You won't need to produce a bank statement but will need letter from bank/buiding society dated as near as poss to the date you visit embassy. Alternatively (if applicable to you) a letter from your pension company confirming your monthly pension (ask them to quote the annual equivalent). Theoretically they should only take your NET (after UK tax) pension into account.

- so if the gross

To obtain a one year extension in Thailand you will need to transfer the 800k OR show thai bank passbook showing 65k transferred every month (and a confirmatory letter from bank). Thas all.

You will need a letter issued by Met police confirming you have no criminal record. You obtain this through your local county constabulary (any police station in your county of residence should give you a form or you can order one through constbulary website). Overall takes about 4 weeks to obtain but they allow themselves 8 weeks.

You will also need medical certificate. Thai embassy visa section will give you a form for a doctor to certify although they will accept a letter from a doctor confirming that you are free from specified afflictions.  This was the only problem I faced. My GP refused to assist so I had to go through a private practice -cost 260GBP including X-ray for TB.

Application form for non-immigrant visa(of whuich o-a is one caegory) can be downloaded from thai London embassy website. The additional form for o-a visa can be downloaded form thai Washington DC embassy website (LOndon use the ame form). I don't think the medical certificate can be downloaded.

To obtain a one year extension in Thailand you will need to transfer the 800k OR show thai bank passbook showing 65k transferred every month (and a confirmatory letter from bank). Thats all.

There is a lot of misleading info on the web and certainly Thai officialdom can be fickle but do things by the book and you will have no problems.

A word of warning. As you will see elsewhere the income requirements are likely to be raised substantially next year but MAYBE sooner. However anybody already in the country renewing an o-a visa should retain the old income levels although this is to be confirmed. People who arrived before the last hike now enjoy grandfather rights.

[Roger13]

Bangkok airport immigration will give you 12 months stay from date of arrival.

Nakhon,

I do not think this is correct.

Is it a typing error?

My experience is that you are given a 3 month

stay visa at the Airport (for O-A Visa)

and then the first extension will be for 9 months.

Grammy,

I agree with Nakhon - do get the O-A Visa in UK first.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Be aware that the rules change as of 26 August 2003.

[jonwilly]

Hi Gammy,

PENSION

Your Pension does NOT need to be paid to a Bank in Thailand.

When Applying for your Retirement Extension in Bangkok

it is the usual proceedure to produce a Simple Letter from the

British Embassy in Bangkok detailing your Pension & your Address. The Embassy will require to see a letter from the

Institution paying your Pension.

(I do not know what the Thai Consulate in UK will require to see as proof of your Pension - but you can phone them - the Consulate in HULL has received many good Reports on this Forum - put HULL in the Search box)

HULL  

Royal Thai Consulate

James Bell House, Connaught Road, Kingswood, Hull HU7 3AQ

Tel 01482 581668

Fax 01482 224225

Website http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com

(I cannot get their e-mail address to work - maybe you could test this and if you also have a problem mention this to them)

They specialise in Postal Service (you have to pay extra fee for a personal appointment)

Regarding sending your Pension to Thailand, I would instead recommend having it paid to your UK Bank - withdrawing it as and when required from an ATM in Thailand - there are many here and it is much cheaper than paying for Bank Transfers every month. Does your Bank issue a VISA Debit Card for example?

DEPOSIT ACCOUNT

The regulations say this must be in a Thai Bank

I have taken this to mean a Bank in Thailand.

There are several Foreign Banks in Thailand.

British ones are HSBC(Midland) and Standard Chartered Bank,

Standard Chartered has a Local Subsidiary

Standard Chartered Nakathorn Bank that has many Branches.

Immigration accept Letters from these Banks.

You would have to open an account here then arrange to

Transfer Funds to it from your UK Bank.

Before you leave, you should discuss with your UK Bank the best way to do this . Does your UK Bank have an on line facility which includes your being able to effect transfers from any computer ? Or maybe you could Bring a Bank Draft payable to yourself. Do ask your UK Bank - which Bank is their Correspondent Bank in Bangkok - it would be worth considering

Banking with them.

Have you read the Retirement Details by clicking on

HOME - Go to Main Site - Thaivisa.com  

-  at the Top of this screen?

RE-ENTRY

You can leave the Kingdom at any time but as has been pointed out - you MUST get a Re-Entry Permit stamped in your passport which will expire on the same date as your 12 month extension - and you must quote its number on

Form T6 - the Card you complete for Immigration when you Re-Enter. Currently Re-Entry Permits cost Bht500 for Single; Bht 1,000 for Multiple. But these are due to increase on 26th August

Roger

I was told on friday evening that the Hull consulate was closed and the informant stated that he had physicaly visted and the 'new ' building out at Kingswood was locked up !

I also was unable to conntact the consul by e-mail.

jon

[Gammy]

Thanks for the time and effort taken by all those who sent information. It was a great help!

Gammy

[Gammy]

In my conversations with Kuhn Pallop at Suan Plu Immigration in Bangkok earlier this year, he will only issue a retirement visa with 800K baht in a Thai bank.  He will not allow the use of any part of a pension in the process.  On the other hand he was allowing application using a 60 day tourist visa and then changing that to an O visa without the applicant having to leave Thailand to obtain an O visa.

As "jonwilly" indicates the authorities in Chiang Mai have a differing approach to the financial requirements.

-redwood

Hi Redwood

This is disturbing information. I can manage the pension and the deposit but not the deposit on it's own.

I've made all the reservations in BKK now and can't change them.

I looks as though I can wave goodbye to a retirement visa.

Any sugestions? Any rights of appeal or is he all powerful?

Gammy

[Roger13]

Hi Gammy,

All is NOT lost

Remember that the Immigration were probably being

Ultra strict will Redwood because he entered the Kingdom on a Tourist Visa

Hence our advice to you to make sure you have an O-A Visa

The Regulations do say - Pension OR Deposit

OR a combination of them.

Roger

[Gammy]

Hi Gammy,

All is NOT lost

Remember that the Immigration were probably being

Ultra strict will Redwood because he entered the Kingdom on a Tourist Visa

Hence our advice to you to make sure you have an O-A Visa

The Regulations do say - Pension OR Deposit

OR a combination of them.

Roger

Thanks Roger

That's a relief.

My documents are with the Thai Consulate in Birmingham at the moment. I'm just hoping they'll issue me with a non-immigrant "O" visa.

I'm not due to leave until November 15 so I should be able to meet the three month expiry date and it gives me plenty of time to arrange everything here.

I feel a bit vulnerable not knowing much about the prcedures, so thanks

Gammy

[redwood13]

Remember that the Immigration were probably being

Ultra strict will Redwood because he entered the Kingdom on a Tourist Visa

Hence our advice to you to make sure you have an O-A Visa

Roger, I hadn't thought of this and this may be the case although there was never any hint that my having a tourist visa was part of the problem.  He essentially ignored the option of using pension income as a part of the process - i.e. when I brought up the possibility it seemed as if to him the option simply didn't exist.

I agree that "Gammy" should obtain an O-A in UK.

I'm currently in California and I'm going to apply for an O-A  as I think I've found a way to avoid the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles which has a reputation of being very user unfriendly.

-redwood

[Gammy]

Remember that the Immigration were probably being

Ultra strict will Redwood because he entered the Kingdom on a Tourist Visa

Hence our advice to you to make sure you have an O-A Visa

Roger, I hadn't thought of this and this may be the case although there was never any hint that my having a tourist visa was part of the problem.  He essentially ignored the option of using pension income as a part of the process - i.e. when I brought up the possibility it seemed as if to him the option simply didn't exist.

I agree that "Gammy" should obtain an O-A in UK.

I'm currently in California and I'm going to apply for an O-A  as I think I've found a way to avoid the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles which has a reputation of being very user unfriendly.

-redwood

Roger and Redwood

If it is the case that this guy won't recognise a pension, is there a system of appeal, and who to? Or doesn't that sort of thing happen in Thailand?

Gammy

[Nakhon1]

I am DEFINITELY correct. BKK Airport immigration will give you 12 months if your visa is o-a category.

Obviously because of the complexity of Thai visa regulations some officials make mistakes. However if 3 months is given it should be politely challenged. The applicable regulations are in fact held on the immigation computer database.  If the mistake is not immediately spotted or corrected there is a desk in the Bangkok Immigration office exclusively for oorrecting such mistakes. No queues and no hassles and no charge.

With regard to whether or not to have your pension paid into a Thai deposit a/c. Although visa regulations do not actually specify it as a requirement it is certainly the understanding upon which o-a visa is issued if you have used a pension as proof of means of support. So take no chances. Regular ATM withdrawals are NOT acceptable as evidence of transfer of funds into the country when you come to renew your visa. Immigration will want to see a passbook and supporting letter from the Thai bank. Most UK pension funds will arrange automated payment into a Thai bank account at a modest commision (around 9-10GBP per transaction) and you will benefit from the money market rates whereas credit/debit card withdrawals are usually converted at the mid point between UK tourist rates (which are a rip-off) and the mid market rate. If you only wish to transfer a proportion of your pension each month from your UK bank you will be charged for administration and commission and you will have to pay for telephone calls (and not all UK banks will arrange transfer over the phone).

The whole purpose of permitting long stay in Thailand is to bring money into the country.

On this (usually) excellent site you will see instances of people congratulating themselves on beating the system. Treat them with scepticism. If you intend to live here play it straight and you'll have no problems.

[Nakhon1]

My documents are with the Thai Consulate in Birmingham at the moment. I'm just hoping they'll issue me with a non-immigrant "O" visa.

Gammy

What did you ask for????????

What forms did you submit?

[Roger13]

there is a desk in the Bangkok Immigration office exclusively for oorrecting such mistakes.

Hi Nakhon,

I think we all need to know where this desk is exactly.

Can you tell us how to find it please?

Thanks

Roger

[dr_Pat_Pong]

It is on the left just after you enter the main entrance at Suan Plu.

[Gammy]

My documents are with the Thai Consulate in Birmingham at the moment. I'm just hoping they'll issue me with a non-immigrant "O" visa.

Gammy

What did you ask for????????

What forms did you submit?

Thanks Nakhon

I submitted an aplication for a non-immigrant "0" multiple entry visa valid for 90 days with all the necessary documents and a bank statement showing that I could support myself for those 90 days.

I spoke to the Birmingham Consulate twice and found them to be very helpful. They told me to submit the application before the 22nd August with a covering letter of explanation and the £30 fee and they would issue the visa from the 22nd.

He didn't seem to think that there would be any trouble in BKK obtaining the retirement visa if i could show the combination of my pension and deposit would be 800000 Bht. I'll have to wait and see now.

I've since read posts that the Hull Consulate is very user friendly. However, as I said I have found Birmingham very good so far. I'll let you know the final outcome with them.

Ummmm where's Suan Plu????

 ???

[Gammy]

My documents are with the Thai Consulate in Birmingham at the moment. I'm just hoping they'll issue me with a non-immigrant "O" visa.

Gammy

What did you ask for????????

What forms did you submit?

Hi again Nakhon

Forgot to say my pension fund will not pay directly into a Thai bank, but my bank will transfer funds for £10 per month. I'm thinking that ATM may be better??

Gammy

[chaiyapoon]

The best deal at the moment is to use Nationwide debit card.Get your pension paid into a flex account and use your debit card to draw out funds from most ATM's in Thailand for no fees at all and get a very good exchange rate as well.

[Roger13]

The best deal at the moment is to use Nationwide debit card.Get your pension paid into a flex account and use your debit card to draw out funds from most ATM's in Thailand for no fees at all and get a very good exchange rate as well.

Hi Chaiyapoon,

I tried to apply for an account at

Nationwide On Line WebSite, but it

says only Residents of UK can apply ...

Roger

[dr_Pat_Pong]

ROGER

Something was wrong with the email system.  The A with the O only means the applicant has fulfilled the requirements at a Thai office abroad for a 12 month visa, and approval has been given by Immigration or MFA. The holder will be granted a year stay on arrival at a Thai airport. It is not a practical way in my view. It works well for a studentwhen the Institution applies for the extended stay before the student arrives. In that situation there are no banking arrangements needed.

[JASON THAI]

Hi I have only just joined this site but I have one good question! I have a nationwide account which I agree is very good but what happens when your debit card expires after 2 years you do not need to keep going back to England to get your new card also you do not want to put all your money into a Thai bank account as the interest rate are no good compared to the U.K? also do you think that the rate of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account for a retirement visa will change as they have changed the rates for visa's?

[jonwilly]

Visa will send a credit/debit card out by 'courier' for £30. I have mine sent to my niece's address, who places them inside a 'birthday card' and sends to my thai address.

Mastercard sent my Credit card out by normal post and i had to phone UK to activated it with my private information.

jon

[Gammy]

I enquired about opening a Nationwide account today.

It is true that they don't charge for the use of Atm machines with their card, but the exchange rate is applied in the uk.

At the moment the Post Office and my bank's (Nat West)exchange rate for Baht is about 62.55. Nationwides exchange rate is about 59.8. Ok for small amounts but hits hard on the larger withdrawals.

Also they charge £20 to transfer money as opposed to £10 by my bank.

[jonwilly]

Both Abbey National Offshore and LLoyds onshore offer exchange rates, close to rate quoted in BKK Post daily exchange rate, for ATM accounts.

Or send ya money out in one lump sum and then live off it untill next top up is due.

jon

[Eneukman]

Gammy, that exchange rate you quoted for the Nationwide seems very poor. Last year when I was in Pattaya, they were giving me around 66/67 baht to the pound when I withdrew cash using my debit card.

Nationwide also have a off-shore banking available in the Isle of Man. Their 90 day notice account allows you one free notice transfer to an account overseas each financial year. For more withdrawals, 90 days notice will have to be given or you loese 90 days interest.

I've set one up in anticipation of my moving to Pattaya in 2 years time.

Alan

[Farangchopthai]

I applied for my retirement visa on Monday the 25th here in Pattaya and it was issued on Tuesday afternoon.

They accepted a non-immigrant “B” visa to apply. Financial requirements were 300,000

Baht in the bank + my monthly pension of 43,000 Baht verified by my consulate.

They also accepted my ATM receipts a mixture of HSBC and Halifax (U.K) as proof that

The funds came from abroad!

Medical certificate (100 baht) issued in a local clinic seems to be a standard procedure. The only thing that was checked was my blood pressure! (which at that stage of the process was raised!)

The only hitch in the process was the extra 500 Baht “computer” fee! which was requested and I did not feel it worthwhile to decline!

Once again it seems worthwhile to check personally with your local immigration office rather then strictly relying on other people’s experience or the letter of the law!

:laugh: