Retirement Visa For Part Time Stay ?

[Maestro]

Let me get these dates organised:

01 DEC 2006: date of multiple-entry non-OA visa

30 NOV 2007: “must be utilized” date of visa

15 DEC 2006: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 14 DEC 2007

01 May 2007: departure from Thailand

– Note: the visa remains valid for travel to Thailand until 30 NOV 2007

30 NOV 2007: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 29 NOV 2008

04 MAY 2008: departure from Thailand

– Note: the visa is no longer valid for travel to Thailand

– Note: if you had obtained a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand in May it would have allowed you a return journey to Thailand not later than 29 NOV 2008

New visa

25 SEP 2008: date of multiple-entry non-OA visa

24 SEP 2009: “must be utilized” date of visa

04 NOV 2008: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 03 NOV 2009

This is your situation and these are your options:

• The expiration of your current permission to stay, ie 02 NOV 2009, is correct. It is one year from your date of arrival, regardless of the “must be utilized” date on you visa.
  
• You have two options:
  

a) Leave and re-enter Thailand not later than 23 SEP 2009 and you will get a new permission to stay for one year from the new arrival date. Then get a re-entry permit and return to Thailand not later than the expiration date shown on the re-entry permit. Then, during the last 30 days of your permission to stay apply for your extension of stay for retirement.

About 4 weeks before you plan to leave Thailand – presumably in May 2009– visit the immigration office with your departure ticket in hand and ask them if they will allow you to apply already for your retirement extension. Normally they accept applications only during the last 30 days of the current permission to stay, which in your case would be earliest on 04 OCT 2009, but exceptions have been made.

c) If the immigration office does not accept your application for retirement extension, for your next trip in November 2009 get a single-entry non-O visa or, failing that, a single entry tourist visa. This will allow you to time your annual applications for retirement extension to fall due in January of every year.

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Maestro

[Langsuan Man]

Let me get these dates organised:

01 DEC 2006: date of multiple-entry non-OA visa

30 NOV 2007: “must be utilized” date of visa

15 DEC 2006: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 14 DEC 2007

01 May 2007: departure from Thailand

– Note: the visa remains valid for travel to Thailand until 30 NOV 2007 First Winter

30 NOV 2007: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 29 NOV 2008

04 MAY 2008: departure from Thailand Second Winter

– Note: the visa is no longer valid for travel to Thailand

Immigration told me that the Visa is still valid for travel to Thailand until 29 Nov 2008 since the permission to stay kept the Visa alive

– Note: if you had obtained a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand in May it would have allowed you a return journey to Thailand not later than 29 NOV 2008

Once again Immigration told me that I did not need re-entry permit since it was a Multiple Entry and even re-entry permit obtained before leaving for Thailand in May would not have given any additional time. It was my choice to obtain a new Visa since I would not have had another year left on my Passport, and I would have had to immediately apply for retirement extension. I would have still have had 25 days validity on the Dec 2006 visa.

These dates were provided to show Michigan that you can get two winters on one Visa application if done in the US, just don't apply too soon like I did which has caused these below listed suggested options / solutions.

New visa

25 SEP 2008: date of multiple-entry non-OA visa

24 SEP 2009: “must be utilized” date of visa

04 NOV 2008: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 03 NOV 2009

This is your situation and these are your options:

• The expiration of your current permission to stay, ie 02 NOV 2009, is correct. It is one year from your date of arrival, regardless of the “must be utilized” date on you visa.
  
• You have two options:
  

a) Leave and re-enter Thailand not later than 23 SEP 2009 and you will get a new permission to stay for one year from the new arrival date.

Understand

Then get a re-entry permit and return to Thailand not later than the expiration date shown on the re-entry permit. Then, during the last 30 days of your permission to stay apply for your extension of stay for retirement.

This I don't understand, unless you mean apply for a re-entry permit and do a border run to utilize the re-entry permit half way through my 2009 /2010 stay, say January, and then apply for an extension of stay in order to get myself in the Jan / Feb time frame for annual extensions.

About 4 weeks before you plan to leave Thailand – presumably in May 2009– visit the immigration office with your departure ticket in hand and ask them if they will allow you to apply already for your retirement extension. Normally they accept applications only during the last 30 days of the current permission to stay, which in your case would be earliest on 04 OCT 2009, but exceptions have been made.

Understood.

c) If the immigration office does not accept your application for retirement extension, for your next trip in November 2009 get a single-entry non-O visa or, failing that, a single entry tourist visa.

Which will be good for 30 days and require an immediate application for extension of stay, which will push me up to 90 more days (I think) ( 30 +90 = 120) or March

This will allow you to time your annual applications for retirement extension to fall due in January of every year.

--

Maestro

[JimGant]

Immigration told me that the Visa is still valid for travel to Thailand until 29 Nov 2008 since the permission to stay kept the Visa alive

Bad info. Once your visa has expired, you no longer can enter Thailand on it. He got his terminology turned around -- a re-entry permit keeps the permission of stay alive, not "permission of stay keeps the Visa alive." I'm afraid, with an expired visa and no valid re-entry permit, you would have found yourself stamped in with a 30-day visa exempt stamp.

04 NOV 2008: arrival in Thailand. Permission to stay until 03 NOV 2009

Leave in May with a re-entry permit, return the end of Oct 2009, and immediately apply at Immigration for your retirement extension. Begin date -- and annual renewal date -- will then be Nov 3. Or, if returning every Oct doesn't fit, take an out and back trip tomorrow, get a re-entry permit, then Jan will now become your retirement extension begin/renewal month. (Replace "tomorrow" with your date of choice, of course.)

If the immigration office does not accept your application for retirement extension, for your next trip in November 2009 get a single-entry non-O visa or, failing that, a single entry tourist visa.

Which will be good for 30 days and require an immediate application for extension of stay, which will push me up to 90 more days (I think) ( 30 +90 = 120) or March

With a tourist visa, if you apply for a Non Imm O visa immediately after arrival, you'll get a new "admitted until" date 90 days hence, i.e. in this case (arrival in Nov), in Feb. This date will become your retirement extension begin (and renewal) date once you apply for, and receive, your retirement extension. Similarly, entering on a Non Imm O, you'll get a 90-day "admitted until" date, again sometime in Feb, which will become your retirement extension/renewal date.

It's that last "admitted until" date that's the determining factor of your retirement begin -- and subsequent renewal -- date. Under current rules, it will be at least 90 days after your last arrival date (or more, if you convert to a Non Imm O in-country.) Or as much as 365 days with a Non Imm O-A.

UNLESS you game the system with a re-entry permit.

For example, you have a multiple entry Non Imm O-A that's still valid -- and the last "admitted until" date suits your needs for a retirement extension begin/renewal date. But, you plan to travel -- and the next entry to Thailand will give you a new "admitted until" date (one year hence) that doesn't fit the bill for a subsequent retirement begin/renewal date. Solution: get a re-entry permit before you travel. This *should* keep your last 'admitted until' date alive when you next enter Thailand -- and trump the multiple entry feature of your Non Imm O-A.

The above would work for a multiple entry Non Imm O too.

You would think, with all this jockeying for a suitable annual extension date, that Immigration would let you establish an earlier date -- and gladly accept your money early. (Establishing a later date -- and getting your money later -- probably wouldn't play.)

I wonder if anyone's asked.........?

Edited January 7, 2009 by JimGant