Apply For Retirement Visa

[forevereire]

Hi all,

I am new here. Thank you for your time answering my questions.

My husband is over 50 and he loves to spend some months (more than 3 months) here. Someone mentioned to him that he can apply for a retirement visa for longer stay in Thailand. But the 1st step is to get a 90-day non-immigration visa. Also, I was told that I could apply for an APEC business card instead of getting a spouse visa. We are now in Chiang Mai with a 30 days extension. We have been here for over 67 days already. Someone mentioned that we can get a 90-day non-immigration visa in CM but it will take 21 days to get it. Time is running out if we can apply in CM.

Here my questions:

1. Can we apply a 90-day non-immigration visa within Thailand?

2. if yes, how long will it take? If no, which country outside Thailand is better to submitt the application?

3. Can we deposit money into a Thai bank with our tourist visa?

4. Is it necessary to prove that the fund (THB800,000) is coming from overseas?

5. Can we re-enter the country during the application period if we can apply within the country?

6. Can we re-enter the country if we have a 90 day non-immigration visa?

7. I am a Hong Kong chinese. An APEC business card or a spouse visa, which one is my better option?

8. Once we get the 90-day non-immigration visa, what is the next step for applying for a retirement visa?

9. If my understanding is incorrect, please clarify how he can get a Thai retirement visa.

Thank you for any response. We need some information before planning for our next steps.

Venus

Edited March 17, 2009 by forevereire

[InterestedObserver]

Have you done a search of the Thai Visa site forums yet? There is plenty of information about retirement visas to get you started answering your questions.

[InterestedObserver]

The husband is over 50, but how old is the wife? How much time do you plan on spending in Thailand each year?

Edited March 17, 2009 by InterestedObserver

[Maestro]

...I am new here. Thank you for your time answering my questions.

1. This would work only if your husband already had 800,000 Baht in a Thai account in his name for at least two months. Apparently, he does not have this.

2. n/a

3. Yes. If your husband does not yet have a bank account, he should open one now. Some banks want to see a work permit, which is silly to ask of somebody on retirement, in which case he should just go to another bank until he finds one that will give him a savings account. He should make sure to ask for a savings account, as a current account is not available in his situation.

4. Not generally, but some immigration officers ask for it.

5. The one year extension of stay for retirement will be issued to your husband on the day he applies for it.

6. Yes, but you must get a re-entry permit from your local immigration office before travelling.

7. Your best option is to get annual extensions of stay based on your husband’s retirement extension.

8. Your husband does not apply for a retirement visa (which would have to be done at a Thai consulate, ie outside Thailand), but for and extension of stay for retirement, which he does at the local immigration office.

9. Because of the requirement for your husband to have 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account before he applies for his retirement extension, the best way to handle it is as follows:

a) Your husband opens a bank account in Thailand in his name alone and deposits 800,000 Baht in it.

Before the current permission to stay of your husband and yourself expires you leave Thailand and get a double-entry tourist visa from a Thai consulate, eg in Vientiane (other consulates in the region only issue single-entry tourist visas at the moment). Tourist visas are free of charge at the moment. On arrival in Thailand you will receive permission to stay for 60 days.

c) During the last 30 days of his permission to stay your husband goes to the local immigration office and applies for a change of visa to a non-immigrant visa for the reason of retirement. With a bit of luck the immigration officer may then during the same visit give him also the annual extension for retirement and you an extension for the same period as his dependant, otherwise he will have to go back after two months for the retirement extension and you will have to do a border run to get a second 60-day permission to stay.

d) Once your husband has the retirement extension, you apply for an annual extension of stay as his dependant.

--

Maestro

[InterestedObserver]

If the wife is not yet 50 years old this may not work. Chiang Mai immigration refused to convert the visa of a previous poster under exactly the same conditions. The previous poster bounced back and forth between Bangkok and Chiang Mai like a ping pong ball. Don't know if she ever got it sorted out.

Edited March 17, 2009 by astral
Removing un-necessary quote - Astral

[forevereire]

The husband is over 50, but how old is the wife? How much time do you plan on spending in Thailand each year?

Thanks for asking. The wife (me) is 47. He may spend 4-6 months here. Maybe longer or shorter.

Venus.

[forevereire]

Have you done a search of the Thai Visa site forums yet? There is plenty of information about retirement visas to get you started answering your questions.

Yes. I did find some useful information here. E.g. some mentioned that Hong Kong is easier for visa extension (such as without asking for outwards ticket). Some mentioned about the non-immigration visa and the bank deposit requirement. All help me to organize and know what to ask and where to ask for help. I went to ask a lawyer last year and he did not give me clear answers. We met a very nice guy this year he said 'post your questions in the Thaivisa.com, people there are very kind and willing share.'

Hope I am not wasting people time. Thanks again.

Venus

[forevereire]

...I am new here. Thank you for your time answering my questions.

1. This would work only if your husband already had 800,000 Baht in a Thai account in his name for at least two months. Apparently, he does not have this.

2. n/a

3. Yes. If your husband does not yet have a bank account, he should open one now. Some banks want to see a work permit, which is silly to ask of somebody on retirement, in which case he should just go to another bank until he finds one that will give him a savings account. He should make sure to ask for a savings account, as a current account is not available in his situation.

4. Not generally, but some immigration officers ask for it.

5. The one year extension of stay for retirement will be issued to your husband on the day he applies for it.

6. Yes, but you must get a re-entry permit from your local immigration office before travelling.

7. Your best option is to get annual extensions of stay based on your husband's retirement extension.

8. Your husband does not apply for a retirement visa (which would have to be done at a Thai consulate, ie outside Thailand), but for and extension of stay for retirement, which he does at the local immigration office.

9. Because of the requirement for your husband to have 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account before he applies for his retirement extension, the best way to handle it is as follows:

a) Your husband opens a bank account in Thailand in his name alone and deposits 800,000 Baht in it.

Before the current permission to stay of your husband and yourself expires you leave Thailand and get a double-entry tourist visa from a Thai consulate, eg in Vientiane (other consulates in the region only issue single-entry tourist visas at the moment). Tourist visas are free of charge at the moment. On arrival in Thailand you will receive permission to stay for 60 days.

c) During the last 30 days of his permission to stay your husband goes to the local immigration office and applies for a change of visa to a non-immigrant visa for the reason of retirement. With a bit of luck the immigration officer may then during the same visit give him also the annual extension for retirement and you an extension for the same period as his dependant, otherwise he will have to go back after two months for the retirement extension and you will have to do a border run to get a second 60-day permission to stay.

d) Once your husband has the retirement extension, you apply for an annual extension of stay as his dependant.

--

Maestro

Thank you very much. Your reply is all I need to show to my husband. Thank you for your time and help (I really mean it!).

Venus

[Lite Beer]

The husband is over 50, but how old is the wife? How much time do you plan on spending in Thailand each year?

Thanks for asking. The wife (me) is 47. He may spend 4-6 months here. Maybe longer or shorter.

Venus.

Post no. 4 answers your questions pretty fully. As long as he is in Thailand to Re Apply every year there should be no problem. If he was not he would have to start all over again.

Yes Chiang Mai have in the past refused to change Visas to Non Imm O. Now with the rule that you can only apply at your designated office this should change.

[InterestedObserver]

The husband is over 50, but how old is the wife? How much time do you plan on spending in Thailand each year?

Thanks for asking. The wife (me) is 47. He may spend 4-6 months here. Maybe longer or shorter.

Venus.

Post no. 4 answers your questions pretty fully. As long as he is in Thailand to Re Apply every year there should be no problem. If he was not he would have to start all over again.

Yes Chiang Mai have in the past refused to change Visas to Non Imm O. Now with the rule that you can only apply at your designated office this should change.

The problem is that the wife, being 47 years young, has no way to change her Tourist visa into a Non-Immigrant visa for retiree dependent status. If you look at Internet Explorer (IE) site http://www.immigration.go.th [english] Immigration Bureau/Required documents/Change visa, there is no category covering a retiree dependent. The closest one requires all manner of business documents accompany the application. This the same problem that stymied a previous poster in her quest for retiree dependent status. It appears to be a rules based denial as opposed to location specific.

Based on the previous poster experience, the OP may need to go to a local, friendly Thai embassy or consulate and get a Non-Immigrant visa in her passport.

[Lite Beer]

The problem is that the wife, being 47 years young, has no way to change her Tourist visa into a Non-Immigrant visa for retiree dependent status. If you look at Internet Explorer (IE) site http://www.immigration.go.th [english] Immigration Bureau/Required documents/Change visa, there is no category covering a retiree dependent. The closest one requires all manner of business documents accompany the application. This the same problem that stymied a previous poster in her quest for retiree dependent status. It appears to be a rules based denial as opposed to location specific.

Based on the previous poster experience, the OP may need to go to a local, friendly Thai embassy or consulate and get a Non-Immigrant visa in her passport.

I cannot disagree with you because as you say the Immigration Website does not give dependancy as a reason to change to a Non O Visa. Logic tells you it should.

Also because the site only works with IE I tend not to look at it much.

I have just downloaded the IE add on for Firefox so I will use it more.

[Maestro]

The problem is that the wife, being 47 years young, has no way to change her Tourist visa into a Non-Immigrant visa for retiree dependent status...

Correct. I forgot to mention that also for an annual extension as a dependant of a retire the tourist visa must first be change to a non-immigrant visa at the immigration office.

Just a few minutes ago I read in this other topic that the Thai consulate in Vientiane issues a non-O visa for the purpose of travelling to Thailand to explore retirement possibility. Venus, that would be for your husband to apply. For yourself, try to get also a non-O visa, purpose of the trip “joing my husband on retirement in Thailand”

If you both can get the non-O visa then neither of you has to apply for the change of visa. Your husband applies directly for the annual extension of stay and during the same visit to the immigration office you apply for your extension as his dependant.

In this other of topic today a member mentioned that the Chiang Mai immigration office wants to see an affidavit certified by the consulate about the marriage if it is not a Thai marriage certificate. Please take that also into account. If you have questions about this affidavit, best post in that other topic.

--

Maestro

[tangoll]

I can answer your question about applying for APEC travel card as a HK SAR passport holder. If the person is working for a obviously multinational or regional corporation, it may be quick, but if the employer company you are using is a small or something like a nominee company, it may take some time. It took 15 months for me to get my APEC card. My main purpose to get the card was the ability to use special immigration lanes at the airport, but now with reduced tourist arrivals, the regular lanes late in the evening are just as quick, so I'm not sure what value the APEC card has for me. I don't need to stay 90 days at a time; only 10 days or so is plenty enough.

[jfchandler]

Just a few minutes ago I read in this other topic that the Thai consulate in Vientiane issues a non-O visa for the purpose of travelling to Thailand to explore retirement possibility.

--

Maestro

Maestro, here is what Tod wrote exactly in the other thread you cite above....

Last year I was on an education visa, but it expired before I turned 50 last month, so I had already went to Vientiane Lao PDR and received a single entry Non-Immigrant Type O visa based on retirement. (Even though I was a month short of 50 when I applied for the visa in Lao, I got it no problem). That visa was good until April 5th.

I'm not sure I'd interpret that account as indicating that Vientiane is willing to issue Non-O visas to anyone (or someone who is 47 as in the OP here) for the purpose of exploring retirement...unless you know something more on that subject?? From Tod's account, I was assuming perhaps they just cut him some slack because he was just a month short of his 50th birthday at the time, by his own account.

[wpcoe]

Hi all,

I am new here. Thank you for your time answering my questions.

My husband is over 50 and he loves to spend some months (more than 3 months) here. Someone mentioned to him that he can apply for a retirement visa for longer stay in Thailand. But the 1st step is to get a 90-day non-immigration visa. Also, I was told that I could apply for an APEC business card instead of getting a spouse visa. We are now in Chiang Mai with a 30 days extension. We have been here for over 67 days already. Someone mentioned that we can get a 90-day non-immigration visa in CM but it will take 21 days to get it. Time is running out if we can apply in CM.

Here my questions:

1. Can we apply a 90-day non-immigration visa within Thailand?

1. This would work only if your husband already had 800,000 Baht in a Thai account in his name for at least two months. Apparently, he does not have this.

Maybe I'm mis-understanding, but can't the husband apply (in Thailand) for a 90-day Non-Immigrant O while the money is being seasoned for two months?

[Maestro]

Generally, immigration agrees to do the change of visa if you meet the requirements for the annual extension. Basically, it’s up the individual immigration officer if he wants to change the visa before the money is in the account long enough.

--

Maestro

[forevereire]

I can answer your question about applying for APEC travel card as a HK SAR passport holder. If the person is working for a obviously multinational or regional corporation, it may be quick, but if the employer company you are using is a small or something like a nominee company, it may take some time. It took 15 months for me to get my APEC card. My main purpose to get the card was the ability to use special immigration lanes at the airport, but now with reduced tourist arrivals, the regular lanes late in the evening are just as quick, so I'm not sure what value the APEC card has for me. I don't need to stay 90 days at a time; only 10 days or so is plenty enough.

I have my own LLC registered in NYS, and some other companies in the States can help me to get the documentation. Some posts here mentioning about my age issue. Maybe an APEC card can help. I will try and keep update here.

Thanks.

Venus

[InterestedObserver]

I have my own LLC registered in NYS, and some other companies in the States can help me to get the documentation. Some posts here mentioning about my age issue. Maybe an APEC card can help. I will try and keep update here.

Thanks.

Venus

An APEC card will not help you stay in Thailand as a dependent. Only a Non-Immigrant visa can be piggybacked to your husbands future extension of stay based on retirement. The APEC card will allow you a 90 day entry, then you have to leave the country and can repeat the process.