From Us Have Retirement Visa - Want To Come Back To Us For 4 Months

[jbeck]

I Have Non-Immigrant-O multiple entry retiement visa issued from US/Hawaii

But I - want to come back to US for 4 months.

I entered on Dec 28, 2008 and plan to renew (will give me another year) on Dec 28, 2009 this year.

Then I want to go to the US for about 4 months, will my visa still be valid when I return assuming I get an exit/entry stamp?

I originally got my visa in Hawaii - it was a slice of cake and took 10 minutes.

I guess I could just get another one there. . .

Has anyone done this WITH THE SAME TYPE OF VISA and what are the issues?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Lite Beer]

The Visa is Valid until the date of expiry written on it. It will say something like "Enter Before"

You do not need a Re Entry Permit with a Multi Entry.

[Mario2008]

You do not get a new 1 year visa after your non-O is expired, you can however apply for an extension of stay for 1 year, if you meet the qualifications. For that we need to know why you got the non-O (Thai wife, volunteering or retirement).

When you get an extension of stay you must get a re-entry permit when you want to leave and re-enter Thailand. That is no problem, as long as you re-enter before your permission of stay expires

[jbeck]

You do not get a new 1 year visa after your non-O is expired, you can however apply for an extension of stay for 1 year, if you meet the qualifications. For that we need to know why you got the non-O (Thai wife, volunteering or retirement).

When you get an extension of stay you must get a re-entry permit when you want to leave and re-enter Thailand. That is no problem, as long as you re-enter before your permission of stay expires

i already said It's a retirement visa, and i already said i could/would get the extension for another year HERE before leaving. Your info about re-entry stamp conflicts with the previous poster.

thanks

[ubonjoe]

I think maro2008 read your post as you having a normal non-o visa not a OA which is what you have.

You can leave for as long as you want as long as you enter the day before your enter before date on your visa which is one year from the date of it's issue. After that date you will need a re-entry permit.

[Lite Beer]

A Multi Entry Visa does not need Re Entry Permit.

An Extension of stay does.

[lopburi3]

There is no such visa. There is a one year multi or single entry non immigrant OA visa for long stay which is often called retirement. There is a multi or single entry non immigrant O visa for "other" reasons (not tourist or business or official or Education). We do not know what you have as no visa can be "renewed" - the stay can be extended inside Thailand if conditions are met or a new visa can be issued outside of Thailand.

Until you can confirm what visa you actually have (OA or O) we can only say your visa will not be valid beyond its expiration date regardless of what you do. If you can confirm the type of visa we can provide detailed instructions on what you should do.

[Lite Beer]

I think maro2008 read your post as you having a normal non-o visa

Probably because the Op posted this.

I Have Non-Immigrant-O multiple entry retiement visa issued from US/Hawaii

It is not really certain as to what he has. There is no such thing as a Non-Immigrant O multi entry Retirement Visa.

[Mario2008]

Then you are not on a multiple non-O but on a multiple O-A visa.

If you leaveand re-nter Thailand just before the visa expires you will indeed get 1 more year. But after the visa expires you will need to get a re-entry permit to leave and come back as you plan.

By the way, 10 minutes for an O-A? They are very friendly and efficient.

[ballbreaker]

OP if you get one year extension and re-entry permit as you state your visa will be valid until Dec 28th, 2010. Just make sure your back before that date.

Point of information, you don't have to apply for extension on Dec. 28, 2009 you can do it several weeks before and it will still be valid till Dec. 28, 2010.

Since this is your first extension make sure you are up on money requirements in form of pension or bank deposits.

Edited June 22, 2009 by ballbreaker

[Mario2008]

We don't know what kind of visa he has, so to give the right advise is difficult.

OP probably has a O-A visa, I presume he was given 1 year of stay when he arrived. However, his visa will expire before Dec. 28 2009, as the visa is valid 1 year from date of issue and not of entry. So he will have to look at his visa, and look for something that says valid till *****. He has to leave and re-enter Thailand before that date to be able to get a 1 year extension.

[lopburi3]

His visa will never be valid beyond its expiration date. After that the re-entry permit is what allows entry - not the expired visa. And the re-entry permit will be valid until the current permitted to stay until date in his passport when he obtains the re-entry permit.

[ballbreaker]

We don't know what kind of visa he has, so to give the right advise is difficult.

OP probably has a O-A visa, I presume he was given 1 year of stay when he arrived. However, his visa will expire before Dec. 28 2009, as the visa is valid 1 year from date of issue and not of entry. So he will have to look at his visa, and look for something that says valid till *****. He has to leave and re-enter Thailand before that date to be able to get a 1 year extension.

My visa was good for 1 year from date of entry not date of issue as you state.

[lopburi3]

No it was not - the visa is valid from date of issue. You received a one year permitted to stay stamp from date of entry. Now if you entered the same day it was issued you may have a point.

[Lite Beer]

Yes a Visa's validity starts on the day it is issued. The permission to stay starts from the day you enter.

[ubonjoe]

We don't know what kind of visa he has, so to give the right advise is difficult.

OP probably has a O-A visa, I presume he was given 1 year of stay when he arrived. However, his visa will expire before Dec. 28 2009, as the visa is valid 1 year from date of issue and not of entry. So he will have to look at his visa, and look for something that says valid till *****. He has to leave and re-enter Thailand before that date to be able to get a 1 year extension.

My visa was good for 1 year from date of entry not date of issue as you state.

That was your permit to stay not your visa,

A visa only gives you the authorization to enter the country and if allowed to do so by immigration you then get a permit to stay. After you enter the country you then are on a permit to stay not a visa.

[thaihome]

The OP is confusing visas with permission to stay stamps, as is often the case. Perhaps he should read the Useful Immigration Information sticky thread:

Initially, we will attempt to explain the differences between visas and ‘permission to stay’ stamps. These are often confused.

A visa is fundamentally a document (affixed into the passport) issued to a foreigner by the Thai government allowing said foreigner to travel to the Kingdom and normally be granted permission to stay for a prescribed period. Visas can only be obtained outside of the Kingdom from a Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate (usually). A visa has a validity period which denotes the period within which the visa may be used to apply for entry. The validity period is NOT the length of time you will be permitted to stay in the Kingdom using said visa. Exceptionally, when an applicant meets the requirements for an annual extension of stay, a change from tourist visa or visa-exempt status to a non-immigrant visa can be obtained from an immigration office preparatory to the extension of stay.

A ‘permission to stay’ stamp is entered into your passport upon arrival into the Kingdom. Whatever visa you hold, you will always receive this stamp. It will include the date of entry and date when you MUST leave the Kingdom or make alternative arrangements. The ‘length of stay’ will be dependent on what type of visa one holds. Once inside the Kingdom, this stamp is sacrosanct, your visa is now effectively irrelevant until you re-enter the country.

TH

[jbeck]

I Have Non-Immigrant-O multiple entry retiement visa issued from US/Hawaii

But I - want to come back to US for 4 months.

I entered on Dec 28, 2008 and plan to renew (will give me another year) on Dec 28, 2009 this year.

Then I want to go to the US for about 4 months, will my visa still be valid when I return assuming I get an exit/entry stamp?

I originally got my visa in Hawaii - it was a slice of cake and took 10 minutes.

I guess I could just get another one there. . .

Has anyone done this WITH THE SAME TYPE OF VISA and what are the issues?

Thanks,

Jeff

stamped in my passport:

"non-immigrant visa O-A, good for multiple journey(s)"

"issued on Nov 18, 2009".

"must be utilized before Nov 17, 2009."

entry stamp dated 25 DEC 2008

permitted stay date 24 DEC 2009

and YES I meant "extending" not "renewing" on or before 24 DEC 2009 by filling out forms and showing a bank balance of not less than 800,000B continuously for at least 3 months prior to the renewal date..

also it does not say "retirement" anywhere but that is what I put on the form to obtain the "visa"

thanks

Jeff

[lopburi3]

You do not have to do that - you have a multi entry visa so you can just leave and return before November 17 to obtain a new one year permitted to stay stamp.

After you return with the new permitted to stay until November xx, 2010 you obtain a re-entry permit which will allow you to return and receive that same permitted to stay until date (you enter the re-entry permit number where you normally enter visa number on arrival card).

[Mario2008]

As Lopburi said, just cross the border and get back in just before 17 november and yu will get a whole new year for free, without having to show documents. Then get a re-entry permit and you can go to the US and come back and still be permited to stay till November 2010.

Then in October 2010 you apply for an extension of stay, for which you will have to pay 1,900 baht. Just to be sure, the money has to be in a bank account in Thailand!

Your extension will still start in Nov. 2010 when you apply early. It is always advisable to apply early incase immigraiton wants some extra documents. You can apply from 30 days before your permission to stay ends.

[wpcoe]

I originally got my [O-A] visa in Hawaii - it was a slice of cake and took 10 minutes.

I guess I could just get another one there. . .

Is it possible to routinely get consecutive O-A visas? (i.e. Get one every two years.)

I can see an advantage of being to keep money in high-return investments in one's home country, if multiple-O-A visas were possible, but seem to recall that some (all?) consulates usually* only issue it once, with the expectation that subsequent years will be covered by extensions issued within Thailand.

* "usually," meaning that they might issue a second one with extenuating circumstances of some sort.

[edited for clarity, as a word had been omitted]

Edited June 23, 2009 by wpcoe

[ubonjoe]

I originally got my [O-A] visa in Hawaii - it was a slice of cake and took 10 minutes.

I guess I could just get another one there. . .

Is it possible to routinely get consecutive O-A visas? (i.e. Get one every two years.)

I can see an advantage of being to keep money in high-return investments in one's home country, if multiple-O-A visas were possible, but seem to recall that some (all?) consulates usually* only issue it once, with the expectation that subsequent years will be covered by extensions issued within Thailand.

* "usually," meaning that they might issue a second one with extenuating circumstances of some sort.

[edited for clarity, as a word had been omitted]

They issue other visas back to back so I can't see why they would not issue another OA.

I have seen nothing in writing that says it is a one time only thing on the MFA website or various embassy and consulate webistes.

You could contact the embassy or consulate where you got it and ask if you can get another one.