O-a Visa(retirement) A Breeze!..but

[harpman88]

Hi all, My appt. at the Thai Consul,

New Orleans was today,paperwork documenting pension/bank acct.,medical,and police certs.(neither had to be notarized) all in order, and the OA multiple entry (based on retirement) was in my passport about 1/2 hour later.

Being a "local" and doing things in person was a real plus in that regard.(Speed of issue,that is)

However,the consul maintains that I will be only given 90 days upon arrival and that the Embassy confirms this..My contention is (fully realizing that what I was told today will have no bearing on what actually happens at Don Muang)

that the confusion stems from the consul seeing the 90 day reporting as essential in APPROVING the next 90 day stay,not to merely confirm where you are living as I know you must do every 90 days no matter what.

Or to put it another way,the take the consul has is that the difference between the standard O multi and the OA is that with the O you must leave Thailand every 90 days and reenter to get the next 90,but with the OA you can do it by just reporting to immigration without leaving the country. But in either case,you will only be getting 90 days at ANY given time,including having the OA upon arrival at BKK.

I know that previous OA retirees,

many of whom are long time posters here on the forum,were given a year upon their initial arrival at BKK.

(Even though sometimes Immigration supervisors had to summoned to verify this,since OAs are relatively uncommon) Anyway,any comments or suggestions from you OA "long timers out there"??

[COBBER]

What is reffered to as the 1 year retirement visa is actually a 1 year extension of your original non imm. o visa and to my knowlege this can only be done once you arrive in Thailand. So when you get to Don Muang you will get 90 days and then you have to go to immigration in Thailand to get the 1 year extension . All foreigeners must report to immigration every 90 days so if your on a multi entry non imm o you would leave the country (visa run) before the 90 day is up . So no need to report to immigration because you are not staying longer than 90 days. Non imm o visas are fairly common so i doubt you will get a confused immigration officer.

[harpman88]

What is reffered to as the 1 year retirement visa is actually a 1 year extension of your original non imm. o visa and to my knowlege this can only be done once you arrive in Thailand. So when you get to Don Muang you will get 90 days and then you have to go to immigration in Thailand to get the 1 year extension . All foreigeners must report to immigration every 90 days so if your on a multi entry non imm o you would leave the country (visa run) before the 90 day is up . So no need to report to immigration because you are not staying longer than 90 days. Non imm o visas are fairly common so i doubt you will get a confused immigration officer.

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[Krub]

I was under the impression that if you got a OA you would receive a full 1 year at Don Muang and as it is a multi you can go in and out of Thailand within that 1 year.

Am I wrong ?

[Axel]

Careful here, the "O-A'" visas are only obtainable outside Thailand and allow you to get a one-year stamp in your passport when you enter Thailand.

You did all the paperwork already in New Orleans and got the one year O-A.

The A stands for "approved".

1 month before the O-A expires you have to submit the usual application, documents as you would have to give for a 90-days stay allowed for a normal 'O'.

Yes, tell the immigration officer, if any doubt, that you can get a stay for 1 year, not only 90 days.

You still have to report your address of stay every 90 days.

[george]

Lucky boy, Harpman! You will get a full year at Don Muang. Then you want to visit the Immigration for a Multiple re-entry permit permit, so you can travel freely.

[harpman88]

What is reffered to as the 1 year retirement visa is actually a 1 year extension of your original non imm. o visa and to my knowlege this can only be done once you arrive in Thailand. So when you get to Don Muang you will get 90 days and then you have to go to immigration in Thailand to get the 1 year extension . All foreigeners must report to immigration every 90 days so if your on a multi entry non imm o you would leave the country (visa run) before the 90 day is up . So no need to report to immigration because you are not staying longer than 90 days. Non imm o visas are fairly common so i doubt you will get a confused immigration officer.

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<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Cobber,thanx for ur post but this is an ORIGINAL "OA" visa based on retirement,and valid for 1 year from date of issue,no need to extend till after that date.Many others have done this also,from their home countries RDN,Redwood13 just to name 2....

[Axel]

Yes, harpman88, you are correct. Seems cobber mixed it up with a standard

Non-imm O.

Not many people go the OA-way as too many documents required (police report etc) which you do not need for an O.

But as said, you did it, congratulations, and 1 year is clear.

After this you have to extent the regular way...

[dutch]

To take your last worries away!

I just arrived on 30 December last under the same conditions that you are describing.I also was worried about the full year allowance.NO problem ,within 30 seconds I passed the immigration with a full year in my passport.

Please be aware that the renewance of your visa will be on another (earlier) day!!

Look in your passport.

[lopburi3]

To take your last worries away!

I just arrived on 30 December last under the same conditions that you are describing.I also was worried about the full year allowance.NO problem ,within 30 seconds I passed the immigration with a full year in my passport.

Please be aware that the renewance of your visa will be on another (earlier) day!!

Look in your passport.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You do not renew your visa. You go to immigration prior to the end of your permitted to stay stamp and apply for an extension of stay for one year. That extension of stay will start one day prior to your visa entry (or 29 December if you arrived on the 30th). So sometime in December you should take care of the extension application; but there is no set date that it must be done on.

Dates that appear on a visa are of no concern once you enter a country (visa has been used). The immigration stamp is what is important.

[buadhai]

Lucky boy, Harpman! You will get a full year at Don Muang. Then you want to visit the Immigration for a Multiple re-entry permit permit, so you can travel freely.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My O-A is multiple entry. Doesn't that mean that I don't need a re-entry permit?

The Houston Honorary Consulate would not issue a single-entry O-A.

[george]

The O-A is a bit special. You should defintively have a re-entry permit, regardless of what the conuslate said.

[dutch]

Thanks Lopburi for this information.

I was explecitely told by the Thai embassy staff to act upon the visa issuing date!

I also had a multiple entry right from thr start.

[lopburi3]

Thanks Lopburi for this information.

I was explecitely told by the Thai embassy staff to act upon the visa issuing date!

I also had a multiple entry right from thr start.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the feedback. Different government offices. Different interpretations. And perhaps the Embassy is right that it should start from the issue date rather than as a normal visa which the stay starts from arrival. But I do not see immigration saying they are wrong if they stamped you until day 29 and you go to renew on day 28. Perhaps it would be prudent to go with what you were told however. Once this "exception" O-A is over you will be on the immigration controlled extensions so the next stamp should be reliable as to the due date.

As much as we would like to make things 100% there are always a number of exceptions.

[buadhai]

The O-A is a bit special. You should defintively have a re-entry permit, regardless of what the conuslate said.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But it says "multiple" entry right on it....

[george]

They could charge you more for a multi than a single.

The O-A should be issued as a single entry only as per the instructions to the consulates. You can only arrive once one a O-A, and you need a re-entry permit if you want to travel.

[buadhai]

I see YA TIT.

What percentage of the visa fee does the Honorary Consul get to keep?

[george]

100% I guess. But he has to pay his bills and his rent as well. Long live the Thai consuls who makes life a bit easier!

[dutch]

I do have my visa in front of me and I read:

Kingdom of Thailand

Type of visa:non-immigrant

Category:O-A

No.of entry:Multiple !!!!!!

Fee; usd 125,-

and so on and so on.Looks clear to me

[george]

I repeat: You can NOT enter more than one time on that visa and get a 365 days stamp!

[RDN]

What is reffered to as the 1 year retirement visa is actually a 1 year extension of your original non imm. o visa and to my knowlege this can only be done once you arrive in Thailand. So when you get to Don Muang you will get 90 days and then you have to go to immigration in Thailand to get the 1 year extension . All foreigeners must report to immigration every 90 days so if your on a multi entry non imm o you would leave the country (visa run) before the 90 day is up . So no need to report to immigration because you are not staying longer than 90 days. Non imm o visas are fairly common so i doubt you will get a confused immigration officer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi Cobber,thanx for ur post but this is an ORIGINAL "OA" visa based on retirement,and valid for 1 year from date of issue,no need to extend till after that date.Many others have done this also,from their home countries RDN,Redwood13 just to name 2....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My visa is a class "O-A" (long stay) - that's what is hand written on it. But it was only a single entry and valid for only 3 months. That meant I had to use it within 3 months to get into the country and get a one year departure stamp. Then I got a multiple re-entry permit which expired on the same date as the one year stamp.

I don' t know what a multiple-entry "O-A" visa gets you. I would assume it is the same as a combined single entry visa PLUS multiple re-entry permit, but maybe you should go get a multiple re-entry permit anyway and ask them if it is necessary since you have the multiple entry visa.

My visa effectively expired - was of no further use - once I had entered the country using it. Its only purpose was to get the one year departure stamp and then the multiple re-entry permit. I assume that each time I get a yearly extension, immigration have a look at it, just to check under what circumstances I first came here - and some subsequent yearly extensions do have the word "Retirement" stamped nearby.

With regards to getting the one year's departure stamp in your passport, I would recommend that you try very hard to get it - make sure they understand it is an O-A visa and that it awards you a one year stay. Even if they stamp it for three months, hold your ground and smile and say that they have made a mistake. (Worked for me, but p***ed off all the other people in the queue behind!). If even that fails, there is the immigration department in bkk - soi Suan Phlu - which has a "Fixing mistakes at the airport" department. Hopefully they can fix the wrong stamp.

One last point - my visa was "O-A" (long stay). I don't know if the (long stay) was purely to remind immigration that it awarded me a year's stay, or whether it forms part of the class of visa. So I don't know if there is a "O-A" (short stay) class, but I don't think so - I believe ALL "O-A"s award the holder a year's stay.

Good luck!

[george]

Here bis the correct routine for issuing of Non O-A (long stay) visas:

If the applicant qualifies for the "O-A" Visa, the Consulate will issue a Non-Immigrant "O-A" Visa for a single journey into Thailand for a period up to 90 days (the Consulate is no longer required to forward the required documentation to Thailand for approval before issuing the visa);

With the Non-Immigrant "O-A" Visa, the applicant may request a one-year stay (not more than one year) through Thai Immigration at the Bangkok Airport upon arrival in Thailand.

It is a single entry regardless if "MULTIPLE" is stamped on it. On arrival the immigration officer will stamp "USED" on it.

Source: http://www.thai-la.net/visa/retire.htm

[buadhai]

This is all very interesting. When I applied for my "retirement" visa I ticked the single entry block and included the US$50 single entry fee. The Houston Honorary Consulate told me that all the documents had to be sent to Thailand for approval via the embassy in Washington DC. This took about three weeks.

At the end of that three week period they called me and told me that the "retirement visa" (their words) had to be a multiple entry visa and that I needed to send them US$75 more. I did. When they received it the returned my passport with a multiple entry O-A visa.

I guess the Houston Consulate is both extortionate and ill-informed....

Here's a quote from their e-mail to me:

In order to apply for a retirement visa in Thailand you must first

obtain the O-A visa here in the states and your documents must be

forwarded by the Consulate to Washington Embassy to be forwarded to

Bangkok prior to your application there.  Attached is the information

and the application forms, both of which are required.

And, when I asked for clarification, I got this:

I sent you the application forms in my last email. 

If you want to apply for a retirement visa in Thailand, you

will need to preapply for them by submitting the documents

for that as well as the regular visa application.

[george]

Some consulates can not approve NON-O by themselves, they must send it to the nearest Thai Embassy.

NON O-A is a single entry visa according to the rules.

[buadhai]

I guess the lesson here is that, as with many bureaucratic procedures around the world, getting a Thai retirement visa is a crap shoot, and even the experts in a specialized forum like this one can't tell you with any certainty just what rules will be followed at any particular place at any specific point in time. It's probably best to just follow the instructions you're given by the person with whom you are dealing.

Harpman88 got his with a single, half hour visit to the New Orleans consulate. Mine took nearly a month with the Houston consulate which is only a few hundred miles away. Clearly, each consulate used different procedures to reach the identical result.

Curiously, and according to George, each charged too much and issued inappropriate multiple entry visas.

Is it any wonder that first-timers are confused?

[redwood13]

My O-A Visa was issued 14 Oct. 2003, "good for multiple journey (s)" cost was US$125.

Entered Thailand 25 Oct. 2003 and Admitted Until 24 Oct. 2004.

Went to Cambodia 5 Feb. 2004 and returned 17 Feb. 2004. Admitted Until

17 Feb. 2005.

Went to Singapore 23 Sept. 2004 and returned 26 Sept. 2004. Admitted

Until 25 Sept. 2005.

I've never had a re-entry permit.

-redwood

[buadhai]

Case closed. There are no rules. TIT

[george]

LOL

[buadhai]

LOL

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Me too, George, me too!

[george]

So you guys with multiple Non O-A's basically get 2 years without showing any proof of income or savings, and without any need for a re-entry permit.

Who said that Thailand's immigration rules was hard?

Jeeeezus!