Retirement Visa Help Needed

[johngerrard]

Help please, and also apologies if this subject has been covered previously.

Last year i obtained a Retirement Visa. It expired officially in August this year. Unfortunately i had to leave Thailand for an emergency in June. Therefore i ‘lost’ that visa.

I am currently on a 60 day Tourist visa which i am going to extend another 30 days [assuming you still can!] later this week.

I obtained my retirement visa last year by showing confirmation from the British Embassy that my pension covers in entirety the 800,000 baht requirement. The Immigration in Bangkok kept that letter.

I live in Petchabun and therefore have to use the Nan Immigration office now.

Will they have my file?

Assuming they have then will i have to get another confirmation letter from the Embassy? Should i just get one anyway to be on the safe side?

Is the rule that the 800,000 baht can be a single or multiple source still valid, i.e. is the pensions letter enough as it easily covers that amount?.

I am English and married to a thai national and last year got both the initial 3 month visa needed to qualify for the retirement visa, and the retirement visa itself from bkk, is it still possible to do this in Nan?

[beano2274]

I use the income letter from the Embassy, and have to have a new letter each time. This is the same for you.

[astral]

If you are relying on income then you will need a new letter from the Embassy.

It is the total of 800K that matters, not the number of sources.

You should be able to do the extension in Nan.

[ubonjoe]

You can get your income letter done by mail. Info is on this webpage from UK embassy website. http://ukinthailand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for...ng-in-thailand/

Not sure if you will be able to do a change of visa status from tourist to non immigrant at Nan. It might be better to make a visa run to a nearby consulate and get a single entry non-o visa for being over 50 or for marriage instead of doing the tourist visa extension and then the change of visa status.

Also Nan will want a medical certificate when you apply for your extension (it is not a visa).

[Lite Beer]

The pension needed is 65,000 Baht a month. Yes you would need another letter from the Embassy.

You can always apply for the Marriage Extension if you want.

Income of 40,000 a month OR 400,000 Baht in the bank.

Also you can get a 60 day extension to visit your Wife. This would give you a bit more time to sort things out if needed.

[johngerrard]

Many thanks everyone.

[johngerrard]

just to confirm that Nan do not provide the Non 'o' visa as a preliminary to the one-year retirement visa extension. However, Chang Mai immigration were quite happy to change my tourist visa to a Non O

[Mario2008]

just to confirm that Nan do not provide the Non 'o' visa as a preliminary to the one-year retirement visa extension. However, Chang Mai immigration were quite happy to change my tourist visa to a Non O

Thank you for your confirmation. Most offices don't do the visa convversion any more and will send you to Bangkok for that.

[johngerrard]

Yes, Nan Immigration said the Type’o’ could be obtained in Chang Mai, Bangkok and possibly Mae Sot. The confusing thing is the new rule regarding only obtaining visas in the Province of residence, obviously this does not apply to all categories of visa.

I guess this is because the ‘o’ visa should be obtained before entering Thailand if i remember correctly.

Chang Mai Immigration were extremely efficient and helpful.

One tip for anyone going the same route as me if using an income letter from the British Embassy is to ask them for 2 originals [assuming they will do this] because Chang Mai kept the one i had for the type ‘o’ which means i now have to get another when applying in a couple of months for the retirement Visa in Nan. They will not accept copies, originals only.