Retirement visa question

[Lance_A_Lot]

I will be obtaining a multiple-entry retirement visa from the Thai Consulate in New York. With respect to airline tickets, will I need a R/T ticket, or is one way O.K. ?    :cool:

[Guest IT Manager]

Dont you just adore confidence

[opalhort]

I will be obtaining a multiple-entry retirement visa from the Thai Consulate in New York. With respect to airline tickets, will I need a R/T ticket, or is one way O.K. ?    :cool:

It is my understanding that you will need a return ticket ONLY for a 30 day 'Visa on Arrival'. Some Thai embassies/consulates may ask for a return ticket when you apply for a tourist (60 days) visa.

A retirement visa will be a Non-Immigrant "O" visa and a return ticket is not required but there are some special requirements regarding finances, please check with the Thai Consulate in NY for details.

Dr. P.P. can you confirm this?

Regards

opalhort

[KenUdon]

If you get a retirement visa then you do not require a return ticket. Glad you are so confident. Hope you have everything in order. They can be a pain.

[Lance_A_Lot]

Confidence? ... inspired by Francesca at the New York Consulate ... she made it sound very easy to obtain the initial visa ... extension a year later, well that's a whole different animal. She said I would not need a medical certificate or a criminal background check for the initial visa! ... not like what you read from the Washington, D.C. web site! ... she did advise me to obtain these documents while in the States for the extension. The people in New York have always been extremely helpful.  

[Kan Win]

Lance A Lot

Welocme to Thailand once you get over here.

Love your name and I hope you use your "Lance A Lot"

::      :cool:  :laugh:

[dr_Pat_Pong]

With a visa issued abroad Lance, you can fly without a return visa. Without, CANNOT.

[Thaiquila]

"She said I would not need a medical certificate or a criminal background check for the initial visa! ... not like what you read from the Washington, D.C. web site! ... she did advise me to obtain these documents while in the States for the extension."

I am curious about this detail. It makes sense that Thai immigration would want the background check to be from your home country, and obviously if that is the case, you would want to get that before you leave your home country.

However, with the medical certificate, if they really don't need it until the application for the first one year extension, I find it odd that they would want an old certificate from your home country. Is that really the case? Wouldn't they want a more current certificate issued by a doctor in Thailand? After all, a prohibited condition could present itself over that period of time.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Opal   He'll need an account with a Bank in Thailand with 800,000 baht in it, and a letter from the bank evidencing that. The medical certificate and police clearance is sometimes asked for when residency is sought ( after 3 years )

[redwood13]

Lance, are you obtaining an O-A retirement visa from the New York Consulate or obtaining an non-immigrant O visa with the intent of applying for a retirement visa once you arrive in Thailand?

-redwood

[dr_Pat_Pong]

IMHO it is far easier to get the O and extend it in Thailand. The O/A can be messy, and takes time, unless the required funds are already in a Thai bank account.

[karenfraser18]

I am not sure if you need one if you are getting your multiple entry in New York but if you get it here you do not.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

You must get the original visa outside Thailand. As a retiree you are inelligible to get a first visa issued in Thailand.