Visa Clarification - Help Needed

[properperson]

Hi everyone,

My first post, so please be gentle ;0)

I arrived in Bankok 3 weeks ago sporting an "O" multiple entry 12m visa....

My impression was, that this was permission to stay for 12 months, but at the airport, had a 90 day stamp put in my passport....

Subsequently get chatting to bloke in a bar who informs me that i need to report to imigration office every 90 days, along with rental agreement showing my address and a bank statement showing i have enough money to live and they will extend by a further 90 days - ok i thought, that sounds easy....

Unfortunately a couple of days leter, talking to another bloke in another bar, who tells me that that's rubbish and i need to do a border run every 90 days...

So who's correct ?

If it's the latter - i'm totally confused !

Thanks in advance.

Tommy

[Jingthing]

Based on your current visa, you need to leave Thailand before the end of your first 90 days. When you come back, they will stamp you in for another 90 days. And so on.

What are your long term plans in Thailand? Business, retirement, married to a Thai, etc.? There are ways if you are qualified to get one year extensions (with no visa runs needed) in Thailand based on those reasons.

[monty]

The last bloke was correct!

Your visa allows you unlimited entries into Thailand, right up to the expiry date of your visa.

Each entry however only allows you to stay in Thailand for 90 days. Every 90 days you do a border run, giving you a new 90 days.

You do not need to do the immigration report, as this only needs to be done by persons staying longer then 90 days within Thailand, and you have to leave every 90 days!

Depending on your personal situation, you might qualify for a 1 year extension. The 2 most likely possibilities will be retired (you have to be over 50 years old) or marriage with a Thai national. For both reasons you'll have to prove your financial situation.

If approved you get a 1 year extension after which you would start to do the 90 day immigration office reporting (but not leaving the country).

[whatchamacallit]

I am on 1-year-non-Imm-O also - Do border runs every 90 days - when you come in you'll get another 90 days. No 90 days reporting necessary. You can stretch you stay up to 15 x 30 days. To be safe - go out one day before your visa expires, then go back in - you'll get an extra 90 days permission to stay.

[properperson]

Thank you for your inforative replies...

Plans - not sure, i am 50 in 6 months so was looking at the retirement visa option - are they easy to sort out here ? or do i have to go back to Blighty to sort ? - if i can arrange here, is the paperwork difficult for me to do myself, or an i better off paying for an agency to do it for me ??

Now i know i need to do a visa run - can anyone reccomend a decent quality / reasonable price company to use (ie one not using a 1974 Hillman Avenger Estate with no air con) - Am renting in Pattaya, few mins from Walking St....

Thanks again in advance...

[lopburi3]

Don't know the firms down there but should cost about 2,500 baht all inclusive.

Retirement extension of stay is a normal TM.7 extension of stay form (that a tourist would also use) with a 4x6cm photo attached. Proof if income 65k in a Consulate letter or 800k in a bank account 2 months using passbook/bank letter or a combination of the two. That is it, other than normal passport/visa copies. You can easily do yourself. You do this on any non immigrant visa entry with less than 30 days remaining on permitted to stay stamp.

[whatchamacallit]

I live in Jomtien and been using a company called "Visa Run" - here is their number: 0852-874-588

You can call one day before your visa run. 2000 baht - they will pick you up at your condo/hotel in a 7 passenger van between 6:00am - 7:00am - about 3 hr ride each way, feed you lunch at the casino restaurant at the border, then drive you back to Jomtien arriving anywhere between 2:30pm - 3:30pm no later than that. Good luck.

[properperson]

Thanks everyone for your prompt and informative assistance - i'm very grateful..

Tommy

[Maestro]

…Plans - not sure, i am 50 in 6 months so was looking at the retirement visa option - are they easy to sort out here …

The retirement extension is probably the easiest of the various annual extensions to obtain. Normally, an immigration office will accept your application any time during the last 30 days of your permission to stay but in Pattaya (Jomtien) they accept it as early as two months in advance. Therefore, if you don’t fancy border runs very much, you need to do only one border run and then apply in April if in the meantime to get the financial side sorted out to meet the requirements.

Best wishes for an enjoyable retirement in Thailand!

--

Maestro