Retirement Visas

[penbat]

I have picked up quite a lot of useful info but am still confused on some points. I am 51 and may apply for a retirement visa for Thailand in about a years time. I have enough savings to last years. I would have some limited pension income coming my way at some point ( I want to put it off as much as possible - maybe until i am 65 or 70).

1/ So surely the easiest thing for me to is stick 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank and just basically forget about it and use a bank statement form that bank to support my retirement visa and annual renewal. I coud just show ATM receipts from my UK bank account if required to demonstrate that i was not getting any income form working.

2/ I understand may well need a criminal record check certificate but do i need anything else to support my application ? Do I need anything at all from the British Embassy as i am using savings to support my application not income ?

3/ Do I get my retirement visa from the Thai Embassy in the UK by mail ?

4/As i understand it I could just initially get a 90 day tourist visa and then apply for retirement visa in Thailand.

5/ If I get to stay in Thailand that long surely by the time i am, say, 80 i will most likely have significant health problems. Need i worry about the annual medical to renew the retirement visa ? What if i was down with, say flu when i wanted to renew ?

6/ It seems to me that the hot temperatures in Thailand is one possible reason why I may not end up liking Thailand and it would be one good reason for having a holiday in Thailand first to see what to expect.

[Thetyim]

I am on a retirement visa but have no pension.

I just show the 800k in the bank each year.

Some people (me) are asked to show where monthly money comes from. Your ATM receipts should cover that.

The medical is nothing to worry about. If you are breathing then you will pass.

A long holiday is absolutely the best way to start.

Some places are hotter than others. So choose well

[lopburi3]

You should not plan on retirement in Thailand knowing nothing about it or having been here.

1. Money in bank yes but you should use it and replenish it by wire transfer to save any questions later on. But this is after the first year as if you obtain O-A in UK you do not need money in Thailand until you extend it here.

2. You will need a criminal records check if done in UK and proof of money in bank account. See Embassy or consulate for exact requirements. The UK does not have an Embassy in the UK so that only comes into play after you are in Thailand.

3. I suspect so but you should check that out.

4. Tourist visa is 60 days but yes you could apply here in Thailand; but your visa would first have to be changed to non immigrant.

5. Medical is for specific items - not general health - so should not be a problem.

6. At least a holiday - I would not make the move without a lot more than that.

[penbat]

Thanks for responses. Just looking at http://www.thaivisa.com/318.0.html it says that:

"Initially you must apply for a Non-Immigrant visa before you enter the country from a Thai Embassy abroad. Permission will be for 90 days. for the first permit (single entry) but you can apply for a multiple max one year stay in Thailand.

Requirements:

Application form T.M.7

Copy of passport or substitute document.

One 4 x 6 cm photo.

500 baht fee.

Proof of financial status or pension.

Letter from your embassy saying you wish to retire in Thailand"

How do you prove financial staus or pension ?

Also how do you get a letter from your embassy (presumably the UK embassy in Thailand) saying that you wish to retire in Thailand - what is the point of that ?

Just another thought, if i ever got convicted of a criminal offence in Thailand would I get deported or have problems renewing my retirment visa ?

[chatchy]

1/ So surely the easiest thing for me to is stick 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank and just basically forget about it and use a bank statement form that bank to support my retirement visa and annual renewal. I coud just show ATM receipts from my UK bank account if required to demonstrate that i was not getting any income form working.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When I got my retirement visa I asked about using ATM receipts and was told no. I was told to use copies of the out of country bank account statement that listed ATM transfers to machines within Thailand and it would not be a problem.

[penbat]

When I got my retirement visa I asked about using ATM receipts and was told no.  I was told to use copies of the out of country bank account statement that listed ATM transfers to machines within Thailand and it would not be a  problem.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have a UK online bank account (Smile) although i am sure they would send me a printed bank statement on request. Anyway presumambly your out of country bank would have your Thailand address and send you bank statements as a mater of course.

Edited June 3, 2005 by penbat

[RDN]

When I got my retirement visa I asked about using ATM receipts and was told no.  I was told to use copies of the out of country bank account statement that listed ATM transfers to machines within Thailand and it would not be a  problem.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have a UK online bank account (Smile) although i am sure they would send me a printed bank statement on request. Anyway presumambly your out of country bank would have your Thailand address and send you bank statements as a mater of course.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why not live off the 800,000 and transfer (using S.W.I.F.T.) another 800,000 just before you apply for your annual "extension of stay". This makes it crystal clear to immigration that your money is coming from abroad - your bank "pass book" will show that - and that you are living off that money while you are here.

You can keep your ATM receipts here if you wish (I do, but only for checking against my bank statement) but it's best to regularly get your bank "pass book" updated (= printed with the latest transactions) to show your regular withdrawals for living expenses. If immigration want, you can copy your pass book for them to keep.

[Thetyim]

Thanks for responses.

Also how do you get a letter from your embassy (presumably the UK embassy in Thailand) saying that you wish to retire in Thailand - what is the point of that ?

It is a standard letter given by the Embassy.

It says almost nothing but you must have it to get your retirement extension.

Also it costs about 1400 baht

[Steve2UK]

David - I think you're currently at the stage that I was at about 8 months ago i.e. "Thailand seems like a good idea for retirement but will it work for me?" (except that I'd already been to Thailand 7 times by then). On that assumption, forgive me if I'm a bit direct and suggest to you that you really don't need to get bogged down in the "how do I" detail just yet. It's much more important that you get a chance to really make up your mind whether Thailand could/would work for you. Based on what you've said in both threads, it seems clear that you can practically achieve what you have in mind - after all, thousands have done it and are doing it. The only qualification I can see to that is about your past conviction - which is something you now know how to find out very quickly in the UK.

It's now the hot/rainy season in most of Thailand, but I do recommend (again) that you line yourself up at least one 3-week stay in Thailand for say October/November (less busy and pleasant weather) to try and get a feel of the place - preferably in 2 or 3 places. This is the rest of your life that you're talking about. During that research trip, as well as enjoying yourself, you'll certainly bump into plenty westerners who live there permanently who will lose no time in telling you more than you want to know

Read a lot more on this forum - it's all useful to build up a picture of the place....... good and bad (and much of it is subjective). You could also do worse than buy the Lonely Planet guide to Thailand and the Thailand "Culture Shock" book - you'll find some good insights into what makes Thailand and (many) Thai's different from what you're used to. In my view, most of that difference is positive - but, again, it's subjective.

I'm a bit of a detail hound myself but I soon got used to getting "probably/maybe/sort of" answers to many questions that came to mind once I started. Many things in Thailand are nowhere near as clear-cut as we're used to in the UK and you'll often need some inspired lateral thinking.

Welcome to the adventure

In answer to question 3, I'm 99% certain that you have to hand in your O visa application in person at the Embassy. Here's the link for their (not the greatest) website:

http://thailand.embassyhomepage.com/visa_f..._embassy_uk.htm

You might do better to contact the Hull Thai Consulate - they are incredibly helpful (although I believe they can't handle the retirement version of the O visa application - that has to go through the Embassy):

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/index.asp

Here's a direct link to a very helpful guide to the O-A ("retirement") visa on the above site:

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Ea%20%20...Application.pdf

[bkk_mike]

Just another thought, if i ever got convicted of a criminal offence in Thailand would I get deported or have problems renewing my retirment visa ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If it gets as far as a conviction, almost certainly you'd be deported after serving your sentence, and with that, probably marked "persona non grata" and not allowed back.

Obviously that might depend on what the conviction is for. Drugs or violent crime would probably be far different from failure to pay a bar bill. (Although drugs, you probably wouldn't have to worry about being deported unless you make it to 90 or so...)

[penbat]

Obviously that might depend on what the conviction is for. Drugs or violent crime would probably be far different from failure to pay a bar bill. (Although drugs, you probably wouldn't have to worry about being deported unless you make it to 90 or so...)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not planning on anything criminal but just like the conviction i picked up for a minor offence 26 years ago in the UK it was more a case of bad luck, being at the wrong place at the wrong time. So anyway a with minor indiscretion, say argument over a bar bill i am likely to be safe then !

[penbat]

David - I think you're currently at the stage that I was at about 8 months ago i.e. "Thailand seems like a good idea for retirement but will it work for me?" (except that I'd already been to Thailand 7 times by then).

Thanks Steve for very useful info. Me moving to Thailand is a long term objective and is something i want to focus on for the future. I would be unlikely actually emigrate to Thailand for a year at least. In the meantime I want to soak up as much information as possible before then so that when I have a definate commitment I will be clued up. Quite a few things annoy me like ###### about the UK - particularly insane house prices, insanely expensive dentists and endless government spin. My bottom line is that I refuse to spend mega bucks on buying a "broom cupboard" in a rundown part of the UK - on the same money I could live for many years in somewhere like Thailand.

I understand how useful it would be for me to holiday in Thailand to help me learn about it but surely if I actually went to live in Thailand on a retirement visa and after 2 months, say, i realised that Thailand wasn't for me, i would just leave Thailand and go somewhere else.

It sounds likely that my criminal conviction is unlikely to be a bar for retiring in Thailand but i really ought to check it out quite soon to be sure. It would be pointless, for example, to spend a lot of money on a Thai fact-finding holiday If I could not be 100% certain if i could be allowed to retire there.

[ProThaiExpat]

If you travel to Thailand on a tourist visa and decide after a couple of months that you desire long stay based on retirment, you can change your visa status from tourist to O visa long stay at the main immigration office in Bangkok without a crimininal records check of any kind.