Retired Visa

[thaistyle99]

i retired a few months ago..my wife who is thai and i want to go back and live in thailand...were both over 55....there are 3 kinds of visas i can get here at the thai consulate...tourist multi-entry...or non immigrant...non immigrant requires alot of documents...multi entry is alot easier....its good for 1 year but your in and out every 3 months.....my question is this.......if we come over on a multi entry visa can i go to immigration soon after i get there .....tell them i want to live in thailand and hope they will give me a 1 year visa.....also i just want to be 100% sure that you cannot a 1 yesr visa for retirement here in the u.s. it has to be done in thailand...is this correct........thanks for any info and or help you can give me...thaistyle99

[Crossy]

IMHO

I am from the UK, I assume that the rules are similar in The States.

As you are married to a Thai you can get a multi-entry 'non-O' (valid for 1 year) on the grounds of marriage. This does not need vast amounts of documentation, mainly copes of your marriage cert and your wife's (Thai) passport, some evidence of funds cannot do any harm.

Once in Thailand you will need to do a visa run every 90 days, just before the visa expires you can apply for an extension of stay for 1 year on the grounds of marriage, you will need 400,000 in a Thai bank and a stack of easy paperwork. Once you have the extension you don't need to do visa runs, you must however, report your address to immigration every 90 days.

Alternatively, you could get a single entry non-O, good for 90 days stay, and apply for the marriage extension immediately on arrival.

There is a lot of running arround involved, but nothing really complicated.

Either way you will have to renew the extension every 12 months

Anyone got a list of 'friendly' consulates in the US?

Edited June 7, 2005 by Crossy

[jayenram]

Alternatively, you could get a single entry non-O, good for 90 days stay, and apply for the marriage extension immediately on arrival.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In my experience, the application for married extension can only be made during the last month of the validity of the 90 day single entry, e.g. arrive in June, apply in August.

[pianoman]

i retired a few months ago..my wife who is thai and i want to go back and live in thailand...were both over 55....there are 3 kinds of visas i can get here at the thai consulate...tourist multi-entry...or non immigrant...non immigrant requires alot of documents...multi entry  is alot easier....its good for 1 year but your in and out every 3 months.....my question is this.......if we come over on a multi entry visa can i go to immigration soon after i get there .....tell them i want to live in thailand and hope they will give me a 1 year visa.....also i just want to be 100% sure that you cannot a 1 yesr visa for retirement here in the u.s.    it has to be done in thailand...is this correct........thanks for any info and or help you can give me...thaistyle99

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thaisyle99,

I can not tell you anything about the marriage / spousal visa, but the Retirement Visa is not only available in the US, but really easy to obtain... It allows you to stay in country for a year with only having to do "Address Reports" to Immigration every 90 days... Then at the end of the one year, you apply for an extention which gives you another year, and so on, and so forth...

You can go to the Thai Embassy website either Washington DC or LA, and down load all of the information and applications... Then depending on where you live, apply at the closest Consulte Office... I did mine at the Portland Oregon office, and they were quick, friendly and very helpful... In and Out in about 20 minutes...

Pianoman

[Crossy]

Since our OP is married, the retirement visa (non- O/A) has two disadvantages as opposed to an 'O' :-

1. It needs 800k in the bank to extend.

2. He can't get a work permit should he so desire.

Just my opinion

It's all up to you Thaistyle99

Jayenram -- you are of course correct, sorry for any misunderstanding.

Edited June 7, 2005 by Crossy

[lopburi3]

You must be able to show at least the equivalent of 800,000 baht in a bank account (to be moved to Thailand in the future), obtain a police clearance and have a medical exam and fill out the forms for a non immigrant O-A visa issued in the USA and you will receive a one year stay upon entry to Thailand and only have to report your address every 90 days as everyone else does that stays here longer than 90 days. It is not that hard if you want to go that route.

If you can not meet the 800k or have pension/income in the amount of 65k per months you have the second option of obtaining a normal non immigrant type O visa (either single or multi entry) and then extending for one year periods after you have been here 60 days on the basis of supporting your Thai wife. For that you will have to have 400k in a Thai bank account or pension/income of 40k per month.

You can not receive a one year stay for support Thai wife in the USA - it must be done here in Thailand at an immigration office and will require both of you to provide information and sign forms.

If money in an account is not a problem the retirement may be the better choice as you can take care of it alone each year and the only recurring requirement other than funds is a medical that you have none of the 5 or so listed public health decease. You also get this extension immediately rather than having to wait six weeks or longer for the support Thai wife type (requires another trip or perhaps several).

[jayenram]

You also get this extension immediately rather than having to wait six weeks or longer for the support Thai wife type (requires another trip or perhaps several).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why is that Lop? I always get my extension (retirement) immediately whereas friends here applying for marriage extensions (at Kab Cheong) have to wait 30 to 60 days for their application to be processed in Bangkok.

[lopburi3]

You also get this extension immediately rather than having to wait six weeks or longer for the support Thai wife type (requires another trip or perhaps several).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why is that Lop? I always get my extension (retirement) immediately whereas friends here applying for marriage extensions (at Kab Cheong) have to wait 30 to 60 days for their application to be processed in Bangkok.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because the marriage extension requires the approval by board meeting (do you still live together? Is the money real? Will it be used for support? Is there illegal work involved?) where as the retirement is a cash on the line at application type operation for those over 50.

At least that is my take on it.

[harpman88]

i retired a few months ago..my wife who is thai and i want to go back and live in thailand...were both over 55....there are 3 kinds of visas i can get here at the thai consulate...tourist multi-entry...or non immigrant...non immigrant requires alot of documents...multi entry  is alot easier....its good for 1 year but your in and out every 3 months.....my question is this.......if we come over on a multi entry visa can i go to immigration soon after i get there .....tell them i want to live in thailand and hope they will give me a 1 year visa.....also i just want to be 100% sure that you cannot a 1 yesr visa for retirement here in the u.s.    it has to be done in thailand...is this correct........thanks for any info and or help you can give me...thaistyle99

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thaisyle99,

I can not tell you anything about the marriage / spousal visa, but the Retirement Visa is not only available in the US, but really easy to obtain... It allows you to stay in country for a year with only having to do "Address Reports" to Immigration every 90 days... Then at the end of the one year, you apply for an extention which gives you another year, and so on, and so forth...

You can go to the Thai Embassy website either Washington DC or LA, and down load all of the information and applications... Then depending on where you live, apply at the closest Consulte Office... I did mine at the Portland Oregon office, and they were quick, friendly and very helpful... In and Out in about 20 minutes...

Pianoman

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Piano is right on the money here,but I would like to add that if you get the

multi entry OA visa ,(retirement),like I did at the closest U.S. Thai Consulate,you can enter Thailand anytime before the visa expiration date(1 year from date of issue) and be granted 365 days upon arrival upon each entry so, if timed right getting almost 2 yrs.

here before having to extend in country. the 90 day reporting is as previously

explained here. Also,if you wish to renter after the visa expiration date,but before your last 365 day "admitted until "date you must 1st purchase a rentry permit in this instance. .........