42, Married To A Thai, No Work

[boatguy]

...You can not obtain a non immigrant O-A visa in Thailand. Not now. Not ever. To stay for retirement in Thailand requires a non immigrant visa entry and then you extend that stay for one year with a TM.7 and proof of financials in Thailand. You would do this between 60-90 days after arrival in Thailand.

Now I'm confused again. Why would the Thai Embassy in Wash DC tell me to enter first on an O visa, then apply for an O-A visa ??

[boatguy]

Of course, what Lopburi says above is exactly correct..

Visas are ONLY issued by Thai consulates outside of Thailand. Extensions of stay are only issued by Thai Immigration inside Thailand.

So if I entered on an O visa first, then to obtain an O-A visa I would have to go back thru a Thai consultant in another country...the USA in my case?? ...if I was to ever have a retirement visa in Thailand

[jfchandler]

Boatguy, maybe it would help if you said what exactly you're trying to accomplish...

Both visas and extensions of stay based on retirement allow you to live in Thailand pretty much one year at a time...

Visas are issued by consulates outside Thailand. Extensions of stay, I'll say once again, are issued by Immigration inside Thailand.

To qualify for an extension of stay inside Thailand, you usually first have to arrive in the country using some kind of non-immigrant visa such as an O.. although it's also possible to arrive initially using a tourist visa, and then convert to a non-immigrant and then to extension by dealing with Immigration here.

When the people told you to arrive on an O visa, that sounds right. But when they then talked about converting to what you call an O-A, they were probably meaning a retirement extension.

Getting a new visa is always going to require a trip outside Thailand, and you could if you wanted to and qualified, continually take trips outside Thailand to apply for new retirement visas over and over again.

But once you are on retirement extensions, you'd never have to travel outside or go to a Thai consulate again, so long as you continue to be eligible for extensions.

[boatguy]

Boatguy, maybe it would help if you said what exactly you're trying to accomplish...

Both visas and extensions of stay based on retirement allow you to live in Thailand pretty much one year at a time...

Visas are issued by consulates outside Thailand. Extensions of stay, I'll say once again, are issued by Immigration inside Thailand.

To qualify for an extension of stay inside Thailand, you usually first have to arrive in the country using some kind of non-immigrant visa such as an O.. although it's also possible to arrive initially using a tourist visa, and then convert to a non-immigrant and then to extension by dealing with Immigration here.

When the people told you to arrive on an O visa, that sounds right. But when they then talked about converting to what you call an O-A, they were probably meaning a retirement extension.

Getting a new visa is always going to require a trip outside Thailand, and you could if you wanted to and qualified, continually take trips outside Thailand to apply for new retirement visas over and over again.

But once you are on retirement extensions, you'd never have to travel outside or go to a Thai consulate again, so long as you continue to be eligible for extensions.

Thanks jfchandler, I think you helped clear up some questions in my mind. I believe that too many of the postings I've read on this subject were just a little loose with their wording (less than EXACT) and left me with the wrong impressions...including the one expressed by the embassy. In other words the embassy personnel left out the fact that it was an extension I would be applying for rather than a full O-A visa. I now wonder why they would be pushing me to this alternative step in the process, when they should know that ultimately I was seeking a retirement visa?...And for that I would have to come back to them again rather than get it done in Thailand.

And you know your posting about visas ONLY being available outside the country is one of the first mentions of this fact that I can remember reading in hundreds of postings on the subject. Thanks, that helps greatly in clearing up the subject.

[jfchandler]

Boatguy, glad you're finally getting a sense of things...

For most people age 50 and above who want to live in Thailand on an ongoing basis, the extension of stay based on retirement is the normal method to use....

Of course, if someone ends up getting married with a Thai, there's also the similar extension of stay based on marriage, which has less demanding financial requirements.

Some people, perhaps if they can't meet the financial requirements for extension of stay or aren't age 50+ or married to a Thai, use other methods, such as repeated O visas for visiting "friends", or repeated tourist visas.... In those cases, they're having to travel to other nearby Asian countries to get the tourist visas, or often, back to their home country for the O visas...

One Brit who posted here recently said he was traveling back to the UK every two or three months for other reasons... So for him, it was easy and no problem to just keep getting new annual visas from a consulate there, one that is particularly accommodating for O visas to visit friends... Not all the countries' consulates are as accommodating...

Lastly, here on TVisa, there's a tremendous amount of mis-labeling between visas and extensions of stay. Often, posters will say they went to renew their visa, when they're really talking about an extension... So it's easy for people to get confused after reading those accounts. You'd hardly be alone in that regard.

It seems like your issue is, what kind of method to use to enter Thailand for the first time heading toward a "permanent" stay. Getting a retirement visa abroad is one way. Arriving on a tourist visa and then having it converted to an extension of stay at Immigration is another one, though a bit more complicated at the Thailand end (though very easy at the U.S. end). I started out with a B business visa, which is another variety of non-imm visa, and then had it converted to a retirement extension when I reached the required age... In other words, there's many ways to skin a cat....

Edited October 5, 2010 by jfchandler