New Changes In All Non-Immigrant Visas

[Maestro]

...There is no longer any type of visa that requires investment in property or other assets since the B3m investment visa was scrapped...

There still is; see paragraph 2.5 of Police Order 777/2551. It required originally an investment of 10 million Baht, then this was temporarily reduced to 3 million, now it is back to 10 million.

[beechguy]

I have a 1 Year (M) Non-Immi. B Visa. Collected in December in Germany.

I still have not visit Thailand yet. Will be back late February.

Do i have to bring any documents with me besides my Passport to enter Thailand???

No just enter the visa number on the TM6 entry card and make sure they stamp your passport correctly.

[Lammbock]

@beechguy

Thank you

[jazzbo]

Why? ... "In a prime location on the north bank of the River Humber, the Port of Hull is one of the UK's leading foreign-trading ports."

[Mario2008]

A consulate deals with visas, not work permits.

But the Ministry of Foreign affairs FAQ says this:

Q: An NGO in Thailand has invited me to go there and work for them as a volunteer for 45 days during my school break. I will not earn any money in Thailand. I am a Belgian college student in Brussels. I understand that I do not need a visa, do I?

A: Although you will work as a volunteer, you do need a Non-Immigrant visa as well as the Work Permit. The NGO must be legally registered with the Thai authority,

and that you need a recommendation letter from the NGO for your visa application and the Work Permit.

[nong38]

So it looks like I have to get my name on the rent book and apply for residing in Thailand. What happens if I stop renting with GFand we buy a house, it will be in her name, will I be worse off than renting when applying again for a new multi entry visa? I am soon to be of pensionable age and am not sure yet if I will have enough to qualify, I could defer for a couple of years taking the govt pension and increase that pot by 20% which offset them freezing it. I wonder why all this has come about, has someone in the UK noted how many ex pats are here and not spending money in the UK and tried to put pressure on the Thai govt? Or maybe its because the FA have cancelled the friendly football match with Thailand after Thailand failed to support our World Cup bid after saying they would,coupled with Cameron's cancelled xmas bash in LOS. All in all how much will the Embassy/Consul lose in non applications, surely it wouls make sense for the rules to bee simple and easy and you adhere or face the consequences.

Edited January 11, 2011 by nong38

[Nuff Said]

I don't think it's (legally) significant, but can you spot what's missing from the second of my Non-Imm. 'O's from Hull...

Hi

"Employment Prohibited"

Maybe they forgot a stamp.

Thanks to sub101uk and 121Advice for recent posts, useful to know.

My Multiple Enrty Non Immigrant 'O', issued by Hull in mid October 2010, doesn't bear the 'Employment Prohibited' stamp either.

[jazzbo]

Well as long as we're now going to play copy-and-paste, how about this from the Thai MofFA website:

3. NON-IMMIGRANT VISA

- other activities (Category "O") as follows: to stay with the family, to perform duties for the state enterprise or social welfare organizations, to stay after retirement for the elderly, to receive medical treatment, to be a sport coach as required by Thai Government, to be a contestant or witness for the judicial process.

.... So it does include perform duties for social welfare organizations but I see no mention of 'visiting friends' or 'Residing in Thailand' ... Your mutual attempts to discredit the Honorary Consulate at Hull may win you a lot of fans amongst the TV Membership who may rely on this option for their continued stay in Thailand

Edited January 11, 2011 by jazzbo

[ignis]

My Multiple Entry Non Immigrant year 'O' issued by Birmingham UK 2003 + same Visa issue in Perth Australia 2010 doesn't bear the 'Employment Prohibited' stamps either. [yearly extensions in-between]

[phaethon]

I wonder if the medical treatment thing might carry weight - "I need a one year non-Imm. O to look for a good dentist..." ?

[phuketrichard]

I just looked at my past 6 retirement extensions and NONE say EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITED.

but i know i can't work without a work permit.

as to...

So it looks like I have to get my name on the rent book and apply for residing in Thailand. What happens if I stop renting with GFand we buy a house it will be in her name, will I be worse off than renting when applying again for a new multi entry visa?

I had my name listed on the back on the tam bien baan of the house i owned and sold. I just made lots of copies of the relevant page and have been using them since i sold the house.

You wont be any dif so just make copies and if u buy a place get your name on a yellow book as residing at the house

Only thing i have needed it for was to renew my drivers license once

[LindsayBKK]

I have just got my new Non Imm 'O' visa based on visiting family. I called the Hull consulate before submitting my application and the nice lady told me it was no big deal. Either complete the standard form stating the address I would be staying or if married a copy of the Marriage Cert. I am married to a Thai so I applied the belt and braces approach and did both, although they told me that wasn't necessary. There was no problem the visa was issued as usual and the Hull Consulate staff remain as helpful as ever.

Cheers

ImageDude

Any Australians been to Hull lately for Non 'O'?

(Gay's don't have the luxury of getting married for a piece of paper)

Or would I have to try an Aussie embassy?

Luckily I am good for 1 year but looking for the next one already.

Edited January 11, 2011 by LindsayBKK

[Arkady]

...There is no longer any type of visa that requires investment in property or other assets since the B3m investment visa was scrapped...

There still is; see paragraph 2.5 of Police Order 777/2551. It required originally an investment of 10 million Baht, then this was temporarily reduced to 3 million, now it is back to 10 million.

Thanks for the information, Maestro. Now I am confused as to why so many TV posters complain that there is no visa for under 50s who have enough money to live in Thailand without working.

[007]

(Gay's don't have the luxury of getting married for a piece of paper)

That was my thought recently: with the push of the Thailand government towards (among other categories) to favour Non "O' visas for married foreigners over the 'visiting friends' option - don't they discriminate against gays, who cannot get married to another gay person in Thailand??

[Arkady]

Well as long as we're now going to play copy-and-paste, how about this from the Thai MofFA website:

3. NON-IMMIGRANT VISA

- other activities (Category "O") as follows: to stay with the family, to perform duties for the state enterprise or social welfare organizations, to stay after retirement for the elderly, to receive medical treatment, to be a sport coach as required by Thai Government, to be a contestant or witness for the judicial process.

.... So it does include perform duties for social welfare organizations but I see no mention of 'visiting friends' or 'Residing in Thailand' ... Your mutual attempts to discredit the Honorary Consulate at Hull may win you a lot of fans amongst the TV Membership who may rely on this option for their continued stay in Thailand

You really need to look at the Thai for this, rather than rely on a translation. What is the Thai expression in the orginal for a "social welfare organisation"? At any rate it doesn't sound as if this is a charity. Performing duties for a state enterprise could easily refer to emergency work that doesn't require a work permit under the Working of Aliens Act. As you point out, "visiting friends" or "residing in Thailand" have never been criteria for issuing an "O" visa and the the latter quite clearly requires permanent residence approved by the interior minister under the Immigration Act. By issuing directives that are not referenced anywhere in Thai statutory law or immigration regulations the Hull consulate seems to be doing a good enough job of discrediting itself without the need for any external assistance.

[007]

Thanks for the information, Maestro. Now I am confused as to why so many TV posters complain that there is no visa for under 50s who have enough money to live in Thailand without working.

Fair enough if you want to waste 10 million baht for a condo in Thailand with all the insecurity. What if the government scraps such kind of visa in the future too, and you'll only be allowed to 'visit' your 10-million-baht condo once a year for 12 weeks or so... (That's a theoretical example. Can you be sure what a Thai government will come up with in say, 10 years?) As for me, I'd rather invest double or triple that money in a property in Singapore or Australia.

[Arkady]

The basic problem is that there is no visa catagory for a person that is under 50, moderately financed, and wishes to spend their money in Thailand for most of the year. The United States issues 10 year tourist visas with stays up to six months per entry. The Thais give you a sixth month visa good for two months+1 per entry...yay.

Try getting a 10 year tourist visa if you're a Thai or Filipino? A Filipino can get a tourist visa for Thailand with no supporting paper work in one day from many consulates.

In fact US consulates over the world, including in Thailand and the Philippines, issue 10 year tourist visas by default, unless the applicant's circumstances merit a shorter period, and the fee is the same for any length of tourist visa. My Thai wife applied for a US tourist visa in Bangkok, while she was still a student and was surprised to be given a 10 year visa without specifically requesting the 10 years or being charged extra for it.

The US system is very fair in that way but the UK Border Agency is much meaner about tourist visas. You are invited to apply for up to a 10 year tourist visa for the UK with differential prices ranging from B3,500 for up to 6 months to B32,000 for the maximum 10 years. If you apply for 10 years but they decide for whatever reason you are only worth 6 months, the UK government will simply steal the B28,500 differential. Thus they create extra work for themselves, as many people who might qualify for longer visas don't dare to apply for more than 6 months due to the financial penalty and keep coming back to re-apply.

As Maestro points out there is indeed a visa category for under 50s who want to live in Thailand without working: the extension based on investment of B10 million which can include a condominium. If some one has decided to give up working under 50 without even B10 million to live on for the rest of his life, it is quite understandable that the Thai government might not feel he meets their visa criteria. Allowing retirement extensions at 50 is already rather generous.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Arkady

[beechguy]

Thanks for the information, Maestro. Now I am confused as to why so many TV posters complain that there is no visa for under 50s who have enough money to live in Thailand without working.

Fair enough if you want to waste 10 million baht for a condo in Thailand with all the insecurity. What if the government scraps such kind of visa in the future too, and you'll only be allowed to 'visit' your 10-million-baht condo once a year for 12 weeks or so... (That's a theoretical example. Can you be sure what a Thai government will come up with in say, 10 years?) As for me, I'd rather invest double or triple that money in a property in Singapore or Australia.

Just to clarify, a condo isn't the only qualifying investment, and the previous investment amount of 3 million still applies to those who obtained, and maintained their extension from before October, 2006. So most likely someone obtaining their extension with 10 million should be able to continue.

[jazzbo]

As per 'Social welfare organizations' or whatever I believe it is Hull's intent to assist those who would wish to volunteer for those charitable organizations it chooses to 'recognize' ... How they choose to do that would be based on their being an honorary consul for almost 90 years and the Consular himself for 30 years without our assistance ... and whether you believe they deserve being so accredited or not. BTW:

Additionally, the Social Welfare Promotion Act BE 2546 provides for the establishment Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs), a foundation

or association which has the objectives of social welfare provision or a private organisation which has works relating to the provision of social welfare.

http://www.ngoregnet.org/country_information_by_region/Asia_and_Oceania/Thailand.asp

[Arkady]

Thanks for the information, Maestro. Now I am confused as to why so many TV posters complain that there is no visa for under 50s who have enough money to live in Thailand without working.

Fair enough if you want to waste 10 million baht for a condo in Thailand with all the insecurity. What if the government scraps such kind of visa in the future too, and you'll only be allowed to 'visit' your 10-million-baht condo once a year for 12 weeks or so... (That's a theoretical example. Can you be sure what a Thai government will come up with in say, 10 years?) As for me, I'd rather invest double or triple that money in a property in Singapore or Australia.

It is not necessary to invest the entire B10 million in a condo or buy a condo at all, as long as the investments meet the criteria specified in the regulations. Of course you are more than welcome to settle and invest in Australia, Singapore or anywhere else you think is a better bet than Thailand but we are talking about Thailand here.

[alantheembalmer]

Visiting Thailand as UK Pensioner

Evidence required: Copies of bank statements showing receipt of pension.

This one looks a little odd.

When I retired here at the age of 54, I was not in receipt of a pension, but was getting an income from investments. Let's just hope, for the sake of future pensioners, that the Thai authorities have a very flexible definition of "pension".

It also does not tie up particularly neatly with the Retirement Extension criteria.

Alan

[Arkady]

Visiting Thailand as UK Pensioner

Evidence required: Copies of bank statements showing receipt of pension.

This one looks a little odd.

When I retired here at the age of 54, I was not in receipt of a pension, but was getting an income from investments. Let's just hope, for the sake of future pensioners, that the Thai authorities have a very flexible definition of "pension".

It also does not tie up particularly neatly with the Retirement Extension criteria.

Alan

I don't know about the consulate but I believe that for extensions based on retirement Immigration requires evidence of a specific retirement income or pension certified by your embassy. I would think that it would have to be a fixed income that cannot be terminated or reduced to qualify. Personal investments probably don't qualify as the income from them is usually not certain. However, retirees with investment income can use the option of showing B800k in a Thai bank account for at least 3 months instead of income.

A friend of mine has obtained visas at the Birmingham Consulate and reckons they are pretty efficient.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Arkady

[lopburi3]

That is a requirement for non immigrant O-A visa issue - not for retirement extensions of stay in Thailand. Here you either have 800k in bank account for specific time, income of 65k per month (as listed on Embassy letter) or a combination to meet 800k per year. Normally an Embassy will accept any provable income/pension/dividends/rents and such.

[thaiwristbands]

I have just got my new Non Imm 'O' visa based on visiting family. I called the Hull consulate before submitting my application and the nice lady told me it was no big deal. Either complete the standard form stating the address I would be staying or if married a copy of the Marriage Cert. I am married to a Thai so I applied the belt and braces approach and did both, although they told me that wasn't necessary. There was no problem the visa was issued as usual and the Hull Consulate staff remain as helpful as ever.

Cheers

ImageDude

I'm from Hull and have just been home and renewed my Non O which I can clarify is not a problem exactly the same as before the last 5 years.

They now have added one more form with your application asking for the address of Family/Friends you are staying with but on this form it tells you in a roundabout way its not that important just obviusly a new regualtion brought in by Thai Authorites but if you've lived here long enough in Thailand you'll know laws and reg's aren't really upheld.

So don't worry the staff at Hull are great and as usual in and out within 10 minutes

[somchai jones]

I've just visited the Hull website and see that on the visa downloads section, there were some changes made on 7th Jan.

When I visited the site before Christmas, for a muliple entry visa for the purpose of visiting friends, there was a template letter which you could print off and fill in adding the adress of the friend you would be visiting to submit as a supporting document.

This has now changed. In the 'Abc Additional Information for non O visa' pdf doc that was added on 7th Jan, visiting 'family' is still an option but the term 'visiting friends' has now been totally ommitted.

However, there is now a new option for applying for a non O multiple entry visa that didn't exist before - i.e. simply 'To reside in Thailand'.

The supporting documentation that is required as indicated is - 'Copy of house deeds or copy of rent/lease agreement'.

So, when applying, you would include:

1. the main application form

2. a copy of your rental agreement or deeds

3. the self certification form (declaring you have funds for your stay)

4. the payment form

So, as was the case with a previous poster, I actually think things are more staightforward now. Rather than the vagueness of 'visiting a friend' you are applying for the purpose of 'residing in Thailand' and if you have a rental document to support that, you should receive your visa without a problem.

[JimGant]

Rather than the vagueness of 'visiting a friend' you are applying for the purpose of 'residing in Thailand' and if you have a rental document to support that, you should receive your visa without a problem.

Good ole Hull. I bet they're the ones who came up with the 'visiting friends' scheme to allow for those unable to be married to Thais to also avail themselves of a Non Imm O visa. Some other honorary consulates followed Hull's lead -- notably the now-defunct Perth consulate. However, 'visiting friends' was never in MFA's openly-stated criteria for issuing Non Imm O visas. Hull, one of the oldest honorary consulates -- with the power that age bestows -- probably came up with the 'visiting friends' scheme after many cocktails with their MFA buddies at the annual get-together suggested its viability.

However, just as the hammer came down on the honoraries over issuing Non Imm O-A visas, so too has MFA apparently cracked-down on the 'visiting friends' scheme. In fact, MFA sites, like the following from the Thai Consulate LA, now specifically preclude 'visiting friends' from their criteria:

Non-immigrant visas will not be issued for such purposes as tourism, visiting friends, visiting fiancé/fiancée, seeking employment opportunities, looking for a school for teaching or studying purposes, etc.

(My emphasis added.)

Hull, bless 'em, apparently understood from the latest imbibe with MFA that folks who show 'long term intent' qualify for Non Imm O visas. (I'm sure that's what Colonel Nametoolongtoremember meant, what?)

Anyway, Hull is definitely a full-service consulate. Except for a small fracas in the 1770's, the Brits seem to know how to get things accomplished.