Moving To Thailand Advice!

[alison1990]

Im writing on behalf of my dad who is thinking of moving to thailand. He's not 100% sure on where to start and what the requirements are etc. Hes 65 so i think he wud go over on a retirement visa? any information, guidance wud be greatfull. wud be good to talk to people who have moved from the uk to thailand! thanks

Edited June 19, 2011 by Crossy
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[Thanyaburi Mac]

A quick Q first: Has he been to Thailand previously? And if so, for how long.

Mac

[Lite Beer]

He can get a Non Imm O-A Visa from the Thai Embassy in London if he has 800,000 Baht in a bank or 65,000 Baht monthly income or a combination of the two.

A police report and medical is needed.

OR.

He can get a Non Imm O Visa from any Thai Consulate in UK and extend it for 12 months at an Immigration Office in Thailand. Police report and medical is not needed.

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;

(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or

(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than

800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or

(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less

than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

[msg362]

Where does he plan to live? If Chiang Mai, look up 'Chiang Mai expats' on google, there is also one in Pattaya.

[melsnet]

He can get a Non Imm O-A Visa from the Thai Embassy in London if he has 800,000 Baht in a bank or 65,000 Baht monthly income or a combination of the two.

A police report and medical is needed.

OR.

He can get a Non Imm O Visa from any Thai Consulate in UK and extend it for 12 months at an Immigration Office in Thailand. Police report and medical is not needed.

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;

(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or

(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than

800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or

(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less

than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

With these options he can get continous 12 month extensions to visa without leaving Thailand. If he decides to leave Thailand to visit another country once his visa has expired he must get a re-entry visa from Thia Immigration before leaving Thailand to get back into the country.

[alison1990]

Thank you for your replies! ive forward the information on to my dad. any information on a working visa??

[KamnanT]

Thank you for your replies! ive forward the information on to my dad. any information on a working visa??

There is no "working visa" per se - permission for a non-Thai citizen to work in Thailand comes in the form of a work permit issued by the Department of Labour. Normally, work permits are not issued to foreigners in Thailand on an Non-Immigrant "O-A" visa or on an extension of stay based on retirement (one aspect of having somewhat easier rules for retirees is that they are not working). If your father wants to work, he will need to start with a Non-Immigrant "B" or Non-Immigrant "O" visa and then find an employer to sponsor a work permit application. Unless he really, really wants or needs to work, the O-A route will be quite a bit easier.

[moe666]

Alison get your dad involved as soon as possible when he arrives and has to sort thru this stuff here he will be on his own pretty much. Has he ever been to Thailand before.

What knid of work is he interested in doing.

Edited June 21, 2011 by moe666

[NancyL]

Alison, recently I met an older man here in Chiang Mai who had sold everything in the U.S. and moved here to retire. He'd been here several times on vacation and had worked overseas with the U.S. military and for a large multi-national employer. He found the entire process of getting an O-A visa in the U.S. overwhelming, what with the requirements for medical certificate, income certification,police report and his unfamiliarity with using the internet and email, so he entered the country on a visa-exempt 30 day permission to stay, granted to tourists from many countries, including yours.

Once here in CM, I met him and helped him thru the much more simple in-country process of getting an O visa that he could extend into a 12-month permission to stay based on retirement after it was 60 days old. No need for police check, medical certificate and the income could be verified with income letter from the U.S. consulate. Still, he found the process somewhat overwhelming, considering he was used to all this stuff being taken care of by others when he traveled as a tourist or worked overseas for a large employer. Also, he had sent about 100 pounds of personal effects via FedEx and it was held up in customs, where they demanded a stiff duty. On top of everything, he set up a Thai bank account and was amazed to discover that they needed 30 days to clear a personal check. None of this is unusual for new retirees, but he found it difficult to deal with, especially since he didn't really use the internet or email well and didn't feel up to doing a lot of mingling in the local expat scene, asking questions and trying to sort out the good advice from the drek.

He ended up returning to the U.S. after being here about 50 days. His car, condo and most of his personal effects are gone. He pretty much has to start over again in the U.S. Fortunately, he has a supportive son who located a place for him to live.

It sounds like your Dad has a supportive daughter. He may not realize how much he misses that until he leaves. I'd suggest that he come over here for 3 or 4 months and "pretend" he's retired and living here, but not actually cut his financial or material ties with his home country. If he likes it after that time, he can always get a retirement visa here, or (at worst) by taking a little trip to a neighboring country to arrange one at a Thai embassy.

[lopburi3]

Good advise above but you would get a retirement extension of stay here in Thailand or a non immigration O visa that could be extended later from a Consulate in the region. You can not obtain a long stay (retirement) non immigrant O-A visa outside your country of residence. I would advise he obtain a single entry non immigrant O visa from an honorary Consulate in the UK and arrive on that for a 90 day stay. He can then directly extend by having the financials proof after 60 days if he so desires.

Believe from UK, and if receiving some pensions, it does not increase if in Thailand so that might also be a consideration.

[alison1990]

Thank you everyone for all your advice! He has been to thailand - recently infact for two weeks! He loved it over there and he met some great people! The family have suggested for him to maybe go back over to thailand for 1 month to make 100% sure he wants to move etc.. also aswell ive been reading through thaivisa forum and seen the requirement, 800,000 baht to be in a thai bank account which is about 15,000 in uk. its alot of money to get. is there no cheaper roots to go down?

[Lite Beer]

800,000 in the bank. OR 65,000 Baht monthly income. OR A combination of the two.

For instance if he gets 40,000 Baht a month pension he will need 320,000 Baht in the bank.

[sbk]

I would suggest he stay longer than a month. He can get a non-o-a in the US and come for a few months at the very minimum. Rent a place to stay, check things out. Selling everything up is a huge move and one he may regret. Tell him to try it for 6 months first.

http://www.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

[moe666]

I have been coming to Thailand for years and I am still not ready to make the complete move yet. I spend about 6 months in Thailand mostly in Chiang mai. Visiting for a few weeks on vacation is totally different than living here.

It doesn't sound like a great deal of thought has really been given to this move it is something that should not be done lightly. What does your father want to do here, is he someone who needs lots of stimulation, does he make friends easy, does he adapt to a changing enviroment, how does he handle flustration with bureacratic roadblocks.How much money does he have to spend on a monthly basis, depending on how native he can go it could be expensive for him to live here.

Good luck to your dad in what ever he decides to do.

Edited June 22, 2011 by moe666

[Guest]

"he set up a Thai bank account and was amazed to discover that they needed 30 days to clear a personal check" - what kind of cheque was that? Baht cheques take 24 hours!

[lopburi3]

OP is in the UK and only London can provide an O-A visa in that country. As mention has been made that money is short that may not even be an option without difficulty. Likely best to obtain a single entry non immigrant O visa, or even multi entry, to live here for a time before cutting ties. A two week vacation is not sustainable if money is not available in copious amounts and living a poorer lifestyle may not be that attractive. From a non immigrant O entry it is easy to extend for retirement if that choice is made.

[lopburi3]

"he set up a Thai bank account and was amazed to discover that they needed 30 days to clear a personal check" - what kind of cheque was that? Baht cheques take 24 hours!

I don't know of many people coming to Thailand with baht checks. Foreign checks normally take 3-6 weeks to be credited to account here.

[Jayroo]

Thank you for your replies! ive forward the information on to my dad. any information on a working visa??

Tell him to reside in Pattaya, he might like it there.

[NancyL]

"he set up a Thai bank account and was amazed to discover that they needed 30 days to clear a personal check" - what kind of cheque was that? Baht cheques take 24 hours!

He had a third party personal check from the person in the U.S. who bought his car. I'm amazed that Bangkok Bank even accepted it, considering he had just opened his account there.

[moe666]

"he set up a Thai bank account and was amazed to discover that they needed 30 days to clear a personal check" - what kind of cheque was that? Baht cheques take 24 hours!

He had a third party personal check from the person in the U.S. who bought his car. I'm amazed that Bangkok Bank even accepted it, considering he had just opened his account there.

I have to wonder why anyone would think this is a good idea. It takes several days for checks to clear your account in the states thats even in your own bank and your account.

After reading the many stories of the problems many people have travelling to Thailand and these are just the tourist. There needs to be a test before being allowed to board the airplane on your understanding of the final detination. Yes I know never will happen.