Non Imm O Required Before Non Imm O-A (Retirement Visa) ?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The mail in policy depends on the individual consulate or honorary consulate... A number of the honorary consulates do allow it... But you need to check with the particular consulate you have in mind as to their specifics...

For example, you wouldn't want to use regular mail for sending and returning your passport. Those that do mail typically would want you to send by U.S.P.S. express mail or FedEx or something like that, where the shipment is trackable and guaranteed.

And then you'd either pay them separately for the return or include in your submission prepaid, self addressed return envelope, again, per their individual instructions.

If the honorary consulate accepts mail in applications, then yes, of course, they're going to be keeping your passport for a couple days, typically...which shouldn't be any problem as long as you handle the to and from mail securely.

For the honorary consulates, typically for in person visits, they're in and out in the same day.... unless perhaps you happened to show up late in the afternoon before their closing time.

PS - Houston definitely accepts applications by mail.

Edited January 19, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It definitely wouldn't hurt to ask. We have friends who obtained O visas in Denver with the reason they were "exploring retirement" in Sept or October, so any policy changes must be more recent. They asked in person, if that makes a difference.

Yes, some honorary consulates definitely did used to allow exploring retirement as the basis for obtaining an O visa... But that supposedly was the subject of a crackdown toward the latter part of last year at the behest of the Thai Foreign Ministry...

Whether any of the honorary consulates escaped that are regards O visas for exploring retirement, I don't know.... But one of the more friendly in that regard before was Portland, and they've now changed their website to remove that as an option from them.

If any honorary consulates in the U.S. still are offering O visa for exploring retirement, I'm sure a lot of folks reading on TV would be interested to know.

[JimGant]

Portland is still in business in issuing Non Imm visas for retiree eligible (at least they were when the following dialogue took place, April 2011. They will do mail applications from anywhere within the US. And Express Mail's flat rate envelope -- with a prepaid Express Mail return envelope -- would seem to be the way to go. It's what I used a few years back with Houston (speaking of which -- I asked them the same question as below -- and received a 'negative'). And nice to hear Denver is 'friendly.' However, a few years ago, they were restricting applicantes to in and around Colorado. Maybe that's changed....

Hi,

Is it possible to obtain a Non Imm O visa from you for the purposes of retiring in Thailand? For me it would be easier to get a retirement extension from Immigration in Thailand, rather than a Non Imm O-A visa from Los Angeles or Washington. I'm 65 years of age, and my Air Force pension well-exceeds the 65000 baht/mo required by Immigration. I can also show bank statements in excess of $25,000.

Thank you. Oh, if affirmative, can that be a multi entry visa?

Answer:

Yes, we can issue the non-immigrant O visa in Portland and you can renew in Thailand with the O-A visa. I can issue the one-year multiple entry for you – just be sure to send the proof of income/pension.

Sincerely,

Mary Wheeler

Sorry to see Mary is also confused over "O-A" visas vs. "extensions." However, so too the official MFA website.

Visit Portland's website, get the contact info (email and phone), then set-up a dialogue with Mary to nail down specifics.

Oh, I never actually applied -- I'm here -- this was just to confirm what I already suspected about the excellent service Portland provides. (And I'm still waiting to hear on this forum if anyone has gone the "condo" route for a Non Imm visa, as Portland's website advertises......)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Jim, have you looked at the Portland consulate's web site lately?

When I did the other day, there didn't seem to be any mention of retirement qualifications in connection with O visas.... just several other categories.

[JimGant]

John,

Portland's website has never, in my recollection, mentioned "retirement eligible" or something similar in their Non Imm O criteria. However, it was something alluded to by a poster, who used Portland, that caused me to email them re Non Imm visas for retirement eligible. It was the similar question -- and negative reply -- from Houston that surprised me -- as I had used them for years, and considered them the most user friendly.

Nancy's take on Denver is interesting, but the fact that the question was asked 'in person' may suggest Denver is still geographically limited. Here's an old post from the Pattaya Press received from Denver, back in an earlier crack-down on easy Non Imm visas:

We are trying to tell customers who are trying to obtain a visa, to go to their

nearest consulate within the state they reside in. We will accept travelers

who are within the state of Colorado or neighboring cities who do not have a

consulate in their area.

We are trying to make customers understand that we will not be issuing

visas as easily as we had in the past due to the changes that have taken

place since October 2006. We are trying to follow the rules the best we can

per the Thai Embassy.

We do not want customers misinformed that we can issue ANY TYPE of visa

easily if requested or we will take applications from those who

reside outside our area. We will try to ask the customer to provide as

much documentation as possible pertaining to the type of visa applied for.

Back to Portland's website:

They're a little confused when they say "must enter Thailand within 90 days of visa issue" since that extends to one year for a multi-entry visa.

Also, a little confusing when they say 'must be in the US when applying' but then say 'residents of Canada, please send US dollars.' I would imagine our maple leaf cousins can also use Portland. Worth a check with Mary, eh? However, for you Quebecers, I don't think Mary understands French.

[NancyL]

My friends were indeed Colorado residents when they went to the Denver consulate late last year. They thought they should apply for tourist visas, but when they explained to the consulate why they were coming to Thailand, the consulate offered them 90-day O visas, without them specifically asking for them. They were thrilled -- they thought they'd have to do the "two step" process in Thailand. Arriving with an O visa got them on the road to a 12-month retirement extension faster.