Retirement Visa On Samui

[gark]

Hi, I am a US citizen who recently moved to Samui, currently on a tourist visa. Samui Immigration told me I need to get a 'non-immigrant visa' before I can apply for a retirement visa. I am over 50 and can transfer 800,000 baht into my bank account here. I do not need a work permit. What is the easiest way to get this non- immigrant visa for someone who is living on Samui? Thai embassy in KL? And what kind of non-immigrant visa do I need that will allow me to obtain a retirement visa in Samui? I'll be going to the US for a month soon, is it easy and fast to get the required non-immigrant visa there?

[Jingthing]

You can get a single entry O (non-immigrant) visa in Penang, KL, or Vientiane Laos. Last I heard just for being over 50. It is good for a 90 day stay. This will suffice to apply for the annual extension based on retirement in Samui. The 800K needs to be seasoned for two months before you can be approved for this extension for your first extension application (later ones, three months). You don't actually get a retirement visa in Samui, you get annual extensions based on retirement (no matter what they tell you at immigration).

In the U.S., it will be harder to get this single entry O based on your reasons, but you can try. You should mention where will you be located in the U.S. A higher hassle alternative is to go for the O-A multiple extension Long Stay Visa (also known as retirement visa) available from the D.C. Thai embassy and some other consulates such as LA. This requires that you fill out their medical form (it might cost you if your doctor there plays by the rules and orders the tests) and provide a police report. With the O-A, you don't need to show any money IN Thailand for as long as about two years, by exiting and reeentering Thailand before the end of the expiration of the visa (each entry gives an additional year during its validity). You still need to show evidence of the funds to get the O-A, but not in Thailand, and no need for seasoning.

For most people in your situation, I would suggest going to Malaysia for the single entry O. However, since you are going to be in the U.S. anyway and considering the lack of need of money import for the O-A for two years, if I were you, I would seriously consider the O-A visa route. After the two years, you then apply for additional annual extensions based on retirement at the Samui office.

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

I reckon you will still be rather confused after hearing this info. That is normal. Basically, there are different ways to do it.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Jingthing

[gark]

Jingthing, thank you. I'll be in Miami in May, there's an honorary consulate that issues tourist visas but I am not sure if they also do non-immigrant ones. At any rate, I appreciate the info about Malaysia, I think I'll probably go to KL (Air Asia has cheap flights from Surat) if that is the lowest hassle route.

[Jingthing]

Jingthing, thank you. I'll be in Miami in May, there's an honorary consulate that issues tourist visas but I am not sure if they also do non-immigrant ones. At any rate, I appreciate the info about Malaysia, I think I'll probably go to KL (Air Asia has cheap flights from Surat) if that is the lowest hassle route.

I'm sure Miami will issue single entry O visas IF they find your reason adequate. Since your reason is retirement, they will likely suggest you do a mail in O-A visa application to the D.C. embassy. You could also consider contacting a "friendly" consulate in another state about a mail in application for a single entry O visa for "exploring retirement in Thailand" reasons. Odds are that is possible but you should get approval of your request before mailing the application and passport.

(Miami definitely DOES NOT process O-A visa applications.)

Or go to Malaysia. I just thought the lack of need to import the money for two years with the multi O-A might interest you.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Jingthing

[itishothere]

Above advice from Jingthing is sound.

From Samui you can get a daily flight to KL with Firefly, and Bangkok Airways are just starting a service too. But Air Asia will of course be cheaper, although getting to and from Suratthani will add time and inconvenience.

Immigration office in Samui is in Nathon. Pretty much the same service as every other Imm. office in the Kingdom. Fill in the forms correctly, have the money, photos, copies of the relevant pages, confirmation letter from your bank etc and it is no problem. Note (if you didn't know already) it is not possible to work on a retirement extension at all. And the THB needs to be in a Thai bank account, you may need to shop around for a bank that will open an account for you. SCB seem to be pretty flexible at the moment.

PS Welcome to Samui!

[Tropicalevo]

When lodging the money in a Thai bank account, the safest type of account for you to get your visa is a savings account. Terrible on interest though.

Samui immigration have a reputation for being 'creative' when it comes to extra charges! I know some people that have had problems with getting the retirement visa when the money was lodged in a long-term deposit account!

[gark]

Thank you all for advice. I already have a bank account in Thailand, and I don't need a work permit. I'll try Miami first; if they won't do it, it looks like KL is the next best option. The Air Asia flights are real cheap and I don't mind the ferry and driving to the airport.

[parallaxtech]

I did everything from Miami via FEDEX -- go to this site http://www.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx .

As others have suggested the second option is to fly to KL, Malaysia. Welcome to Samui!

[Jingthing]

It is certainly possible that Miami will grant a single entry O visa for your honest reasons. Why not ask them in an email? Nobody here knows the specific policies of all consulates at any given time. Policies can change.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Jingthing

[joe84330]

easiest way is just to go to the embassy and have them provide you with an income verification letter. that can and will work in place of any deposit requirements, have many friends in the same situation who have done and continue to do just that. personally i wouldn't transfer that kind of money over here unless you are getting a better return and security than you would in the states.

penang is the closest consulate, if you prefer to travel then KL or singapore are both nice for a price.

[Jingthing]

Not everyone has income to verify!

[joe84330]

Not everyone has income to verify!

for the purposes of staying here, insurance payments/inheritance/social security/lottery winnings/pension etc all qualify as income.

[Jingthing]

Not everyone has income to verify!

for the purposes of staying here, insurance payments/inheritance/social security/lottery winnings/pension etc all qualify as income.

Yes, though inheritance/lottery winnings, etc. is pushing it as those are typically one time events. Really, many of us do NOT have income. It's the truth. Edited March 20, 2012 by Jingthing

[joe84330]

Not everyone has income to verify!

for the purposes of staying here, insurance payments/inheritance/social security/lottery winnings/pension etc all qualify as income.

Yes, though inheritance/lottery winnings, etc. is pushing it as those are typically one time events. Really, many of us do NOT have income. It's the truth.

structured trusts and annual payments for lottery winnings are commonplace for tax planning purposes. in addition, it's not the embassies job to verify the source or amount of income it is based entirely on your signature on the form. no different than a tax return.

[Jingthing]

Not everyone has income to verify!

for the purposes of staying here, insurance payments/inheritance/social security/lottery winnings/pension etc all qualify as income.

Yes, though inheritance/lottery winnings, etc. is pushing it as those are typically one time events. Really, many of us do NOT have income. It's the truth.

structured trusts and annual payments for lottery winnings are commonplace for tax planning purposes. in addition, it's not the embassies job to verify the source or amount of income it is based entirely on your signature on the form. no different than a tax return.

Sure of course structured annual lottery payments would qualify. What percentage of people do you reckon have them? Anyway, now it sounds like you are suggesting Americans lie to our embassy. That is a criminal act. Using that document at Thai immigration is also a criminal act.

For those tempted to go down that road, keep in mind that sometimes immigration officers have bad hair days. They have sometimes been known to (and have every legal right to) ask for evidence to back up the income claims in the embassy letter.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Jingthing

[joe84330]

i'm simply expanding upon your limited idea of income, and offering another signed document that you would already use on an annual basis for reference. do you understand that the IRS is required by law to accept your return based upon your signature? it's insulting that you think i am suggesting anyone lie to the embassy. if you have an option to keep your money safe and sound and at a higher rate of return rather than transferring it over here in exchange for nothing other than a document, then that is the easiest, fastest, safest and most profitable thing to do.

btw, the thai immigration official who accepts money under the table is committing a criminal act.

[Jingthing]

OK, consider yourself insulted because I feel that is indeed what you were dancing around. They don't verify ... so put whatever you want. I say ... think twice.

[PoorSucker]

And the fee is 1.900 baht for every extension although they will try to scam you of 5.000 baht at Samui immigrations.

[spidermike007]

The immigration office in Samui may be the most corrupt in the kingdom. The boss told me I needed to purchase a new cell phone for all 9 people in the office, before he would issue a retirement visa. Told him to kiss my ass, and got one in Bangkok. Like everything else, Samui is more corrupt.

[Jingthing]

The immigration office in Samui may be the most corrupt in the kingdom. The boss told me I needed to purchase a new cell phone for all 9 people in the office, before he would issue a retirement visa. Told him to kiss my ass, and got one in Bangkok. Like everything else, Samui is more corrupt.

It does have that reputation! I think living in Thailand a long time exposed to so much corruption often has a corrupting influence on many of us as well ...

[metisdead]

Some inflammatory posts and replies have been removed.

[insertmembernamehere]

Forget all the previous posts.

I can tell you how to get a retirement visa without having to leave Samui and above board. I too had a tourist visa because I listened to the advice of the Shouting Man (before I realized that he was a งี่เง่า) and made a small but crucial mistake in Los Angeles applying for mine.

So here is what you do: Go to the travel agency across from Bangkok Bank in Nathon; it's called Asia Travel International (I think). "Asia" something anyway and there is only one agency across from the bank.

You give them the things you normally need (you do not need a police report from the US); health certificate, bank statement and all that and, as of several years ago, 30,000 baht or 28,000 baht or something like that (total including all actual fees). Seems like it was US$800 to US$1,000, if memory serves. This sounds costly but if you think of the travel costs going overseas, hotels, meals, ground transport and the fuss and muss of it all, it works out well. I think you also get a "free" single re-entry permit. You also, if I recall, do not have to have the 800K in the bank for three months prior to applying, at least several years ago.

There is some family connection with the boss of the agency and someone in immigration and they have some system by which they just skip all the crap and punch you into retirement visaville.

It's all above board, no hush-hush stuff. The visa is real. It's just a service they have they don't advertise.

If nothing else, go and talk to them about this and I expect things are as they were before.

[Jingthing]

On the face of it, getting a retirement extension based on 800K in the bank without a need for money seasoning, sounds illegal. So if the heat came down, who would get in trouble and how good would your visa really be? Also note, medical forms have not been required for retirement extensions for years now although there still may be some oddball offices who haven't gotten the news.

[insertmembernamehere]

I don't know what, "money seasoning" is, but it has a nice ring to it.

And we are not talking about extensions.

What "heat" are you imagining? The visa is a valid visa. It's in my passport. It was issued by the immigration office of the Kingdom of Thailand in Samui.

An added benefit at least that first year, is that they seem to treat you nice since they know you got it here. After that it's the law of the jungle....

[Jingthing]

If you don't get an O-A visa in your home country (which eventually requires in country retirement extensions) you need TWO things. First, a non-immigrant O visa. These can be obtained abroad or in Thailand at some offices if also qualified for a retirement EXTENSION. I don't know if Samui offers it. If not, it can be obtained in Bangkok as part of the "two step" process with the second step being the annual extension based on retirement. For the annual extension based on retirement, using the 800K in Thai bank method, that amount needs to be seasoned for two months for the first extension and three months for subsequent ones. If you get a retirement extension in Thailand using the 800K in the bank method and no requirement for seasoning, something is fishy. BTW, you say they get you a retirement visa in Thailand. No, that is impossible. Retirement visas are never available in Thailand. O visas are as part of the two step process. Retirement extensions are. O-A visas (obtained only from your home country) can be considered retirement visas but the name has actually been changed to "Long Stay" visa.

That all said, perhaps Samui does offer support for the "two step process". In that case, you shouldn't need to pay a visa service for that. The immigration office should provide the service. If Samui does not grant O visas as part of the two step process, that does actually bring up another option for the OP ... getting the O visa in Bangkok first and avoiding a trip to Malaysia if that is preferred.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Jingthing

[insertmembernamehere]

Whatever, I am just telling you my experience.

You are right; the visa is an O now called, Long Stay, and the subsequent extensions.

I am not sure about the basting time for the money. It's been a while. You may well be right about that.

You think that given the fact that the travel agent has a family connection to an immigration official, that immigration official would entertain walk-ins to his office and make everything happen without cutting in his relative? It may be technically possible to do it on your own, but I suspect that they would make it horribly difficult or impossible.

[Jingthing]

You're getting into issues of corruption. I can't say. What I can say is that the office offers O visas as part of the two step process, or they don't. Some offices do, some don't. Maybe someone can report about that here. There is nothing corrupt per se about offering the O visas in Thailand for that. Its just that not all offices offer that service.

[smokie36]

Heh corruption in the Samui office. Who would believe it eh?

[Jingthing]

Heh corruption in the Samui office. Who would believe it eh?

Yeah, I get the message. That said, I think its worthwhile for people to actually understand the terminology of what they are trying to get and what is legally required. Dealing with corruption is another layer.

I realize people have to deal with things one way or another, but I am also suggesting if you can avoid corruption (either yours or theirs) you might sleep better. For example, there are firms offering schemes to get retirement extensions without needing to follow the normal rules. Sure you get something in your passport, but what happens if there a crackdown from up higher and they want to shake out the people who obtained their extensions through such methods? Would you be perfectly safe? I don't think so.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Jingthing

[Rooo]

Op disregard the option offered by ( insertmembernamehere ) .This is illegal , I should have deleted that post, but there are good answers & advise afterwards.

You can get an O visa & then convert it here on Samui, many people I know have done so.

You go to immigration, get O visa, they will advise you the steps from there, you have to leave & come back & you will be given an OA visa.

First time application, money has to be in 2 months, subsequent extensions, money has to be in 3 months, preferably in a normal savings account.

It is not that hard or complicated.

Good luck..

PS; You can also have a look through some of these topics in the Visa section, just type OA visa in search function:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/forum/1-thai-visas-residency-and-work-permits/