Retirement Or Non-b

[siamaloha]

56yo US citizen here living in BKK for 11 months and tired of monthly Visa runs because of wasted time mostly. Should I pay Sunbelt 7200THB for company sponsored non-B? or just fly to Penang with my 800k bank certification for non-O? I am flying to Switzerland 3 days after my current tourist 30 expires... any experience with Bern or Zurich Consular? I want to keep things as siimple as possible, and am I correct in my research that with O I don't have to leave TH every 90 days, just report? (but I do have to leave with B.) Any help is appreciated.

[Neeranam]

I've met a lot of retirees who are confused about their visa. I spoke to one recently who was chuffed as he went to Penang with his proof of funds etc and they gave him a non-o imm. visa where he has to leave the country every three months. Get a retirement visa, where you only have to renew it once a year in Thailand. You have to report every 90 days, but i can't see all the hassle about this. It takes me 5 minutes to fill the thing in and 50baht to get someone to take it to the post office and send it. If you are retired, don't you have a lot of free time? If you can't spare 5 minutes to fill in a form there is something wrong. If you are losing the plot a bit, ask the wife to help.

[astral]

Ask Immigration for an extension to cover the 3 days until your flight to Switzerland.

Then apply for Non-O visa (single entry) in Switzerland, stating retirement as you reason.

It should be very simple. but it may be a good idea to have your bank book to show, just in case they ask.

Once you arrive in Thailand you will get a 3 month stamp.

Near the end of the 3 months, apply for a one year extension based on retirement showing the 800K in the bank. You should have no problems.

Once that is through there will be no need for visa runs.

If you do exit Thailand, make sure to get a re-entry permit to keep your

retirement visa current.

[siamaloha]

Ask Immigration for an extension to cover the 3 days until your flight to Switzerland.

Then apply for Non-O visa (single entry) in Switzerland, stating retirement as you reason.

It should be very simple. but it may be a good idea to have your bank book to show, just in case they ask.

Once you arrive in Thailand you will get a 3 month stamp.

Near the end of the 3 months, apply for a one year extension based on retirement showing the 800K in the bank. You should have no problems.

Once that is through there will be no need for visa runs.

If you do exit Thailand, make sure to get a re-entry permit to keep your

retirement visa current.

Thanks astral... that's exactly what I'll do. I had not considered a tourist extension before, thinking I would try to take care of everything before I left for Switzerland, but this makes much more sense.

[PeaceBlondie]

I did roughly what astral suggests, going to Penang in November, and getting a one-year O which would have required me to leave Thailand every 90 days. Within 60 days, I went to immigration, proved that I was fully qualified for a retirement visa, and for 1,900 baht got my visa changed. I won't say it was extended one day, because it was more like it was converted to a full retirement visa, only until next November.

Your results may vary.