O-a Visa

[redwood13]

The nit-picker who reviews your application in Thailand for your next extention will require all the documentation you initially filed in Washington and any other he deems necessary  and I bet your original documentation  won't be available for some reason or another. If your  original paperwork is filed in Bangkok immigration, they are hard pressed to deny having it or blaming another agency, such as the consulate service for not forwarding it.

My best advice, is to do it in Thailand, even if it requires two trips to Bangkok. Get your money into a Bangkok Bank, before you apply and get your bank letter with amount, date of tranfer and source bank included.  No criminal record document was required even though the regulations call for it.

Dress wll, be humble, be polite, and remember immigration officials are policemen who think in terms of enforcement, not service. Enjoy the adventure.

As far as I know the original documentation for the O-A remains at the issuing Consulate. The requirements for an O-A issued outside Thailand and converting a Non-Immigrant O to a retirement visa within Thailand differ.

For one thing, the visa extension after 356 days is based on showing money deposited in a Thai bank and/or monthly income per a statement for the applicant's embassy. Whereas the applicant for an O-A visa shows money in a US bank and the actual documentation of monthly income.

Yes, if applying in Bangkok you'd have to figure on at least a couple of trips to Immigration and possibly more.

Thus far I've found the immigration officials to be very polite and very helpful. The other day I saw a clueless farang stroll into Pattaya Immigration dressed in a tank top, shorts and flip-flops. He gave the officer a big ear to ear smile and a wai.

The officer returned the wai - holding his hands at his belt buckle!!!

-redwood

[jazzbo]

So after reading the helpful suggestions from redwood and others here is my latest plan of action:

I will go to the Immigration station at Nong Khai to get the 30 day (or longer) extension on my 60/30 day tourist visa. I will also speak in English and Thai as to how they would handle O or O-A visas. As redwood suggests it may be desirable to have all the paperwork in Thailand and Nong Khai is a short train ride away for me for extensions and 90 day registrations.

If I get the sense that Nong Khai immigration is resistant to my applying for Long Stay visa in Nong Khai (they have a very nice website on the thai police web) I will make the long trek to BKK immigration and go to the 3rd floor immigration office so often mentioned. I guess I will need a medical form based on the 'Personal data form' we have discussed but will have no criminal record data. I will also have the 800,000 + Baht in a thai bank account with the guarantee.

That is my plan as of now--subject to immediate change. Thanks all

[JimGant]

Redwood,

Many thanks for your info.

I've used your experience with O-A on another thread, as the chap, Chuang, who started it seems to have a lot of similarities. Or so I thought until your latest reply.

Here's the thread's address:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5795&st=15

Chuang reentered Thailand 18 days before his O-A multi entry visa was to expire. This was in Chiang Mai. They allowed his stay only up to the expiration date of his O-A visa, i.e., 22 Feb. So he did what I thought you will have to do upon expiration of your O-A visa, namely he applied for, and received, a 365 day extension of stay in Thailand based on retirement. The 365 day clock began on his latest reentry date, per standard procedure for most all 'extensions of stay.'

But your experience says, Reenter Thailand one day before your O-A visa expires and they will give you 365 days more to stay before you have to go to immigration and apply for the 'one year extension based on retirement.' (However, I would suspect that during this period your multiple entry permission based on O-A visa would expire, and you would need immigration to give you a multiple reentry stamp.)

Anyway, this all gets very confusing, but very familiar -- as you say, each immigration officer has much leeway in regulation interpretation. You and Chuang had two interpretations of the relatively obscure O-A process. Just when you actually have to get your 'extension based on retirement' is a great unknown. And will that 365 day clock begin the date of your last reentry(?). So, yeah, your visiting immigration for an answer should be enlightening. Please keep us informed.

Oh, did that requirement for airplane ticket arrival date have any effect on the 'issue date' of your O-A visa? I had surmised that maybe the Consulate would postdate your 'issue date' to maximize stay if, indeed, the stay would terminate on visa expiration date (as did Chuang's).

Again, thanks for you input. Sorry about the multithread chase.

[Roger13]

..... I will make the long trek to BKK

Jazzbo,

I don't know if this helps you -

But did you know it is now possible to fly from

Khon Kaen to Bangkok for just Bht 700 by Air Asia:

http://www.airasia.com/

There are some ifs & buts - but might be woth checking out

Roger

[redwood13]

snip

Chuang reentered Thailand 18 days before his O-A multi entry visa was to expire. This was in Chiang Mai. They allowed his stay only up to the expiration date of his O-A visa, i.e., 22 Feb. So he did what I thought you will have to do upon expiration of your O-A visa, namely he applied for, and received, a 365 day extension of stay in Thailand based on retirement. The 365 day clock began on his latest reentry date, per standard procedure for most all 'extensions of stay.'

But your experience says, Reenter Thailand one day before your O-A visa expires and they will give you 365 days more to stay before you have to go to immigration and apply for the 'one year extension based on retirement.' (However, I would suspect that during this period your multiple entry permission based on O-A visa would expire, and you would need immigration to give you a multiple reentry stamp.)

Anyway, this all gets very confusing, but very familiar -- as you say, each immigration officer has much leeway in regulation interpretation. You and Chuang had two interpretations of the relatively obscure O-A process. Just when you actually have to get your 'extension based on retirement' is a great unknown. And will that 365 day clock begin the date of your last reentry(?). So, yeah, your visiting immigration for an answer should be enlightening. Please keep us informed.

Oh, did that requirement for airplane ticket arrival date have any effect on the 'issue date' of your O-A visa? I had surmised that maybe the Consulate would postdate your 'issue date' to maximize stay if, indeed, the stay would terminate on visa expiration date (as did Chuang's).

Again, thanks for you input. Sorry about the multithread chase.

Just returned from Pattaya Immigration and the officer at the "Retirement Visa" desk confirms that I have permission to stay in Thailand until February 2005 and that should I leave Thailand again, say in August, I would, on returning, have my stay extended by 365 days until August 2005.

As you surmised the multiple entry visa expires in Oct. of this year.

I'm not sure I completely understand Chuang's situation. IF this was his INITIAL use of the O-A retirement visa to enter Thailand it MAY be that when the immigration officer saw that it had been issued based on documentation (especially bank financial statements) that was a year old he may have wanted to see more current information and thus only gave him until the expiration date of his visa, thus requiring him to apply for a new 365 extension and submitting current financial information.

I don't think the airline ticket date had anything to do with the visa date or arrrival date. It seems simply to have been one more "requirement". The date of issuance of the O-A visa only affects the validity of the visa. That is, it can be first used up to one year from date of issuance. The visa gets you to the "starting gate" at say Don Muang. At that point you get an "admitted until" date which is based on the type of visa that's been issued to you. Of course the immigration officer has some leeway in determining what that "admitted until" date is going to be. Normally it would be one year for an O-A retirement visa but as I've speculated in the previous paragraph if the officer is not satisfied with your presentation, he doesn't have to give the full year admission and MAYBE this is what happened in Chuang's case.

Again, if the visa is a multiple entry, that aspect of visa is only valid until the expiration date of the visa from what I was told today.

-redwood

[JimGant]

Redwood,

Thanks for the update. Don't know why Chuang and you had different experiences with your NIOAs. He hasn't checked in lately to clarify anything, but his original post says he definitely was not on an 'extension;' plus his not getting a 90 stay stamp before visa expiration date says he doesn't have an NIO visa. Ergo, he has an NIOA visa -- I guess. Trying to be logical with Thai immigration procedure is, well, illogical.

I guess the question you must be asking yourself now is, When should I get my extension stamp? You're good-to-go until next Feb, but as you say, you'll have to get a multiple entry stamp in October (visa expiration date) if you want to leave and reenter Thailand. It probably would make sense to make one trip to immigration in October for two events, namely: the multiple entry stamp AND extension based on retirement. But when would that 'extension of stay" begin? Normally, it is the date of your last entry, currently February. If so, then you have to march back to immigration four months later (Feb 05) and get a new set of stamps. Mmmm. Might as well save some baht, then, and only get your multiple entry stamp in October. It, presumably, will expire when your stay does, i.e., (currently) Feb. Then again, if you could do all this pre-July 2004, you might get grandfathered at the 800,000 baht rate requirement for annual retirement renewals. But would immigration allow you to do this since you're good-to-go for another 7 months past JulY?

I'm thinking on the keyboard, and have absolutely NO answers, or even speculation. Please let us know what finally happens. This really is curious. And if Chuang confirms an NIOA visa, it gets even more so.

Good luck, Redwood.

[Curious George]

Jazzbo,

You have already decided on your plan of action, but I would like to reply to one of your previous questions for the benefit of others. The Thai Consular office in Coral Gables (Miami) Florida is very efficient. If one calls ahead for an appointment, the most it may take is an overnight stay in the area. For any Florida resident, this would be a much better choice than to travel to Washington, D.C. to appear in person. Even in D.C., you would apply one day and pick up the Visa on the next.

[JimGant]

Then again, if you could do all this pre-July 2004, you might get grandfathered at the 800,000 baht rate requirement for annual retirement renewals.

Redwood,

After posting the above, I saw where the 800,000 baht requirement for retirees is NOT going up. So, no pre-July rush required.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Then again, if you could do all this pre-July 2004, you might get grandfathered at the 800,000 baht rate requirement for annual retirement renewals.

Redwood,

After posting the above, I saw where the 800,000 baht requirement for retirees is NOT going up. So, no pre-July rush required.

No need to hurry at all....

[david96]

The Royal Thai Consulate in Sydney has very jnformative information on their website on visa in general. Single entry AUD90, Multiple 1year AUD225. note para 3.3. on the O-A visa.

[Roger13]

David 96

Can you give us the URL for the Sydney Consulte please?

Roger

[dr_Pat_Pong]

thaisydney.idx.com.au