Retirement Visa

[surfline]

Hi, Im from the UK & will be 50 on 24 April next. Ive been told i will need a Non Imm O visa in order to apply for Retirement visa. Is this correct? Any other advice on applying for this Retirement visa would be appreciated, many thanks......

[astral]

Apply for a single entry Non-Immigrant visa before you leave the UK.

Put "considering retirement" as you reason.

Application at the consulate in Hull is probably the easiest.

On arrival you will be stamped in for 3 months.

You can then explore and see if Thailand meets your expectations.

After 2 months you can apply for a one year extension of the visa.

At that time you will need to show 800K baht in a Thai bank, or a certified income of 80K baht a month and will be required to have a simple medical check up.

Good luck.

[surfline]

Sorry should have mentioned that ive been here 12 months now on 30 day extensions and one time i went to Penang on the advice that i could get 1 year non imm visa but it actually only lasted 3 months (non imm . Ive now been advised that if i want to get a Retirement visa i must first get a non imm B visa and that i can get this by going to Singapore (or Penang). Do you think this is good advice???

[LoveDaBlues]

2.4 A copy of a bank statement showing a deposit at the amount equal to no less than 800,000 Baht, or an income certificate (an original copy) with a monthly salary of no less than 65,000 Baht, or a deposit account plus a monthly income of no less than 800,000 Baht a year.

close astral but only need 65k baht per month.

[Tywais]

Required Documents

Immigration form 7 (Tor Mor 7)

Copy of passport

4 cm. X 6 cm. Photograph

1,900 baht application fee

Financial Evidence:

Bank account pass-book, bank statement

Evidence showing reception of pension accompanied with Thai translation certified by the embassy or consulate of the country paying the pension

Evidence presenting other sources of income or evidence of money transferred from overseas

In cases of having dependents (husband / wife, children), the applicant must provide evidence indicating their relationship. Evidence must be translated into Thai and be certified by the embassy or consulate of the non-Thai citizens.

Health Certificate for those who apply for further stay after Nov. 14, 2002.

The officials reserve the rights to examine or ask for additional documents, if necessary

Applications Consideration

A foreign national must be older than 50 years old.

Not be a prohibit person.

Financial documents state one of the following

A deposite of 800,000 baht at least , or

A minimum income of 65,000 baht a month , or

A deposite pluses (monthly income x 12) not less than 800,000 baht.

The Health Certificate must indicate that the applicant does not have the following serious conditions:

Leprosy

Turberculosis, TB

Elephantiasis, Filariasis

Drug addiction

Alcoholism

Syphilis

Source: Thai Immigration

[Niloc]

I have four bank accounts in Thailand. One is a joint account with my wife (Thai), can I simply add up the four balances to show the 800K I need to have for my retirement extension or would the joint account give me a problem?

Thanks,

Colin

[vinny]

surfline, see also Non-Immigrant Visa "O-A" (Long stay) - visa for retired persons and Retirement Visa.

Edited March 23, 2006 by vinny

[thaiflyer1]

Surfline..............if you are currently on 30 day runs you will need to obtain a Non Immigrant O visa based upon retiring to Thailand.............i cannot understand why you have been advised to try to obtain a "B" visa as this would indicate an intention to work which is a no no with retirement status.

All you need do is to travel down to Penang and apply for the "O" a bank book with a couple of hundred thousand baht in might help your application.

Come back into Thailand recieve the 90 day stay stamp and during the last 30 days of the stay apply for a 1 year extension to the 90 day stay............this is what everyone commonally refers to as a retirement visa (although in reality there is no such visa).

To qualify for the extension of stay you will have to meet the requirements as outlined above by others......once you have the 1 year extension of stay you can renew it on a yearly basis providing you contiune to meet the requirements.

Only other requirement once the 1 year extension has been granted is to report your address every 90 days to local immigration.

Obviously you will have to wait until you hit 50 to go to Penang.

Niloc.........it would be better if the 800k was in the 3 accts in your name only (maybe you meet the 800k requirement on those 3 accts already?).........this said i cant see a major problem providing the funds source is from overseas.........maybe be good idea to double check with Immigration.

[surfline]

Thanks for the replys, Thaiflyer you have made it clear exactly what i need to do. ive already booked to go to Singapore on Monday to get non imm o visa. Will it make a difference as im not 50 for another month? Again, many thanks, SL

[Maestro]

Will it make a difference as im not 50 for another month?

It will be sufficient that you be 50 when you apply for your first one-year extension for the purpose of retirement.

---------------

Maestro

[thaiflyer1]

Will it make a difference as im not 50 for another month?

It will be sufficient that you be 50 when you apply for your first one-year extension for the purpose of retirement.

---------------

Maestro

Might be a good idea to take your Birth Certificate with you........see extract below from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

3. NON-IMMIGRANT VISA

1. REQUIREMENT

This type of visa is issued to applicants who wish to enter the Kingdom for the following purposes:

- other activities (Category "O") as follows:

to stay after retirement for the elderly,

2. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

2.1 The applicants must submit the following relevant documents depending on the purpose of their visit.

- Visa application form completely filled out

- Passport or travel document with validity not less than 6 months. The validity of 18 months is required for one year visa application.

- (4 x 6 cm) protograph of the applicant, taken within the past six months

- Evidence of adequate finance ( 20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family )

- Birth Certificate ("O")

Hope your right Maestro.... .................i/m sure he will be ok being so close to 50

Edited March 24, 2006 by thaiflyer1

[lopburi3]

I don't know where you got that MFA website quote but it looks nothing like the MFA website I visit.

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php

I really don't believe anyone is being asked for birth certificate. Most of us have probably long ago lost track of them.

[thaiflyer1]

I don't know where you got that MFA website quote but it looks nothing like the MFA website I visit.

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php

I really don't believe anyone is being asked for birth certificate. Most of us have probably long ago lost track of them.

Same place Lop............i did say it was an extract, i/d discarded all the bits refering to other Non Imm class visas just to make it easier to read.

Nice to hear he will be ok though.

Edit.........i just thought it would be only for the " O" for the over 50's where a birth certificate could possibly be required?

Edited March 24, 2006 by thaiflyer1

[lopburi3]

That it a catch all bin and I believe that "birth certificate" applies to your child rather than the visa applicant. You would use the Thai Childs birth certificate just as you use a marriage certificate - to visit family.

[JohnC]

I have been a forum member for nearly a year now in preperation for the big retirement day! Well it has now arrived and I fly out next friday to LOS! Thanks to the huge amount of information/advice/helpful people on here I have managed to get everything sorted! My luggage went of last tuesday. I sent my papers to the Thai Consulate at Hull last wednesday and got them back today complete with visa! I spoke with them on the phone prior to sending the papers in, following this I had my solicitor "notarize" my documents which were 1) Proof of income 2) Medical certificate 3) Police check to say I had no record. The proof of income were letters from my pension companies showing what my income will be for the next financial year. I also completed a certificate stating I would not seek employment plus a payment certificate. They charged me £40 for the visa plus £40 for the legalization of the documents. Attached to the documents was a hand written note explaining that I had to take them to immigration when I apply for the retirement visa. All the forms I needed were available from the Thai Consulate in Hull and had certain parts already completed (reason for visit - to apply for retirement etc) http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/visas1.asp so all in all fairly straightforward! I only hope the final part in immigration in Pattaya is as straightforward at the end of the month! Then I will try and obtain my Thai driving licence so watch this space and I will keep you posted! Once again thanks to the Thaivisa experts for their advice!