Retirement Visa Questons

[gkroo]

Sorry if this has been covered already somewhere else but could someone kindly give me some guidance on the following:

a.) Have been living and working in Thailand for past 11 years with valid work permits(Australian passport)

b.) Have been legally married to a Thai lady for past 13 years.

c.) Wife already owned land but I financed the building of new home for us at approx 3-4 mill

d.) Now am over 65 years old and thinking of retirement

Can I use the value of the house as collateral for retirement visa or do I need to show minimum of THB 400,000 in a Thai bank account.

Thanks for your constructive thoughts and advice !!

[glegolo]

The amount for extension of stay based on retirement is NOT 400.000 baht, that is when you base it on marriage. For retirement it is 800.000 baht.

And this amount shall be in a bankaccount here in Thailand. And not in form of land and such things... Cash in bank...

Glegolo

Edited June 12, 2013 by glegolo

[Mario2008]

You either show an income of 40,000 baht a month (can be from abroad) or you show 400,000 baht in a bankacocunt in Thailand in your name for 2 months if based on marriage. House value does not count.

Based on retirement you have another option:

- show an income of 65,000 a month (can be from abroad)

OR

- show 800,000 in a bankacocutn in Thailand for 3 months

OR

- show a combination of yearly income and money in the bank, totaling 800,000.

[MJCM]

Hi,

nope value of house can't be used.

Please note

extension based on retirement requires either 800.000 THB in bank account or 65.000 income (pension) per month or a combination of both

extension based on marriage requires either 400.000 THB in bank account or 40.000 income (pension) per month.

[gkroo]

Hi,

nope value of house can't be used.

Please note

extension based on retirement requires either 800.000 THB in bank account or 65.000 income (pension) per month or a combination of both

extension based on marriage requires either 400.000 THB in bank account or 40.000 income (pension) per month.

Thanks to all for prompt replies so I guess the best option is to go for Marriage Visa ?

[Mario2008]

Not a visa, unles you don't have the money to qualify.

You simply use the same form as always to get an extension of stay, but this time you enter "to live with my Thai wife" or soemthing like that as reason for the extension instead of "working".

Note that the day you stop working, you must cancel your work permit at labour and permission to stay at immigration. At the same time you cna than apply for an extension of stay based on marriage (or retirement).

[gkroo]

Not a visa, unles you don't have the money to qualify.

You simply use the same form as always to get an extension of stay, but this time you enter "to live with my Thai wife" or soemthing like that as reason for the extension instead of "working".

Note that the day you stop working, you must cancel your work permit at labour and permission to stay at immigration. At the same time you cna than apply for an extension of stay based on marriage (or retirement).

Thanks Mario, greatly appreciated

[MJCM]

And also please note that Immigration will try to steer you to get the Retirement Extension instead of the Marriage One.

The reason being that the Marriage extension is not (alone) a local decision and means a lot more paper work for you and them. Plus this one can take up to 30 days (or more), while with the retirement one you get the decision the same or the next day !!

Edited June 12, 2013 by MJCM

[somo]

I applied for an extension due to marriage today with the usual load of paperwork and no problems.

I then asked what I needed to show if next year I wanted to go the retirement route and as handed a piece of paper that essentially just said show 800k in the bank (first time for 60 days subsequent times 90 days) That was it. No mention of proof of address so presumably I can apply for it at any imigration office in the country.

I feel this is not correct and there must be other conditions. Would appreciate if the experts out there could throw some light on the matter.

Steve

[MJCM]

@somo

Order of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters
No.777/2551
Re: Rules and Conditions in the Consideration of Alien Applications for Temporary Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand

2.22 In the case of a retiree: Permission will be granted for a period of not more
than 1 year at a time.
(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);
(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;
(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or
(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than
800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or
(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less
than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

The proof of address it doesn't hurt when applying to have a copy (or 2) with you, as they may ask if you rent or own, so a lease / chanote could also come in handy !

Edited June 12, 2013 by MJCM

[somo]

@somo

Order of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters

No.777/2551

Re: Rules and Conditions in the Consideration of Alien Applications for Temporary Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand

2.22 In the case of a retiree: Permission will be granted for a period of not more

than 1 year at a time.

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;

(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or

(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than

800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or

(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less

than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

The proof of address it doesn't hurt when applying to have a copy (or 2) with you, as they may ask if you rent or own, so a lease / chanote could also come in handy !

That's great thank you. So it would appear I can apply at any office of my choosing.

[MJCM]

@somo

Order of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters

No.777/2551

Re: Rules and Conditions in the Consideration of Alien Applications for Temporary Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand

2.22 In the case of a retiree: Permission will be granted for a period of not more

than 1 year at a time.

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;

(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or

(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than

800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or

(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less

than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

The proof of address it doesn't hurt when applying to have a copy (or 2) with you, as they may ask if you rent or own, so a lease / chanote could also come in handy !

That's great thank you. So it would appear I can apply at any office of my choosing.

I am not 100% sure, better wait for one of the Moderators (Mario2008, Lopburi3 or LiteBeer) to answer this.

[lopburi3]

You must apply at the office serving your location - you enter that location the the TM.7 application. And they may also request other proof to support that entry.

[somo]

You must apply at the office serving your location - you enter that location the the TM.7 application. And they may also request other proof to support that entry.

Thank you. But presumably you can enter any location you want even if you are only there for a few days as there is no mention of proof being required in the official requirements. It seems that some offices may decide they want it regardless and there is no point in arguing the case. If you are retired and changing locations frequently then you have no residence to declare.

[Sceptict11]

somo

You have read the advise and you, of course, are free to accept or reject that advice. You may do as you please, based on your understanding of the requirements.

Please don't cry when your plan fails !

[MJCM]

You must apply at the office serving your location - you enter that location the the TM.7 application. And they may also request other proof to support that entry.

Thank you. But presumably you can enter any location you want even if you are only there for a few days as there is no mention of proof being required in the official requirements. It seems that some offices may decide they want it regardless and there is no point in arguing the case. If you are retired and changing locations frequently then you have no residence to declare.

Somo, don't forget about the 90 Day reports, which have to be made to the Office where you applied (mail in possible ??) and they may require a Proof of Address. (How are you going to deal with that, if you don't live in the region ??)

If you are so desperate to do this, why don't you get a Multiple Entry Non-O visa outside of Thailand and you don't even have to go inside or near any of the Immigration Offices.

Edited June 12, 2013 by MJCM

[somo]

It is just that I will be splitting my time between 3 locations only in one of which do I own a house.

I was hoping not to have to travel a long way to renew my extension. There must be other retirees who travel around a lot and don't have any fixed abode. For now I use a rented apt in Bangkok as my address and have to get all sorts of paperwork together for the marriage extension. I hoped to do away with all that hassle as no mention is made of addresses for the retirment extension.

If you are saying that some offices make up their own rules then it all becomes a bit of a lottery.

[ubonjoe]

You must make application where you are currently living and many offices will want a proof of address to prove you are living within their jurisdiction.

Since you can do 90 day reports to Bangkok by mail I suggest you just plan on doing your extensions there instead of trying different offices since you only have to do it once a year and can do it up to 30 days early.

[IMA_FARANG]

It is just that I will be splitting my time between 3 locations only in one of which do I own a house.

I was hoping not to have to travel a long way to renew my extension. There must be other retirees who travel around a lot and don't have any fixed abode. For now I use a rented apt in Bangkok as my address and have to get all sorts of paperwork together for the marriage extension. I hoped to do away with all that hassle as no mention is made of addresses for the retirment extension.

If you are saying that some offices make up their own rules then it all becomes a bit of a lottery.

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

They will want an address where you "reside". That doesn't mean you have to be physically there all the time.

If you have an address in Bangkok, that will do fine.

As an example, I'm retired and on a retirement visa/extension doing 90 day reports.

My address is a house in Bangkok.

But frankly, the immigration doesn't care or really check what my actual address is.

So I could be in Vietnam at a hotel on vacation (like I am) right now posting this.

Just as long as I do my 90 day reporting from my "residence" when I am staying in Thailand.

[worgeordie]

Thai logic which I could never understand, you need Bht400,000 for a marriage visa,I presume they

expect you to support your wife,so thats 2 people, but you need Bht 800,000 for retirement extension,

where I presume they class you as single person.

regards Worgeordie

[ubonjoe]

Thai logic which I could never understand, you need Bht400,000 for a marriage visa,I presume they

expect you to support your wife,so thats 2 people, but you need Bht 800,000 for retirement extension,

where I presume they class you as single person.

regards Worgeordie

They assume you can live at a lower cost if you are married to a Thai or she could be working. Plus it is considered as humanitarian so you can live with your family verses it being a privilege granted because you are over the age of 50.

[ThaidDown]

It is just that I will be splitting my time between 3 locations only in one of which do I own a house.

I was hoping not to have to travel a long way to renew my extension. There must be other retirees who travel around a lot and don't have any fixed abode. For now I use a rented apt in Bangkok as my address and have to get all sorts of paperwork together for the marriage extension. I hoped to do away with all that hassle as no mention is made of addresses for the retirment extension.

If you are saying that some offices make up their own rules then it all becomes a bit of a lottery.

It's not really a case of making up their own rules. Extensions are given at the discretion of the officer and Immigration is entitled to ask for any additional information that they feel is needed to support your application.

That's in the general rules of granting visas and extensions, as it is in a lot of countries, so they may or may not ask for address confirmation

[ThaidDown]

Thai logic which I could never understand, you need Bht400,000 for a marriage visa,I presume they

expect you to support your wife,so thats 2 people, but you need Bht 800,000 for retirement extension,

where I presume they class you as single person.

regards Worgeordie

I tell my wife that Immigration obviously expect her to chip in the other 400,000 baht.

[cpofc]

I have just come from Bangkok Immigration today. 1YR Extension to my Retirement Visa, and a transfer of my original Visa to my new Passport. All at the one shop. Nothing new to report really. it was all over and done quickly and I was home for lunch.

The 'Captain' scrutinised my Embassy Income Stat Dec and my Bank Book transactions a little more closely than on previous occasions, but that was no biggy as all my paper work is in good order and above board. This is her job after all.

BTW My Income Statement was over 2 weeks old.

naturally I do pay close attention to things like, dress, appearance, bearing, presentation and neatness of documents and papers, not to mention politeness and good manners

Just thought I would tell you all that there were no surprises.

[lopburi3]

Why were you showing bank book transactions? If just using Embassy letter that is all that is normally required.

[Issangeorge]

For the last two years I have been asked for my bank book. There is never very much in it and about the only transactions are the little bit I have deposited that day. I have also been asked for a copy of my wife's house regestration papers, her OD card and our marriage certificate. It seems to change each trip. This all for a retirement visa.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[lopburi3]

But do not believe you are talking about Bangkok Immigration - Chiang Watanna normally does not ask for such documents in my experience or understanding.

[cpofc]

Why were you showing bank book transactions? If just using Embassy letter that is all that is normally required. Why.

Are you making the rules now or is Thai Immigration?

Because they have in the past, on two, or maybe three occasions over the years, asked me for proof of income coming into the Kingdom by way of regular cash deposits of my Pension Income into a Thai Bank. Which I believe they have every right to do. I am on a Single Retirement Visa too, not a married one.

Perhaps some of the Thais know that an Australian Stat Dec is not 'actual' proof of income. There is no onus on the person notarizing an Australian Stat Dec to demand evidence of what you are in fact Declaring, and they don't do it. It's not their job. It is basically an honour system, where the penalties for making a false statement are made quite clear. Of course us Australians are the salt of the earth aren't we, and wouldn't dare make a false declaration.

basically, I pre empt, I go armed with everything and I don't wait to be asked.

[lopburi3]

I am trying to keep the information correct and most people are not being asked for such documents in Bangkok. If that starts to happen then we would want it known as a new/normal requirement for others so that is the reason for asking.